About motivation of Nadine Gordimer viewed from “The Late Bourgeois World” 11


4.5 Frontal cortex and development of morals

 The temporal cortex is related to the development of language and the occipital lobe is related to the development of eyesight. What is the frontal cortex related to? It is the development of morals. The frontal cortex is fully developed around 18 years old. The degree of maturity of a brain is measured by the myelination of neural paths. The axon of the long path is covered by white lipid tissues.
 The tissues increase speed of the neural signal along the path, therefore, the transmission between each area of the brain is swift. The frontal cortex coordinates with other various areas of the brain and the long-distance transmission is very important. At 18 years old, the path to connect the remote brain areas to the frontal cortex has completely myelinated, and the frontal cortex can play various roles perfectly.
 The story teller is a white lady. She got pregnant at 18 years old and married, then had a baby with Max. His father was a representative of the United Party, therefore, his family observed conventions to save face. But Max gave a toast to his sister Queenie and her husband Alan because he was married and had a wife and baby and became an adult.
Max is thin and of average height, with thick wrists small blue eyes. He resembled his mother. Queenie was also beautiful. He prayed with all his heart for the success of the bride and groom and their future. The activity of frontal cortex is also very important here. The frontal association area has general intelligence to guide an optimal action under a difficult situation, and influences social and emotional intelligence, which is the key to succeed.
 One gives advice about life in the speech at a wedding ceremony. Max pointed out that an artery becomes battered if one excludes the outsider, and rather, eats delicious meals more than necessary in a comfortable club. But there is the mental arteriosclerosis with self-righteousness and deception. The white people’s area is infected by the disease, and the medical treatment is difficult. If one raises a child in the white people’s area, the child will succumb to mental arteriosclerosis. Max’s speech sounds like a lecture, and I wonder if whether or not this is something to say at a wedding ceremony. He gets to the point in a casual way. His morals are developed.

花村嘉英(2018)「『ブルジョワ世界の終わりに』から見たゴーディマの意欲について」より translated by Yoshihisa Hanamura


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