Reflection Paper 1 After reading the case of Neil Cargile and Martin B., I believe that Martin B. most closely fits the definition of abnormality. The reason I believe this is that his behavior fits the pattern suggested by Rosenhan and Seligman more clearly than Neil Cargile. Characteristics of Abnormality According to MacLeod (2014), the seven characteristics that define abnormality, based on the research done by Rosenhan and Seligman, are the following: suffering, maladaptiveness, unconventionality, unpredictability, irrationality and incomprehensibility, observer discomfort, and the violation of moral or social standards. Suffering. When Martin’s wife leaves him after twelve years of marriage, he is understandably devastated. Her departure …show more content…
Expanding on what I was saying about Martin’s newfound dependence on alcohol to get to sleep, the maladaptive nature of his disorder can be seen in that dependence. When a behavior is maladaptive, it interferes with a person’s ability to work normally, interact with other people normally, and it also causes problems with a person’s day-to-day functionality when they are by themselves. At a certain point before Martin sought help – at the insistence of his older brother – he wasn’t able to concentrate, eat, or even attend work (Bernheim 2004, p. 7). Out of those three activities, the inability to eat was the most maladaptive behavior that Martin displayed, as failure to eat can lead to death by starvation in extreme cases. While the other two behaviors were still detrimental to his ability to take care of himself, the failure to eat anything was, to me, a telling sign that there was something seriously wrong with Martin’s …show more content…
Unlike with the criterion of unconventionality, it is easy to see the unpredictable nature of Martin’s behavior. According to Bernheim (2004), “Martin was a thirty-nine-year-old engineer when his wife left. He made a good living, through working long hours to do so…He had been proud that he was able to support his family without his wife’s financial help” (p.7). When his wife life, it isn’t surprising that he felt adrift since so much of his pride was invested in being able to support his family. The unpredictable part was the extreme way that tragic event affected him. In what I have seen, people who undergo extreme crises tend to cling hard to the one sure thing that they have left in their lives. In Martin’s case, I would have expected him to become even more dedicated to his job in order to try and soften the blow of his wife’s
Martin’s abhorrence towards Mrs. Barrows is due to their antithetic disposition in their workplace milieu. Mr. Martin and Mrs. Barrows are polar opposites in “The Catbird Seat”, and Mr. Martin, as a long-standing worker at F&S for “more than...twenty-two [years]” (Thurber, 217), possesses a well established routine. But since the introduction of Mrs. Barrows, he has been a victim of the disruption and criticism of Mrs. Barrows due to her inherently loquacious and clamorous nature. In the mere short period of time that Mr. Martin is acquainted with Mrs. Barrows, considering how long Mr. Martin has worked there and how long Mrs. Barrows has been present, it sparks his extreme loathing of Mrs. Barrows, even to the point that Mr. Martin considers extermination by murder. However, though it is implicit that Mr. Martin’s detestation towards Mrs. Barrows has been present in the beginning and throughout Thurber’s story, it is not until Mr. Martin has devised a ploy to exterminate, or as he puts it, “to rub out Mrs. Ulgine Barrows” (212), that his true inner nature is
As well as how Martin suffers from his own dilemma and fears that his wife might cause to his social life and children due to her life consuming addiction.
Louise, the unfortunate spouse of Brently Mallard dies of a supposed “heart disease.” Upon the doctor’s diagnosis, it is the death of a “joy that kills.” This is a paradox of happiness resulting into a dreadful ending. Nevertheless, in reality it is actually the other way around. Of which, is the irony of Louise dying due to her suffering from a massive amount of depression knowing her husband is not dead, but alive. This is the prime example to show how women are unfairly treated. If it is logical enough for a wife to be this jovial about her husband’s mournful state of life then she must be in a marriage of never-ending nightmares. This shows how terribly the wife is being exploited due her gender in the relationship. As a result of a female being treated or perceived in such a manner, she will often times lose herself like the “girl
While the audience realizes that Martin is lonely, one isn’t sure why he wants them to believe he killed someone. Try to add a statement by Martin that reveals that this is the most exciting thing that has happened to him, or reveal what his motivation would be to want to belong to this club. How does this fill a void in his life? He wants to be accepted, but what triggers this. Try to convey why he would want to be accepted by this
Vaca initially despised Martin because of his big belly and his belief that Martin is well off. For example, when Vaca’s mother would take him into town he looked at the wealthy men and their large bellies with envy. “For us a large belly meant that a person ate well- too well.” Vaca falsely assumed that Martin’s large belly was a result of having money
In the passage, Martin, the author, Nick C. Vaca, writes about the time him and his friends had a confrontation with the new neighborhood boy, Martin. Through describing what happened before, during, and after the engagement he provides insight on what he learned from this experience. This experience left Vaca with a long-lasting impact and taught him how you shouldn't make assumptions about someone before you know them.
