I found Benjamin Hoff's "The Tao of Pooh" very intriguing. The way he was able to connect each character to a different concept made my understanding of Taoism much more clear. Hoff had an amazing ability to interpret Taoism in a creative way. Although I found the book interesting, my feelings towards Taoism changed when I was through. Before reading, I personally found Taoism appealing. Now that I've read the book I think the aspect of simplicity is exaggerated to an extent. There were many passages in the book that made me think Pooh's character was spacey more-so than simpleminded.
"All right, Pooh, what can you tell us about the Uncarved Block?"
"The what?" asked Pooh, sitting up suddenly and opening his eyes.
"The Uncarved Block. You know..."
"Oh, the....Oh."
"What do you have to say about it?"
"I didn't do it," said Pooh. (18)
He obviously did NOT know. Hoff, aware of the "stupid" stereotype, even says "simple-minded does not necessarily mean stupid" (12). However Pooh's conversations in the book had me second-guessing his statement.
I thought Hoff's critique of America as a culture of Bisy Backsons was spot on. There are of course exceptions, while lazy people DO exist, but in general America is an on-the-go society. "The chronic Backson always seems to have to be going somewhere, at least on a superficial, physical level. He doesn't go out for a walk, though; he doesn't have time" (96). Another aspect of American way of life that I interpreted from this quote was our desire to be more technologically advanced. Since we're constantly so "busy", it's hard to find time to do anything ourselves. Therefore we rely on technology to do nearly everything for us, and lose the simplicity in nearly everything around us. He also approaches our Backson society from a level of superficialness. "Now, one thing that seems rather odd to us is that the Bisy Backson society, which practically worships youthful energy, appearance, and attitudes, has developed no effective methods of retaining them, a lack testified to by an ever-increasing reliance on the unnatural False Front approach of cosmetics and plastic surgery" (106). The reality is American culture IS materialistic and superficial, hence taking the way the simplicity of even our own beauty. The Bisy Backson perfectly represents the American society.
Hoff made the connection of American and Bisy Backson society, however I don't believe Taoism is the "cure" to our "problem". Yes, there are aspects of Taoism that can benefit people, such as slowing down and living in the moment rather than checking off our to-do list as the day goes on. But the reality is our culture is extremely different, the Bisy Backson lifestyle is our way of life in America. While Taoism may benefit some, I don't believe it would benefit our society as a whole because we would lose the reality of our culture in a sense.
