Reflections after reading "The Biography of Balzac"

In the past few days, after reading "The Life of Balzac", I both admire and regret Balzac, but I can't like it. Now I will talk about Balzac from several aspects.

First of all, Balzac is great, but he is not the kind of holy and unattainable saint. Reading "The Biography of Balzac", I feel that he is a real person with all human desires. But why can he stand out from ordinary people and become a presence that cannot be ignored in the history of mankind and world literature? The following is a summary of Balzac's success factors and obstacles that I summarized from his life, which may be useful for other readers to learn from.

1. Factors for success:

(1) Dream. Balzac determined his dream of being a writer very early and worked hard for this dream throughout his life. Because he had a dream of being a writer, after leaving school, he refused the life path and career path planned for him by his parents, and would rather choose to rent a loft alone and write in poverty and hardship.

(2) Confidence. Balzac always believed in his own wisdom and ability, believed that he would succeed, and believed that he would write works recognized by the world. Even when many people didn't think highly of him, even when his family had no confidence in him, or when his first work was criticized and criticized, he never doubted his ability.

(3) Work hard and never give up, read a lot in order to realize your dreams, carefully observe and analyze the people and things around you, record what you see, hear and feel, actively enter various circles, and understand the behavior of various groups of people. Life outlook, accumulated materials. I write diligently, often going to bed at six o'clock in the evening, getting up at twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, and working for 12-15 hours at a stretch, or even longer. In order to refresh myself, I created my own unique way of drinking coffee, which not only requires a high concentration, but also brews it with cold water and grinds it using a special process. After drinking this coffee, he felt stomach cramps, but he was inspired by the cramps, so he wrote furiously. When his initial works were not recognized, he adjusted his creative direction according to social reality. Keep trying various themes and getting involved in various fields. That's why it finally succeeded.

(4) Always have high standards and strict requirements for creation. Even if you are forced to hide from your creditors, even if you are wanted, you will work hard to write to pay off your debts, and you will never lower the standards of your works. His creation speed is very fast, and sometimes he writes a work in one night, but it must be a work that he is satisfied with. However, in order to speed up and satisfy his flying inspiration, his handwriting was very illegible, which increased the difficulty of proofreading and printing. The workers in the printing factory had a headache with his manuscript, and he himself had to bear the heavy workload of printing. Repeated proofreading work. He hired young writers several times to help him write, that is, he dictated and the hired people wrote, but the hired people were quickly scared away by the pace and intensity of his work. They all said that Balzac It's Superman.

2. Obstacles to success: The goal is not focused. On the way to the goal, you are often tempted by other things, thus distracting your energy, and you may even forget your original intention.

Although Balzac had a clear goal, he was unable to restrain his desire for materials and his habit of spending money lavishly. He was always heavily in debt. In order to repay the debt and meet his financial needs, he could only work hard Make money writing.

Although he was talented in the early days, his ideological system was not mature enough. What he wrote could not arouse readers' interest in reading, and he was not recognized by the industry. In order to make money, he joined Some writers have to write fast-food, commercial, and shoddy things. In these works, although his excellence was revealed from time to time, they were not what he wanted, so at this time, his works were all written under a pseudonym. Later, he was ambitious, because he believed in his ability and wisdom, and wanted to make a lot of money. He even got involved in business and acquired a publishing house. He wanted to print books by himself and acquired a type foundry. However, he had no money and cooperated with others. , because he was kind and didn't know how to manage, so he suffered a huge loss in the end. Unable to repay his debts, he went into hiding in a remote place to write, leaving the mess for his mother and old lover to clean up.

The most incomprehensible thing is that every time he suffered a disastrous failure in business, he could not learn from it. When a new "opportunity" appeared, he was still full of passion and bold investment. As a result, Every time he did a business, he added a debt, and until his death, the debt was not paid off.

After 1930, he had become somewhat famous. He published books and wrote articles for magazines. His annual income had reached more than 10,000 francs, but he was still deeply in debt. Because he needs to be well-dressed, well-fed, well-housed, and has to go to various high-society gathering places, high-end hotels, etc. The most outrageous thing is that he also bought a horse, and the cost of raising a horse is already very high. Then he bought a carriage, hired a coachman and a follower, and also bought a very exquisite silver cane. It also costs a lot of money to go on a date with the noble Marchioness. Moreover, even during the period of hiding from debts, every time he hid in a new place, he must decorate the newly rented place luxuriously according to his own wishes. As a result, the debts increased, even though he was a very prolific writer. I worked hard to write, but the money I earned was far from enough to pay off my debts. When the creditors came after him and he couldn't cope with it, he invited his old mother to come out to clean up the mess for him, while he hid and wrote.

