The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions

“The same expectation shaping his life was shaping mine; the belief that your brain is your rocket ship and that simply as a matter of course you are going to climb inside and blast off.”

As boys, Jonathan and Michael share the belief that their intelligence will be the key to their success. The metaphorical comparison of their brains to rocket ships encapsulates the sense of unlimited potential they feel. At this stage, neither anticipates that mental illness may interfere with the glittering futures they envision.

“Failing to complete one rite of passage kept me from participating in others, compounding the feeling of ineptitude while Michael raced ahead, in tune with the spirit of the age even as he marched to his own drummer.”

The author highlights The Dynamics of Friendship as he describes his feelings of inferiority in comparison to Michael. Jonathan’s disastrous bar mitzvah is just one of many incidents where he feels outperformed by his friend. While the relationship is one of competitive rivalry, Jonathan never feels like the winner.

“But the fact that I had found him spectating hung over us both, and our different fates and fortunes divided us.”

The Dynamics of Friendship is again illustrated as a childhood incident causes a rift between Jonathan and Michael. Michael’s decision to watch Jonathan being beaten up from a distance instead of coming to his aid creates unspoken tension in the relationship.