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ellenv's picture

Connections

When I think of the opinions that people form, I first think of the choices that they have to make to form those opinions. People must choose what pieces of evidence they use to form their opinions, how to structure their opinions based on which pieces of information they find important, and finally how they present their opinions to the world. What I found odd in the novel was the fact that someone as opinionated as Deanna would isolate themselves from the rest of the world and then almost judge from atop her mountain about how other people live their lives. In the end, I think that the choices that Deanna makes about her opinions have faults, not because they dont have logic behind them, but because she fails to look at all points of view when considering her opinions. At the same time, her choice in the way to have her opinions presented is also odd. Her main opinions are presented in her thesis that is rarely read by anyone and isnt even located in a place that Deanna travels to often. She sees her work as being important, but she doesnt attempt to make that known. This trouble with choices goes back Barry Schwartz's ideas on choice. While Deanna might seem to be happy in some regards about her lack of choices for her place of living and her choice of clothing/materials/transportations etc., her choices she about the thing she holds most dear (the coyotes) are more complex, and therefore she is less happy with the result.   

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