4th posting due Friday, May 18th
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Rachel Treannie
Rachel Treannie
Mrs. Connors
Honors English 10
May 4, 2012
Laws Unbound Piece by Piece
Death is by any amount scary and tragic, a monster that grimaces upon the light of life. Though, if death’s innumerous fatalities could be put to rest without any casualties than there would be no objection to the solution. That is until one finds themselves on that other end consisting of the legitimate cure. Throughout the very well put together novel “Unwind” by Neal Shusterman, three teens are followed as they struggle with this issue. Connor, Risa, and Lev stand on the outskirts of society, no more than young out casts. They are the cure. As the story progresses the one major question embraced in the text is whether the unwinding of each teen, which is just an extreme level of organ donating, is worth the price. The true issue confronted here is: the principal purpose of unwinding was to save lives but is that counterproductive when lives must be taken “apart” and given to others? Now life has been downgraded as a matter of convince. Thus the rights of the individual are embezzled. This concept of unwinding is a chain of links that all form a loop, the catalyst of this cycle is society and what is just suspected of the public. The cultural morals and the values of man affect the government. This hypothetical future in America has allowed itself to pass laws that have gone against what the country stands for; “the right of life” and “the rights of the individual”. Value in real life has stooped to the dust, having no worth but that of which is popular agreement in this novel. With expectations lowered and patience sparse, the value of worthwhile life is few and far between.
Death is the worst possible outcome to any accident. Death is a regulator though; it ensures wariness and caution for mortals. Life would be undermined and treated poorly if no consequence would be dealt. All of this though can be fixed! If anything from head to toe, even the hair atop your head, is damaged it can be replaced to be good as new. This should be a good thing, but of course anything good has something to balance that out. Carless is one result of this ability to practically play God. People will not be as tentative when driving, handling weapons, or machinery. To forget the mortality of man is horrible, the respect for other’s lives or personal lives would become obsolete. The time frame in which this advancement began in the novel has yet to display the long term affects. Though surgeons can replace the damages, a death can never be brought back. Death is the dark wine stain on the rug, it is irremovable. People have grown less vigilant because they know they have nothing to really lose, they forget that one wrong hit and they are dead. This is lowering the standard for life because no one needs to worry or care about losing anything or anyone. They can just patch up what is broken and be on their way. The citizens beat around death with new solutions not caring that people’s lives must be “taken apart”.
(Quote that)They forget about those people who gave up a piece of themselves for the wounded. The law states in this novel that 99.4% of the body must be used (things such as the appendix are the other 0.6%). Those people who have new parts believe that the unwind is still alive, but in a divided state. That is what the law claims, living but in a divided state. Naturally that is what is believed and in believing this, it is assumed that there is no death or taking of another’s life. Though the unwind’s life is taken away because they are not living their own, they have no possession of their body. Thus, it makes sense that their lives are taken away, no one thinks that way in this society though. They do not view any of this as death they are not guilty or grateful for their new body part. They ignore the source and place life at a lower standard because that is how everything has become. The unwinds do not die, they just live divided. So no one ever questions. Like the meat in fast food, no one cares to think about what is in their food while they eat it, they know some ware deep down it is not good for the body, but they ignore that because they have already eaten, and it was okay to eat because so many others have eaten this artificial food before, plus no cow died really. Why bother questioning when they have eaten and are full. The food fulfilled the purpose; let them leave it at that. That is how this society treats Unwinds, who really cares how he got these nice legs; he can walk again that is all that matters. No one died, everyone is saved.
Quote part with girlfriend’s eyes/description: relate to how the society views beauty v. the person. The effect overall, feelings, honesty, respect; worth-worth effects kids-the product of environment. Thus reactions, personality, beliefs are contaminated. With worth shot effort down grades, product: more unwinds, more troubled children. An endless cycle-from thesis- connections, Back up with some of Connor’s outlooks, or shark guy Look under the box scene when they all discuss things that most refuse to really admit. = outlook= products of environment (the minorities)
Lev and Sy-Fi, Sy-fi is a product of environment, quote it. How? He was greatly affected, he has a piece of brain form an unwind, the unwind is who we must focus on alright? He was going to that unwinds home, that part wanted to go home to say goodbye to his parents, to receive an apology: never die they say: here is the consequence. The damage is worth more then the pain? Does society ignore or really don’t see the negative affects.
Due to the obsession of the outwards appearance the value of “inner beauty” is undervalued. Thus, looking for the good in a person is ambiguous to society, they no longer search for what is on the inside. Since society has advanced this way, parents forget the importance in looking into their child to find redeemable qualities that they would love. Parents love their children, but in this society no one cares to know each other unless they are appealing to the eye and not the heart. The parents will not love their children as much as they should therefore when the going gets tough they will just solve their troubles by sending their problem child to a harvest camp. An easy solution, but a large toll on the heart. Quote the general’ story….. the general had been one of those parents at one point who had not really bothered to put time in with his son. When he had become quite an issue for his wife and him they sent him off to be unwound. He regretted that choice; once his son was gone he realized how much his presence, his personality-both the good and the bad moods- meant to the General. But it took his son’s unwinding to wake him up. That is what society has become.
