“All of us have one of this in our self that we should overcome it. – he meant Oblomov “
You might have heard of Oblomov. It’s the name of the main character of a novel with the same title by Ivan Goncharov, a Russian writer. The book was written to satirize the social and economic status of the Russian society in mid-nineteenth century, but the character of Oblomov – the main hero- came out so meticulously that it managed to bring a universal, every-one-accepted justification for all the laziness in the universe! The primary purpose of the novel went into the margins, but the main character turned out to be one of the most favorable ones to bookworms, especially lazy ones.
Do you think the current generation- youth aging 18-30 – is “lazier” than the previous generations? Before trying to find out the answer to this question, let’s see if we can find a reliable definition for laziness! In the entry of lazy, Oxford Dictionary reads: 1) unwilling to work or use energy 2) showing a lack of effort or care. Checking some other dictionaries I noticed that the physical aspect of laziness was more concerned .It seems that the denotative meaning of lazy and laziness is in accordance with our parents’ idea of the term. But that’s at variance with what we – the considered culprits – think of it.
We – the current youth of this country – who are famous for spending hours sitting in front of the pc, are regarded as idle and inactive couch potatoes not going into streets to experience life and society. But I do claim that we are much more experienced than our parents when they were at our age. Much of this is owed to technology. In fact, that is the twofold function of technology that has confused the previous generation. Laziness does not lead to progress, but progress (improvement of technology) leads to laziness. That’s a separate matter and I’m not intending to raise a second question here. Let’s get back to ourselves.
We – the fast food generation, as they call us, – sometimes show slight symptoms of the era’s illness. Seems paradoxical to what you’ve read before now?!Don’t judge soon, keep on reading please. Do you have any justification or explanation for the half – read, never-read books and novels in your library, the disordered pack of CDs need to be labeled, the never- coming Saturday to start studying your lessons or going to the dentist, the sometimes impossible detachment from bed especially too early in winter mornings – the “nows”, “just a seconds”, “tomorrows” and the like that never come and keep us zeal for them. If that is not laziness, then what is that?
To me, it is a devil drive in our body (or our soul maybe, not sure of its place!) that sometimes overcomes the life and spirit of juvenile and prevents us from working. It’s just not being in the mood to do something. But that’s very different from laziness. The laziness our parents are speaking from is sort of an inborn habit that is going to live with us till the end. To them, we are born lazy – unlike them – and are doomed to live lazy and die lazy. That’s why they are trying to kill the Oblomov inside us by sending us to different classes and using various techniques. Will it work? NO! I don’t think so! Laziness is not something to be limited to age, gender or place. So let’s requestion the question raised in the beginning of the third paragraph. Sometimes even our parents and all those other people who negate laziness, like to spend a lazy day. Don’t believe me? Ask the nearest adult person next to you if (s)he ever wished to sleep late till noon or not!
The youth’s laziness – if we can believe in such a trait – is more mental and related to that devil drive. It’s neither an acquired habit, nor an innate characteristic. So, the next time you want to label someone lazy, give it a new consideration and then say it. Let’s rewrite the title, We Are Lazy, *But* not in the sense you believe in.
* Gazette's 5th issue is updated. pay it a visit id you wish. I'm sure you'll enjoy it :-)
The Dream of Tibet / Faribaa Vafi
You might have heard of Oblomov. It’s the name of the main character of a novel with the same title by Ivan Goncharov, a Russian writer. The book was written to satirize the social and economic status of the Russian society in mid-nineteenth century, but the character of Oblomov – the main hero- came out so meticulously that it managed to bring a universal, every-one-accepted justification for all the laziness in the universe! The primary purpose of the novel went into the margins, but the main character turned out to be one of the most favorable ones to bookworms, especially lazy ones.
Do you think the current generation- youth aging 18-30 – is “lazier” than the previous generations? Before trying to find out the answer to this question, let’s see if we can find a reliable definition for laziness! In the entry of lazy, Oxford Dictionary reads: 1) unwilling to work or use energy 2) showing a lack of effort or care. Checking some other dictionaries I noticed that the physical aspect of laziness was more concerned .It seems that the denotative meaning of lazy and laziness is in accordance with our parents’ idea of the term. But that’s at variance with what we – the considered culprits – think of it.
We – the current youth of this country – who are famous for spending hours sitting in front of the pc, are regarded as idle and inactive couch potatoes not going into streets to experience life and society. But I do claim that we are much more experienced than our parents when they were at our age. Much of this is owed to technology. In fact, that is the twofold function of technology that has confused the previous generation. Laziness does not lead to progress, but progress (improvement of technology) leads to laziness. That’s a separate matter and I’m not intending to raise a second question here. Let’s get back to ourselves.
We – the fast food generation, as they call us, – sometimes show slight symptoms of the era’s illness. Seems paradoxical to what you’ve read before now?!Don’t judge soon, keep on reading please. Do you have any justification or explanation for the half – read, never-read books and novels in your library, the disordered pack of CDs need to be labeled, the never- coming Saturday to start studying your lessons or going to the dentist, the sometimes impossible detachment from bed especially too early in winter mornings – the “nows”, “just a seconds”, “tomorrows” and the like that never come and keep us zeal for them. If that is not laziness, then what is that?
To me, it is a devil drive in our body (or our soul maybe, not sure of its place!) that sometimes overcomes the life and spirit of juvenile and prevents us from working. It’s just not being in the mood to do something. But that’s very different from laziness. The laziness our parents are speaking from is sort of an inborn habit that is going to live with us till the end. To them, we are born lazy – unlike them – and are doomed to live lazy and die lazy. That’s why they are trying to kill the Oblomov inside us by sending us to different classes and using various techniques. Will it work? NO! I don’t think so! Laziness is not something to be limited to age, gender or place. So let’s requestion the question raised in the beginning of the third paragraph. Sometimes even our parents and all those other people who negate laziness, like to spend a lazy day. Don’t believe me? Ask the nearest adult person next to you if (s)he ever wished to sleep late till noon or not!
The youth’s laziness – if we can believe in such a trait – is more mental and related to that devil drive. It’s neither an acquired habit, nor an innate characteristic. So, the next time you want to label someone lazy, give it a new consideration and then say it. Let’s rewrite the title, We Are Lazy, *But* not in the sense you believe in.
* Gazette's 5th issue is updated. pay it a visit id you wish. I'm sure you'll enjoy it :-)