Jamal Wallace or William Forrester...

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cornflake

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Just curious, has any of you heard of William Forrester or his protege Jamal Wallace?

What if I'm a real life Jamal Wallace and I don't even know it yet?

How does one aspire to that level of greatness this day and age?

Are you a precocious 16-year-old discovered by Salinger? Seems unlikely.
 

cornflake

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He was so precocious he was recruited by the prep school (who wanted him for bball too but I think he'd tested super high as well), iirc.
 
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Exactly. Sometimes people mask their talents to fit in. This allows a person to stay in his or her comfort level.

How does one push themself to new limits when there is no one around to assist or are otherwise hindered by dirty politics?

Who knows? Maybe join absoultewrite.com?
 
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cornflake

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I don't think he was masking his talents if he was recruited to a prestigious prep school because he was so academically gifted.

Regardless.... dirty politics?
 

Tazlima

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Sometimes people mask their talents to fit in. This allows a person to stay in his or her comfort level.

Um, I'd have to disagree here. I'd say it's extremely uncomfortable to hide your true self (whether you're hiding intelligence, sexual orientation, political/religious leanings, or anything else) in the pursuit of fitting in. However, social acceptance is so valuable a resource that many people will go to extreme lengths to achieve it, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes them.

As far as pushing oneself to new limits... that's an internal commitment, not an external one. A mentor may be useful as a guide, but you know the old saying, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." Try to push someone who's not ready to push him/herself, and they'll just push back.

I'm also puzzled about the "dirty politics" comment. Do you mean literal politics? Those that run the city, state, and federal government? Or do you mean "politics" as in social or school politics - how the popular kids treat the unpopular ones and that sort of thing?
 
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Prior to getting accepted to one of the most prestigeous academic institutes on that side of New York, he was floating by in his current high school just to fit in with his peers. His talents only were identified through his unparalleled test scores among his peers and those of the kids at the prep school.
 
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Um, I'd have to disagree here. I'd say it's extremely uncomfortable to hide your true self in the pursuit of fitting in. However, social acceptance is so valuable a resource that many people will go to extreme lengths to achieve it, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes them.

As far as pushing oneself to new limits... that's an internal commitment, not an external one. A mentor may be useful as a guide, but you know the old saying, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." Try to push someone who's not ready to push him/herself, and they'll just push back.

I'm also puzzled about the "dirty politics" comment. Do you mean literal politics? Those that run the city, state, and federal government? Or do you mean "politics" as in social or school politics - how the popular kids treat the unpopular ones and that sort of thing?


One side I'm in agreement, and the other, we don't see eye to eye.

Living in the real world, I've seen a lot just like many on this board. I've seen the highs, the lows, and everything above, beneath, in front, and behind it all. I've seen the side to side too - basically an entire sphere worth.

Contray to popular social media and modern day times belief, not everyone tries to fit in. Some people really are content in their own skin. That was touched on in the book. Fitting in can be a positive uplifting resource, or it can be a parasite eating away at the good the world has to offer.

The dirty politics that I speak of in this instance is fear - fear that another may be more stronger, faster, smarter, adaptable, and sucessful than the next man or woman. Professor Crawford is a prime example in this instance.

EDIT: In addition, fitting in for some means not being true to themselves. For some, if that's who they are at heart, they will not be uncomfortable. For the followers or lemmings instead of the path carvers, the road is mostly a smooth and a cobblestone free like ride.

However, the diversity in the world ensure we have the likes of all kinds. That's what makes it so great.
 
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Tazlima

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Contray to popular social media and modern day times belief, not everyone tries to fit in.

I didn't say everyone tries to fit in. I said many people try to fit in, and with good reason. One can certainly grow accustomed to being an outcast, but it's like being a clownfish in an anenome - you can become resistant to the stings, but the stings never actually go away - they're still all around, driving away people who try to come closer.

There's a reason banishment has historically been used as a punishment for serious crimes.
 
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In the context of Jamal Wallace, he did attempt to fit in even though his intelligence level was that much more surpassed than the level of his peers.

As far as banishment, that's another form of politics dating well before people were shipped out of Europe to take a land 3500 miles West of Europe. I'm thinking Ancient Mesopotamia. Many times it revolves around power and control. One of the reasons why I joined this forum is to understand the rules of writing, who enacted those rules, the history of those rules, who or what dictates how they can be broken, and indulge in new information to become, smarter, faster, more agile, and more adaptable.

Hence, Jamal Wallace!

EDIT: For the record, I'm not putting myself on some writing pedestal saying I'm the most intelligent here.
 
