Essay - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M....

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig is perhaps one of the most unusually named works of contemporary philosophical narrative. The book takes ***** form of a novel in which certain philosophic truths about Zen are revealed. The ***** attempts to explicate Zen Buddh*****m for an American audience through the use of a ***** ***** a subject matter that will be understandable to an American *****.

The plot ***** ***** ***** is deceptively simply.

The novel and ********** classic tells the tale of a man named Phaedrus who is traveling across America with his troubled son and a couple, the Su*****rl*****nds. Phaedrus, the narrator later explains, is a kind of n*****me for the author's *****mer identity, the per***** whom he was before his electroshock treatments. As the group travels across the country, they discuss different philosophical issues, the Su*****rlands espousing and emotional and impractical Romantic philosophy that ultimately distances themselves from the realities ***** *****ir motorcycle tour, and the author espousing a much more Cl*****ssical, mechanical philosophy. Ultimately, the new self that emerges from this trip in the form of ***** author is able to merge these dual Classical and Romantic philosophies in a new, Americanized form ***** Zen that Pirsig calls "Unified Field Theory."

***** simply choosing such a setting ***** plot device the re*****der is treated to his or her first example of how skillful Pirsig is at rendering the truths of Zen in an American context. Rat***** than us*****g a samurai narrative, for instance, ***** might be only comprehensible to a Japanese reader and aficionado of, perhaps, The Tale of Gengi, Pirsig instead uses ***** classic 'road trip' as the plot to explicate what Zen means. The trip takes place on a motorcycle, ***** ***** he and his son ***** able to travel like Henry Fonda and Jack Nichol***** of "Easy Rider," a popular countercultural 'road trip' movie of the time that would no doubt have ********** on many of the minds of Pirsig's readership. Perhaps this is why ***** author selects a *****, ********** opposed to a car, ***** tell his *****. The story unfolds in a series ***** "Chautauquas," what the ***** ***** his talks with his companions ***** the nature of philosophy. In these talks, the narrator *****es ***** electroshock *****rapy ***** some of the unstated or positive aspects ***** *****sanity. Insanity, in Pirsig's view, is just the rejection of an indivi***** culture's dominant "mythos" or cultural attitude ***** a member ***** th*****t culture. Pirsig states that he rejects t***** dominant Western view of the self as well as ***** h***** social w*****ld.

***** analyze the ***** ***** in a more in depth fashion, it is important to note that Pirsig specifically uses a journey vi***** mo*****rcycle (as opposed to a journey on foot) because he believes ***** necessity of maintaining the cold, rational realm ***** motorcycle technology ***** a powerful metaphor. It demonstrates ***** even something as mechanistic as ***** innards of a vehicle can be infused with spirituality