Chapter 10: A Colorful Symphony

The group (Milo, Tock, Humbug, and Alec) run through the forest. The author describes how the sunlight leaps from leaf to leaf, sort of echoing how they are running through the trees. Alec has difficulty, as he is able to see through things and keeps crashing into trees that he’s looking through. Amusing.

The humbug asks if they are lost, and Alec says no. They know where they are, they are standing right there. He says some stuff about being lost. It’s hard to recap because it’s kind of confusing. He thinks that being lost is not about knowing where you are, it’s about not knowing where you aren’t. There are a lot of double negatives and the more I read it the more confused I get. Alec doesn’t think they are lost because semantics. I get it. Sort of. He doesn’t care where they aren’t. I actually get that part a lot.

Anyway, the point is moot because there is a small house. Milo and Tock decide to go ask “the giant” who lives there where they are. The giant is normal sized. He tells them to walk around back and ask the midget. The same man answers and asks them to go see the fat man around the side. The fat man tells them to go see the thin man. It’s the same guy. The shortest giant, the tallest midget, the thinnest fat man, and the fattest thin man. He offers advice as all four because he’s ordinary and no one wants an ordinary man’s opinion.

I suspect if this were written today the fat man and the thin man might be replaced by the rich man and the poor man. But maybe not. 

The ordinary man ponders the “are we lost” question and finally tells them that it’s hard to tell if you are lost than if you were lost.

There’s more, and it’s pretty good life advice.

Milo and Tock return to Alec and the Humbug. Milo asks about people living in the forest, and Alec tells them that they live in a city called Reality. They go look at it. It’s beautiful and shining, with silver paved roads.

Only that’s not Reality, that’s Illusions, which is, in fact, an illusion. Because Reality disappeared when no one appreciated it. Everyone walks around as fast as possible with their heads down so they can get where they are going faster.

Alec opines that the most important reason for going from place to place is to see what’s in between. Milo realizes that he can’t remember things on his street anymore.

Eventually Alec tells them that some people live in Reality and some people live in Illusions, but

“It’s just as bad to live in a place where what you see isn’t there as it is to live in one where what you don’t see is.”

And guess what? The only way you (I guess they mean Alec) can have one city as easy to see as Illusions and as hard to forget as Reality would be for someone to bring back Rhyme and Reason! More reasons for Milo to work on his hero’s quest!

Milo and his group of friends leave Reality (which you can’t see) and enter a different part of the forest. The sun is setting and there is an enormous orchestra. At least a thousand musicians. The conductor is tall and gaunt. There is an illustration of him, which I suppose is helpful. Alec helpfully points out that you don’t listen to the concert (because, even though they are playing, no sound can be heard), you watch it. They are playing the sunset. (They also play all day and night, and weather. All the color in the world comes from them)

The conductor’s name is Chroma. He shows Milo that if everyone stops, all the color leaves the world and it looks like a coloring book. Chroma asks Milo to wake him up at 5:23 for the sunrise.

Thoughts.

This is a longer chapter than the others, or maybe more happened? I haven’t been keeping track of pages so I’ll just say that it seems longer.

Milo’s conversations with Alec is one of the more memorable parts of this book, for me. I remembered as a kind thinking that the world would disappear if no one looked at it, but it never did. Also, the city of Illusions seemed very beautiful. I also remember the ordinary man. But I never really grasped the meaning of it, as a child. Just thought it was amusing that someone could be so average and yet somehow market himself as all four. Pretty funny for a weird 10-12-year-old.

Alec’s unchanging perspective seems nice but also created a lot of problems for him. I’m sure the crashing into trees that he can’t see because they are right in front of his face means something more. Also, Alec is the one who points out that other people have different perspectives.