Moreover, he always chased married women, sometimes maintaining relationships with several people at the same time and corresponding with each other for a long time.

These experiences enriched his life experience and provided a lot of material for his writing. But it also consumed a lot of his energy and time and hindered his progress towards his dream.

This aspect of him reminds me of Teacher Xue Mo. Although both of them are masters and both determined their dream of being writers very early, on the way to realizing their dreams, they both Individual paths vary greatly. Teacher Xue Mo kept his eyes on the target and kept moving towards the goal. The temptations along the way could not make him deviate from the course, so Teacher Xue Mo calmly realized his dream, and Teacher Xue Mo sublimated his personality and followed his own path. Willing to do things that benefit everyone calmly. However, Balzac was always led by desire and had to write desperately to pay off his debts. He damaged his health and passed away early.

? Secondly, Balzac’s strengths and weaknesses are also very distinct. We can also learn something from him.

(1) Advantages: Kind, smart, optimistic, imaginative, clear goals, diligent, studious, and forward-thinking.

When he was a child, his sister made mistakes and was punished by her mother. He took the initiative to take responsibility for his sister and was punished for her. If you do business in partnership with others, when the partner finds that the business cannot be profitable, he transfers the equity to him, and he fully accepts it.

Despite many setbacks and failures, he still quickly got rid of his depression. Even if he was heavily in debt, he could still enjoy himself and write, and he was always confident about the future. Always have faith in your ability to pay off your debt and live the high life.

He has an extremely rich imagination and often regards imaginary things as reality. He is also often whimsical and sometimes regards imagination as reality. When he fled to a very simple little house in the countryside and the surrounding environment was relatively poor, he was able to imagine the house and the surrounding environment as a palace and a manor, and in his imagination, he imagined the barren and steep open space around the house. It is full of valuable crops such as grapes.

(2) Disadvantages: squandering, vanity, insufficient understanding of oneself, not being emotionally dedicated, not being filial to the mother, always causing trouble to the mother, and being unable to understand the mother's difficulties. Indifferent to my little sister.

Despite being heavily in debt, every time I rented a new house, I still refused to lower the standard of decoration, purchasing curtains, carpets, wallpapers, etc., and always ordered high-end clothes on credit. Entering high-end places. When I see something I like, I can't control my desire to own it, so even though I write for many years with an intensity that is unimaginable to ordinary people, and the productivity and quality of my works are unreachable by ordinary people, after I become famous, my works are published in various newspapers, magazines and publishing houses. , the speed of making money is still not as fast as the speed of spending, so the debt is increasing.

He dreamed of getting rich and invested in a business that he was not good at. After losing money and going bankrupt, he soon wanted to join politics and run for parliament. Anything other people said could make him think wildly. invest. He portrayed many successful businessmen in his works, but in reality he himself was never a qualified businessman. He dedicated his business wisdom to the characters in the book, but he failed miserably in reality.

Every time the business failed, my mother was left to clean up the mess. My mother is already old, and in her later years, she lost a large amount of pension after her father passed away, and her savings were invested in pension savings by her father who was confident that he would not die but died, so the economy is very tight. Every time he evaded debt, he not only asked his mother to clean up the mess, but also asked her to send him money to squander (to meet Mrs. So-and-so), and he couldn't understand his mother's complaints.

The younger sister Laurence was married to a libertine by her parents. Not only did she lose all her family property, but she also had to pay off her debts. Her sister had not received the love of her family since she was a child, and she had no love for her after she got married. Happy, depressed and ill, he returned to his parents' home to escape debt and recuperate. Balzac did not comfort his little sister any more. She did not receive the warmth of her family and died young.

The kindness to sister Luo Er was limited to the troubles she faced when she was a child. When they grew up, although the two had a good relationship, it was Luo Er who took care of his brother most of the time - giving him money when he had no money, and going to live with his sister when he had no place to live. Balzac gave Laure very little. But the relationship between brother and sister has always been very good, which is rare.

Finally, let’s look at some of Balzac’s works.

Balzac wrote many works, which were finally collected into "The Comedy Humane". In his own words, he was building a magnificent building. Some of the early works were building blocks and some were architectural decorations. After he came up with the idea of ??building this building, many of his works were produced one after another. According to the ideas of this talented architect, they were either beams, columns, or foundations. Different from building a house, he almost always works on several works at the same time, and these works are different parts of the building. Each part is excellent in itself, and the building combined according to the designer's ideas is also magnificent. Spectacular.

