LEAP Journal 2

Courtney Seto
Chis
Period 4
12.3.2009
LEAP Journal for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Entry #2
A. Section Covered: Chapters 8-15 (pages 115-231)
B. Summary: The second part of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance continues on as
the father and son continue their journey. The narrator brings up the idea that every system and
every way of thinking is tainted with the presence of a hierarchy no matter how you try to
examine or organize it. The story clarifies that the narrator had once been an insane genius
named Phaedrus. He refers to Phaedrus as a separate being when he tells the reader that he
believes Phaedrus went insane on account of a never ending search for rationality; he was never
able to locate it because rationality was all an illusion and only exists in the mind, as does
everything else in the world. The narrator goes into depth on many more philosophical matters
such as the existence and the creation of intelligence. The man is worried that his relationship is
weak because of his remoteness. As the story progresses, the narrator’s flashbacks, of
Phaedrus’s experiences, increase. One of the memories explains that Phaedrus gave up on his
pursuit of reason and appeared to live as a normal citizen. The travelers lodge at the house of
Phaedrus’s old friend, DeWeese. DeWeese believes that Phaedrus still exists as himself. While
trying to put together a barbeque, the narrator scares everyone by going into confusing detail
about how to piece it all together. The John and Sylvia, the traveling companions, return home
while the man and Chris remain in Montana. The man visits his old classroom at the college he
taught at and had a major epiphany; his whole pursuit of reason that lead to insanity began with
one question: What is Quality?
C. Analysis:
Character Development: The main character in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is
a complicated and intelligent man. While the man is never given a name or introduced, the
reader gets a firsthand account of his experiences and comes to know a lot about this character.
When the man first introduces Phaedrus, a character that is very crucial to the man’s history, the
man is reluctant to remember Phaedrus, let alone explain him to the reader. His feelings toward
Phaedrus change toward the middle of the book; the man can’t seem to explain one of his ideas
without referring to Phaedrus. For example, the author is referring to Phaedrus when he writes,
“For reasons that will become apparent, I prefer that he remain forgotten, but there’s no other
choice than to reopen his case.” (83) This proves his reluctance toward the subject of Phaedrus.
The man’s history is slowly revealed when he recounts a flashback to when he was imprisoned in
a mental facility. The man and Phaedrus were actually the same person. Phaedrus was forced to
have his memories removed, due to a court order that his mental stability was not good for the
community; he was given a new personality. The man often has flashbacks to when he was
Phaedrus when he sees something Phaedrus has seen or hears about someone he knew. An
example of this is when the author writes, “Now I’ve some of the same feeling about DeWeese,
who’ll naturally presume I’m the person he once knew.” (172) DeWeese is a man that Phaedrus
previously knew and the man doesn’t know, but the man has vague memories of spending time
with DeWeese. DeWeese does not know the man is no longer Phaedrus.
Theme: The second theme that continuously occurs in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance is that every system and structure knowledge is based on a hierarchy. Robert M.
Pirsig uses references to hierarchies to give understanding and examples of the way systems are
organized and to prove his point. For example, the author writes, “Kingdoms, empires, churches,
armies have all been structured into hierarchies.” (120) This statement gives real life examples
of when hierarchies are used and helps the reader to understand how the narrator is thinking.
Another example is when the narrator refers to parts of a motorcycle that all interrelate in
patterns when he says, “The overall name of these interrelated structures, the genus of which the
hierarchy of containment and the structure of causation are just species, is system.” This tells the
readers that the hierarchy of parts and components form a motorcycle, or a system. So overall,
another one of the many themes that are brought up in the book is that hierarchies are found in
any system or structure.
D. Personal Reaction: The plot of the story is beginning to progress and grow into more of an
interesting storyline than in the start of the book when everything was just being explained. The
book is full of philosophy on sciences, technology, as well as the existence of anything and
everything. The plot and characters are only present in the story to give immediate examples and
references for the author to use while explaining his thoughts. I have definitely widened my
view of rationality; the author brings up reasonable points as to whether anything is rational or if
it just exists in your mind. The author’s thoughts and ideas are so farfetched and unbelievable it
is bewildering and obvious as to why I never wondered or came up with any of the possibilities
the author brings up. Overall, the book is gradually intriguing me, but is by no means an
entertaining read; it is more for education or speculation.

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Courtney Seto

A. Section Covered: Chapters 8-15 (pages 115-231)

one question: What is Quality?

any system or structure.

entertaining read; it is more for education or speculation.

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