This week I
read The Stars My Destination by
Alfred Bester. My first reaction was my surprise at the unique quality of the
story even though it was written in 1956. Although the morals of the time
period are present (like how quickly Robin agrees to help Foyle even though he
raped her) the nuclear theme behind it all and the fascination with space still
feels very relevant to this time and I suppose has never died. The ending insinuating that
tinkering with nuclear weapons is to be fought and looked down upon resonated
with me really well. I feel even though Bester was from an earlier period his
projection through Foyle that once you have corrupt individuals with too much
power and access to such devastating weapons dooms the world to the point that
it must either be destroyed to abandoned. The biggest themes that the story
revolves around are the betrayal, revenge, and the finding of self-awareness
and faith. The betrayal of Foyle by Presteign, and by the end of the novel
almost everyone he comes in contact with, leads him to think that revenge is the
best route. After many attempts he finds that the revenge route never works out
for him or gives him the fulfillment he is looking for. The original poem by Foyle that is included
in the text when he is stranded in the beginning says that:
Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation
Deep space is my dwelling
place
And death's my
destination.
Toward the end of the novel after his spiritual journey he
comes to replacing the poem with this:
Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation
Deep space is my dwelling
place
The stars my destination
Through this we see him abandon the idea that he was a
victim of circumstance and take the reigns of his life and aim to make a
difference based on a set of ethics rather that letting his revenge consume him
and take away from his faith, which is the key to his later discover of
space-jaunting. I recently watched a talk by Eckhart Tolle on betrayal and I
find what he said was more than fitting. He illustrated that we must witness
our anger instead of letting it become us. Instead of saying I am angry because
this person betrayed me you say I have anger because this person was at a
lesser consciousness than I believe to be at an enlightened state. Once Foyle
lets his heart believe in faith he becomes embodied by it instead of his anger
and doesn’t let the situation affect his sense of self and thus cripple his
potential to be a hero to many people, which in the end he does achieve.