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I didn't say everyone tries to fit in. I said many people try to fit in, and with good reason. One can certainly grow accustomed to being an outcast, but it's like being a clownfish in an anenome - you can become resistant to the stings, but the stings never actually go away - they're still all around, driving away people who try to come closer.

There's a reason banishment has historically been used as a punishment for serious crimes.

A sign of intelligence is being able to learn something new and adapt. Thanks for the newly acquire knowledge.

Being an outkast was something that Jamal had attached to his character. He drove some people away initially, but when they seen how ginuine and real he was, he reeled them back in. Of course that's fiction and we live our lives told through non-fiction, but I've seen those who alienated themselves be victorious in gaining the love, respect, admiration, and hearts of those who once were driven away.

Visit my city some time, and you'll understand.
 
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cornflake

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A sign of intelligence is being able to learn something new and adapt. Thanks for the newly acquire knowledge.

Being an outkast was something that Jamal had attached to his character. He drove some people away initially, but when they seen how ginuine and real he was, he reeled them back in. Of course that's fiction and we live our lives told through non-fiction, but I've seen those who alienated themselves be victorious in gaining the love, respect, admiration, and hearts of those who once were driven away.

Visit my city some time, and you'll understand.

Funny, I thought people were kinda racist and judging him on the basis of their own superficial assumptions about him; I don't remember him hiding his intellect particularly.
 
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Funny, I thought people were kinda racist and judging him on the basis of their own superficial assumptions about him; I don't remember him hiding his intellect particularly.

Well, that too, although no one needs to pull the race card in that story. 99.9% of his peers in the story all seemed to be ginuine without any regard for race. At least that's what I gathered from it. His white, black, hispanic, and other peers all embraced him the same. Even Clair Spence, a two comma Tribeca kid (maybe not Tribeca, but a wealthy neighborhood in NY), wanted to give the cookie up to Jamal. Her parents and the elders may be a different story.

The only real individual who had hate towards Jamal was Professor Crawford, and I can't prove if it was attribuatble to his skin color or the fact that he was just being an @sshole! There also was the instance of the guy driving the BMW, but if you look at what's been happening in society lately, one can conclude why the BMW delivery person acted that way.

For most people in the story, although fiction, this is one solid time where the race card can almost be ruled out. That's just my opinion. I'll let other readers come to their own conclusions. Also, people can read the author's intentions regarding race in the book. The power of Google.


As far as hiding his intellect, he did when he was in his old school to fit in. At Mailer, he let his light shine bright. It even got brighter with William's help. Crawford didn't like that.
 
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cornflake

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Well, that too, although no one needs to pull the race card in that story. 99.9% of his peers in the story all seemed to be ginuine without any regard for race. At least that's what I gathered from it. His white, black, hispanic, and other peers all embraced him the same. Even Clair Spence, a two comma Tribeca kid (maybe not Tribeca, but a wealthy neighborhood in NY), wanted to give the cookie up to Jamal. Her parents and the elders may be a different story.

The only real individual who had hate towards Jamal was Professor Crawford, and I can't prove if it was attribuatble to his skin color or the fact that he was just being an @sshole! There also was the instance of the guy driving the BMW, but if you look at what's been happening in society lately, one can conclude why the BMW delivery person acted that way.

For most people in the story, although fiction, this is one solid time where the race card can almost be ruled out. That's just my opinion. I'll let other readers come to their own conclusions. Also, people can read the author's intentions regarding race in the book. The power of Google.


As far as hiding his intellect, he did when he was in his old school to fit in. At Mailer, he let his light shine bright. It even got brighter with William's help. Crawford didn't like that.

We have veeeery different interpretations of the actions and motivations of many of Jamal's schoolmates at whatever school it was meant to be, as well as those of some tertiary characters, like the guy with the BMW.

Readers? Book? Do you mean of the screenplay? It's a film. To my knowledge, it was an original script.
 

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Straight Success I'm noticing that several of your posts make very little sense.

Writing requires specificity, and context. You're not providing either.
 
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As the cars exited the apex of the curve where breakfast had just been eaten, the only thing that could be heard was the ear gratifying concerto coming from the steel and titanium exhaust pipes of those magnificently engineered machines. The soothing off pitched hum made the fluid in their spinal cavities resonate sending a chilling yet soothing sensation throughout their bodies. It was so powerful and raw as the cars accelerated towards the exit marker that it made each person's body slight pitch forward onto their toes in a slow climaxing guesture.

Can this be understood? Does it have specificity and context?
 
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