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Essay / A view of the depiction of Sam's brilliance as depicted in the film, I Am Sam
I Am Sam Paper - AP Intelligence UnitSam's intelligence is more of a literal emotional intelligence than a logical intelligence/ mathematical. Sam can to some extent sense the feelings/emotional abilities of those around him, especially his daughter Lucy, but has difficulty understanding figures of speech like similes, metaphors, etc. which require more abstract thinking. When it comes to "factual knowledge", Sam has the ability to retain specific information, such as what people ordered when he worked at Starbucks and later at Pizza Hut. Sam also has an infatuation with the Beatles and has all sorts of information about them. No particularly useful information, but information he considers important nonetheless. When interacting with Sam, people may get the impression that he certainly has some intellectual abilities and is not totally deficient, but if he were to take a traditional intelligence test he would most likely score low score due to his problems with logic and mathematics. , verbal and abstract skills/abilities. The only real area of intelligence in which Sam exceeds is emotional intelligence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Sam's interpersonal and emotional intelligence is characterized by extreme empathy and concern for others. Although Sam is a literal thinker and has difficulty grasping abstract concepts such as figures of speech; sometimes making him seem rude to "normal" people, he maintains a tremendous relationship of empathy with those around him. His daughter Lucy is obviously the light of his life and he finds great joy in being with her. Another specific example is when Sam is talking with his lawyer Rita towards the end of the film and Rita tells Sam how far from perfect she is and starts crying. Sam hugs and kisses her to comfort and reassure her. This may seem excessive or an excessive violation of acceptable friendly behavior, but to Sam it's normal. Sam also tells Rita to leave her husband, as he is fully aware that he is making Rita unhappy. In his job, Sam communicates with people by constantly telling them their order was "a great choice" and going out of his way to accommodate people's needs. These are all indicators of Sam's emotional intelligence. Rita has great logical-mathematical intelligence and general "literary intelligence". It's safe to say that she has an above average IQ given her profession as an accomplished lawyer and her ability to handle multiple cases/clients at once. Despite her superb intellectual and verbal abilities compared to Sam, who has the mental age of a 7-year-old, Rita struggles to develop her emotional intelligence. Living the busy life of a lawyer caused her to neglect her family life, especially her young son. While Sam shows deep care and concern for Lucy no matter how busy he is, Rita, getting caught up in her work, has apparently abandoned her son at home and instigated his husband to leave and pursue other women. This is a great source of unhappiness for Rita. Although Sam is medically mentally retarded and only possesses the mental abilities of a 7-year-old, he is still capable of caring for and "nurturing" Lucy. Lucy may not receive the same level of intellectual stimulation in her home life as other children, but thanks to.