ASHER LEV JOURNAL

FOR CHAPTER 5:

For the fifth chapter journal of "Asher Lev" I would like to start out by posing a couple of questions/ideas to think about/answer. The first idea is the way Asher thinks. I find the way that Asher thinks, and sees things, especially while being scolded interesting, especially since I can relate to it a bit myself. The second question, is "what does it mean" when Asher goes so far as to steal paint from Yudel Krinsky, especially when combined with how Asher only disobeys the rules when his father is away?

I’m going to attempt to answer my second question first here, as it is fresher in my mind. The stealing of paint, to me, seems to be "the point" where Asher’s drawing takes that step where the reader starts to ask themselves "Is it from the other side?" Up to this point, Asher’s art had been getting progressively more dark, and demented, if that is the right word, but it had not actually to the point of harming people. (Although as I sit here imagining that picture of the Rebbe as a devil starring up at Asher through a holy book, it is starting to become extremely scary. Seriously.) Anyway, this seems to me to be a turning point, where Asher’s art is no longer child’s art, but something far more dark, and serious, it might not be for good, but it is certainly not foolishness. This turning point is also in Asher himself, not just Asher as an artist. I am not sure weather Asher is simply becoming more clever, losing his ignorant, for lack of a better word, honesty, and by doing so stealing paints, and avoiding his fathers wrath; or if it something more like his subconscious drawings. Obviously Asher knows that he is stealing, knows that he is only disobeying rules when his father is away, but if he wants to do things that way is my question. It seems to me that Asher may in a way, just doing these things, not thinking about if they are right or wrong either way. Perhaps he is consciously, but blindly doing them, without any motive or real reason for doing them. Obviously it would be easy to say that : No Asher was stealing because he was greedy, he wanted the paints. But to me it seems that he didn’t plan any of this he just DOES it. I hope that my words are expressing what I am thinking adequately on this.

And now for the first idea. What I mean by :The Way Asher thinks: is the way he notices things like the spidery crack on his wall, and the exact way that rain falls on the steet, etc. He starts thinking this way especially when he is being yelled at etc. And I must admit, I think much the same way. Like someone will be complianing to me about something, but rather than really hearing what they are saying, I’d be thinking something like. "Gee, that wrinkle looks kind of weird when he makes that expression" or I’d be noticing the very fine detail on a piece of that persons clothes, or studying the shape of a shadow etc. I just find this interesting, pretty much because It seems so familiar to me, and I’ve never really thought about it too much before. I wonder if this is the way that everybody thinks.

That’s about all I have to blurt out this time around so, until chapter 5, make sure you study the spidery cracks on the walls, and the funky shadows.