Devin Waite Ms. Morris May 2nd, 2024 AP Literature Challenging Human Assumptions of Animal Intelligence in "Remarkably Bright Creatures" Shelby Van Pelt's novel, "Remarkably Bright Creatures," tells the story of Tova Sullivan, a widow grieving the loss of her son, and Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus residing at the Sowell Bay Aquarium where Tova works. Through their unlikely bond, the novel explores themes of grief, loss, and the power of unexpected connections. However, beyond the heartwarming narrative lies a compelling challenge to traditional human assumptions about animal intelligence, specifically that of cephalopods like Marcellus. Using rich detail, poignant dialogue, and clever metaphors, Van Pelt not only grants Marcellus a voice …show more content…
As Frans de Waal, a primatologist and ethologist, argues in his book "Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?," acknowledging animal intelligence requires a shift in perspective, moving away from "human exceptionalism" and embracing a more nuanced view of cognition (de Waal 17). "Remarkably Bright Creatures" embodies this shift, showcasing the limitations of human understanding and prompting readers to consider the possibility that intelligence manifests in diverse ways across the animal kingdom. In conclusion, "Remarkably Bright Creatures" is not simply a heartwarming tale of friendship, but a powerful commentary on the nature of intelligence and the limitations of human assumptions. Through the character of Marcellus, Van Pelt challenges traditional views of animal cognition, offering a nuanced and empathetic portrayal of octopus intelligence. By granting Marcellus a voice and highlighting his complex cognitive abilities, the novel encourages readers to question the boundaries between human and non-human cognition and to reconsider our place within the natural
Tragedy acts as an antidote to human fallibility; it also warns individuals of the dire consequences of follies in a way that comedy cannot. It accentuates how a character of high rank falls from grace due to his or her character flaw. More importantly, the downfall evokes pathos, which results in the viewers’ emotional cleansing and purging. In Richard Van Camp’s short story, “Mermaids”, the main character “Torchy” is a native Indian who struggle to find a goal in life. To cope with the loss of his brother and his traumatic life, he abuses alcohol and drugs.“Mermaids” is not considered as a tragedy since the main character does not fulfill a noble tragic hero, he does not go through peripeteia, and the ending of the story does not let the
Watch out dolphins because you may no longer be the most intelligent animals anymore! Elephants, one of our lands largest creatures, are taking your spot! In the video, Elephants Show Cooperation, the article, Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk, and the passage, from Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Task, the authors illustrate the intelligence of these pachyderms. They all show an experiment that proves this claim. Elephants “join the elite club of social cooperators: chimpanzees, hyenas, rooks, and humans.” Their cognitive ability even surprises the researchers. They not only make wise decisions, but also work well with their companions. All three sources depict the sagacity of these remarkable creatures.
In “Don’t anthropomorphize inky the octopus”, Jacob Brogan offer an answer to us—anthropomorphism. That is, human tend to interpret animals by “turning them into distorted mirrors of our own experience and expectation” (Don’t, 23,24). The escape of the octopus, Broman illustrates, is anthropomorphized by the human as “breaking out of animal aquarium”, “reminiscent of Finding Nemo”, “a magician like Houdini” for our own plights. We don’t want to know and care what exactly how octopus thinks and how he finds the way to escape; we focus on how to reflect our willingness on their behaviors. Instead of anthropomorphizing them in human terms, Brogan logically demonstrates, we should understand these creatures by their own cognition, their emotion, their complexity even if they are different than us in some
Read almost any book by Margaret Wise Brown, and you will start to see some overlapping trends. Readers know when they are reading a work by this famous author without seeing the cover or title page because her works have so many similarities. The use of multiple animals and nature frequently appear in her books and serve as common ideas in literature by Margaret Wise Brown.
Helena Maria Viramontes’ “The Moths” I was initially drawn to Helena Maria Viramontes’ story “The Moths” due to the striking similarities between the narrator’s experience and my own. experience of being thrust into the role of caretaker for a dying loved. one. Then there is the. By tracking a young girl’s transformation through dealings with subjugation (through her culture), freedom (through her grandmother), death (through her mother).
