Perfume and We: Lack of Knowledge in Society
Perfume and We: Lack of Knowledge in Society
Knowledge is a vital importance to humanity, without it, there will be no humanity. It is the foundation of many things such as morality, emotion, skill, and many more. In the novels Perfume and We, there is a lot of satirical use to mock knowledge. Both authors of We and Perfume characterize society and the protagonist to mock the knowledge of society and make the protagonist a superior character.
Grenouille is the historic prodigy of Paris because he is “gifted” with a heightened sense of smell that he uses to make incredible perfumes. Baldini is a representative of society and is the untalented perfumer that gained success from Grenouille when he was hired to create perfumes for him. Not any of the artists in the book were as incredibly artistic as Grenouille and this is satirical because Grenouille is perceived as the wicked and ferocious character that lacks the enthusiasm of common success. Instead, Baldini uses him to become the best perfumer in Paris. This mocks the knowledge of society because Baldini lacks the capability to become a true artist as Grenouille or at least Pelissier, “The perfume was disgustingly good. That miserable Pelissier was unfortunately a virtuoso. A master, to heaven's shame, even if he had never learned one thing a thousand times over, Baldini wished he had created it himself, this Amor and Psyche.” (Suskind 36) Baldini was a desperate perfumer and desperate enough to mimic another perfumer’s successful product. In the book Baldini was characterized as a perfume-making fiasco, “Baldini would take of his blue coat drenched in frangipani, sit down at his desk and wait for inspiration. The inspiration would not come. He would then hurry over to the cupboard with its hundreds of vials and start mixing them haphazardly. The mixture would be a failure.” (Suskind 52) The comparison of perfumers and the discouragement of Baldini is the paradigm of knowledge in society.
In Perfume, Suskind
Knowledge is a vital importance to humanity, without it, there will be no humanity. It is the foundation of many things such as morality, emotion, skill, and many more. In the novels Perfume and We, there is a lot of satirical use to mock knowledge. Both authors of We and Perfume characterize society and the protagonist to mock the knowledge of society and make the protagonist a superior character.
Grenouille is the historic prodigy of Paris because he is “gifted” with a heightened sense of smell that he uses to make incredible perfumes. Baldini is a representative of society and is the untalented perfumer that gained success from Grenouille when he was hired to create perfumes for him. Not any of the artists in the book were as incredibly artistic as Grenouille and this is satirical because Grenouille is perceived as the wicked and ferocious character that lacks the enthusiasm of common success. Instead, Baldini uses him to become the best perfumer in Paris. This mocks the knowledge of society because Baldini lacks the capability to become a true artist as Grenouille or at least Pelissier, “The perfume was disgustingly good. That miserable Pelissier was unfortunately a virtuoso. A master, to heaven's shame, even if he had never learned one thing a thousand times over, Baldini wished he had created it himself, this Amor and Psyche.” (Suskind 36) Baldini was a desperate perfumer and desperate enough to mimic another perfumer’s successful product. In the book Baldini was characterized as a perfume-making fiasco, “Baldini would take of his blue coat drenched in frangipani, sit down at his desk and wait for inspiration. The inspiration would not come. He would then hurry over to the cupboard with its hundreds of vials and start mixing them haphazardly. The mixture would be a failure.” (Suskind 52) The comparison of perfumers and the discouragement of Baldini is the paradigm of knowledge in society.
In Perfume, Suskind