Way of the Peaceful Warrior Analysis

You might never expect a gas station to serve as the main setting of a novel, but in this novel it is… and it's quite a clear metaphor. Back in the 1960s, it was more common to have an attendant...

It's pretty straight: the narrator of this novel is Dan in the first person. He's there at all key events, all of which basically focus on his struggle to completely adopt Socrates' teachings. It's...

This is, quite simply, a self-help novel promoting Socrates' Zen-like philosophy as a cure for unhappiness. It mostly consists of two men talking about ideas on how to live life. Dan seeks to imple...

This is a feel-good book. There are laughs to be had reading about quirky Socrates, there's inspiration to be found in Dan overcoming his leg injury and finding unreasonable happiness, and there's...

The writing style in Way of the Peaceful Warrior is as empty of distractions as Socrates' mind must be. It just says directly what the author means, with little to no befuddling complexities of syn...

Way of the Peaceful Warrior. We've got two parts to that title, yes? There's the contradictory-sounding peaceful-warrior bit, and something about a "way."While we ordinarily think of warriors as to...

Warriors, warriors we call ourselves. We fight for splendid virtue, for high endeavor, for sublime wisdom, therefore we call ourselves warriors. —Aunguttara NikayaWhat’s Up With the Epigraph?A...

Dan slips away for a moment during his outdoor wedding with Joy, sees that Socrates' business card now reads Happiness, and feels his teacher is present everywhere—got it, great, but what does th...

This is a straightforward book aimed at a mass readership. You'll have no problem with it; in fact, you can probably breeze through in two or three sittings. There are some slightly confusing philo...

College Is Great, Except The DreamsDan is breezing through two years of college, getting gymnastics trophies, getting good grades, getting good kisses from Susie—all seems well in the world… ex...

Very soon after the story starts, Dan dreams of the frightening Grim Reaper beckoning him. Boom, there's our monster: Death himself. The dream hints that a white-haired dude is the answer to Dan'...

Dan, thinking he's happy but secretly fearing death, meets Socrates and, after some back and forth with himself, decides to learn his new teacher's way of life.Dan does all sorts of training and le...

The real Dan Millman had an impressive gymnastics career, including induction to the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame. (Source)The author is married to a woman named Joy, just as the fictional Dan ultim...

The whole point of sex in Way of the Peaceful Warrior is basically to show how it's yet another urge Dan has to learn how to control. There is essentially nothing said, for example, about the role...

Socrates (P.66): Ancient Greek philosopher; taught the wisest know they know nothingBuddha (P.255): Sage considered the founder of BuddhismQuasimodo (3.34): Hunchback from Victor Hugo's The Hunchba...