#karikeepsrunning

(I tried to reblog this, but it was too long.  So I am tagging all the rebloggers that I could see)

#adventureswithbrett  has a different take on this “battle of the wits”.

I think this supposition is problematic for a couple of reasons, the foremost being that it's a completely unnecessary hypothesis. There are no internal problems fixed by proposing this.

Westley hands an open vial to Vizzini and tells him it contains iocane powder. He tells him it is odorless, tasteless and dissolves instantly in liquid. The last is important because in liquid is when iocane powder becomes undetectable to the eye. In handing the vial to Vizzini Westley tells him to inhale, yes, but he doe not tell him not to look. We can assume the vial contained a visible powder and that Westley was comfortable with this.

We must also consider that Vizzini is well aware of what iocane powder is. He's heard of it, appears comfortable with the facts of it's potency and properties as presented and later uses his knowledge of the powder's country of origin in his argument. Being involved in the sort of business he is, if iocane was also a poisonous inhalant Vizzini should have known this.

If we assume that he would have known all about iocane and that it was NOT in fact iocane in that vial, the script makes no mention of it and Westley has lied about it throughout the scene, including to Buttercup after Vizzini dies... and worst of all to us, the audience.

If Vizzini had been ignorant of one of iocane's delivery methods, we should have been told that Vizzini was a fool after all. If it wasn't iocane it would be more in line with the scene if Westley explained to Buttercup, "It wasn't iocane. It was deadwart gas, guaranteed to kill."

But the foremost point remains. As told, the story doesn't contain any clear problems that need to be addressed by alternative theories. Westley puts iocane powder into both goblets. He's spent several years building up an immunity and therefore ingests it safely while Vizzini does not. Simple and straightforward and without clear holes.

I suspect that the quibble here is that it's supposed to be a battle of wits while surviving poison seems more of a physical feat. But this new proposition does worse violence to this idea and has Westley dodge the battle entirely by sabotage, something a bit out of line with his rakishness.

The battle of wits is much less straightforward than a simple chess match between players and it's one with some dishonesty on Westley's behalf but I don't believe that there was no wit involved. Westley became a pirate and spent years honing his skills. Fencing, fighting, anything anyone could teach him. Notorious pirates are used to having people not trust them and when sailing the seas and being both predator and prey (not to mention the threat of mutinous crews) death by poison is not a far-fetched fantasy. It would not be inconsistent for Westley to prepare his body for such an attack by immunizing himself over time. A wise and prudent pirate captain who intended to live a long time with his true love would do such a thing.

When Westley encounters Vizzini he proposes a battle of wits, and this is the true beginning of the battle. Westley has already marked Vizzini for being a very intelligent yet arrogant man blinded by his own ego. He proposes a game in which Vizzini must measure Westley for what sort of man he is and then stake his life on his choice, something Vizzini has supreme confidence in his own abilities toward.

What Vizzini should have deduced was that he was dealing with a pirate. Not a gentleman who would stake his success on a wager but a man of will who would secure his win through any means. Now as a heroic pirate he also has style but he's still willing to take Vizzini's life to rescue Buttercup.

The question of the contest is "Where is the poison?" and not "which goblet has the poison?" Vizzini should have correctly assessed Westley's intentions, or at least his character, and declared them both unsafe. Westley would then have to admit he HAD lost that battle, or else go on to lie, which he has not strictly done yet.

Before our battle has begun Westley has recognized that he outclasses Vizinni and baits him into a game he will lose by his own ego. In some ways Vizinni "lost" the battle of wits when he agreed to play Westley's game. There's no need to assume a different poison or more ignorance on Vizzini's part.

Also, griddlebandits says this:

But you know Westley didn't say it was iocane until after Vizzini inhaled it. Does that change anything? Are we all still absurdly obsessed with this movie?

If you have not read Cary's book yet, I highly recommend it.

1.  My mother.  I didn’t know her very well.  She was a single child and she had three children, me, my sister and then my rambunctious brother, and I don’t think she was totally prepared for that.  But we never went without.  And I don’t remember her being mean to me.  But I don’t remember a ton of affection either.  

One motherly thing I do remember:  Living in Ohio, I was pregnant with my second pregnancy, had one 15 month old, and I had a husband who was trying to go to finals at seminary and he had a bad cold.  I started miscarrying.  I called my mom in Michigan.  She and my step-dad immediately came to get me and my toddler.  She took care of Brett while I was in the hospital for a night to complete the miscarriage.  So she did love me.....I just didn’t always feel it.

2.  Middle daughter gets married and has problems for 7 years getting pregnant.  She handles the disappointment with grace and what seemed to me tranquility. (I am sure there were many times she was upset.)  Then she gets pregnant and has the most wonderful little boy.  Two years later, a gorgeous baby girl.  But wait, MS decided to take over her body.  Through all these trials and tribulations, she has been the greatest mom that I have ever seen.  I hope that I have a great mom to her also.

3.  Youngest daughter finds her high school love and decides to marry.  Three awesome grandkids later, I am so proud to see the type of mother she is to her brood.  Again, another amazing mother.  How did she and her sister learn to be such great moms?  Did I help?  Oh I hope so.

4.  Oldest son (only son), moves in with is girlfriend and her two children.  He is older now and more mature and thinks he can handle living as a family.  I hope I didn’t do anything to make him not want to be a dad.  A year later they decide to marry.  The wedding is soon.  I have spent to visits with them and I like and respect his girlfriend.  I see how great she and my son are doing with raising the two boys.  I see the love they have for each other and the boys.  I am so looking forward to having her as my daughter-in-law.  I hope I will be a great mother-in-law.

we’ll all be there in just a few weeks -- and I’ve got one spot left in my hotel room! who is gonna be the lucky person to snuggle up to me for two nights in Kentucky? also, I don’t wear pants to sleep.