Fostering Intelligence through emotion?

And so comes the beginning of the end. Unfortunately my turn into badassery was disrupted by the fact I am simply not one. So as a result of this, the WOW word of the post will continue.

This word comes courtesy of those who are easily managed and controlled. Tractable, a great sounding 3-syllable word is also a trait most desirable in company workmen.  An example of this would be, “The Company valued tractable demeanors in their employees.”

Moving on to the topic of this post, today’s blog pertains to commencement address written by David Foster Wallace and its relation to the writings of Alice Munro. In his essay Wallace argues the importance of emotional intelligence as being the true hallmark of knowledge as without it our lives are rendered banal and routine. The joy of understanding others allows us to see the world in a new light and no longer through a lens that sees ourselves as being the center of the universe but instead as apart of collective society that is in need of mindfulness. This essay was of great interest to me as it develops the lesser-known idea of emotional intelligence. The idea of empathy, most commonly confused with sympathy, doesn’t refer to sharing in someone’s sadness but instead being able to understand what someone else is feeling and partake in whatever that is with them.

This being said, the question is however, “How does this relate to the writings of Munro?” The connection the two share is actually quite interesting. The writings of Alice Munro seem to capture the essence of human life without having specific intentions or plot lines that are always resolved. Her stories seem to be quite cryptic with deep, underlying messages. This much like David Foster Wallace’s essay drives home the fact that life isn’t a fairytale and doesn’t have an elaborate climax but is instead entirely dependent on the way we react to the circumstances we are placed in. Our freedom is in the way we choose to act. Alice Munro builds on the idea of emotional intelligence through her writings as the reader is exposed to a variety of different emotions displayed through her various characters and is given the opportunity to relate to them. Seeing the way they react towards their situations allows us as readers to imagine ourselves in that position giving us the perspective of others. This encourages mindfulness as the world is no longer seen selfishly but instead a mindful towards those around us, seeking to understand just what those, around us, are experiencing.