A Beautiful Mind

English 11 Book Report

I. Introduction/General Information about the Book

•Title: A Beautiful Mind

•Author: Sylvia Nasar

•Type of Book : Biography

II. Characters

•Main Character:

John Forbes Nash Jr. - He is a mathematical genius who entered Princeton University who worked on his concept of governing dynamics, a theory in mathematical economics. After his study in Princeton University, he accepts a prestigious appointment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, along with his friends Sol and Bender. He soon became part of the United States Department of Defense. He was given a "top secret" assignment and after being chased by Russian agents and an exchange of gunfire, Nash becomes increasingly paranoid and begins to behave erratically. He suffered from hallucinations but he learns to ignore them later on.

• I can identify with the main character when:

I can identify the main character because the story focused on him from beginning to end. All about him was shown in the film.

•Supporting Characters

Alicia Larde

Charles Herman

William Parcher 

• Describe some details about each supporting character

Alicia Larde - a later student of Nash who catches his interest and soon became his wife

Charles Herman - Nash's cheerful, supportive roommate and best friend throughout graduate school

William Parcher - a highly dedicated and forceful government agent for the Department of Defense

III. Settings

• Describe the time and place of the story.

The story started at New Jersey, United States in late 1940's. It is where John Nash studied and worked on governing dynamics,a theory in mathematical economics. It is where he became part of the United States Department of Defense. He also got married in this place.

The setting was perfect for John Nash's story. The place (Princeton University) showed who John Nash was, a mathematical genius.

IV. Plot: The Action/Summary of What Happened in the Story

 •Summary of the story

- John Nash worked on his concept of governing dynamics, a theory in mathematical economics in Princeton University.

- After his study in Princeton University, he accepts a prestigious appointment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, along with his friends Sol and Bender.

- He became part of the United States Department of Defense. He was given a "top secret" assignment.

- After being chased by Russian agents and an exchange of gunfire, Nash becomes increasingly paranoid and begins to behave erratically. He suffered from hallucinations and had undergone medications.

- Nash grows older and approaches his old friend and intellectual rival, Martin Hansen, now head of the Princeton mathematics department, who grants him permission to work out of the library and audit classes. Even though Nash still suffers from hallucinations and mentions taking newer medications, he is ultimately able to live with and largely ignore his psychotic episodes. He takes his situation in stride and humorously checks to ensure that any new acquaintances are in fact real people, not hallucinations.

- Nash eventually earns the privilege of teaching again. He is honored by his fellow professors for his achievement in mathematics, and goes on to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his revolutionary work on game theory.

V. Theme

•What is the author trying to say in the story? Is there a moral in the story?

There is only one thing about the story : "Perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart."

•This book showed me/I learned from this story:

We should not only think with our minds but live with our hearts and we should be thankful to the people who loves us because they will always be there for you.

•State a problem in the story and how it was solved

The headmaster of Princeton informs Nash, who has missed many of his classes, that he cannot begin work until he finishes a thesis paper, prompting him to seek a truly original idea for the paper. A woman at the bar is what ultimately inspires his fruitful work in the concept of governing dynamics, a theory in mathematical economics.

VI. Evaluation of the Book

•What are your thoughts about the book? (did you or didn't you like it and why?)

The story was very nice. It is very inspiring because in the film, although John Nash had an abnormal condition, he was still trying to live a normal life which is really hard. The main character was very interesting and it caught my attention because his knowledge was extraordinary and his personality developed because of the people who loves him.