Flora

In the fictional memoir，Maestro, Peter Goldworthy illustrates the impossibility of reaching perfection. The protagonist, Paul Crabbe, uses ten years to fulfill his dream of becoming a concert pianist, but ultimately only to become an academic in Melbourne. His failure is caused by his flawed personality and his inherent human limitation. Paul’s teacher, Eduard Keller, the ‘maestro’, is a damaged individual. His high status in music does not give him a perfect life, as his wife and son are killed due to his insensitivity and false confidence in his own excellence in music. Peter Goldworthy shows that perfection in an ambition farfrom reaching through the characters’ struggle for it.

Paul’s arrogance and smugness indirectly hinder him from attaining perfection. He is an adolescent who is ‘spoilt’ and given ‘too much praise’. Thus causing him developing the egotism and self-centre which driving him refuse to accept Keller’s advice that ‘we must know when to move on. To search too long for perfection can also paralyze’. Paul redoubles his efforts to strive for success but finally‘ out of reach’ in the Dry. His arrogance pushes him to overestimate his musical ability and then ignores the fact that the ideal level is non-existent. Besides Paul’s arrogance, he also dares not recognize himself subjectively. When his mother Nancy wants to read Keller’s letter which ‘tore’ his performance‘apart phrase by phrase’, he lies he ‘ left it around here somewhere’. Paul’s lack of self-awareness and fear of making mistakes both prevent him from achieving perfection because ‘only the second-rate never make mistakes’. Peter Goldsworthy here demonstrates that Paul’s imperfect personality could make the perfection is tougher to achieve.

However, the major factor that renders perfection impossible to be achieved is the natural human limitation all the people should accept without choosing. Keller prods Paul more than once, drawing a negative image and telling him that he will never