Preview

Keller Was Bad For Me Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
989 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Keller Was Bad For Me Essay
“Keller was bad for me, the worst possible teacher.” Do you agree?

Keller, as Paul’s piano teacher, was both a positive and negative influence in Paul’s life. It would be understandable for Paul to feel as if Keller “was bad for him, the worst possible teacher”, judging from the way he later narrates his life. Keller’s mysterious past and renunciation of music ruled his teaching style, subsequently suppressing Paul’s musical passion. In spite of this, it would be more reasonable to believe that Keller’s teaching methods suited Paul at the time of his “youthful arrogance” and kept him grounded. It is only when Keller almost departs Paul’s life entirely, that the adult Paul begins to realise and appreciate Keller for the great “Maestro” he was.

First impressions can often be misleading. Not used to being critised and having very disciplined lessons, Paul initially refers to Keller as a “Nazi”, failing to understand the word for what it really meant. However, Keller’s overly strict teaching style was not entirely professional. It was the result of
…show more content…
Keller was inclined to teach Paul “everything [he was] able to learn” and Paul was determined to become a “concert pianist”, to attain the unattainable and be the “one in a million”. Paul would practice and practice, “playing till [his] hands ached”. Keller reassured him that it was not about winning, as “you never win by much”. For Paul to have advice and from someone of such distinction, would be considered an achievement in itself making Keller an impressive teacher in this sense. Although Keller realised that Paul could never be the best, he tried to save Paul from the misconception and asserted that it is better “a small hurt now than a wasted life”. In this, Keller’s repertoire of skills and advice benefited Paul during his youthful years and as a grown man, making him a good

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the novel Paul’s parents both share a deep passion for music. They both have different thoughts on music which is shaped by their life experiences and contrasting personalities. This is highlighted when Paul is describing his parents relationships towards music,…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The role of teachers in Hesse’s exceptional work of fiction is to aid in the achievement of the ultimate knowledge, while not taking the pupil directly there, instead giving him the skill set necessary to achieve what the student, in…

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shine Human Condition

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages

    This part of the human condition has greatly affected David, as he, much like his father, can't let go of the past. We are presented with two extremes of David's reflections on his childhood, his success and mentors and his father. Ben, later David's piano teacher, is first introduced to us as a judge at a local competition. David's piano career begins from that point, as his reflections started from there. Although Ben was always arguing with Peter, he could not overpower or influence him in any way and this was shown by the physical height difference between the two men and Peter's large over powering voice. Many shots were also taken from relatively high angles, to minimalise Peter so the audience can clearly tell who is the dominating of the two. In the reflections, David is always repeating, echoing his father's words in a trusting way where he believed every word he said was true and sacred. We hear the same lines again " David, you are a lucky boy" and " no one can love you like me" but the older wiser David reluctantly repeats them in an untruthful tone. From this we can tell David, who has been stuck in his childhood reflections for so long has finally let go and moved on with his life. The music played in the reflections also indicates to the audience David's acknowledgement and ability to differentiate between the good and bad. When he spent time with Katherine, the music was light and peaceful yet when he was at home, the music was dark and suspenseful. From David's reflections, we learn not to dwell in the past, but rather learn from the mistakes as he has and move on. This component of the human condition enables us to self-correct and rediscover ourselves and people affecting our…

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mr. Gibson’s insights were very helpful on a human level. The instructor viewed us both as students as well as young adults, something a great deal of instructors struggle with later in their career. His focus on teaching explained this as well. When he said ‘To help others is the most selfish thing a person can do.’ it became apparent how wise this man was. Mr. Gibson to teaching because…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maestro is a novel which primarily focuses on the study of human relationships. Considering such, characters within the text are very unique and differ in personalities. On the surface, it is a study of two people, Paul and Keller - a complex portrait of different yet similar individuals. Paul's central relationship with Keller changes as he matures and begins to understand his teacher. Their relationship can be viewed as both enriching…

    • 801 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    classical education (Quantum,181). At the age of 13 due to his mother needing money, Peter Paul became a page to Countess Marguerite de Ligne-Arenberg. However, Peter Paul did not want to be a page, instead he was interested in painting. He learned how to paint by copying Tobias Stimmer’s illustrations (Neret, 93). And he was then granted the apprenticeship under a landscape artist named Tobias Verhaeght. Peter Paul was talented and this was noticed by many, he was soon able to apprentice under a reputable, devoted Classic, Otto van Veen.…

    • 2601 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This quote shows the physically demanding nature of boxing. Courtenay presents music to be just as demanding as boxing. Doc mentions to Peekay that he must first learn to love music and then only would Doc teach him to play the piano. This quote implies the learning curve of music and how it is needed for Peekay to produce music of a high caliber. This learning symbolizes the idea of the “Power of One” and how it is…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maestro is written in the first person with an adult Paul, the main character, reflecting back over his life. It begins with Paul and Keller’s first meeting and they are both presented to us as rather arrogant and insensitive. However, when the adult Paul then interjects into his story about how he can understand that it might be incredible to believe that he came to ‘love this man’, his gruff music teacher the reader is brought to the realisation that there is a lot more depth to those characters and to their emotions than we might have previously thought.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Daniel Barenboim

