He seemed to recoil, as a man might who thought to
push aside a gauze curtain and found it to be a granite door. [p. 145]
This is not the first
time that Orr has been described as solid. The first one to observe so is
Heather, earlier when she sees Orr in her office. The fact that Orr is
described as a rock is so interesting. Unrelenting force, an obstacle, symbol of
something eternal, nature, calamity, common place, and not opinionated are just
few of the descriptions I would use for rocks and they all seem to fit Orr
well. It reminds me of what somebody said about Orr, being a possible play on
words for ore, a rock containing minerals, normal on the outside, but special within.
I mean, Orr is often portrayed as being more solid, more strength than
originally perceived. The novel slowly changed out of perspective of predator/prey
relationship since Orr started to make his stand known. This is a crucial
moment of the story because we finally see Orr say no! Yay! Again, Orr is
portrayed as a great obstacle in this case, or an unexpected weight. It is kind
of like how Haber did not expect Orr to have such a strong opinion against the
use of the e-state to change the world. Actually, this all reminds me of
another Taoist perspective of water. Water can be perceived as weak, malleable to
any form, but has the power to carve rocks. Orr, though he has dutifully
following Haber’s instructions and perceived as prey multiple times in the
novel, is able to find within himself to stop Haber, give him advice to stop
himself, in the end. Actually it is scary how much Taoist ideas are immersed in
this novel. Slightly off topic, but according to Lao Tsu, a wise man knows that
sickness will turn him sick before he actually gets sick, kind of like Orr who
knew this was all wrong from the start while Haber had to, in the end, go
cuckoo. But anyhow, this all shows Orr’s amazing prowess! I am rather proud of
him to finally emerge out of his panicked shell and showing his calm, serene
self that believes in “self is universe”
I really like your analysis of Orr as a rock and how that describes his nature. I agree that Orr is the last, hidden obstacle that Haber has to face before he can gain complete power. Haber doesn't think of Orr as a hurdle; to him, Orr is merely a means to "correct" the world. Haber thinks of Orr as an onion (with only layers and no core) and a goose that lays golden eggs. It's painfully obvious that Haber only wants to use Orr, and I too loved that moment when Orr finally stood up for himself.
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