CHARACTER ANALYSIS
In "The Custom of the Country," Paul's age and the fact that he attends a "fashionable private school" reveal this about his social status.
What is that he comes from a wealthy, upper-class family?
The "great high-ceilinged library" and "marble dining room" establish this type of setting in "The Custom of the Country."
What is luxurious, wealthy, or aristocratic?
"Your Brain on Movies" uses this organizational pattern when explaining the step-by-step process of how we become absorbed in films.
What is sequential/process structure?
According to "Your Brain on Movies," this brain system is described as being "like tractor beams" that scan our environment.
What is the attentional system?
The primary purpose of "Your Brain on Movies" is to do this for readers.
What is explain the science behind how movies affect our brains and emotions?
Paul's reaction to his mother's constant traveling and communication only through telegrams shows this aspect of his character.
What is loneliness or feeling abandoned/disconnected from his parents?
The detail that Paul's room has "not a toy or a book, or one of his dear battered relics" creates this mood.
What is emptiness, isolation, or impersonal coldness?
The author of "Your Brain on Movies" uses this text feature at the end to provide practical advice for readers.
What is a sidebar or boxed tips section?
The mental state called "flow" occurs when this happens to our attention during movies.
What is when our attention is completely absorbed in one activity?
Edith Wharton's purpose in "The Custom of the Country" excerpt is to reveal this about Paul's situation.
What is the isolation and emotional neglect of a wealthy child?
What is loneliness or feeling abandoned/disconnected from his parents?
What is that he identifies with the boy because he feels similarly isolated and displaced?
The locked bookcases with books "too valuable to be taken down" symbolize this about Paul's environment.
What is that beauty and knowledge are present but inaccessible/forbidden to him?
The author begins "Your Brain on Movies" with a detailed scene from Lord of the Rings to achieve this purpose.
What is to hook readers and provide a concrete example of the emotional response to movies?
The concept of "suspension of disbelief" works because this part of our brain "goes on a temporary vacation."
What is the system that tells us what's real and what's not real?
The author of "Your Brain on Movies" uses the analogy comparing brain abilities to "apps" on a smartphone to achieve this effect.
What is to make complex brain science accessible and understandable to readers?
Paul's "passion for the printed page" and desire to find "any kind of a book" develops this theme about his character.
What is that reading serves as an escape from his lonely, disconnected reality?
The contrast between the "immense immaculate blotters" and Paul's need for "any kind of a book" emphasizes this theme.
What is the conflict between material wealth and intellectual/emotional fulfillment?
The section titled "Handing Over Control" serves this structural function in developing the author's explanation.
What is to introduce the first major concept about how our brains respond to movies?
We feel real emotions toward fictional characters because these two different brain systems operate independently.
What are the front brain (thinking/planning) and the limbic system (emotions)?
Wharton's detailed descriptions of the luxurious rooms contrasted with Paul's emotional emptiness creates this literary effect.
What is irony - showing that material wealth cannot provide emotional fulfillment?
The contrast between Paul's desire to touch and explore versus his fear of damaging the expensive furnishings reveals this central conflict.
What is the tension between a child's natural curiosity and the artificial constraints of wealthy society?
The description of the house as having "always new" servants who "couldn't find his things" develops this idea about Paul's lifestyle.
What is the instability and impermanence beneath the surface of wealth?
The author's shift from explaining brain science to discussing viewing environments serves this purpose in the overall argument.
What is to move from theory to practical application of the scientific concepts?
According to Dr. Holland, watching movies at home provides a "thinned-out movie experience" because of this key difference.
What is that we retain control instead of giving it up to the movie?
Both authors use this technique when they focus on internal experiences (Paul's loneliness, brain responses to movies) rather than external action.
What is psychological realism or introspective analysis?