An Analysis Of Maggie Nelson's 'Great To Watch'

How people decide what to do on a daily basis may seem like their own choice, but that idea is challenged upon by another. Seeing how ideas not just come from the inside, through thought, but by all the details and others around us shows how surroundings deal with how choices are made. People are easily influenced by other ideas that flow in and out every day because of the fact that others support the ideas. People want to feel wanted and based on that, these surrounding take over someone’s thoughts and makes them think differently. Maggie Nelson, author of “Great to Watch”, lists how messages from others and surroundings flow into our ideas to make sense of understanding why choices are made. Malcom Gladwell’s “The Power of Context” relies

Just hearing what people say can change how your outlook on life differs, whether in a small or big way, from what was once thought. Even with the phrase, in one ear and out of the other plays a role into this verbal cue idea. It explains how even though phrases are said, they cannot be picked up by the person listening, so they do not remember what is said. But, even with that thought of just forgetting words that come in, they do stick within our minds. That is what words do, they are said and soaked into the brain of who have heard them and whether they remember them or not, the words hide within and affect the action that are made daily. Maggie Nelson plays onto this idea with, “You’ll get the most out of it if you, too, can concentrate on distraction” (Nelson 310). Focusing not just on the main points, but the little words, as said earlier, in one ear and out of the other describe how listening to these “distractions” can influence and change actions when properly attending. Allowing these messages to be received into one’s mind shows how transformation happens. Hearing these messages verbally also goes hand in hand with sight. Gladwell explains, “If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken…” (Gladwell 152). This Broken Windows theory that Gladwell explains shows how the mini details, such as a broken window, can lead to a societal change so large. That just because the look of something is out of place makes life change all around and lead to a world expanding on “more windows will be broken”. Staying on the idea of verbal, this also gives way to it. Because if there is anything that realistically changes how people think and act, it is the ideas and thoughts of others that translate to one’s own daily