John's Amnesia - Genuine or Fake

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Cristina Chifane
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Re: John's Amnesia - Genuine or Fake

Post by Cristina Chifane »

Kpolkey44 wrote: 02 Nov 2021, 11:52 I do think his amnesia was real, but may not have been from the accident.
If his amnesia had not been caused by the accident, then what could be the reason behind it?
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Cristina Chifane
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

B Creech wrote: 02 Nov 2021, 17:10 I am still on the fence about whether the amnesia was real or fake. I think it would be difficult to pretend you didn't have amnesia if you really did. I am leaning more toward his amnesia being fake.
It is hard to pretend having amnesia, but not impossible. My guess is he did some reprehensible things and could not cope with the burden of his actions.
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

Barbie_sidhu wrote: 03 Nov 2021, 00:06 I believe the amnesia was true. It paved the way to this whole fantastic story. It might not have been from the accidents and does not justify his past conduct, but it was genuine.
You might believe this because he could not look at the design plans and didn't remember what the building looked like. However, he might have simply wanted to believe that he designed the building when, in fact, it was his partner who designed it.
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

Purplesturv wrote: 03 Nov 2021, 03:47 I feel like his amnesia was a coincidence with the accident. It was more as a result of his mental state. Maybe he just wanted to compartmentalize the years he failed as a husband father and architect. But since it was kept secret, he can't use it to hide any future failures.
You could be right, especially since he was already unstable and pondering on his achivements in life.
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

NetMassimo wrote: 03 Nov 2021, 08:13 I have no reason to believe John's amnesia was a fake. From his character's development, I guess the accident triggered a cascade of mental issues connected to his personal problems and caused amnesia.
What if he was behind the attack on the Zenith building in the first place and used amnesia as a means of dealing with what he did?
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

Shakiera Reece wrote: 03 Nov 2021, 10:22 I think his amnesia was genuine. There's no way he could fake it so perfectly. I think his accident was the main cause of his amnesia
Don't you think it could be just the writer playing with the readers' minds? The narrative focus is on John's mind, but what we read can be only those thoughts and feelings that John allows us access to, not necessarily the truth of what really happened.
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

Guda LM wrote: 03 Nov 2021, 11:51 Two ways to look at it; his amnesia could have been a genuine medical illness. The brain is complex, and I understand one can forget everything about who they are but still have memory, like not knowing your name but still being able to sign it. On the other hand, from who John was before the amnesia, he did not like it and his brain could have perceived that as trauma and hence 'erased' the part of his life. So, I believe it was genuine.
Over the years, I've studied a few things about the complexity of the memory process and how memory works. I agree with you that the accident could have triggered a memory loss of the traumatic events in John's life. However, why would his brain forget the thing he should have been most proud of? The design of the Zenith building?
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

ellaiela wrote: 03 Nov 2021, 21:41 The amnesia part could be genuine or fake, as I read some books that there are some cases of illnesses where your brain goes into defensive mode to protect your whole mental state. Therefore, it incurs some memory lapses or amnesia. John might have denied perceiving himself as a failed husband, father, and architect as these labels are a heavy burden to carry; thus, it resulted in his current state.
I also noticed that John used to have the habit of blaming the others for his own complacency or lack of support and involvement.
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

Amaka Ike wrote: 04 Nov 2021, 10:41 I thing his Amnesia is real, because it was not easy at work, because keeping up the pretence of amnesia will not be easy at alllll
I admit it is would not be easy pretending to have amnesia. However, I think it is possible with careful planning and attention.
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Post by NetMassimo »

cristinaro wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 06:48
NetMassimo wrote: 03 Nov 2021, 08:13 I have no reason to believe John's amnesia was a fake. From his character's development, I guess the accident triggered a cascade of mental issues connected to his personal problems and caused amnesia.
What if he was behind the attack on the Zenith building in the first place and used amnesia as a means of dealing with what he did?
That would mean that innocent people were unjustly sentenced as terrorists. Considering everything the author wrote, I'd feel cheated because I can't remember any clue about John being the perpetrator. I mean, we had a number of clues about the new building's project.
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

Jessica045 wrote: 04 Nov 2021, 11:12 I believe his amnesia was real but more as a result of his mental state and failures than of the accident he was involved in.
His mental instability could have gradually led to a loss of the disturbing memories of his past traumas.
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

Orji Gift 1 wrote: 04 Nov 2021, 17:59 I think it was fake. John was using the amnesia to cover up for his failures
In any case, his strategy must be a sign of mental illness as the other people from his life had their own opinions and knew how things really stood.
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Post by Brenda Creech »

cristinaro wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 06:41
B Creech wrote: 02 Nov 2021, 17:10 I am still on the fence about whether the amnesia was real or fake. I think it would be difficult to pretend you didn't have amnesia if you really did. I am leaning more toward his amnesia being fake.
It is hard to pretend having amnesia, but not impossible. My guess is he did some reprehensible things and could not cope with the burden of his actions.
You could be right about that. Some people just shut down when they can't handle the stress in their life. I hadn't thought of it that way!
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Post by Falana Femi »

I the Amnesia is true, because, at work is not easy and keeping the pretence of Amnesia might not be easy.
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Post by Bridgette C 2 »

I don't think he was faking it. Where would the story revolve if he didn't have an amnesia? He could not face many issues in the story and he even denied its existence. John, having an amnesia was genuine. It made the whole story amazing.
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