The Same River Twice, Second Segment

In this specific segment of "The Same River Twice" i found that many stories, quotations, and ideas showed different sides of Chris' personality. To begin, on page 54, it talks about a Greek named Heraclitus. In his day, Heraclitus was known for the quotation "you can't step into the same river twice." In the book, it shows how Chris valued this quote and believed it to be true, showing differences in feelings and thoughts between himself and his neighbor. Chris, on one hand, shows qualities in believing that everyday is a knew day, involved with new experiences, opportunities, and choices. This is further proven as he remarks how the water is different everyday, and the "water surrounding one leg is not the same as around the other leg." The neighbor, on the other hand, "has no use for ideas" as stated by the book. He performs the same activities everyday, having no options or sense of new and adventure.

The next set of personality traits i noticed Chris to have involved sense of sincerity and innocence. This was first seen as the doctor took some amniotic fluid out of the baby. After seeing this, Chris almost fainted, and after leaving the hospital "apologized to Rita's belly for the invasion." In this quotation, invasion refers to the baby's physical space. Chris feels bad for intruding and taking what was not his, showing his love and care for his child. Another quote that i found interesting stated, "Female mosquitoes land on my skin, needing fresh blood for their young." To me this quote shows his unselfish and caring nature, relating a mosquitoes baby to his own. In most cases, an individual would have killed the mosquito landing on their skin, but Chris felt that it was only fair to allow the mother to care for her child just as he was caring for his.

The final personality trait i noticed of Chris involved his sense of adventure, and possibly his personally feeling of not belonging and fitting in. This was seen as he simply moves from one area to the next, moving from job to job and city to city. To me, this shows how he is not scared to start over or acquire a new scenery and feeling of change. At the same time, it proves that he does not fit in and bond with people of each either, leading to the idea of Chris possibly having awkward and unappealing characteristics.

Overall, as of right now i have enjoyed this book more than the others in the class, as it is an easier read and to me more interesting having more of a realistic feel.