The Noticer

Andy Andrews’ The Noticer is the story of a unique old man named Jones, not Mr. Jones, who uses his wisdom and wit to help individuals in need. Jones is a “noticer,” meaning he sees things other people typically miss. He watches individuals and notices the finer details about their current situation or issues. Jones helps influence a character named Andy to ultimately better his life. Andy idolizes Jones establishing Jones as his mentor because of his wisdom and his perspectives gift. Everyone throughout the town crosses paths with Jones at some point in time whenever they need his views the most. He asks them thought-provoking questions or shares life-lessons and helps the individuals gain views from a different standpoint. Consequently, many people can learn a variety of lessons from The Noticer by Andy Andrews and even apply or relate them to their own lives.

The primary lesson one needs to learn from The Noticer is how to look at things from a different perspective. Everyone fails to see another’s side of an argument or situation because they feel they always know best. Sometimes we fail to realize or see what the other says due to our inability to notice the little subtleties. For instance, Jones helps the couple on the verge of divorce by revealing how each other exhibits their love and compassion through dialects. Many, including myself, never thought of the love dialects Jones explains to Andy and the couple. We feel everyone expresses their love the same. The dialects are in the forms of animals: cats, canaries, puppy dogs, and goldfishes. Cats express love through physical contact, canaries express love through quality time, puppy dogs express love through spoken words of approval, and goldfishes express their love based on deeds and favors. One may apply these dialects in everyday life with their relationships and marriages, which may help save troubled couples, and even attempt to help men grasp the mentality women have about love.

Another lesson one may learn is how others perceive them and their behavior towards others. Typically, we tend to forget how we portray our behavior or attitudes and how they affect surrounding individuals. For example, Jones spoke to Henry who oversees construction about his attitude and the way he treats his employees. Henry failed to see how he treated them poorly along with getting to know them; he even forgot about his wife. Most relate to this predicament, or at least a part of it. Specifically, I relate to how we portray our attitudes and the effectiveness of it towards others. Typically one should think before one speaks, which is one of my downfalls. I forget how it will affect my fellow coworkers and the potential outcomes associated with it.

Finally, one may learn one of the most important attributes one may possesses through the art of listening. Most individuals, including myself, take listening for granted, which is the root cause to the majority