Jason Kay
The human mind’s in-depth conscious and subconscious workings are
truly unbelievable. With any given stimulus, the person is applied to
the action in the changed environment, whether this occurs physically
or mentally to said person. The diagnosis for a particular mental
disorder may vary depending upon the doctor’s known area of study. In
fact, most mental disorders for a person are “changed” throughout a
patient’s treatment due to the fact that a more “accurate” mental
disorder fits a description of a doctor’s patient. For a believable
book, most characters in literature suffer from mental disorders and
syndromes and this explains their motivations as well as their
actions.
In Jay Asher’s novel The Thirteen Reasons Why, the protagonist,
Hannah Baker, clearly suffers from depression due to constant
harassment from her peers of her actions. In response to the constant
bullying from her peers, Hannah seems to keep her feelings to herself
about certain events until she finally releases the reasons on how
everyone has ruined her life after she commits suicide. To further
elaborate, Hannah Baker shows anxiety during certain events in her
life and this also pushes Hannah towards “the edge” and leads to her
impending death. This general anxiety disorder coincides with the
depression she suffers from and results in very negative thoughts from
the people around her and in her own mind itself. The way that
everything Hannah does is brought out to the public leaves Hannah
trapped in a most powerful where she is ridiculed and critiqued for
everything she does. The thirteen reasons why Hannah kills herself
all relates back to her mental disorders along with the actions of her
peers.
To begin, Hannah Baker’s depression first shows symptoms when her
first kiss is ridiculed by other students in her school. Hannah
expresses her thoughts about the problem by expressing frustration at
the subject which will later evolve into serious depression. Hannah
expresses her anger when she says “I think that’s the reason, in my
dreams, my first kiss took place at the rocket ship. It reminded me of
innocence. And I wanted my first kiss to be just that.
Innocent” (Asher 25). Hannah’s first kiss is stripped away from her
pride and this causes Hannah to be put at an outlier position among
her peers which can make the human mind a powerful weapon against
oneself. This anger that lingers in Hannah is expressed after the
real story is told when she states “Oh. So sorry. You wanted something
sexier, didn’t you?...Well, what did you want to hear? Because I’ve
heard so many stories that I don’t know which one is the most popular.
But I do know which is the least popular. The truth” (Asher 29). The
fact that the truth is revealed when it is too late shows that this
rumor about Hannah ruined her mind and socializing skills.
Furthermore, the way that the event is introduced to the public leaves
Hannah in a state where her privacy is starting to be breached. A teen
with no privacy will feel alone and hopeless INSERT SOURCE HERE, as
Hannah’s behavior/mood indicates, and although these feelings are not
as severe as they later will be, it indicates the later actions that
will be made by her.
Additionally, Hannah feels “betrayed” by Justin for how he publicized
the event. Hannah opens up on how betrayal feels to her when she says
“Betrayal. It’s one of the worst feelings” (Asher 13). Hannah claims
she has a special bond with Justin, mostly because of small events,
but the power Justin holds over Hannah is quite remarkable and the
fact that Justin betrays her adds on to Hannah’s stress. Although the
event was minor at the moment to Hannah, as she admits, it transformed
into something greater and even added anger to her stress acclaimed by
the rumor started about her. The anger developed not only makes Hannah
mad at Justin, but also it seems, as later indicated in the novel,
that Hannah gets mad at herself and regrets this kiss due to the
snowball effect it had on her. The self-frustration accumulated inside
Hannah’s mind will, again, create an even more powerful weapon against
her and Hannah’s depression is now slowly transforming into a greater
problem for her. Although Hannah shows a sign of depression, her
regret of the event itself shows how she is still has a normal
functioning human mind that will think of the “other” possibilities of
what could have happened rather than what already happened. This
response to the stimulus that occurs to Hannah’s mind depicts her
humanity and what the human mind will do in times of stress.
Another contributing factor to Hannah’s stress is Alex Standall’s vote
for Hannah as number one for the list of “Who’s Hot and Who’s Not” in
the Freshman class. Hannah, still a new student, comes into a
completely different school environment than what she was used to.
Naturally, any human when they switch schools will become anxious or
scared as they think of all the possibilities that could go wrong at
their new school. Hannah underwent this typical anxiety, and is proven
when her personal thoughts are revealed when she worries about making
a new friend at her new school when she says “I mean, what if we had
nothing in common? Or what if I thought we had nothing in common, but
she, the other student, thought we did? Or what if the opposite
happened and I thought we would become friends but she didn’t?” (Asher
56). These usual thoughts play in the mind’s of new students and this
afflicts Hannah to be a “closed-personality” individual. With the
prior problems she endures, her depression, at this point, can either
go one way or the other depending on how future events turn out.
Fortunately, Hannah’s mind starts to become comfortable at her school
as she makes two new friends. These friends made will add a positive
outcome to her problems and these friends made are an unintended form
of therapy for most depressed teens. .INSERT 3rd SOURCE
HERE
Unfortunately, however, Hannah’s betrayed by Alex and is placed in a
setting where another one of her newly acquired friends is her enemy.
