How do you figure out what to do in a tough situation? It's not easy, right? Otherwise it wouldn't such a tough situation. If you're Tendai in The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, you kick your brain into high gear to try to think of the best possible solution. As Tendai quickly learns, however, there's a big difference between wisdom and knowledge. He might be able to study and do his homework like nobody's business, but that doesn't necessarily make him wise. In fact, he knows a lot of stuff without really gaining any wisdom. Part of his journey growing up is gaining some real world wisdom. Too bad that can't be found in textbooks—it would save Tendai a lot of growing pains.
Questions About Wisdom and Knowledge
- What's the difference between wisdom and knowledge? How does it come across in the book? Which decisions does Tendai make that you would call wise? Which are knowledgeable?
- How does Tendai gain wisdom over the course of the novel? What about his experiences leads him to wisdom in a way that his life before the kidnapping could not?
- Which is the wisest character in the book? Why? How about the most knowledgeable?
Chew on This
The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm shows us that wisdom is something that can only be discovered by experiencing the world.
Even though the detectives all have similar experiences, Arm is the wisest of them all. Wisdom isn't something that can be learned—you either have it or you don't.