Across the lifespan of a human being, there are often stages of growth that one must complete in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. From the lifespan developmental theories of Erik Erikson, Maslow, Jean Piaget, etc. they all have the commonality of stressing the completion of a stage in a healthy way in order to continue life. Without adequately achieving these challenges, it may cause foreseeable problems in the future. In Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”, the artist tackles her own developmental challenge of differentiating illusion from reality. More specifically, “Both Sides Now” gives insight to the necessity of growth with repetition as a way of completing the artist’s transition from youth to adult within the concepts of love and …show more content…
The song begins when Mitchell opens up about her illusionist state, portraying the ways that one can get lost in dreamer ideals: “Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels/ The dizzy dancing way you feel/ As every fairy tale comes real,” (lines 13-14). The view of love as all consuming, a high, and is perfect shows her juvenile way of thinking. As love does not only harvest the good, but the bad as well. However, in her illusionist state, she fails to recognize this. Similar to a child, the lens she uses can disrupt her ability to see the world from a complex point of view. Thus, keeping Mitchell in her youth. This is further explored on her illusion about friendship: “Tears and fears and feeling proud/ To say "I love you" right out loud/ Dreams and schemes and circus crowds,” (lines 25-27) For Mitchell, being emotionally vulnerable as well as honest with herself and her peers is something that comes naturally in her youth. Worries of getting rejected or shot down from her dreams is not on her mind as she believes that as long as she is open to world, the world will be open back. Though, this is not the case as there is a possibility for disapproval and rejection. Ultimately, Mitchell is static in her thoughts, showcasing her juvenile tendencies to view life in a pure, optimistic way. Therefore, the artist is unable to transition from illusionist to realist as she has never …show more content…
Furthermore, it reinforces the emotional impact of growth and the importance of this development in order to continue life in a healthy way. In the final verses, she repeats in variations, “I've looked at life/ from both sides now/ From win and lose and still somehow/ It’s life's illusions I recall/ I really don't know life at all,” (lines 36-39). Finally seeing life from different aspects through love and friendships, Mitchell understands that with joy comes pain and vice versa. She adopts of a sense of longing and hope for happiness despite learning the reality of love and friendship. Though her development of illusionist to realist, it has forced her to see through a broader lens, as she confesses that she still does not know life at all. In a way, becoming an adult has caused her to realize that there is room to grow even more; acknowledging life’s concepts from both sides is only the beginning. Therefore, growth through repetition or rather, making mistakes, is necessary in order to gain a fuller understanding of
The poem begins with a young woman (the dancer), she craves attention and has big dreams of ultimately becoming famous. She is young, full of life, talented and gorgeous. However, the attention she craves is only fulfilled through performing on stage. This limits her, in all aspects of her life, because this uncontrollable desire could lead to her ultimately destruction. As a result, Barnes wrote, “Life had taken her and given her. One place to sing.” (Barnes). The dancer is trapped in this life not only by the opportunities life had given her but also for her own selfish desires. Yet, the thing she desires more than fame is love. Although her life is busy, with performing and partying she is in search for love. Barnes explained the dancers quest for love, “looked between the lights and wine. For one fine face…. found life only passion wide” was an unsuccessful one instead she only found lust. In other words, although she is looking for love she is looking for it in the wrong places, because she is trying looking in between the “lights” she letting her desire for fame interfere with her definition of love. She should look for someone who yearns to care for her spiritually, mentally and physically. Yet, what she aspires is for someone to love her that has status and wealth. To obtain what she wants she is
Introduction:The road to maturity and adulthood can be a long and difficult road for teens, especially when it comes to decision making and changing your view on the world. The popular short story, “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”, written by world-renowned author, Evan Hunter in 1957, displays this perfectly. Hunter uses the protagonist, Andy, to illustrate his development from adolescence into adulthood as he shifts from a state of ignorance to a state of knowledge, from a mindset of idealism to realism and from a selfish personality to a selflessness personality. Hunter expresses the major theme of coming of age through this protagonist character who is seen shifting from a state of adolescence to a more matured state of adulthood throughout the story.
Life experiences—whether they are positive or negative—mold one’s unfiltered, most genuine self. The more experience one gains in their lifetime, the more growth this inner self will undergo. The things that Janie endured during the course of the novel is more than what most people will go through in a lifetime. Even though Janie had many trials and tribulations in Their Eyes Were Watching God, they just made her a stronger, more independent, self-aware woman.
The speaker also manipulates time to bring out his or her message. Lines 3, 8, 11, 21, 34, and 36 all contain some order of either “spring summer autumn winter” (3), as in lines 11 and 34, or “sun moon stars rain” (8), as in lines 11, 21, and 36. As the order of these seasons changes, it indicates the passage of time. This manipulation of time draws attention away from these lines and towards the lines with deeper meaning hidden within. However, there is another form of time: the progression of life. The speaker comments on the growth of children in terms of their maturity levels and how as they get older, children tend to forget their childish whims and fancies and move on. He or she says that they “guessed (but only a few / and down they forgot as up they grew” (9-10). He or she then goes on to say that “no one loved [anyone] more by more” (12), hinting at a relationship in development, foreshadowing a possible marriage.