The burden placed on Hannah creates a “trapped” feeling due to the
fact that the very individual who Hannah could vent and relieve stress
to is now viewed as a competitor. Along with the list, the comments
made about Hannah’s physique create insecurity and is stirred into the
mix of Hannah’s progressing depression. As some can relate, most girls
that receive a comment on her figure from a random individual will
feel embarrassed and angry, and Hannah supports this theory when she
examples it during class when another student comments on her body and
shares “Any of you who were in class that morning, tell me: Jimmy was
taking a sneaky-peek over the back of my chair, wasn’t he? That’s all
I could picture as he whispered, ‘You bet it is.’” (Asher 38). The
list made Hannah more insecure about herself and the publicity of
Alex’s list sent the message that “It’s okay to comment and do what
ever you please to Hannah Baker.” To add on to Hannah’s stress, Hannah
was used as a “weapon” towards another girl in the class to make
another girl, Jessica Davis, feel bad and jealous. Hannah,
unwillingly, was part of some sort of revenge plot and this can make
anyone with a good heart feel horrible about themselves. Hannah is
blamed for something that she had no control of and not only did this
make Jessica jealous but it also made them not friends anymore. Hannah
undergoes insecurity and other guys using her body as a toy and loses
a close friend. This leaves Hannah in an alone and angry state in
which she does not have many people to turn and talk to, considering
that Alex and Jessica were her only “friends.” In fact, the list made
for Hannah can be viewed as the very first initiation of her real
depression considering when Hannah says “Okay. I just looked over
every name—every story—that completes these tapes. And guess what.
Every single event documented here may never have happened had you,
Alex, not written my name on that list. It’s that simple” (Asher
41).This proves that Alex supposedly “started everything”, and shows
how the human mind can actually reach back to the root of its stress
and identify the starting cause of the problem. Although Hannah knows
how the problem started, the snowball affect that occurred after this
incident will clearly start to develop her depression more seriously.
As her depression increases Hannah’s mind will slowly dig a “deeper
hole” in which she falls into and with the deeper she gets into the
hole, the harder it will be for her to escape. This depression she
develop is starting to take its toll on Hannah and affect her
seriously when she says “And what about you—the rest of you—did you
notice the scars you left behind? No. Probably not…. Because most of
them can’t be seen with the naked eye.” (Asher 68) Furthermore, part
of Hannah’s sadness is present due to scar that is left behind after
Jessica swipes her above the eye. Any scar is permanent and this
serves as a constant reminder to Hannah about how she lost a friend
and this seems to haunt her every time she glances in the mirror.
Hannah supports this claim when she says “Or maybe you’ve never seen
it. But I see it every morning when I get ready for school. ‘Good
morning, Hannah’ it says. And every night when I get ready for bed.
‘Sleep Tight’” (Asher 68). Whether it is the list being made or her
and Jessica not being friends anymore, Hannah has flashbacks and
memories of the pain and stress she endured at this period of her life
to intensify the amount of stress she already has. This anxiety
matches with her depression and will only make Hannah more isolated
and terrified of possible events in the future, as well as holding the
fear she has had in the past.
In addition, another direct reason why Hannah killed herself was
because of another boy spying on her change her clothes. Hannah’s
privacy is, yet again, breached and turns Hannah into a state where
she is not able to relax and this is a strong symptom of general
anxiety. (Source 2) Hannah describes how the incident with the
“peeping Tom” makes her feel when she states “Why didn’t you leave me
alone, Tyler? My house. My bedroom. They were supposed to be safe for
me. Safe from everything outside. But you were the one who took that
away” (Asher 89). Hannah’s expression is fully depicting how her mind
is slowly breaking down and collapsing and the snowball effect of her
depression will just keep increasing until she can not handle it
anymore. The anxiety and insecurity collaborate to produce a unique
form of depression in which Hannah will withdraw herself from the
socializing teenage world that she lives in. Also, Hannah’s appearance
and “at-home” privacy will no longer remain, as stated before, and
this leaves Hannah in a position where even when she feels like she is
safe from the outside world, she is not.
Joanna Larsen
H English 10 Period D
May 28, 2012
Psychoanalytic Criticism of Mockingjay
Many times traumatic events can trigger a psychological problem. In
the novel Mockingjay, the two main characters undergo several tragic
events. These events have huge affects on both Peeta and Katniss.
These affects result in disorders like depression and post-traumatic
stress disorder. Also, the characters are unsure about what thoughts
are conscious and unconscious which let them carry out insensible
actions. In addition the characters live in an unusual environment and
their surrounding affects them in a harmful way. The traumatic events
the characters from Mockingjay experience cause them to develop
various conditions.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a type of anxiety disorder. It can
occur after a person has seen of experienced a traumatic event that
involved the threat of injury or death. Some events that can cause
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are assault, domestic abuse,
prison stay, rape, terrorism or war. There are three categories of the
symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The first is reliving the
event, which disturbs everyday activity; for example a flashback or
nightmare. The second category is avoidance; this means you feel like
you have no future, feeling detached, lack of interest in normal
activities and/or being unable to remember aspects of the trauma. The
final category is arousal where you have difficulty in concentrating,
are startled easily, have trouble sleeping, and feeling more aware.
