10.) Enlightenment

Book Title: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Pages: 307-360 since last week; 617 since semester

Callie is growing up into an awkward teenager and she meets her best friend who she calls "The Object". In middle school, they go to their first party and bump into two boys who seem interested in them.

Jerome is The Object's older brother and he and Callie get into a tiny argument about genius. Jerome claims he's a genius but Callie says real geniuses aren't geniuses never think they're geniuses, that maybe if he stopped thinking he was a genius he would become one by accident. Re-reading this passage made me think of none other than our favorite topic: enlightenment. This page made me think of Siddartha so much I could hardly believe it. Callie's thoughts on genius are the exact thoughts of Siddartha on enlightenment. You can't find enlightenment by looking for it, it just has to happen. I agree with both Siddartha and Callie on both subjects, it all just makes sense. If you think you're a genius then you'll think everything you do is genius, and you'll just end up slacking off and not really being a genius. If you're looking for enlightenment, you'll always be wanting something, when the whole point of enlightenment is to be at peace with your desires. This whole concept of genius and enlightenment seem to go hand in hand.