Understanding people: "It is always those we live with and love and should know who elude us."

Essay by boardr911High School, 10th gradeA+, November 2002

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UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE

The pupose of this essay was to explore the question of why people are so hard to understand. The quote came from the book A RIVER RUNS THROUGH ITby NORMAN McCLAIN .

"It is always those we live with and love and should know who elude us."

After reading this quote over and over, I finally have an idea of what it means. The word elude, as found in Webster's New World Dictionary, means to avoid or escape either mentally or physically. This quote is talking about the mental aspect.

It is easy to know a person from their outer image, an image that is often "made up" to cope with the world around them. We all know our family and friends and those we interact with each day. However, we only know their outer image. To see what is really going on in peoples' minds we must understand them.

Theoretically, spending every hour of every day with the people we love should make us aware of what they are thinking, but realistically it doesn't. Very few people have the ability to open up and share their feelings with others. By showing their true beliefs, people must take off the armor that protects them from ridicule. This is not an easy task to undertake, as humans fear humiliation.

From this quote I have learned that we should take time to understand people. Even if they portray themselves as being perfectly fine with no problems, chances are something they do not want to share is bothering them. Most importantly, we should also take time to comprehend ourselves. We may need the most help and not even know it.