Also, the person may feel guilt about the event, survival guilt.
Physical symptoms are dizziness, fainting, headaches and feeling your
heart beat in your chest. There are no tests that can diagnose post-
traumatic stress disorder.
Clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feeling sadness, loss,
anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for weeks or
longer. The exact cause of depression in not known. Some types can run
in families, but depression can also occur if you have no family
history of the illness. The following may play a role in depression:
alcohol or drug abuse, some medications, sleeping problems, stressful
life events (ex. Death of someone close to you, divorce, childhood
abuse or neglect, or social isolation). People with depression usually
have a negative attitude and are unable to imagine that any problem
can be solved in a positive way. Symptoms of depression are difficult
to concentrate, trouble sleeping or too much sleeping, thoughts of
death or suicide, becoming isolated, feeling hopelessness,
helplessness, and worthlessness. If depression is severe, there can be
psychotic symptoms such as hallucination and delusions. The test for
depression is questions from a health care provider about your
symptoms; the answers will help the doctor to make a diagnosis.
Being abused does not cause psychological or medical illness to occur
necessarily. But, being abused makes it much more likely that one will
occur. Commonly, people develop emotional problems after their abuse.
Some of these problems are depression, various anxiety disorders and
multiple personality disorder. Severe abuse can lead the victim to
suicide. Abuse can play a big factor in psychological problems, but
alone is not the cause of them. Symptoms of the victim getting abused
are panic attacks, self harm, sleep disturbances, flashbacks and
memory blanks.
In Mockingjay, the characters’ psychological disorders become
evident. The anxieties of the characters grow throughout the novel as
both face more difficult and intense challenges. These anxieties cause
Peeta and Katniss to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Katniss also has to live with the deaths of her family members along
with numerous close friends. These losses are too much for her to
handle and cause Katniss to fall into depression. In the beginning of
this story, Peeta gets abused. This affects him mentally and
physically and his life is greatly changed as he tries to cope with
it. Also as a result of the traumatic events, the characters are
unaware of some of their thoughts which lead to unconscious actions.
As this novel unfolds, the reader becomes aware of the many different
psychological disorders that Peeta and Katniss must learn to live
with.
By the end of the three book series, both the main characters had
faced an unbelievable amount of tragedies. Post traumatic stress
disorder is most often caused by a death of someone close to you or a
traumatic experience. Katniss lost many close friends and even a few
family members, she fought in two Hunger Games and had a major role in
leading a troop in war. The anxiety first happened to Katniss after
the first Hunger Games. Katniss relived her time in the games in her
nightmares, having flashbacks.
“A terrible nightmare follows, where I’m lying at the bottom of a deep
grave, and every dead person I know by name comes by and throws a
shovel full of ashes on me. It’s quite a long dream, considering the
list of people, and the deeper I’m buried, the harder it is to
breathe. I try to call out, begging them to stop, but the ashes fill
my mouth and nose and I can’t make any sound.”(Collins 382).
These flashbacks disturbed her everyday activity, which is the first
symptom category of post traumatic stress disorder. Also, Katniss felt
guilt for her survival because she had to watch so many die, including
her ally. Just before the second Hunger Games Katniss participates in,
she watches her beloved stylist gets brutally murdered because of her.
These two deaths along with a few others overwhelm Katniss. The next
symptom category is avoidance; this means you feel like you have no
future, feeling detached, lack of interest in normal activities and/or
being unable to remember aspects of the trauma. Katniss often comes to
the decision that if she had the chance to die she would take it. She
sees no future for herself after all the bad things that have
happened. The third symptom is arousal where you have difficulty in
concentrating, are startled easily, have trouble sleeping, and feeling
more aware. Katniss barley sleeps; she wakes up from a nightmare every
night. These three categories of symptoms of post traumatic stress
disorder help recognize Katniss’ PTSD.
Along with Katniss, Peeta has also had to deal with the deaths of
many loved ones. These deaths don’t trigger Peeta’s post traumatic
stress disorder like Katniss’, though. Peeta’s purpose in fighting in
both Hunger Games and a war was to protect Katniss. But, Peeta could
not protect himself from flashbacks and nightmares of the battle
field. These flashbacks and nightmares altar Peeta and effect his life
in a way where almost nothing can help him. (ADD QUOTE ABOUT PEETA’S
FLASHBACKS). Peeta’s flashbacks are way more intense and life changing
than Katniss’, because these flashbacks are not only caused by the
games. Peeta got captured by the Capitol, and was tortured. This abuse
changed Peeta’s life immensely. But, abuse does not cause mental
disorders alone. The two Hunger Games he competed in along with the
abuse caused Peeta’s post-traumatic stress disorder.
