Zorba the Greek Essay Example for Free

Zorba the Greek EssayThe narrator has been cumulating knowledge for decades, but finally realizes that only emotions can catalyze it and turn motionless knowledge into active. Another significant spiritual belief, expressed by Zorba and at first rejected by the narrator is freedom, including the absence of redundant social bonds. Zorba has worked quarrier, miner, pedlar, potter, comitadij, santuri-player, passa rate hawker, blacksmith, smuggler (Kazantzakis, 1953, p. 47). In addition, he spent several years in prison, committed cruel crimes (killed people of other ethnicities like Turks and Kurds). In addition, he use to simplify his social problems and therefore find correspondingly easy solutions All the problems which we find so complicated or insoluble he cuts through as if a sword, like Alexander the Great cutting the Gordian knot (Kazantzakis, 1953, p. 48). On the contrary, the narrators commitment to society is unquestionable, as he at first characterizes Zorbas life as primitive boldness (Kazantzakis, 1953, p. 48) and therefore seeks to preserve his reputation. Thus, he believes that humans freedom in social interactions should cause no harm to the persons reputation.To sum up, the author suggests that the combinations of Zorbas and narrators beliefs is likely to create a socially productive and committed personality, who, however, realizes their feature freedom and can allow emotions drive his acts sometimes. Although the writing suggests that Zorba as a self-sufficient and to great extent asocial personality hasnt altered by and by a number of sincere dialogues with his Boss, the narrator, after the philosophers death, feels Zorbas worldview has penetrated deeply into his consciousness and shaped a new lifestyle.The refinement of the narrators pattern and the establishment of reasonable balance between his former beliefs and Zorbas ground-breaking teachings indicate that the lifestyle should be approached holistically, since, in human beliefs , such natural harmonies as those animated between body and soul or between mind and emotion are the fundamental preconditions to the true fulfillment.Works citedKazantzakis, N. (1953). Zorba the Greek. New York Simon and Schuster.