With the threatening reality of Morrie’s illness looming overhead, Mitch must learn from him just how necessary it is to live life to the fullest. Mitch was living an empty life, a life lacking fulfillment and love. Morrie explained this in a quote “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things.” He also explained, “The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” Morrie helps Mitch lead a life consisting of love and happiness rather then material possessions. Morrie taught Mitch to live with the key ingredients of happiness and gave him understanding about what those ingredients are, and how to make them apart of his life.
...erstand the way life is for her. She wants people to understand the present threat of death lingers around her. She wants it to be known how she has been hurt in the past. She also wants people to know not to dwell on the past, to look to the future, and to keep moving forward. Larkin, on the other hand, wants people to understand that getting hurt is a part of life; it should be expected and dealt with. He wants to convey how important memory can be, it defines whom we are and should never be forgotten. While these two authors have conflicting ideas about life and how the various aspects of it should be felt, they both agree that these things should be dealt with in one way or another. They want everyone to know that it may hurt sometimes, but life keeps going. Do not let a problem define a person, instead let the way that person copes with the problem define them.
At this point of the story it is reflective of a teenager. A teenager is at a time in life where boundaries and knowledge is merely a challenging thing to test and in some instances hurdled. Where even though you may realize the responsibilities and resources you have, there is still a longing for the more sunny feelings of youth.
In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
Millay is also capable of articulating the effect that knowledge of pain, suffering and death can cause on a child or young adult. And by the end of the poem Millay escapes, unharmed with her same thirst for knowledge. Most importantly Millay's readers feel as if they can sit down and live and learn from her poems without having to go through the agony of dissecting ancient language or multiple allusions to past works.
The song’s intangible spirit changes how they both felt each time. He can see her, but he is speechless, and does not know how to expr...
Life is never easy for anyone, however it is particularly harder during the time of adolescence. The period in which the person is no longer considered a child, but not quite an adult. Erik Erikson had many ideas about this period, and he focuses on the term identity diffusion. Rebecca Fraser-Thill describes this when she writes: “Identity diffusion is one step in the process of finding a sense of self. It refers to a period when an individual does not have an established identity, nor is actively searching for one. In other words, it's a time when a person's identity remains unresolved, yet there is no identity crisis (called an identity moratorium).” (Fraser-Thill, 2011) Erikson was able to carefully acknowledge the intrinsic components of the concept of identity diffusion. James Joyce’s text, The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man can apply to his analysis when Joyce begins to grow up. According to Erik Erikson the four major works of identity diffusion include intimacy, diffusion of time perspective, diffusion of industry and lastly negative identity which also applies to Stephen Dedalus from Joyce’s book.
Throughout the song the tone changes from a disappointed and unsatisfied feeling until it progresses into a hopeful and maturing tone. This transformation of tone follows the story almost perfectly and allows the reader to feel a connection to the transformation of the protagonist. This transformation from “expecting the world” (line 1) to realising that some things must happen for others to come into motion “the sun must set to rise” (line 24) is especially impactful and emotional when paired with the lines “ This could be para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise” that are repeated to show her newly established happiness and maturity. Ultimately, this progression from disappointed
Each experience and interaction has an effect on the development of the person as an adult and shapes them into the personality and even physical appearance they will take on as they mature. Those with the strongest influence, namely family, religious figures, and others whom one comes in frequent contact with will have the greatest effect on a developing being. It is between the stage of childhood and adulthood that the most change takes place. This position, called adolescence, is the state of a person coming of age yet not completely independent, it is this state that the psychologist Erik Erikson’s adolescent theory becomes prominent. “Erikson was an ego psychologist. He emphasized the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego itself.”(McLeod) It is Erikson’s theory that brought about the thought of an identity crisis that occurs in this stage of life. According to Erikson’s thought of identity diffusion there are four major components; intimacy, diffusion of time perspective, diffusion of industry, and negative identity. These can each be found in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as each of these factors are clearly represented in the novel.
Ms. Johnson had overcome many challenging obstacles in her life, but had never dealt with the challenges of trying to teach troubled teens. The lyrics of this song are an important factor to the movie, since Ms. Johnson had to learn about her multi-cultured student’s backgrounds in order to better understand them.
In the poetry of William Blake and William Wordsworth, this difference between children and adults and their respective states of mind is articulated and developed. As a person ages, they move undeniably from childhood to adulthood, and their mentality moves with them. On the backs of Blake and Wordsworth, the reader is taken along this journey.