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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Robert M. Pirsig Book Review

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Plot Summary of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
"A writer of technical manuals and his young son travel in company with a married couple on a motorcycling holiday across Mid-Western America. Along the way he reflects on the nature of existence and is haunted by memories of his past life."
Stephen Coombs, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - very sensitive (sigh)
Time/era of story - 1960's-1970's
Internal struggle/realization? Yes
Struggle over - nature of existence (heavy philosophy)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental Yes
Eccentric: - mentally ill - deluded - emotionally unstable
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - society

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 8 (a significant amount)
United States Yes
The US: - Midwest
Misc setting - resort/hotel

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards - a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies


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Robert M. Pirsig Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Stephen Coombs  

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