The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself......

Question

In consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men.

Source: The Great Gatsby http://www.publicbookshelf.com/ficti...er-vulnerable

Hello friends,
I sort of can not paraphrase the blue part. This is my paraphrase:
The unusual thoughts are quick to be known and .... .... so without any reason,
I became politically condemned in college because I was close to ............

Thank you

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Translation:

I am a normal person, and I'm non-judgmental for the most part. I don't usually judge people.

Crazy people quickly notice the quality of being non-judgmental in normal people.
They feel comfortable telling all their crazy secrets to such people.
So quite a few of these abnormal people thought I could be trusted, and as a result, I came to know the secrets of quite a few crazy people when I was in college.

Politicians use their knowledge of the secrets of others to advance themselves in the world.
Other normal people around me called me a politician, even though I would not have used my knowledge of these people for my own gain.
_____________________

In this passage the author is establishing himself as an observer of, not a participant in, the actions in his novel — for the most part. He is also establishing himself as trustworthy. He will be able to tell this story accurately and without making judgments about the behavior of the people in the story.

CJ

Sb70012 · Answer

Thank you so much. I completely understood what you said.
I just couldn't understand who were the "wild unknown men"
Would you please clarify it simply?

Thank you

CalifJim · Answer

sb70012wild unknown men

I believe the author is using 'wild' to mean 'abnormal' or 'crazy', and he's using 'unknown' to mean that most people didn't really know much about them. They were unknown, and their wildness (craziness) was also unknown, to just about everybody (except to the author, of course).

CJ

Sb70012 · Answer

Now I completely understood it. Thank you so much.

The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself......

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