It's The Small Things That Matter

 A very important subject or theme that I noticed while reading the mezzanine was Nicholson Baker's focus on the importance of little things. Everyone who reads the book notices this at first, but there is a deeper element to this that is very interesting to me. Baker believes that what makes life valuable are not the big things that happen to us (things that we would, for example, tell someone when we are talking about our day), but the small, unconscious things that everyone does. I don't think that he ever in the book talks about something very important that happened in his life. He talks about L (who is obviously very important to him) but not actually any important events. I also think this is why he seems to be so cheerful all the time. When your life seems to have no purpose, some kind of depression usually kicks in. Maybe as a mechanism to do something with your life? Who knows. But Nicholson Baker is completely fascinated with all of these ordinary things that frees him from any boredom or sadness.

Another part where we can see this (it was asked in one of the notebook prompts) is when he is reading the book by the philosopher and he reads that we are nothing but a drop of semen one day, and the next a pile of ash and spices. His reaction to this is one that is very surprised and astonished that anyone would ever say that. He will never have any kind of existential crisis because his own existence is so fascinating to him that there is simply nothing to be depressed about. Someone talking about human life and the human experience in such demeaning terms is horrible to him, because he lives it in such a different way.

Another part of the book that I noticed was towards the end, when he is talking about counting sheep to fall asleep (that rhymes), and he realizes that- "it was the approach to the jump, rather than the jump itself, that was sleep-inducing". And I thought that this pretty much summarizes his whole outlook on life. It isn't what happens that matters, it's what leads up to it. The destination doesn't matter, it's the journey. The big things don't matter in life, it's the small things that matter.

I think this is a great idea to live by. It's very hard to do, but it's a great thing to be able to do.

Comments

  1. Aakash V.September 20, 2020 at 5:21 PM

    I like the point you bring up about how Nicholson Baker does not really bring up any huge events in his telling of The Mezzanine. When we are reading the story and have gotten used to the context of these events Baker shows us, we kind of interpret them as the "big moments" in the story: if we had to choose some big plot points of Howie's journey, we would say maybe his trip to CVS for his shoelaces, his experience in the bathroom, going up the escalator, etc.

    However, as you point out, in retrospect these aren't too significant of events. I also liked your point about appreciating the journey. I would slightly disagree and say that the big things and the destination DO matter, but the small things and the journey play a much more important role that often goes unnoticed.

    Finally, I would like to say that I really liked your quote "He will never have any kind of existential crisis because his own existence is so fascinating to him that there is simply nothing to be depressed about." I feel this shows a lot about Howie's character and the way he leads his life. Great post Zo!

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  2. EliasSeptember 20, 2020 at 6:13 PM

    I definitely agree with what you've said here. I think one of the reasons he focuses on the small things is because they appear so frequently in his life. For example, a lot of the "major developments" in his life are things like brushing his teeth or tying his shoes, actions that he must carry out (hopefully) at least twice a day. That being said, his relentless descriptions of the mundane must also stem from some sort of unnatural captivation that a lot of the rest of us don't posses. I open doors, and turn on the stove, and go to the bathroom every day, but I don't feel the need to write about it. Anyway, cool post.

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  3. KiranSeptember 20, 2020 at 6:25 PM

    This is absolutely the view of Howie, and likely the view of Baker as well. Never do we hear about anything more important than the fact that his shoelaces broke one day apart from each other. Instead almost every single small thing he thinks about is looked at which such depth it seems like the most important thing in the world in Howie's eyes and he could spend years talking about just that in a vacuum.

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