Forming a Closer Relationship

As I read further into The Soloist, I have come to feel as if I know Nathanial one on one as a person. Although he can sometimes be a little hard to read, after finding out a few more tid bids about his background, I am now able to connect with the character of Nathanial. In this review of chapters 13-22 I will talk about some key factors that really stood out to me and that I felt were major changes or important key ideas.

First , in chapter 14 Lopez says “ Not that I would ever diminish or romanticize a dreadful illness, but anticipating the possibility that this will forever be his life ,and looking for an excuse to leave him to his ways, I find myself what might sound like a strange question. Is he happy? “That one quote stroke up a major topic that was discuses in the rest of the chapter and in my opinion could stand as a question that would be a follow up on a theme of the book. This book has a person who has hardships coming his way left and right, but still manages to be happy. In most people’s eyes other than his, it cannot be understood why or how Nathanial is satisfied with how he lives life. This book makes you realize that it is on the person themselves to decide what will make them happy at the end of the day. In my opinion I do think Nathanial is a happy soul and even though he had to put up with his disease that he forcefully encountered, as long as he has his passion Nathanial will be satisfied. He does not care about the riches or the surroundings around him and that is what makes him different and makes Lopez ask the question I stated above. Because Lopez can somewhat see that Nathanial views things differently than many others, he sticks with him.

Next, in these chapters Nathanial’s family life and previous years were shared with us. He had a normal life, where everything was fine and well rounded, but once his father left them and went to California, Nathanial seemed to have been effected. He was too young when this happened to even realize why it all took place. He missed his dad and felt like he lost his mother because she took him and his sisters and moved them in with the new person she was seeing. The stress of losing her dad, feeling a lack of attention from his mom, and dealing with a new living environment that he didn’t even like, really added a lot of stress to Nathanial’s life. In my opinion, these family problems added to his hard life style and may be one of the reasons he lives how he does now. Although I know that his disorder is a big part of how he lives and I don’t blame the family splitting completely, I still think the burden that he put up with was unhealthy for him and had a long term effect. My idea seems to be supported by his teacher William Moon’s daughter in chapter 16 when she says to her father that "maybe Nathanial wanted to make Mr. Moon as proud of him as he was of his own daughter.” This shows that in the prime years of Nathanial’s life, he didn’t have a father figure to look up to or to impress with his great talents. This would take away some happiness form anyone’s life.

Last, the improvement that was shown throughout these chapters is amazing. Nathanial actually referred to Lamp as his place. Taking passion to anything other than his god Beethoven, his instruments or the tunnel was not heard of in the previous chunk of chapters. In my opinion seeing a little improvement doesn’t mean that things are all better, but if things are done one step at a time and fall into place, success will most likely come out of it. I can actually feel the excitement and vibe that Lopez probably got in his stomach when he witnessed Nathanial stand up for himself and say to James in chapter 19 “ I didn’t quit anything . This is my place. “At the end of part two of the book, Nathanial actually accepted a deal and is sleeping in his room, B-116, three times a week. For this we can thank Lopez for sticking by him.

In conclusion, these chapters always had something new coming for them whether it be a story, background knowledge, a success or a hardship. These chapters really made things in the book a lot more relatable for me allowing me to better connect with the book .

* check for : thoroughness, clarity, and thought out ideas