Why The Dude Abides

We love the Dude because he embodies, effortlessly, a peaceful, fluid way of life in the face of people who are literally and figuratively paralyzed. So when the Dude famously says that he “abides,” the word choice is important. He doesn’t “remain” or “continue” or “acquiesce,” since those are intransitive verbs. Even if he doesn’t finish the sentence, he has to abide by something, and that something is his own transcendent, all-embracing spirit.

Chris at A House of Lies has been counting down the 25 greatest characters of the last two decades, and his latest entry tackles Jeffrey Lebowski. There was really no way I wasn’t going to link to his discussion of the Coens, “The Big Lebowski” and how the Dude succeeds in failure. (Longtime readers — and people I know in the real, non-Internet world — know that “The Big Lebowski” holds a special place in my heart. A spectral image of the Dude adorned the top of this site before the last redesign.)

I’ve previously linked to his quest to figure out the most ’90s movie of all time, which I highly recommend. Just follow his blog, actually.