Should John have been honest about his amnesia?

Use this forum to discuss the November 2021 Book of the month, "The Freedom Building" by Martin Kendall
Stella Agboola
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Re: Should John have been honest about his amnesia?

Post by Stella Agboola »

The question on my mind is: How did the others around him not know that he had amnesia?How possible was it that it was not obvious? Someone that was close to him should have been able to decipher that he could not remember some events of the past. Having said that, the novel is the novel because John did not reveal his amnesia. It would have gone in another direction if John had revealed that he had amnesia. For hiding such serious health condition, John must have had his reasons, and very reasonable reasons at that.
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Post by Kai Amani »

John keeping his amnesia to himself seemed a bit odd to me at first. How did he know he had amnesia? But the plot of the story makes me think that his secret is pivotal to the storyline. I think it's necessary for John to keep his secret.
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Post by Lucy Vera »

Honestly, I believe he should have told someone. It would have saved him a lot of lies and stress. However, we might not have gotten the amazing story which we read. Hiding and lying do not really do good.
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Post by Vivian Stones »

Yes, he should have been truthful from the beginning, maybe! Just maybe things wouldn't have good this bad. Lying never helped anyone.
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Post by Peace Chux »

Yes, I don't think he'd have undergone most of what he went through if he'd been honest about it, but then we wouldn't have gotten such a good book. Again, I think he was really scared that letting others know would change things, or make his condition permanent.
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Post by Nomfundo Simelane »

He should have just been honest about his amnesia as it was going to make things so much easier. However, we can never really be sure that it would have actually made things easier as things always have weird and unexpected twists.
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Post by Hogwarts03 »

I honestly think that in order to keep the story going he did have to hide the fact that he had amnesia. Again, I think it would be hard for him to cope and explain to people about his condition since he was suffering from amnesia.
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Post by Yennefer_ »

I believe he should have told someone about it because doing so would have saved him a lot of trouble. But, on the other hand, he had a good reason not to, and if he had, the story wouldn't be so engaging.
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Post by Dramani Daniel »

Honestly, I think honesty was an easy option for him. But upon examination of the cost of such an option, he downright gave it up. I would have done the same myself.
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Post by KingPraise001 »

It doesn't seem like a good idea to hide what will be a potential disadvantage from those who love you. Memory loss can only be corrected through the help of those around you. He should have been honest.
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Post by Abi1 »

When it comes to the book, it was a crucial part in how the storyline of the book carried on throughout. However, if this was reality, I think it would be best to at least be honest and open about you health with your closest family and friends. Other people don't need to know if it doesn't affect the way you interact with the world as a whole.

Would John have gone through all the turmoil and struggles he went through in the book, if he had been open about his health issues? I think things would've been easier for him, with less turmoil. Even if the struggles wouldn't decrease, he'd at least have the support of those who care about him to help him through his struggles and make the load lighter.
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Post by Shridhar Suryawanshi »

Yes, I agree that John should've been honest. But I also get that most people don't want others to know that something is wrong with them.
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Post by Taana Ueh »

Hyacinth Bella wrote: 01 Nov 2021, 08:18 I agree that he should have told someone, but then again, how does a person with amnesia know they're suffering from amnesia? How do they identify that they're suffering from it and how do they diagnose themselves with it? That confuses me still because a normal person suffering from amnesia would ask questions and therefore doctors would be able to help them. That's my takeaway.
Great to know I wasn't the only thinking about this. There's a world which "hiding amnesia" is possible but it's just all too mind puzzling.
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Post by Adeyinka7 »

I don't think the novel would have been as compelling if John had acknowledged his mental illness, but research shows that most amnesia patients are hesitant to notify people about their condition.
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Post by Lola_Scotch »

I think honesty is key and John should have just been open about his amnesia. I think it could have afforded him assistance, earlier on and from qualified personnel and helped him avoid all the trouble. Even so, it is understandable why he didn't, there aren't a lot of people I know who are ready and willing to be vulnerable, even with those who are close to them.
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