I am surprised that no one yet has made a post on the very cryptic nature of Dylan.
First off, the structure of Chronicles is not particularly conducive to the more traditional, straight-forward, and linear approach to the biography. Instead, Dylan writes in a very discursive, seemingly spontaneous style. He tends to travel from one short story explaining each with intimate detail. The format is not confusing; however, the cryptic nature of Dylan's words and overall different approach to writing does confuse me.
Within each passage, Dylan starts in a manner where he simply recalls his past actions and conversations; however, by the end of each passage, Dylan each conclude the story by explaining some kind of phenomena about himself or about life in incredibly vague and non-descript terms to me at least.
There are plenty of examples of these kinds of passages throughout the book. To end chapter two, Dylan writes "She poured the steaming coffee and I turned towards the street window. The whole city was dangling in front of my nose. I had a vivid idea of where everything was. The future was nothing to worry about. It was awfully close" (104). I have so many questions about these last three sentences I would not know where to start. What does he mean when he says "dangling in front of my nose" or "a vivid idea of where everything was?" Why doesn't he worry about the future? What was close? Was it his destiny or fate? And probably most importantly of all, what prompts Dylan to write these last sentences? Being perfectly honest, after reading those sentences, I feel like I missed something incredibly important about finishing chapter two.
Is Dylan simply saying that he has a firm idea now of his goals and of where he wants to go? If any of you guys can help with the reading of this book or this passage, that would be awesome.
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2 comments:
In my opinion,Dylan wants the reader to realize the fact that he understands the outcome of his actions and beliefs. He comprehends why and how life's long and "dusty" road has taken him to where he finds himself. Dylan always seems to try to reassure the reader that he knows what the future will hold for him. In this sense, one can assume that Dylan's writing is extremely teological. Dylan seems to be reflecting on the events in his life that would eventually lead to his current state.
In response to one of Vu's questions, I think that Dylan says "it is awfully close" in reference to his future musical career. I agree with Andres that Dylan wants the reader to believe "he comprehends why and how life's long and dusty road has taken him to where he finds himself," but Dylan still admits to dreaming of playing at certain clubs, getting a record deal with certain companies. I don't know why he wants the reader to think he knows exactly what he's doing and where he's going when he clearly does not. Teleologically he might, but back then he had no idea.
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