34-78

I'm very stressed out because of this blog. I have to do other things, and I really don't feel like I have enough time. But anyway, Jose Seramago has really outdone himself. I'm pretty much very into philosophy, so this chapter was nice to read. Also, Senhor Jose meets a few people, a few women and gets very excited about presenting himself to them because he's pretending to be on official business. The reason for his outings is because of a card he found in the registry- it is the name of an ordinary woman who he becomes very interested in (not interested in pursuing her, just very interested in finding out who she is). Senhor Jose collects the cards of very famous people, and decides to put the newfound card in there too. Back to the main plot- he goes to the apartment where she was born and of course finds no one there who knows her. So, thinking he's insane, Senhor Jose goes to the oldest resident in the building and asks her about the woman. Turns out she knows a little, and starts talking. So we see Senhor Jose having a very intellectual conversation with a woman he's barely met.


Vocabulary: (thanks Dictionary.com)


discretionary (37) : For any use or purpose one chooses

Ariadne's Thread (37): The solving of a problem with multiple apparent means of proceeding

Viscosity (41) : Resistance to flow


Figurative Language:


"Noiselessly, on tiptoe, he went rapidly up to the landing above and stayed there pressed aginst the wall, his heart pounding as if he were living through some dangerous adventure, while the your man's firm steps grew louder as they approached." (39)


This is a simile: The part of his heartbeat being compared to a dangerous adventure.



"Everyone knows that while no flies are caught with vinegar, some you can't even catch with honey." (43)

This is an example of a saying. A pretty sarcastic twist on a saying that is to say.



"The coffee was finished, the words were finished." (50)

Illiteration is seen here with 'finished' being the repeated word.



Quote: Nothing is irrelevant in such that one person's life is everyone's life. (47)


I really like this quote, because of the relevance to the story. Senhor Jose is trying to humble himself by saying that he is nothing like the Registrar, who knows all the names of all the people who have ever lived, and therefore, of all the names of the people who will ever be born. The lady he is trying to convince of this tells him that he knows her, not just her name, and that makes him better than the Registrar.

Theme: Life and the cycle of living and death and the relevance of death to life is a major theme in the book thus far.