Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Essays

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a thought-provoking book written by Robert M. Pirsig, which explores the concept of "quality" and the relationship between the mechanic and the machine. Structured as a motorcycle journey taken by the narrator and his son, the book also includes philosophical musings on topics such as the nature of quality, the importance of understanding how things work, and the relationship between the individual and society. Pirsig, who was influenced by the philosophy

is the feeling that humans too, are separate things. This sense of alienation has a negative impact on everything, on the human experience itself. When synthesizing the novel Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance as well as the Tao Te

In chapter 15 of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Pirsig prefaces Quality as, “Quality - you know what it is, yet you don’t know what it is” (Pirsig End of Part II). This quote is a great intro into the narrator’s explanation of what Quality is, or what he believes it to be. I believe

to contain one’s overwhelming emotions, the person will oftentimes isolate themselves from the world, or deny that the loss has genuinely happened. Denial is only temporary and is present to cushion the initial shock of loss. In Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig, the narrator is in a stage of denial and isolation. In my research paper, I will interpret and discuss the narrator’s loss of identity before and after electroshock therapy by relating it to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’

The dialogue between Burns and Plato discusses the importance of student and teacher relationships. Plato supposes that the physical presence of a teacher is essential for the reception of knowledge even though he does not believe the teacher can simply transfer the information to his or her student. A teacher’s presence is of upmost importance because the proximity of a student and teacher creates a spark of motivation for learning. Burn explains this phenomenon as how “people [can] learn from people