Week3: Mad Toy
Hi everyone. Welcome to my third blog! This week I read the book "Mad Toy" and have many thoughts to share with you.
This book is written by Roberto Arlt. He writes this book from the perspective of a lower-class youth named Silvio. From Silvio's descriptions, it seems that the people around him are not good individuals. The first person he describes is an old cobbler, who is portrayed as hunchbacked, with a face covered in stubble, a haggard complexion, and a slight limp. Next is Irzubeta, the second person he describes. He is tall and thin, with freckles all over his forehead and a slanting gaze. What shocked me was the family of Irzubeta, his family is a family that buys things on credit and has creditors. Despite their impoverished state, they are still quite arrogant, viewing those creditors as untouchables. This makes it difficult for me to imagine their psychological state.
When Silvio describes the people around him, it is not difficult to see that he lives in a chaotic environment, which is also a reflection of the lower society in the author's writing. In the first half of the story, Silvio talks about his dream of becoming a master thief. He puts this idea into practice by stealing with his friends – taking things from cafes and small shops. He takes pride in his exceptional thieving skills, much like the delinquent youths we see in reality. These individuals often lack proper education, treating such disgraceful behavior as a source of pride. The path of crime usually starts with minor offenses and progresses to more serious crimes. They are not satisfied with stealing small things; they even go so far as to steal twenty-seven books from the library.
Silvio not only harbored dreams of becoming a master thief but also aspired to be a scientist, as evident in his attempts at designing cannons. However, lacking formal knowledge in this field, his creations were rather ordinary. But Silvio was unwilling to accept his mediocre life. He always believed that he had better abilities than others, so when his mother asked him to find a job, resisted because he was unwilling to engage in menial work. He wanted to change his fate but found himself lacking the capability to do so.
Hi Xinrui,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your thoughts! You spoke a lot about the reality of Silvo's life that is quite cruel and I think you highlight the cycle of poverty that many can experience. I don't think Silvo's life was destiny from the moment he was born, but I do think it is incredibly difficult to fight the system and be successful when the system is working against you. I think this was the main theme that the novel attempted to highlight.
Xinrui, it is interesting to me that you chose the word "chaotic," to describe their environment! Was it the economic or food instability, the lack of jobs or his career options that lead to this thought? Do you think there were other things other than his lack of "capability," that might've ked to his outcome?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment
Hi Xinrui,
ReplyDeleteTo answer your second question, NO, a person's life isn't fully destined as soon as he/she is born. Although it can strongly influence how one's destiny turns out. For example being born into a rich and poor family, people start their lives at different levels and face different obstacles. Some people might face more, some might face less, but it is up to the individual how they handle it. Moral of the story life's not fair.
Hi Xinrui, I really enjoyed reading your blog post and I liked how you pointed out "reality is cruel" because the book does harshly portray this truth. To answer your first question, I think I would mostly likely not be able to change my life. From the book we already see that Silvio really tried to make a change but did not succeed in doing so. Therefore, changing "my life" would be extremely difficult.
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