In Mockingjay, Katniss has depression. The following may play a role
in depression: alcohol or drug abuse, some medications, sleeping
problems, stressful life events (examples are death of someone close
to you, divorce, childhood abuse or neglect, or social isolation).
Katniss has lost an unbelievable amount of friends and family. These
deaths are the main reason for her depression. After the death of her
dearly loved sister, Katniss doesn’t know how to continue her life.
“Because between my father and Prim and the ashes, the place is too
painful to bear.” (Collins 380). Symptoms of depression are difficult
to concentrate, trouble sleeping or too much sleeping, thoughts of
death or suicide, becoming isolated, feeling hopelessness,
helplessness, and worthlessness. Katniss has a few thoughts about
suicide; she begins to starve herself then plans to overdose. “What I
can do is give up. I resolve to lie on the bed without eating,
drinking, or taking my medications. I could do it, too. Just
die.” (Collins 376). Eventually, Katniss gets help and can live with
the deaths of her loved friends and family. Katniss will never truly
be the same because these deaths have hurt her so much. To overcome
depression, one must have a support team and the willing to want to
get better. Fortunately, Katniss overcomes her depression.
Noah Kellem
Liesel experiences her second trauma almost immediately after her first. She is forcefully separated from her mother and given to another family to be taken care of by her mother. Because of this, Liesel develops separation anxiety right alongside PTSD as well. Separation anxiety is defined as “a developmental stage during which the child experiences anxiety when separated from the primary caregiver (usually the mother)” (Separation Anxiety 1). Although separation anxiety “usually ends when the child is around 2 years old” (Separation Anxiety 1), Liesel experiences and suffers from separation again.
In the chapter titled “Arrival on Himmel Street”, the narrator states that on the car ride to Liesel’s new home without her mother, she experiences a “constant rise and fall of her stomach, and the futile hopes that they’d lose their way or change their minds”(Zusak 26). This is a form of separation anxiety, and is happening because Liesel is currently separated from her mother, though in her mind the separation is not permanent yet. A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia states, “Most children will experience some degree of separation anxiety when in unfamiliar situations, especially when separated from their parents” (Separation Anxiety 1). Liesel is experiences these feelings because of the current, unusual situation she is in and because she is not currently with her mother. This is only the initial reaction to the separation from her mother, and therefore she is in the beginning stages of separation anxiety.
In that same chapter titled “Arrival on Himmel Street”, the narrator talks about how Liesel would not get out of the car once they had arrived to her new home. Then, when she finally came out after fifteen minutes of being coaxed out by her foster father, she clung to the gate and after a while walked inside her new house (Zusak 28). These actions are a direct result of the distress that she feels because of separation anxiety. The A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia states, “When children are in situations (such as hospitals) and are experiencing stress (such as illness or pain), they seek the safety, comfort, and protection of their parents. When parents cannot be with their children in these situations, the children experience distress” (Separation Anxiety 1). Liesel is an unfamiliar environment with unfamiliar people with her mother nowhere in sight, and this is a main cause of the way she is feeling due to separation anxiety.
As stated by the A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia earlier, separation anxiety is only a developmental stage, and is therefore temporary. In order for a child to get over separation anxiety, they must do three things. They need to “Feel safe in their home environment, trust people other than their parents, and trust that their parents will return” (Separation Anxiety 1). As the novel progresses, Liesel begins to no longer suffer from separation anxiety and eventually no longer has those feelings. Both of Liesel’s new foster parents gain her trust and love, and become the parent figures in her life that she looks up to. She makes new friends and begins trusting people other than her foster parents as well, and feels completely safe in her home environment. Because of this, Liesel eventually comes to a more normal mental state and no longer suffers from separation anxiety.
Hailey Adams
Mrs. Connors
H English 10
April 29, 2012
For eighteen years the Hartes and the Golds lived next door to each
other, sharing everything from Chinese food to chicken pox to carpool
duty. They grew so close it seemed they were always a part of each
other's lives. It was no surprise that in high school Chris Harte and
Emily Gold's friendship grew into something more. They were each
other’s best friend and significant other; they have been soul mates
since they were born.
At age nine, Emily and Chris were playing truth or dare in McDonalds.
Chris dared Emily to go into the boy’s bathroom and when she entered,
a man whom she called The Creep, sexually assaulted her. Emily was so
traumatized she decided never to tell anyone. She allowed the event to
take her over and effectively take over her life. Victims of sexual
assault have shown prominent repercussions throughout their lives.
Within the novel, The Pact by Jodi Picoult, Emily experiences extreme
physiological, psychological and emotional effects due to sexual
assault. Unfortunately, she developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD). As she gets older, lasting emotional effects like depression,
withdrawal, no interest in sex, shame, and nightmares took such a toll
on her she committed suicide. Becoming depressed makes her feel alone
which contributes to her suicidal thoughts. Ultimately these thoughts
lead Emily to want death by age seventeen.
