Light being reflected by the shard of mirror that Dr. Papaderos had collected, can mean many things. The light can take on literal as well as figurative, metaphorical meanings. The mirror itself can reflect a message. Dr. Papaderos' intrigue with light and the mirror while using it to explain is answer to the 'meaning of life,' demonstrates that there is in fact symbolism in the light.
The Oxford Dictionary definition of light is: "the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible." During Dr. Papaderos' childhood, he would reflect light into "deep holes and crevices and dark closets." In that instance he is literally illuminating dark places. He is seeing into dark places, or rather getting rid of darkness, which would surely comfort him as a child during the war. The definition of light has commonly connoted that the phenomenon of light is only the electromagnetic radiation that allow us to see the physical world. However, perhaps one should interpret the definition a little differently. 'A natural agent stimulating sight,' could mean a lot of things. Light could be something that allows one to see into the emotional or spiritual world. Dr. Papaderos mentioned that 'light' allowed him to see into the hearts of mean, "With what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world - in the hearts of men." In this case it would be a way for him to see aspects of the world for what it truly is.
The light can also be a representation of good. That representation has been used throughout history, countless religions use it ceremoniously. In Hinduism it is divine represents the goddess of prosperity. The Parsi people viewed fire, a form of light, as a representation of righteousness. There is also the internal principle of light which speaks of the constant battle between light and darkness. Dr. Papaderos' reflection of light would thus symbolize the spreading of goodness, purity, hope, etc, or rather what the good doctor said, "truth, understanding, knowledge," which emulates 'the good.' The spreading of light would mean that darkness, ignorance, hatred, etc are gone. The last sentence of Robert Fulghum's account, " And then he took his small mirror and, holding it carefully, caught the bright rays of daylight streaming through the window and reflected them onto my face and onto my hands folded on the desk," implies that the Dr. is illuminating him, making Robert open to a new perspective and making him more knowledgeable. Perhaps it is also giving him hope that he could actually find a serious answer to his quest for the meaning of life.
Moreover, the concept of good, the content of light, is extremely subjective. If Dr. Papaderos said he wasn't the source of light but rather a medium for it's reflection, wouldn't that mean he is taking light from someone else and redirecting it? When a beam of light shines down onto something, illuminating it, and you place a mirror in the beam's line to redirect it, the original object becomes shrouded in darkness. As a boy, Dr. Papaderos would be so consumed with illuminating the dark places that he would have never noticed the fact he was making already bright places somewhat darker. That translates into the fact that the Dr. maybe be one too concerned with the fact that he should spread light, or rather his perception of what's good, that he can overlook the fact that others may have have their own values. Also, that while he is trying to incite good among the bad, he may be forgetting to continue shedding light on the already illuminated. In this case this case the light symbolizes ones values.
Well done, Josh! 4++
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