How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
At six-fifteen in the evening she finished the book. I wonder if Joe got to the end of it? she wondered. There's so much more in it than he understood. What is it Abendsen wanted to say? Nothing about his make-believe world. Am I the only one who knows? I'll bet I am; nobody else really understands Grasshopper but me—they just imagine they do. (15.39)
Juliana happens to be right when she notes that Joe didn't really understand the book. (At least, Joe didn't seem to understand the role of the I Ching in writing this book.) But when she asks what Abendsen wanted to say, does it seem like the right approach to art? Should we approach a work of culture and ask "what are you trying to say?" as if each work had one thing to say? Or is that a good way to approach Grasshopper?