When Emily died, evidence pointed to murder and pointed right at her
boyfriend Chris. There was not proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but
accusations were thrown across the board. Not knowing the answers
drove the families apart. While each family dealt with Emily’s death
in different ways, both families were drastically changed. During the
healing process, both families did not have all the answers to their
questions. Because of this, they were forced to create their own piece
in the puzzle in their head so that they could recover and continue
with their lives.
Victimization plays a crucial role in Emily’s character’s actions.
After her death her tragic story began to unfold and her abnormal
behaviors and mental state began to make sense. The Gold’s and the
Harte’s begin to go through the process of the seven stages of grief
which added overall content and emotion to the novel. Through
psychoanalytic criticism and the ideologies of Frued, all of this
content is explored through out the novel. It challenges the
repercussions of Emily’s sexual assault and provides an explanation to
the strain put on Chris and Emily’s parent’s relationship.
Emily’s evident Rape- Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder effects
began to show around age sixteen. Sometimes it takes a while for RR-
PTSD to develop. “Victims may experience a general tendency to avoid
any thoughts, feelings, or cues which could bring up the catastrophic
and most traumatizing elements of the rape” (1). It all depends on the
type of person you are dealing with and how traumatic the event was to
that person. There are many phases, symptoms, and challenges the
individuals who suffer from it face. Emily and Chris had been dating
for years and naturally he wanted to have sex. The more she began to
toy with the idea the more anxiety it caused her. “Many rape victims
have realistic nightmares and dreams about the actual rape. In
addition, victims may relive the event through flashbacks, during
which victims experience the traumatic event as if it was happening
now (1). These symptoms are shown in Emily’s life. At night Emily woke
up panting with cold sweats. She would dream of her assault and
described the burning sensation of disinfectant, the smell of his
black breath, and coarse hairs on the back of his hand. Sometimes she
would even awake with the same burning pain and it would continue for
hours.
Sigmund Frued would argue that some of the behaviors that Emily was
displaying could have been diagnosed as “hysteria”. The traumatic
events that occurred to her in her early child hood has never left her
and therefore caused her anxiety and depression and lost self-control.
(6) “He conjectured - on theoretical grounds - that hysteria was the
consequence of presexual sexual shock.” (7) When Emily’s body betrayed
her she was embarrassed. She was confused by what was happening to her
and she couldn’t understand why.
For a moment, her fingers curled around the length of him. Chris
closed his eyes, drifting. Then her hand jumped up, trembling. Emily
jerked into a sitting position. ‘I… I… can’t,’ she whispered, her face
turned away. Stunned-was she crying?-Chris got up on his knees. ‘Em,’
he said softly. I’m sorry.’ Afraid to touch her, he held out his arms.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide and wet. It took a moment, and
then she came to him. (Picoult 143)
“Frued’s research and observations lead him to the conclusion that
female sexual dysfunction is a result of sexual abuse of a pre-
pubescent child.” (7) In all of his therapy sessions with women who
experienced sexual dysfunction he picked their brain and found that
often times the way that the client was treated through out their
childhood was the main reason why the person was experiencing sexual
dysfunction. Also, if the woman was sexually abused, assaulted, or
raped, he would work through the trauma and it helped them reduce
their anxiety, dysfunction, and RR-PTSD.
Re-experiencing the trauma is the most major symptom of RR- PTSD.
There had been instances which she and Chris would come close to
intercourse, but something that he said or did would trigger Emily to
shut down completely. “There was no safer way to stumble through
intimacy than with a good friend. But then something had changed.
Chris’s hands moved; Emily found herself fighting him off. At first it
was fear, which gave away to curiosity. The problem was, curiosity
gave way to something else.” (Picoult 141) Often times, she would come
home after being with Chris and be so upset she would vomit. Emily was
becoming confused with her own feelings. Chris was becoming impatient
and confused as to why Emily was constantly shutting down.
The sexual assault only added to the pressure because she was unable
to allow herself to be a sexual being. “Em did not know what sex was
supposed to feel like, but she guessed it wasn’t having your skin
shrink back from his, your stomach roll, your head pound out that this
was wrong”(Picoult 141). Re-experiencing the event and going through
something that reminds the victim of the event is emotionally
draining. “The victim can become physically responsive, such as
experiencing a surge in their heart rate or sweating, to reminders of
the traumatic event. Reminders of the event can be triggered from
something similar to the assaulter’s actions or environment. This
sends the victim into a frenzy”(4). Because she did not have the
knowledge about RR-PTSD, those symptoms forced Emily to feel like she
was doing something wrong and that there was something wrong with
her.
Silently suffering RR-PTSD caused Emily to slip into a state of
depression. No one picked up on it because she created a mask that she
put on in front of parents and friends and teachers. Chris took her
not being like herself as not being interested in him anymore, and not
as a deeper issue. It made Emily feel more alone and being an
extremely talented artist helped her a lot. She expressed herself
though art, it worked therapeutically for her. Emily’s art work
shifted when she became suicidal. “This last canvas was washed with a
red and black background. A floating skull grinned out from the
picture, bone white and gleaming, a painfully blue sky streaked with
clouds showing through the holes of the eye sockets. A realistic red
tongue snaked out from between yellow teeth. At the bottom, Emily had
signed her name. And titled it Self-Portrait”(Picoult 219).
