“The Power of the Mind” essay

Practice response to unfamiliar non-fiction text

Essay:

The brain is a very powerful organ. It affects how we perceive and react to the world. One person’s fear may be the other’s playground. This is the case in ‘The Power of the Mind’ by Malcolm Gunn. In this non-fiction piece, Gunn explores how one thing (in this case the jungle) is experienced very differently by people, where his wife fears it and he loves it. To communicate this, Gunn uses techniques of structure, contrast and adjectives.

The text is structured cleverly to introduce the setting of the jungle through the perspective of Gunn’s wife, G. As readers we, like G, fear the jungle as it is described to us in a way that evokes fear and caution. Gunn has done this so that readers can feel and understand the feelings his wife was experiencing. We believe the setting to be scary in the first paragraph, as this is how it is presented to us. This causes a surprise when the text switches to Gunn’s own perspective on the jungle, who loves it, ‘this is as good as it gets!’ Gunn uses structure to set readers up for this contrast to emphasise the importance of perception, and the power our brain has in affecting it. If readers did not learn Gunn’s perspective, they would have continued to view the jungle as ‘a nightmare,’ but instead they quickly realise that the brain determines these individual responses and how different these respinses can be from person to person. As readers we get to experience a change in perspectives which makes us consider our own perceptions of things, and whether our brain’s natural fear or excitement responses give us the whole picture of what we are experiencing.

To show how the same thing can be experienced differently, Gunn chooses specific adjectives that describe the same thing in different ways, to show the contrast between how he and his wife experienced it. The trail is described, in G’s perspective, as ‘steep, slippery and unfamiliar.’ These words connote to fear and caution, which is the feelings G is experiencing. In contrast, Gunn did not seem to even consider this, as he is twenty metres ahead and ‘in another world.’ We see contrast when both Gunn and his wife experience wildlife brushing past their faces, as these events are described very differently. G describes the bats as ‘possibly rabid, probably diseased,’ which quickly shows her views and dislike towards the creatures. When one brushes past she assumes it is ‘no doubt a prelude to an attack.’ Gunn on the other hand, experiences a very similar scenario but reacts very differently. The insects that brush past him excite and intrigue him, as he thinks ‘this was as good as it gets.’ We see contrast again when the rainforest mist is described. G describes the mist as ‘sinister’, another bad sign of something worse to come. Gunn on the other hand describes the mist as ‘soft.’ These two adjectives describe the same thing very differently, which again shows the different perceptions people can have on the same thing.

Through the use of structure, contrast and adjectives, Gunn shows us that the brain can perceive things very differently to others, using him and his wife’s views on the jungle and wildlife as an example. By showing us two contrasting perspectives we consider how our own perceptions of things may vary to others. Some of us may be deeply afraid of the ocean while others absolutely love it. We learn that this is because of the amygdala in our brain, affecting our responses to certain stimuli. This non-fiction text delivers information about the brain to us in an intriguing and entertaining way, and makes us think whether our own fears and percpetions of things are true to the ‘big-picture.’ Perhaps if we could learn more about other perspectives and responses our own might change.