Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance is a novel about a man and his son going on a road trip. The narrator uses motorcycle maintenance as analogy for the separation between the two schools of thought. The classical, and the romantic. Robert M. Persig talks of this split in hope to have the reader find their own meaning of Quality. His friends, the Sutherlands , accompany the duo in the beginning of the road the trip. The Sutherlands represent the romantic school of thought and distance themselves from technology and prefer to take their motorcycle to a mechanic, whereas the narrator prefers to improvise and maintain his motorcycle himself.

The narrator’s train metaphor stuck with me the most. “Quality is the track that directs the train”. What Pirsig is trying to convey is when learning about something, it is important to see it as a whole (romantic) before deconstructing it into more manageable parts (classical). This method of taking into account the subjective and the objective is how we can measure Quality and therefore, appreciate art.

I can relate to the narrator and the Sutherlands disagreement, because I have a similar reoccurring argument with my older brother. He believes there is an undeniable “right way” to do the dishes. I don’t think of my brother as old-fashioned, he just has the more classical, systematic mindset. He cant stand to see me do something the “wrong way”. The narrator makes the point there is an infinite ways to go about something, no matter how systematic or single-faceted it might seem. This is where the classic and romantic meet.

The “Zen” part of the title comes into play with the narrator and his son’s hiking up the mountain. “To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here’s where things grow.” Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is at it’s core, a story about gratefulness. The message to take out of the book is to take life as it comes and enjoy the journey.