What she was subconsciously doing was practicing somatic art therapy.
“Somatic art therapy is an integrated somatic and body centered
approach used with art making. You can gain awareness of your
sensations and feelings in your body as you express yourself through
art. This process facilitates a deepening of the body/mind connection
and allows a richer integration of experiences with the resolution of
traumatic or overwhelming events”(9). No one knew what was going on
inside of her and she was unable to talk to anyone about it but, being
artistically inclined helped her, for a short period of time, to work
through the pain. Art therapy can be used to help regulate the
autonomic nervous system and in Emily’s case it exercised her hyper
arousal and dissociation.
Upon Emily’s suicide, the two families dealt with the situation for
the first time in eighteen years, apart. When a child dies in a
family, extremely evident when the child was an only child, most often
the parents deal with it separately and it pulls them apart rather
than coming together to work through it. (QUOTE ABOUT EMILYS MOM AND
HER DAD) Even though Chris didn’t commit suicide, he was still in jail
during the trial period. Under the constant pressure and immense
stress, his family too distanced themselves. (QUOTE ABOUT THE
DISTANCING IN CHRIS FAMILY) Chris being in jail made Gus lose her
mind. She felt judged and misunderstood.
So what if they found proof that Chris had been at the carousel? There
had never been any question that he was at the scene of the crime. She
did not realize until she had reached her car that she’d taken that
paper without paying. For a moment she considered going back in to
leave thirty-five cents, and then she decided against it. Fuck it, she
thought, let them think the whole family’s full of felons. (Picoult
182)
Gus losing herself in the middle of the chaos caused a strain on her
and her husband’s relationship, and many others of those around her.
The seven stages of grief are recognized as
1.) Shock and denial
2.) Pain and guilt
3.) Anger and bragging
4.) Depression, reflection and loneliness
5.) The upward turn
6.) Reconstruction and working through
7.) Acceptance and hope
When Gus took the paper from the store, she was feeling pain and
guilt, the second stage of grief.
Rachel Ashley
Rachel Ashley
May 4, 2012
Mrs. Connors
Humans of all kind feel a need to be accepted; they want to belong. This concept is one that lies at the very core of one’s human nature. While a few rise above this urge encoded in to the very fabric of the human heart, millions succumb to this insisting desire, yielding to the demons of conformity. There is a line that exists between wanting this acceptance from others and becoming totally dependent upon this urge for acceptance. For most, there is a clear distinction between these two things, but for some this line becomes blurred. These people are known as Neurotics; they suffer from “a mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality, it is accompanied by a less distorted perception of reality than in a psychosis, does not result in disturbance of the use of language, and is accompanied by various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances.”[1] So what is it that brings on these severe mental disturbances? Several philosophers have decided to examine this issue and see it they can learn what brings this on. One of the key researchers in this filed is Karen Horney, who has come up with the most logical way of defining both how people first become neurotics and has been able to come up with three categories into which neurotics generally fit. However, people are not the only ones that can fit in to these categories, since characters in novels often take on very humanistic traits it is only natural that a handful of them would also suffer from neurosis without ever even realizing it. In the series, The Nightside, by Simon R. Green it becomes apparent that the character John Taylor is one that suffers from this mental disorder.
What is it that first made John Taylor into the neurotic that he is? According to Karen Horney, “The key to understanding this phenomenon is the child's perception, rather than the parent's intentions.” [2] What this means is that in order to understand how this phenomenon occurs, it is vital to look into the patients childhood, not just what occurred during that time, but rather what their frame of mind was.
During his childhood John Taylor was raised by a single father, whose wife left him only a year after John had been born. Charles Taylor, John’s father, turned to alcohol and over the next few years he slowly poisoned himself with the drink, until inch by inch it killed him.
Now that the stage is set it becomes important to examine the two opposing view points. These points each pertain to what happened during the time bracket, that led up to the death of Charles Taylor.
For Charles Taylor, the story is not one of the reckless abandonment of his son, but rather a tale filled with tragedy and horror. Just shortly before he began his downward spiral, his two greatest friends betrayed him, leaving him to try and collect the shattered puzzle pieces of what had once been his heart. During this troubled time all he had left in his life was his young wife and new born child. “Your mother was my last chance. To be a man, to be sane again… She was my life, my hope, and my dreams. I never loved her like I loved anybody.” (Green 236) Her mere presence in his life reminded him that there was more to live for. It was with her constant reassurance he was gradually able to fuse the pieces of his heart together again. Though just as he was finally capable of climbing back upon his feet the cruelty of fate struck him. It was during this time that he learned that his wife Lilith was simply using him, biding time until she could gain the power that she needed to once again take over the world in which they lived. He later recounted to his son saying, “You’d meant so much to me, and now I was afraid that you were a lie, too. Because if I could not depend on my wife to be my wife, if she wasn’t even human…how could I depend on you to be my son? I was afraid that you would turn out to be a monster, like your mother.”(Green 236) Terrified that John might turn out to be a monster like his mother, Charles found, himself like so many others before him, turning to alcohol to try and hide his fragile heart from the cruel and uncaring world. Even though the consequence meant that he would have to estrange his only child at a young age. He decided that it was more important to protect himself from being destroyed by the one person that he has left, then attempting to maintain the burden of being there for his son.
