The Presence of Absence
This past week I learned that absence is what highlights the presence of a being or object. The paradoxical
meaning of these two words explain so many of the emotions that we experience when it comes to presence
and absence. One’s presence is always appreciated more when he/she is absent. Although the aurora of a
person may move others and fill the entirety of the space around them, the comparison of his/her absence
with when he/she was present is far more impactful. Pain, sorrow, and suffering are the reactions to
someone’s disappearance due to the fact that now the person’s presence will never return. Phrases like
“you will always be with us” are constantly used when someone passes away to remind people that the
absence of that person is what becomes the presence of their absence. In the Postcards from the Trenches,
Booth states, “A corpse can be understood as representing the conflation of absence and presence, embodying
proof both that a person is here and will never be here again.” She explains the true meaning of a corpse- a
symbol for the literal presence of the person as well as the absence for the person’s soul and character. I found
it interesting that there was a duel meaning behind what seemed to be only related with absence. It made me
feel so grateful for all of the people in my life and how lucky I was to be in their presence.
meaning of these two words explain so many of the emotions that we experience when it comes to presence
and absence. One’s presence is always appreciated more when he/she is absent. Although the aurora of a
person may move others and fill the entirety of the space around them, the comparison of his/her absence
with when he/she was present is far more impactful. Pain, sorrow, and suffering are the reactions to
someone’s disappearance due to the fact that now the person’s presence will never return. Phrases like
“you will always be with us” are constantly used when someone passes away to remind people that the
absence of that person is what becomes the presence of their absence. In the Postcards from the Trenches,
Booth states, “A corpse can be understood as representing the conflation of absence and presence, embodying
proof both that a person is here and will never be here again.” She explains the true meaning of a corpse- a
symbol for the literal presence of the person as well as the absence for the person’s soul and character. I found
it interesting that there was a duel meaning behind what seemed to be only related with absence. It made me
feel so grateful for all of the people in my life and how lucky I was to be in their presence.
Here’s my first song recommendation:
The song is written as a tribute to actor Paul Walker who passed away in a car accident in 2013. The lyrics
of the song are extremely meaningful and heartbreaking, and I thought it perfectly fit with the idea of
absence emphasizing presence. Make sure to give it a listen and tell me what you think :)
Okay first of all I just want to say that it's pretty cool how you're tying each post in with a different song. For me, the song kind of tied what you were saying into the real world even more, because this is a song that most people would probably recognize, and listening to it after reading your post and learning the meaning behind it took your ideas and tied them to something I was familiar with, which I think added even more meaning. I like your explanation for the meaning of a corpse- how it isn't just a dead body that is put in the ground because of sentimentality, but it remains as a constant reminder of the person who died and their impact on people. Looking forward to more of your posts!
ReplyDeleteI really love the idea of bringing together a whole song to the idea of what we talked about this week in class. Regarding your section on the paradoxical idea of absence and presence, it made me think about how different people in my life have come and gone, and it's interesting that absence of someone doesn't just mean they've died. woo go esther
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