Convictions

In lieu of an abstract, we present the first paragraph of the piece: I’ve always had trouble picking favorites, or even just deciding between the lesser of two evils. A middle child, I instinctively try to make peace, find a third way rather than choose sides. I can obscure the issue with academic language or pretend a scientist’s discomfort with claims of certainty. The data do not appear, at this time, to wholly refute the hypothesis; further study is likely warranted. I can tell myself there’s virtue in discerning shades of gray, grace in recognizing the saint and the sinner in each of us. And yet I think of Monty Python’s telling of Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail, the king and his knights crossing the Bridge of Death, the bridge keeper asking Sir Galahad a simple question: “What is your favourite colour?” To which Sir Galahad replies, “Red. No, yellow!”—and is cast into the Gorge of Eternal Peril.1 For the weakness of his convictions, perhaps. I laugh because it’s funny, and also because it’s unsettlingly true.

Wang, Bryan Shawn. "Convictions." South Central Review 38, no. 2 (2021): 156-161. doi:10.1353/scr.2021.0011. Published by Johns Hopkins University Press, © South Central Review.

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Work Title Convictions
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Open Access
Creators
  1. Bryan Shawn Wang
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Project Muse
Publication Date 2021
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. 10.1353/scr.2021.0011
Source
  1. South Central Review
Deposited September 22, 2022

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