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This was a great Lecture of Daniel Barenboim, I enjoyed the way he talked about everything, I enjoyed the way he talked and played the beginning 'Tristan and one of my favorites movies, reminds me of Romeo and Juliet.. And he seemed to have a great sense of humor, a lot of laughter. I liked how he used this to his lecture “Already in infancy the child is more often than not made more and more aware of what he sees and not about what he hears. And it is also, let's face it, a means of survival. When This makes it very understandable. I also liked this part of the lecture “I think that many musicians, professional and student, could get a lot more out of music than they do now. I think that in the end a lot of what made them start with music is forgotten, and it becomes a, er a, a pattern of life instead of a way of life.” In the end, we decide what we want to hear or what we want to listen too, sometimes we need to appreciate all those notes we hear, because if you really think about it in the end, not a lot of people are lucky like you and I.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dead Man S Path

    • 954 Words
    • 3 Pages

    denigration of “the narrow views” and ways of “superannuated people in the teaching field,” he…

    • 954 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Franz Joseph Haydn

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Franz Joseph Haydn is a composer who elevates the purposes and accomplishment of the Classical period. Possibly his greatest achievement was the fact that he established and advanced in many perceptive ways and the most significant organized notion in the memoir of music. He was a perfectionist in the set of expectations regarded as sonata form which made a massive impact. In As many as hundreds of sonatas, stringed quartets and symphonies, Franz broke both new ground and supplied durable models, as a matter of fact he was one of the creators of the fundamental genres of the classical music. He influenced later composers in an immense way. His most renowned student, Beethoven was the immediate recipient of Franz ‘genius musical imagination. Haydn’s shadow prowls within the music of some composers like Brahms, Schubert and Mendelssohn.…

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    PİANİST

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Pianist’ is a cinematic masterpiece by the Polish director Roman Polanski. One of the key ideas that appear throughout much of the film is that of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’. This idea is portrayed through Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish pianist, as he struggles for survival in Warsaw as everybody that he once knew and everything that he once had is lost. The idea of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’ is worth learning about as it allows the audience to realise the importance of hope in todays society – and to understand how Polanski uses music to symbolise ‘hope’ for Szpilman in the film. Polanski effectively utilises an array of visual and oral text features such as music, dialogue, and lighting to build further emphasis on this theme.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Pianist Essay

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages

    ‘The Pianist’ is an honest depiction of the events that occurred during the Holocaust, through the eyes of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jewish concert pianist living in Warsaw, Poland. As the movie starts we see him in a radio studio beautifully playing the piano. But then the tanks start shooting, the bombs start falling, and the studio is damaged. He can no longer avoid the rapidly escalating situation. Germany is invading his homeland. His time as a concert pianist and radio performer has come to a sudden end. The first half of the movie focuses on the impact of the war on him and his family’s lives and the suffering of others, whilst the second half purely revolves around Szpilman’s struggle for survival and the hope in which he draws from music. Polanski heavily emphasises this idea, getting across the message that Szpilman would not be alive if were not for the hope in which he holds to – even if at times if at times it is by a tiny thread.…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It was during my early years of teaching when I truly realized that indeed teaching has never been an easy task. It is always paralleled with drawbacks, challenging responsibilities and unswerving demands of the job. It is twinned with orders, circulars, and memorandums which are bound to be followed and implemented. It is in fact, a profession which requires a certain degree of commitment, patience, service-orientation, level-headedness, and docility of heart to perform the tasks/responsibilities expected of it.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gladwell writes about a study done in the 1990s by psychologist K. Anders Ericsson that separates an elite music school's violinists into three groups, the stars the good ones, and the ones likely to be music teachers, Gladwell also compared professional and amateur pianists (Gladwell 11-12). In both of these groups the violin stars and the piano pros had put in 10,000 hours of practice to get to their level. The ones who were only good, likely to be music teachers, or amateurs had put in substantially less than 10,000 hours of practice. If you don't put in the work you won't become a master at your craft. Gladwell later writes, "The striking thing about Ericsson's study is that he and his colleagues couldn't find any "naturals," musicians who floated effortlessly to the top while practicing a fraction of the time their peers did. Nor could they find any "grinds," people who worked harder than everyone else, yet just didn't have what it takes to break the top ranks" (Gladwell 12). This states that anyone who puts in the time can become a master if they want. Gladwell quotes psychologist Michael Howe's book Genius Explained, "by the standards of mature composers, Mozart's early works are not outstanding" (Gladwell 12). Even Mozart was not born a master composer and it took him just as much time as anyone else to become great. Gladwell uses lots of evidence to support his claim…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays