Freestyle #2

I am currently reading a book called The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery. This book was something that caught my eye one day at Barnes and Noble, its a little more eclectic than I normally read and that was what drew me in. One of the main characters is a hotel maid in a very ritzy hotel in Europe. She is very intelligent but chooses to remain silent about it because she doesn't want the people living in the hotel to wonder why she is poor. I find this so odd. If I were as smart as she is, I would want to flaunt it all over! The other main character is a child whose parents live in the apartments inside the hotel, she too is quite intelligent for her age. She writes in her journal, and it is no secret from the beginning of the book, that she is choosing to commit suicide. I haven't finished it yet, so I'm still unsure if she does fulfill this task, but I don't quite understand why someone so young would already have those thoughts, (she is 12). She says in one entry, "say what you want, do what you will with all those fine speeches on evolution, civilization and a ton of other "-tion" words, mankind has not progressed very far from its origins: people still believe they're not here by chance, and that there are gods, kindly for the most part, who are watching over their fate," (Barbery, 52). This is a very intriguing quote especially for her age. She has so much wisdom and such profound thoughts that it amazes me that she is so miserable. I think that is is possible that she has no beliefs in anything and this causes her to feel as though there is no point in existing. I do like to think that my life has more to it than just speeches and "-tion" words, however I must agree with her thoughts on people wanting to put so much into the belief of someone watching over them. Just such interesting thoughts for someone of her age. I am quite excited to finish this one.