"Yes, a little too able; they were right. A mental excess had produced in Helmholtz Watson effects very similar to those which, in Bernard Marx, were the result of a physical defect." (p. 67; Brave New World, Aldous Huxley)
Helmholtz Watson is an Alpha plus in the book meaning that he is at the top of the society; he is very smart. To me it seems that he knows much more than others, maybe even more than he's supposed to. Those kind of people sometimes seem like a threat to society because you never know when they might use that knowledge for something bad. The way this relates to me is that there are people out there who "know it all" and those kind of people tend to be cocky sometimes. I'm not saying Helmholtz is cocky but from a book I've never read before I don't know what to expect. Who knows what Helmholtz will use his knowledge for or if he'll even use it to his advantage or not. In our society the know-it-all's sometimes take advantage of opportunities and I'm just wondering if Helmholtz will be one of those that if he sees an opportunity he'll take advantage of it. Helmholtz also is capable of getting all the women he likes but oddly enough, he does not. He's different from everyone else and in a way he's an outsider. Sometimes I feel like an outsider but I never feel like an extremely smart person like Helmholtz is.
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You should feel like an extremely smart person though. I hate the fact that everything is always going to be based on grades. However, that is the way life goes. But you shouldn't forget that the fact that your at Chinquapin a College Preparatory School does make you smarter. Out of all the kids that have applied to be in our school you're still here. You are smart and you should never doubt that. If you went back to public school you would be one of the brightest their. Never doubt yourself because that can ruin you. Like in Brave New World, Helmholtz doubting himself isn't working to his advantage. He feels empty and in this "perfect" world that might cause him problems. Don't you think the world controllers might notice his suspicious behavior? He has to learn to believe in himself even if inside, where he will be safe, he knows he's different?
ReplyDeleteDo you think that we sometimes presume that people are cocky when they are just talented or good at something. Maybe they are just confident?
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