The Lathe of Heaven Part Two pages 73-111: Orr Fights Back“He must act. He must refuse to let Haber use him any longer as a tool. He must take his

“He must act. He must refuse to let Haber use him any longer as a tool. He must take his destiny into his own hands”(74).

Isn’t this what most of us want? To be in control of our own lives, to not be bossed around, to create our futures in the way we see as fit, or as God meant them to be?

In the second section of The Lathe of Heaven Orr finally begins to fight back and question the morality involved in Haber’s actions. This quote brings the question of Orr’s destiny to his mind and makes him desperately try to rationalize the actions of his effective dreams saying that his “contribution to human knowledge was going to prove immense”(74) and asking himself if “his ends are good” (75) and “he wants to improve life for humanity. Is that wrong?”(75). I believe that this quote shows a shift in Orr from a passive to an active player in his life.

This quote about action demonstrates part of Orr’s internal conflict as he wonders if he is a “tool” or if he has the power to fight Haber and stop having his effective dreams. I was drawn to this quote because Orr’s definitive diction gives him the essence of having power and strong will, even if he is still only in the beginning stages of shifting from a passive observer of his life to an active player is his destiny. Orr uses the words “act”, ”refuse”, and “take” to show his new found assertion over the control of his life. These monosyllabic words are almost harsh; they are decisive and brilliantly describe Orr’s new mood of activeness. To portray the opposite side of his conflict, Orr uses the word “tool”. I feel that by describing himself in this way, Orr dehumanizes himself, but I also feel that it is a good description of Orr’s previous actions, as he let himself be used by Haber and as he states, “he had always done what seemed to want doing, the next thing to be done, without asking questions, without forcing himself, without worrying about it”(74). The original quote is a turning point for Orr as he decides to act upon his life and to fight back and not go to his therapy sessions. In a way, I think that this realization and new found assertiveness stemmed from Haber’s sessions. Even though the sessions are causing Orr mental and physical injury, they seem to be doing him good as they are helping him to realize that he needs to take control of his life.

The other night I attended the hypnotist show in the Campus Center and I found it very interesting as I had just been reading about Haber’s hypnosis methods. I felt that it gave me insight into what was happening in Orr’s world. Strangely enough, I also found myself trying to recall my dreams the next morning when I woke up, similar to how Orr recalls his dreams after his sessions with Haber.