Ungifted

“But when the thing is right there in front of me, and I can kick it, grab it, shout it out, jump into it, paint it, launch it, or light it on fire, it’s like I’m a puppet on a string, powerless to resist. I don’t think; I do.” 

Donovan, the chapter’s first-person narrator, describes the impulses that drive him to pull the pranks that get him into trouble. He escapes detention for one prank then immediately pulls another because of an irresistible impulse. His mother calls him “reckless” (5). His father tells him he will “break your idiot neck one day, or someone’s going to break it for you” (5). The school psychologist says he has “[p]oor impulse control” (5). Donovan agrees with them but feels powerless to stop himself. At the end of the novel, Donovan has not entirely mastered his impulses, but he has learned that they can be directed towards more meaningful outcomes. 

“I sighed. Did everything have to pass through me? I was only one person! ‘It’s on my desk, Cynthia. You can’t miss it.’” 

In this pivotal moment, Dr. Shultz instructs his secretary to take the list of students for the gifted program from his desk. Moments before, he had written Donovan’s name on a slip of paper. Cynthia takes that paper and submits Donovan’s name for the program. Later, Dr. Shultz will think Donovan somehow took the paper and will be unable to recall his name. Donovan is sent to ASD, setting the plot in motion. Dr. Shultz’s demeanor also demonstrates his self-absorption. His directions to Cynthia are too general because he is not focused on the task at hand: giving her the correct list.