Martin sees his wife, perception of her not clouded by her drinking for once, and free of anger he makes his decision. His love for her is more evident than ever as Carson McCullers implies that Martin Meadows is going to leave his wife. Martin’s spirit returns as he decides that his own happiness is very important to him. The moment is beautifully depicted, and the reader becomes aware that Martin is making this decision in the best interest of himself and his children. "His hand sought the adjacent flesh and sorrow paralleled desire in the immense complexity of love.""A Domestic Dilemma" by Carson McCullers shows the importance of making the right choices. The story shows the consequences and suffering that will result from neglecting your own spirit and your own needs. The main character, Martin, sacrificed his marital relationship in the best interests of himself and his children. "A Domestic Dilemma" is a startling wake-up call with a powerful message about how love can stray people from making decisions in their best interests.
Deviant behavior is sociologically defined as, when someone departs from the “norms”. Most of the time when someone says deviance they think against the law or acting out in a negative behavior. To sociologists it can be both positive and negative. While most crimes are deviant, they are not always. Norms can be classified into two categories, mores and folkways. Mores are informal rules that are not written; when mores are broken, they can have serious punishments and sanctions. Folkways are informal rules that are just expected to be followed, but have no real repercussions.
So much had changed; Martin had lost two of his boys. Burwell informed Martin that he had named his new son after Gabriel. Martin soon departed for his family. His wife was pregnant, so he had to wait at Gullah Village until his eighth child was old enough to travel. He planned to rebuild at Fresh Water Plantation, but worried because he didn’t know how he’d be able to finish in time for the winter.
Severe mood swings, violent rages, memory loss—each of these problems were a part of my family life during the past two or three years. These problems are the result of alcoholism. Recently, a member of my family realized his abuse of alcohol was a major problem to not only himself, but also to those around him. He would lose control of his temper and often would not even remember doing it the next day. Alcohol became a part of his daily life including work, home, and any other activities. His problem was that of a "hidden" and "high-society" alcoholism. When he was threatened with the loss of his job and the possibility of losing his family, this man knew it was time to get help. After he reached his lowest point, he took the first step towards recovery—admitting his problem.
Generally speaking, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) references substance dependence (in this case, alcohol) as a cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms that shows that the person is continuing use of the substance even with adverse effects on the individual’s life. Specifically, for a person to be diagnosed with substance dependence they must show at least three of the following symptoms; tolerance, withdrawal, substance being taken in larger amounts of over a longer period of time than intended, an unsuccessful desire or effort to control the use of the substance, there is a great deal of time devoted to the drug, important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced due to the substance, and the individual continues use of the substance even with the knowledge that the substance is causing physical or psychological problems (APA, 2000).
Most women in Mrs Mallard’s situation were expected to be upset at the news of her husbands death, and they would worry more about her heart trouble, since the news could worsen her condition. However, her reaction is very different. At first she gets emotional and cries in front of her sister and her husbands friend, Richard. A little after, Mrs. Mallard finally sees an opportunity of freedom from her husbands death. She is crying in her bedroom, but then she starts to think of the freedom that she now has in her hands. “When she abandoned herse...
It creates a standard, and those that fall outside of the standard are considered anomalies. In reality, however, it seems more likely that those that fall within the standard are anomalies. Nobody is just one thing. You can be both brazen and nurturing, depending upon the circumstance. I do not believe that these kinds of traits are dependent upon physiological attributes, and
Marriage was not kind to Mrs. Mallard, her life was dull and not worth living, her face showed the years of repression. If she did love this man, why was marriage so harmful to her? Marriage was a prison for her
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...