(1) "Donkey Skin", the novel uniquely uses a donkey skin to symbolize the contradiction between human desires and life, and uses this to summarize his life experience and philosophical thinking. It tells the story of Valentin, a young man from an aristocratic background who went bankrupt and threw himself into the social scene. When he was desperate and ready to commit suicide by drowning, an antique dealer gave him a magical donkey skin. This donkey skin can fulfill any of his wishes, whether they are good or evil thoughts, but once the wish is realized, the donkey skin will immediately shrink and his life span will be shortened.

Reveals that "human desire is like a donkey skin. The more we desire, the less life we ??have!" Balzac himself is like the young man in the novel, excessively consumed by desire. His life was shrinking rapidly, and Balzac's life soon came to an end. He was only 51 years old when he died.

(2) "Old Man Goriot". Goriot Goriot was a flour merchant who started his career during the French Revolution. He lost his wife in middle age. He devoted all his love to his two daughters. In order to squeeze them into the upper class, they were given a good education since childhood. When they got married, each of them was given a dowry of 800,000 francs. The eldest daughter was married to Count Lesdo and became a noblewoman; The banker Nucingen became a rich wife of the financial bourgeoisie. He thought that if his daughter married into a respectable family, he would be respected. Unexpectedly, within two years, his son-in-law regarded him as a dirty and despicable person and drove him out of the house. In order to gain their favor, Old Man Goriot reluctantly sold his shop, divided the money in half and gave it to his two daughters, and then moved into the Vauquer apartment. The two daughters only wanted their father's money, but now Old Man Gao has no money. When Old Man Goriot had no money, his youngest daughter asked her father to give her twelve thousand francs to save her lover. Old Man Goriot suffered a stroke because of his helplessness. During the illness, the two daughters never After seeing him until his death, his two daughters and son-in-law were not present, and only two empty cars were sent to attend the funeral of Old Man Goriot.

After reading the life of Old Man Gao, I am heartbroken but at the same time, I must understand that people should not base their hopes on others at any time.

(3) "Eugenie Grandet"

Grandet is the richest and most prestigious businessman in the city of Sol, France. He took advantage of the revolutionary situation in 1789 and various means to increase his property fabulously. Grandet is very stingy and has a set of financial management skills. In order to save money, his family did not buy vegetables and meat for a whole year. The tenants delivered them to him, and the heavier housework was done by the maid Na Nong. In the twelfth lunar month of winter, he is reluctant to light a fire to keep warm, and he usually deducts pocket money from his daughter and wife.

Before old Grandet died, he asked his daughter to put gold on the table. He kept staring at it with his eyes, like a child who just knew how to watch. He said: "This makes my heart warm!" Finally he called Eugenie and said to her: "Take good care of everything! Come over there and give me an account!" The priest came to perform the last rituals for him. , brought a gold-plated cross to his lips and kissed him. When Grandet saw the gold, he made a terrifying gesture and wanted to grab it. This effort cost him his life, and he died.

Old Grandet has been stingy, a miser, and calculating all his life. He has never truly loved anyone, nor has he ever experienced love with his heart. No matter how much money you have, it is the same as having no money. You cannot take anything with you when you die. What is left to future generations is nothing but ridicule.

And his daughter Eugenie Grandet inherited her father's huge inheritance. Because she loved her cousin who had the same greedy and selfish character as the old Grandet, she never got a happy marriage. She initially made a private life-long arrangement with her cousin, and devoted all her resources to helping him realize his dream. However, her cousin broke off the relationship with her in order to pursue aristocratic women, but was hindered by his unwillingness to bear the debts of his late father. Eugenie, knowing her cousin's ruthlessness, still married one of the many suitors on the condition that she would pay off her cousin's debts and only in the name of husband and wife but not in reality, so that her cousin could live a happy and honorable life. She herself lived in seclusion, lived a pious and loving life, and "went to heaven accompanied by countless good deeds and righteous deeds."

From a worldly perspective, Eugenie is unfortunate, but because of her tolerance and kindness, she has no resentment in her heart. She doesn't care about her own efforts, she only wants to see the one she loves. people can live happily. And magnify this love and lend a helping hand to other people in need.

Eugenie is happy and peaceful, and she pays without expecting anything in return. Without hope, there is no disappointment. The wealth of the soul is the real wealth. Otherwise, no matter how much money you have, you will still feel that it is not enough and you will always be chasing. At that moment, I remembered that I had not lived the life I wanted for a day. Some people never understand the true meaning of money until they die.