Reflection: The book just recently got to a point were I feel very engaged. The book has always been philosophical and made the audience ask questions, but I think that the last chapter really achieved its point. Hilde wakes up to a present from her Dad, a book which is the book we have been reading all this time, but now we are reading Hilde reading it so it raises a lot of questions. Are we reading a book about Hilde and Sophie in the same reality? Or are we reading a book about Hilde reading about Sophie’s life? Hilde reads about how Sophie keeps getting postcards from Alberto, Hilde’s Dad, to somehow make it to Hilde. But Alberto keeps mistaking Sophie for Hilde, so Hilde wonders if Sophie exist in her reality, not just the book. I lover this chapter because it truly made me think, what is real? Sophie and Hilde only continue to exist if we keep reading about them. What if I was in a book that someone is reading, do I stop existing when that person stops reading? This chapter made me want to keep reading, which is unusual for this book. I am curious to see if the story goes back to Sophie’s point of view, or we will experience the rest of the book through Hilde’s eyes. I am also curious to find out if Sophie exist in Hilde’s world or if she is only a girl in Hilde’s book.
Connection: I feel like this chapter in particular related most closely to Rene Descartes views. He was always in doubt of the world around him and that is the effect this last chapter has had. I fell very confused when I express what paradoxical story is happening in Sophie’s world; reading a book where Hilde is actually the one reading the story of Sophie where all along the audience thought we were the ones reading about Sophie, as if she was the real person and Hilde was a fictional person. But I feel as if the roles are reversed now, because we finally understand that Hilde is real and Sophie is the fictional character being kept ‘Alive’ through Hilde reading her story. This type of revaluation makes even me doubt my surrounds, us as the readers had such a quick change in the reality of the way we comprehend the book, Sophie’s World.I fell that if everybody uses this feeling to doubt ore in life, we would experience things better. We are we so quick to believe others, take them at their word, even if we trust those people its important to form our own opinions. I know this is an extreme example, but what if someone had questioned Hitler’s actions and motives sooner. Could he possible have been stopped earlier in his reign of terror? Its for reason like that That I think that this chapter is important in making its reader doubt, and apply that felling to their everyday life.
Honors Philosophy 