After returning from the trip, Eric finds himself performing the exhausting task of threshing during the unbearably hot summer days. This may be one the first times that he begins questioning the need for labor-saving motorized devices. I find kind of ironic that Eric spent all those years at MIT, getting his education, only to be subjected to this strenuous type work that an agrarian community entails, lifestyle that he chose for himself. Eventually, he rationalizes his lack of endurance as being caused by the fact that he lost his ability to cool himself down after being in air-conditioning during his trip. He gradually acclimatizes himself to the environment and is able to perform the work alongside the other men; getting lost in conversations, the physical tasks become automated without him even realizing it.
Toward the end of the chapter we can see that Eric is not only a good observant of characters, but also of nature. He says that wealthy westerners that feel the need to escape the frustrations of modern life by traveling to exotic locations could just as well rely on changes in weather for daily variety. While weather changes do bring variety, I don’t believe they are quite as relevant as seeing new places. Looking at it from a religious standpoint, why wouldn’t the Menonites be curious in visiting other beautiful places that God created?
1 comment:
That is a good question. You would think that they would want to see everything God created. How about the ocean? PA is not on the ocean, I wonder if they travel to New Jersey!
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