In this example, two primates were placed behind either a transparent or an opaque screen. Between these screens was a banana and I learned how a primate reacted when approached with the option if he should go for the banana when put against a dominant primate. I was impressed that they didn’t engage in a brawl over the banana, but instead used thought in regard to hierarchy. This to me, without doubt, proves once more that primates are able to produce complex behaviors that relate to humans. Thinking like this insinuates that primates as well as creatures other than humans have the ability of using
The key difference between Walter Isaacson’s, author of “The Genius of Jobs”, and Carol Dweck’s, author of “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids”, perspective of intelligence lies in their thought of inherent ability; Isaacson believes that intelligence is a natural gift that can be expanded upon, but Dweck would respond by agreeing to a degree but believing that the beauty of intelligence lies in that expansion.
This book presents the relationship between human and animal behaviors and the behavior that is now created by our modern day society. The mind has two main parts. There is the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is the better half, yet it is potentially threatening; therefore, the conscious mind is aware at all times. The unconscious mind influences your behavior in many ways. Pi experiences both of these minds. Pi is consciously planning his survival and how he was going to spend his food, so he didn’t run out. His conscious mind contributed to Pi surviving at sea. Consequently, when Pi`s father fed a goat to a tiger to prove a point, he was unaware that this event changed his personality brutally. He became more
Alexa, a junior in college, shares her ideas on Intelligence. Intelligence is determined by motivation to do required tasks. Motivation is necessary to complete basic tasks such as doing homework. Also for completing difficult tasks. Which allows someone to learn new things, (Hietpas). Alexa explains the necessity of motivation to complete simple tasks. For an individual to be intelligent they have to learn new things. To be able to learn new things, one has to have the motivation to learn. In addition, if someone does not have motivation, they will not be able to learn anything new. Therefore, never having the opportunity to become intelligent. A mutual trait between intelligent people is wanting to learn new things. Taylor mentions her father whom she believes is intelligent without a lot of education, “[My father is] motivated to constantly be learning new things. He is not told, he wants to learn,” (Nelson). In the quote Taylor analyzed her father who only had a high school education. She explains that he is someone she considers highly intelligent. Intelligence is determined by motivation to learn new things and the tasks done in one’s free time. Taylor’s father is intelligent because of the motivation to constantly be learning new things. He chooses to learn new things in his free time and has the motivation to do so. Although, he might not have had as much traditional school as
Reaching into Thought: The Minds of the Great Apes, ed. A. E. Russon, K. A. Bard & S. T. Parker, pp. 257–77. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Traditional theories of intelligence do not account for the ambiguity of classes such as philosophy or for the wide range of interests a child can have. For example, contemporary theories such as Sternberg’s Theory of Intelligence and Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences both account for more than the general intelligence accounted for in traditional intelligence theories. According to Robert Sternberg’s Successful (Triarchic) Theory of Intelligence, are Hector’s difficulties in philosophy indicative of future difficulties in the business world? According to Sternberg’s Theory of Intelligence, Hector’s difficulty in philosophy will not negatively affect his future. Sternberg would instead focus on elements of successful intelligence like Hector’s involvement and contribution as an individual, as opposed to relying on intelligence measured by tests.
tells how an entire farm of animals can talk and think like human beings. It also tells you how
For many years the world has been divided into two distinct classes – the rich and the poor. But does this actually affect the way one notices the world? In the short story “Butterflies”, Patricia Grace portrays the different perspectives opposite classes have towards the world. In order to get her messages across the reader, Patricia Grace uses setting as well as literary devices such as symbolism, irony and metaphors throughout the story.
It is nearly impossible to say whether non-human animals are intelligent. Most studies, in this field of psychology, were carried out on primates, and it is thought that these animals are naturally superior. It seems most behaviour in the research discussed in this essay can be explained through association learning, therefore not actually a result of intelligence. It is difficult to falsify whether animals are intelligent or not because, although they are able to solve problems they only show some aspects to suggest ToM.
Although their minds are not as advanced as a human's, animals are still capable of thought. Frans de Waal, author of "The Whole Animal", feels that humans and animals are closely related, through anthropomorphism. I agree with anthropomorphism, but not with anthropodenial. I also disagree with Rene Descartes' statement that animals are machines, because just as humans have different individual personalities, animals of the same species also have different behavioral characteristics. For example, some cats are arrogant and rude, while others are kind and playful, just like people. Georgia, the chimpanzee who spit water on unsuspecting visitors, did not do this out of instinct. Instinct would have told her to swallow the water.