Only We In Teamwork

In sports, the saying goes that “there is no ‘I’ in team.” If there is one sport that captures this quote perfectly, it is football. Everyone must do their part in order to win the game. First, the coach must call the right play for the situation. Then the offensive linemen must stop the opposing defense or else the play called is ineffective. If it is a running play, the running back must find that hole that the linemen has created so that he can run right through. If a passing play is called, the quarterback must be given sufficient time to scan the field so that he can deliver the ball to his wide receivers. Without this kind of balance, the team will be on its way to defeat, a humiliating one if they play like a complete mess. In Salman Rushdie’s short story, The Harmony of the Spheres, the concept of the human mind and its two sides are explored. Just what happens when they both are not in sync together?

The main character, Eliot Crane, suffers from schizophrenia and has gone mad. The question the Rushdie offers to the readers is “Why do we lose our minds?” (page 134) The answer is more than just “a simple biochemical imbalance…” (page 134) Not only must we have a balance for or minds, but also in our lives. Everything that is in our lives must be in harmony and if we are thrown off this equilibrium, it can only cause havoc. In the story, the reader can see that Eliot could never find peace with himself. The drugs he was taking for his condition “were not working he refused to take them regularly, he seemed better as long as he did not try to write, he seemed worse because not writing plunged him…” (page 128) When he was not writing, it was clear to see that his two spheres in his brain would be in tune with one another, and could live normally. It was only when Eliot took the pills when he would be “passive and inert…raging and violent.” (page 128)

It is this lack of harmony that Crane has suffered with. “Harmony? You never heard such a din as the ruckus in Eliot’s head.” (page 142) One sphere in his head would fight with the other sphere. It seemed as though he had two completely different thoughts running through his brain. This was very apparent when Sahid was going through Eliot’s notebooks after his suicide and noticed that “these were two kinds: hate-filled, and pornographic.” (page 144) As it turns out, Eliot had nothing good to say about Sahid and had terrible things to say about him. Also, he was deeply in love with Sahid’s wife Mala and dreamt of erotic fantasies with her.

With a perfect balance, a team can win their games day in and day out. Life works in similar fashion. Not only must your brain be in harmony with one another, but also your lives and the universe as a whole. There will be times where one side will want to be in control, which is fine. It is when that side is completely out of sync with everything in which there will be a problem. These two polar opposites is what keeps us whole as a person.