Sunday, November 1, 2009

Adieu Mr. Simpleton!




The first time that I read the story of a certain Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde I was in my pre-pubescent age. I was fascinated by the story and also petrified at times, especially when I used to see the gnome like structure of Hyde, who seemed to lurk around, behind each curtain in my small apartment. My mind would wander of to the streets in London as depicted in the story and I would follow Hyde to all the nooks and corners while he went about accomplishing all his diabolic deeds. Even though I was not able to comprehend the hidden gist of story at that point of time, I must say that I really loved the novel, and it remained in my memory, so much so that I had the urge to read it again after a long time.

Why, am I interested in this particular story, well because I thought that we all face the same situation in our life at least to some extent, I have felt that at times we behave in a manner that we know is despicable and yet we oblige ourselves in doing it, we all have different personalities packed as one bundle into our mind and it plays around on its own, and often wreaks havoc with our normalcy, at times makes us heroes, villains, earns us enemies in short we all exhibit different personalities based on our surroundings, you may beg to differ, well of course you can, as these are just my thoughts!

Off late I found that I tend to fight a certain Mr. Simpleton in me who is being held captive by a certain Mr. Suave and I find that Mr. Simpleton is fighting a losing battle! Not quite long ago, the simpleton was quite dominant as he was not corrupted by the pleasures of the world, quite straightforward, ready to help, and as the name would suggest very plain & simple. He would work for the pleasure of learning more, for the thrill of developing new things, he wouldn’t be hesitant to make new friends , he was willing to travel anywhere at any given point of time by any means without giving much thought about class, creed or any other darn thing, his spirit was free, he was energetic and had zest that none could match. He did not have pre-conceived notion about others, neither was he judgmental about others to such an extent that would cause a detriment to the relationship. Mr. Simpleton was having a good time a pretty relaxed life, but he was not getting anywhere in life, apart from having a good time, he was pretty much stagnated in terms of career and growth while things around him seemed to change, but such a Simpleton was he that he was oblivious to these facts.

This was the perfect time; the time was ripening for a certain Mr. Suave who had been dormant, well not exactly dormant, as dormant isn’t the right way to describe Mr. Suave, may be he was in a deep slumber since the very day he came crying out his mother’s womb. All these years, Mr. Suave was acknowledging the activities of Mr.Simpleton and probably smirking at the poor Mr.Simpleton, he might have been saying to himself, Mr.Simpleton your days are numbered, as I will be quite influential and all prevailing for the rest of the characters life and I will make sure that the main character (Mr. Suave does not acknowledge the main character as the same entity, he is detached from the main character, if you are not able to guess who the main character is, well its non other than me/you/any other person around the corner! Pretty confusing, isn’t it?) listens to me for eternity.


True to his words Mr. Suave started to pull the strings, and that’s when it was the beginning of an end for Mr.Simpleton, no more does the character work for the pleasure of learning new aspects from the job, the character is scurrying around to meet targets and achieve deadlines and demands so that he might exceed expectation and win accolades, and it doesn’t matter if he tramples and subdues efforts of others, Mr. Suave has made sure that the character does all that’s needed to meet the goals by hook or by crook! Mr. Suave makes sure that the character travels first class, eats and wines from the very best places and it isn’t of much interest to Mr. Suave if the bill burns a hole in the characters wallet. Mr. Suave wants to be spoiled, and he will go to any extent to achieve his means. Mr. Suave is very choosy in selecting friends, and friend circles he wants to be polished in all aspects, follow all the latest trendy western, eastern, northern or any other culture for that matter,he just needs to make sure that he is following the in thing and he is always happening. Mr. Suave always keeps pre-conceived notion about others and even if he is wrong in his judgment, he is too haughty to let go of his notions, as a result he has a diminishing circle of friends! Mr. Suave always strives hard to make sure that he puts in a lot of questions into the characters life that is sure to make him feel insecure, coz Mr. Suave knows that if he has to survive then he will have to make the character writhe in an agonistically painful state of insecurity. Mr. Suave has an insatiable craving for all worldly pleasures, which keeps on growing with each day, and his craving is such that it does not seem to have a horizon.

Despite of all the uncongenial attitude of Mr. Suave which the character himself despises, the character is under the dictatorial rule of Mr. Suave, and unless the character decides to bring up a new personality who can juggle and strike a balance between the poor simpleton and the incorrigible Mr. Suave, the road ahead will be a dark and mystic one. If the character does not hear that waning feeble cry of our yester year simpleton then it’s an adieu to you forever Mr. Simpleton.

4 comments:

Sreejit said...

So which one is ruling you right now Mr. Suave or Mr.Simpleton??
:)

Good work! Subtle message brought out through this post. We keep changing and become more materialistic day after day.

Shabbu said...

Mr.Simpleton when you are single...rest guess it for yourself :) (applies to all)

jojyva said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jojyva said...

Oh my God!!!