The Impossibility of Objectively Understanding of People

One cannot attempt to understand someone only objectively, the author argues in The Dogs of Littlefield. This is because human beings are more than mere descriptions, numbers, and labels, but are instead unique and individual creations. To truly understand a person, one must know who that person is, not just what they are.

When Clarice arrives in Littlefield, she wants to study the town and the people to find out why they are so happy, and what they are doing right. She undertakes a year in Littlefield, where she attends local events, goes to dinner at the homes of neighbors, eavesdrops on conversations in public places, and studies people close-up and afar, but always passively and always objectively, never personally or amiably. This is done to Clarice’s own detriment.

Clarice soon realizes that the people of Littlefield are like...