Golding’s article “Thinking as a hobby” focuses on the idea of the complexity and development of thought. According Golding the art of thinking evolves from mere imagination, to reflection and then to understanding. Golding refers to these thinking patterns as grade three, grade two, and grade one thinking respectively. The author begins by talking about the life of a young boy in his early stages of schooling. The boy did not have much understanding of the world around him. The boy is at grade three thinking according to thinking levels created by Golding. His mentality focuses on seeing and imagining things. This was the reason the young boy would be late for school as he played near a river. In addition, the young man would not take time to reflect about what he learned or what he saw. For example, the young boy could not memorize Boyle’s Law as he learned in the classroom. The young boy did even see the need to do. This is the reason why he often got himself into trouble with the headmaster. In addition, the young boy would not reflect on the impact of the actions that he undertook. For example, the young boy could not think about the repercussion of throwing tennis ball through a tennis window. This is the reason why he was summoned to the office of the headmaster. The problem with this young boy was not that he was incapable of thinking. The problem was that the thought pattern of the young boy had not developed enough to begin reflecting on what he saw, learned, or even how he acted.
Golding further illustrates the idea that the boy was not able to be reflective by creating the scene of Venus, the leopard, and the thinker. The young boy would not interpret or reflect the meaning of these three symbols. Despite the constant summoning by the headmaster who used the three symbols to help the boy reflect on his actions, the young boy could not comprehend why the headmaster did that. The boy had his own imaginations about why the symbols were arranged in a particular way. Instead of focusing on the overarching theme that was presented by the three symbols, the young man imagined about what would happen in case the towel around Venus waist falls down. This shows that at the preliminary stage of the thought process, the individual does not think beyond what he sees.
The second level of thinking in the process of thought development that is brought up by Golding in his article is the ability of reflect. Golding refers this to one grade two thinking. Individuals who have the ability to reflect are able to criticism and argue about some of the reasons why they believe that their view points are correct. The young boy used as the main character in this article is under much pressure to begin thinking such that his thought pattern begins to slowly develop from mere imagination to reflection. As a result of the thought development of the young boy, he begins to criticize what he sees. For example, the young boy is concerned about one of his teachers, Mr. Houghton, who had fought in the world war alongside the French and Americans. The teacher was always drunk. His life was not functional unless he was drunk. At the level of reflection, the young boy was in a position to criticize the actions of his teacher. He was concerned that Mr. Houghton did not have the ability to reflect about the adverse effects that the continuous use of alcohol would create on his body (Gould 219). The young boy also began to reflect on some of the principles that the drunken teacher stood for. The drunken teacher always taught his students about the necessity of focus. However, the young boy believed that the neck of the drunken teacher had a spring. This is because the teacher would quickly turn his neck if a girl passed by. He would stare at the girl until she was out of sight. The growth in the reflection and critiquing ability of the young boy also led him to question the motives of his teachers. For example, there was one female teacher who argued that she was concerned about the welfare of all students. However, the young boy in this article was concerned that the female teacher was not worried about the loneliness that engulfed her life. The female teacher was not married. The young boy thought that it was plausible for the female teacher not be concerned about her own welfare and not the welfare of other people. The climax of the critiquing process in this article was when the young boy who was an atheist at the time was able to convince one of the girls in her school that the Methodists were wrong. The boy countered the young girl who used the Bible as a way of substantiating her arguments. However, the young boy brought up the idea that the Methodists were wrong based on their numbers. He argued that the Catholics superseded the Methodists in numbers and were therefore more correct in their denomination beliefs compared to the Methodists. The young boy was successful in convincing the young girl to embrace his idea. However, the ability to criticize and reflect about the already existent societal norms and structures may in some cases spur conflict. In the case of this young boy, the father to the young Methodist girl met his parents that night and assured them that their son if not contained was growing to become a little libertine. This illustrates the conflict that faces individuals who try to disapprove the norms that are set up by society (Botting 47).
The third stage of the thought process that is presented in Golding’s article is the idea of understanding. Golding refers to this level of thought as grade one. By the time the young boy joined Oxford, he had a greater understanding of society and the world. At that time he understood that people who talk about the advantage of acting in a given way while in retrospect they would not act in the same way themselves. For example, the United States claimed that it was an ardent supporter of world peace and stability. However, the United States would not join the League of Nations (Gould 221). Due to a higher development in understanding the character used in this article was able to understand some of the reasons why his teachers had put more pressure for him to begin thinking. He now loved to think and be involved in debates and arguments. The author writes that at one point he was able to explain to a naval soldier that the believed that the world would be a better place without naval battleships. Though he knew that this would be a difficult position to defend, especially at a time when nations were in war, he enjoying the thought-provoking discussion that resulted. The strength of this article is that it is written in simplistic language that is easy to understand and comprehend. However, the weakness of this article is that the author does not present the overarching theme that he seeks to explore at the beginning of the article. The reader has to comprehensively read the article to be able to determine the central idea that Golding sought to present.
Works Cited
Botting, Gary Norman Arthur. Thinking as a hobby: the novels of William Golding. Edmonton, Alta.: University of Alberta Press, 1975. Print.
Gould, Stephen Jay. "Thinking as a Hobby." Bully for brontosaurus: reflections in natural history. New York: Norton, 2010. 219-223. Print.