Although this may not be the correct solution to the problems that Charles faced, one can easily see where it is that he was coming from. After all, in times where the world its self has turned its back on you, doesn’t it become tempting to try and bury those feelings of regret and loss away rather than face them. To many alcohol is simply another one of these outlets a method for the heartache that they face to be repealed. It causes a variety of feelings such as happiness, relaxation, sleepiness and allows for people to forget about their worries for a short amount of time.[3]While they are part of this world they do not have to face the burdens of reality. It was for this reason that Charles Taylor first turned to alcohol when his wife left him.
For Charles Taylor this might be a tale of heartache and woe, but to John this same tale is told under a slightly different light. John was just a child when his mother first left the family and because of his fathers shutdown he only ever knew that she was a monster. As a child he was forced to watch in wonder, as his father slowly began to drift farther and farther into the never ending darkness. This same wonder was one that would plague him for the rest of his life. Years after childhood john is forceds to seek out his father, to save the world from eminent danger, yet upon confronting him the very first thing that he asks is “You went away. Abandoned me to my enemies, when I was just a child. You left me alone when I needed you most. You drank your self to death rather than raise me, why?” (Green 236) This question barely scratches the surface of the years that John has been tormented by these questions. Although it was not always on his mind thoughts such as this have always been present in the back of his subconscious weaving their way into the very fabric of his existence. The evidence of this inward struggle becomes apparent when examining his career choice, as a private detective. His modo is “The truth always comes first no matter who it ends up hurting.” (Green 117) Living a life where the truth has always been kept from him, it has become his obsession to try and find the answer for others, that he never was able to obtain about himself because his father chose to hide from the world after finding out the truth about his wife. It is the difference between these two stories that catalyzes the change of John Taylor from being a normal functioning person to somebody suffering from neurosis. (find a better way of wording)
Now that a basic understanding of why John Taylor became a neurotic to begin with is set, it is important to being understanding what kind of neurotic he is. Karen Horney took common attributes that accompany patients who suffer from neurosis and developed three different categories of coping methods compliance, aggression, and withdrawal. These coping methods were developed as a defense by the child against the incredible indifference of a parent. Let’s break down the first of these coping strategies, compliance. .[4] Compliance is the need that drives many of us, it is the desire to have others respect and love us. Although this need is present in all of us, to a neurotic who has chosen to cope using the compliance method it is more than just a want and desire, it becmose a must. They devote every second of their waking lives to this intences need. They live for others recognition, completely bending to try and fill the role that others want for them. They become completely unable to do anything on their own, instead they rely on others to do every thing for them.
josh
5/12/12
Mrs. Connors
8-10 page paper
The Giver
Some view utopian communities as a dream or an idea and as a
reality to some and for the main Character Jonas a utopia is his
reality. There are many positives to a Utopian community like living
in a sheltered world without fear of war or criminals just a peaceful
mind set. Also everything is planned and works like a well organized
machine. But there are flaws that ruin any utopia like the fact that
one so sheltered one can’t shape his or her own person identity or
leave your own mark on the world.
In the Giver the world in which the main character lives in is a
perfect world where you get meals every night no man or women is
wealthier than on or the other person. The whole world is censored no
one knows anything other then how the system runs. But they don’t know
the deep truths other than the Person with the Title the Giver in
which has all the memories of the world’s origin. Some examples the
censorship is the people don’t know anything about the color so no one
knows what anything looks like . Another thing is they believe when
the older people get to near death they are sent to a better world and
have no idea about death.
World wide there are many systems that link to this far fetched
utopian system that The Giver helps readers visualize. The coming of
twelve ceremonies is when the kids in the community get jobs that they
keep for the rest of their lives, this links to what the Indians in
India do with their caste system. Unlike The Giver one is born into
their class so if you are born poor you will always be poor and will
never get out of it. This is also like Slavery in America back in 19th
century in which if you were born a slave you would always be a slave.
This also links to communist countries like China and Russia when it
was communist. The communist had a system in which they need their
people to work to make their system go round. In The Giver if they
weren’t jobs given to kids they wouldn’t have a work force and since
they cant change trades it keeps a equal amount of people in each job
working in perfect harmony.
The utopian dream also came to America and is not as far fetched as
it seems in Jonas’s world. Many utopian societies merged with religion
many of these groups based their life on simple morals and rules from
god. Like the Ten Commandments is a solid foundation of a utopian
like world. Do not kill in The Giver there is no violence or war if we
followed this like the religious groups do the world could be a
utopia. Also don’t steal if their was no theft there would be no crime
and the world would be a perfect place.