So I figured I should mention something about Flowers too so I’m making another discussion topic. In Flowers for Algernon Charlie grew both intellectually and emotionally. But it seemed as though his intellectual growth hindered his emotional growth. Do you think it is the same for “normal” people? Does our intellect obstruct our emotions? Everyone’s heard people say, “you think too much,” I wouldn’t be surprised if that exact phrase has been uttered to each of you. The question is, can you think too much? Are there certain aspects of life or situations in which you should simply follow your heart (for lack of a better term)? When should we allow our instincts to take over for our logical minds? How do these situations play into one’s coming of age?
I think Charlie's issue was ultimately rooted in his attitude rather than his intelligence. Intelligence and emotional connections are not mutually exclusive or diametrically opposed. What makes them seem so in Charlie's case is his lack of humility and his expectations. He expected the people around him to be as intelligent as he is and made them feel inadequate when they weren't. This is epitomized with his interactions with Alice and the way he distances her. Alice says, "Whenever I talk about something, I see how impatient you are, as if it were all childish. I wanted you to be intelligent...and now you've shut me out of your life" (124). It's not his level of intelligence that separates him from those who love him but his attitude and expectations. In this way, he certainly "thinks too much," valuing precarious intelligence over other equally valuable characteristics, like kindness and compassion. He values what people know over who they are.
ReplyDeleteI think that you can think too much. It's not so much being intelligent but more you just analyzing the situation and the possible outcomes instead of just diving into a relationship or whatever. I think there needs to be a balance between logic and your feelings. Sometimes a girl may seem special but she could be just skanking it up. There's always that story about "______ doesn't treat me the same anymore," and "oh i wish it could be just me and you." But when you do something she changes her mind and you lose a friend. There's where the instincts come in! If she has a boyfriend don't do it. You need to balance your emotional and analytical sides out so that you don't get stuck with a promiscuous partner and so that you don't turn down a female with relationship potential.
ReplyDeleteI have definitely been told before that I think too much, and in a way looking back I don't think that's always such a bad thing. Logic is necessary in order to see the red flags like Ricardo mentioned. Myself, can definitely say I've ignored a bunch of those especially lately. But is it even reasonable to logically trust someone? (a bit too much House, everyone lies)
ReplyDeleteAnd yet also I'm not sure where I stand yet either. I'm not exactly miserable with ignoring red flags. I'll let you all know when I decide I suppose.
As far as how instinct vs logic affects our rites of passage, I think that the key point in it is deciding what we actually want in comparison to what logic and practicality dictates. If we didn’t need to find that balance, I’m not sure we’d have coming of age moments.
Tying back to Adam and Eve, there's right and wrong, and there's innocence and knowledge. By eating the apple, they chose "wrong" and knowledge. I think part of what makes us human is being able to see the gray area between right and wrong. For that to work though, heart does have to play into it. Logically we'd always choose absolute no gray "right" otherwise wouldn't we?
"I think too much?"
-Danyelle W.
That's a very interesting take on it Ricardo. In terms of relationships I think over analyzing can be either be fatal to a good relationship or save you from a bad one. But like you said there has to be balance what you know/what you convince yourself to know, and what you feel; that's the hard part. I believe that coming to a point in your life where you've found that balance is a coming of age moment in itself. But how do we know when we've found it?
ReplyDeleteDanyelle, you bring up interesting point also. Everyone does lie, so I guess logically no, it doesn't make sense to trust anyone. But if we actually lived thinking that way I feel we'd be a very unhappy and even more paranoid species. And like you said, we have to consider the gray areas. Lying has gray areas just like anything else. Once again this is an issue of finding the balance between logic and emotion.
As for Charlie's case I agree with Alex as well, his attitude towards others (and his traumatic childhood) had more of a hand in making his relationships fail, as oppose to him simply over analyzing the situation. In my opinion arrogance is seriously threatening to a relationship.
We're all thinking about this too much. Don't worry, sobriety sucks like that.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't seem to me that Charlie's intelligence was hindering his emotional growth at all. Instead, it felt to me that it was only the fact that he was trying to embrace his massive change, which caused him trauma and made him emotionally invalid. As far as emotion and intelligence goes, I believe that intelligence isn't what affects emotions; however, it can affect how a person reacts to social situations. A more intelligent person is just as likely to be emotionally damaged as any other person, but intelligence often leads to arrogance and unwantedness (which isn't a word, I know.) That arrogance was definitely present in Charlie, which may have been mistaken for some of his lack of emotion.
I don't think Charlie's emotional growth was hindered by his intellectual growth at all, it was more about his attitude, in which case, it could happen to any "normal" person. Intellect can overpower our emotions when you listen to your brain instead of your heart. As for thinking to much, everybody does it, we can't really help it. I don't think there are situations where you should simply follow your heart. For a job, you need to make sure your going to make the amount of money to support the kind of lifestyle you want. Before marrying someone, you want to make sure they are the kind of person who is going to stick around and wants the same things in life as you.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with what everyone else has said in that Charlie was hindered by his attitude towards his newfound intelligence. He was warm and compassionate before he gained his incredible intelligence, but somewhere along the way to his peak that was lost. It was his attitude that hindered his emotional growth and made him cold.
ReplyDeleteI have definitely heard that phrase told to me on more than one occasion. I think it is just part of being human. We are rational beings and at times we will over think things. In the same sense, there are times when we will not think enough about the consequences of our decisions and actions.
Well, when people say, "You think too much," I feel as though they are often referring to a more emotional type of thinking. It is not uncommon to over-analyze your feelings or even misinterpret the feelings of those around you. I tend to do the latter, even though I know that there's no point in caring about what other people think about me.
ReplyDeleteWe all get caught up in our emotions far too often, and there's definitely an appeal in the concept of being able to shut our brains off. Sure, Charlie's intellect did hinder him, but it had a very indirect effect. Charlie's relationships with others often fell flat because of a sort of self-loathing. He was frustrated with himself about becoming frustrated with those who couldn't communicate on the same intellectual level as him.
...don't over think that. I'm still kind of half-asleep.
In situations where for some reason you can't choose between two options logically, I think it's a good idea to just go with your gut. Instincts aren't some random impulsive behavior, there's a reason they're there and I think sometimes people do think too much. Following your instincts sometimes isn't a bad thing, but overthinking a situation and stressing about it certainly is.
ReplyDeleteGood thinking allows a person to thoroughly analyze a situation. But the problem with that is that it brings up all the pros and cons and shows the difficult truth of all decision making: that there really isn't a clear cut "good" answer. If you really consider the matter, The more a person thinks about a subject, the more difficult the question becomes. So it then emerges, it really matters (the think vs instinct debate) depending on how much you care about the decision you make. If the consequences seem negligible, then an instinct based decision is fine. but for more important matters, a few minutes spent pondering the potential outcomes and other options could serve to be more beneficial in the end.
ReplyDeleteI believe intellect does hinder our emotional growth. As we learn more complex subjects, we forget about the joy of simple things and begin to over analyze even a simple gesture. Alex used the exact quote from the book that I was thinking of when I read this question. Charlie did not mean to undermine his fellow peers, especially not Alice. But with his new found intellect he wanted to discuss topics that he had been absorbing like a sponge, which is not impossible for others but very unlikely.
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