Grades of Thinking

1060 Words5 Pages
“Grades of Thinking” In William Golding's essay, “Thinking as a Hobby,” we transcend from his past experiences to his present mind set. He categorizes humans into 3 grades of thinkers. When expressing his three grades, he manages to compare each one into a different statuette; the thinker of Rodin, The Venus of Milo, and a leopard. The Thinker in particular reminds me of someone close to me; my fiancé Cody. Golding states, "Beyond the leopard was a naked, muscular gentleman, who sat, looking down, with his chin on his fist and his elbow on his knee. He seemed utterly miserable." (162). Though Cody may not seem miserable, I find him sometimes so deep in thought, he can look so distraught. It puzzles me at times to see this but there is always an outcome to his thoughts. Just as there usually is with most grade one thinker. As Golding progresses though life he finds that nine tenths of the humans around him contradict themselves, proving their own thought levels to be of levels two and three. We see this when Golding mentions one of his teachers. "There was Miss Parsons. She assured us that her dearest wish was our welfare, but i knew even then, with the mysterious clairvoyance of childhood, that what she wanted most was a husband she never got" (164). She acts one way, but is lost in an unconscious thought. This is an example of grade three thinking; full of ignorance and hypocrisy (164). I find Cody to be quite the opposite of a level three thinker. He will not only let his thoughts be heard, but also acts upon them; unlike Miss Parson's in Golding’s memory. However at times I can see a small amount of level three thinking in Cody. The author writes, "We had better respect them, for we are outnumbered and surrounded." (165). He reflects on this thought for the world is filled with grade three thinkers. With the majority of the people shouting the same thing, they
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