Bob Dylan

As I'm rapidly reading this summer, I just finished a biography of Bob Dylan entitled Down the Highway. I immensely enjoyed the book, as I heavily adore Dylan as an artist.

My main concern, not with the book but with the content, was that Bob is and was consistently unfaithful. Even before he was at all famous, he was cheating on his girlfriend with multiple women. And then, with his rise to fame, cheating was ridiculously easy, as he drove in a large fanbase of women who were lining up to be with him.

To tell you the truth, that really effected my perspective on Bob Dylan. I think it's a common understanding that any artist or famous person has easy access to sex and drugs, but I guess I just hope that some people can resist the many temptations that Hollywood has to offer. Maybe I sound a bit crazy, perhaps because I have not tasted the delights of fame, but I would like to believe that people can be faithful out of the goodness of their hearts.

Am I being too harsh on Dylan, or can we not blame him?

Honestly, how can we say that it is okay for Dylan to cheat if we condemn people in our personal lives who stray from their partner? Don't we look down on that in society? If a friend tells you that his/her boyfriend/girlfriend cheated on him/her, wouldn't you, commonly, advise to ditch the relationship? So why would it then be okay for a superstar?

Despite my quick rage against Dylan's behavior, I very much still respect him as a wonderful creator and artist. He is a beautiful lyricist, song-writer, and painter (I recently learned from the book). A very multitalented man, he is consistently creating more and more artistic creations that baffle my mind. He is brilliant, and still performing, nonetheless. I can only wish that I could generate so much creative energy to put to productive use that I could, too, create such beautiful masterpieces as he has.

I will end by attaching a painting of his, a self portrait: