“The Valley of Astonishment” provides the audience with a perplexing look into the cognition of the human mind. The audience is presented with several scenarios of individuals who are given the gift (and curse) of seeing aspects of the world much differently compared to normal human beings. Not only are we provided with their abilities through the observations of a doctor, but we are also given a glimpse into their daily interactions pertaining to their condition.
The first story line we are introduced to involves a young woman who has worked at a newspaper company for around two years, and yet she remains anonymous and ordinary to her superiors. The irony, in this, being that she is quite unordinary with her impeccable memory. An altercation with her boss leads him to realize that she is indeed special, and the fact that it took him so long to realize might be specifically used to portray how some ordinary things, upon closer inspection, can be quite astonishing. Her life is then transformed, as she is made to use her talents to entertain and excite audiences. At some point in her life, she finds herself suffocated by her memory. We end up following Sammy through most of the story, but it is not linear because we are introduced to other characters. Perhaps this is in an attempt to illuminate the range at which this condition can be presented. The condition itself makes a person’s senses blurred to the point where they see something different.
