The Extraordinary Family in Judith Guest's novel, Ordinary People
Judith Guest's novel Ordinary People evinces some main principles of the modernist literary movement, such as the philosophy that modern man is beset by existential angst and alienation. According to Carl Marx, a renowned existentialist, alienation, as a result of the industrial revolution, has made modern man alienated from the product of his own labor, and has made him into a mechanical component in the system. Being a "cog in the wheel" prevents modern man from gaining a sense of internal satisfaction of intellectual and emotional pleasure. Further more, according to Sigmund Freud, there are two pleasures, work and love. Consequently, Freud would say that being disconnected from pleasure from work, half of the potential for psychological fulfillment would be lost. Modern man is suffering from alienation as a result of large institutions, and as individuals, modern man neither feels that they are part of them nor can understand them. Additionally, the existentialists say, man is shut out of history. Modern man no longer has a sense of having roots in a meaningful past nor sees himself as moving toward a meaningful future. The modern man also suffers from alienation in his relationships with other people. Since he lives life not authentically and not knowing who he is, he cannot relate to others authentically. Hence, there are no real relationships at work and there are no real relationships of love. Also, according to Sartre, modern man is absolutely not a victim of his environments, of his childhood, and the circumstances in his life. The events in life are only neutral and since modern man is free, he chooses the meanings of the facts of his life. Modern man lives in a constant state of existential angst, which is dread of the nothingness of human existence and the fact there is no underlying purpose to human existence or set of objective truths or morals by which to navigate life. According to Martin Heideggar, German existentialist philosopher, the unaware person tries to escape the reality of death by not living life to the fullest. However, death can be the most significant moment for the individual, his defining moment of personal potential, if accepted and confronted squarely will free the individual from anxiety of death.
Today 's generation have changed many ways since the beginning of the century. In “The American Family”, Stephanie Coontz discusses many situations that has occurred during the beginning of the 21st century and suggested solutions to solve those issues in the future. For instance, she argued that women are being treated unfairly, family are not discussing their problems openly, and institutions need to change to fit the families’ requirement. In “Complexity of Family Life among the Low-Income and Working Poor” Patricia Hyjer Dyk, argued that women still doesn’t have enough choices, low income families doesn’t have enough jobs, and Government are not helping many families. Dyk’s review of the scholarly research on low-income families support Coontz’ evaluations of the problems faced by 21st century families and the solutions Coontz recommends, like improving women 's lifestyle, discussing problems openly, improving institutions and changing institutions so it can to fit to fulfil families need. .
In “A Hunger”, “The Penal Colony”, and Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Kafka succeeded in showing his individuals as obsessed with their profession; however their obsession caused their doom because society asks so much from an individual, only so much can be done. However, regardless of that, these individuals choose their work over themselves, and not even bad health or death can stop them. Because society places immures pressure on Kafka’s work obsessed character, they neglect their well-being and cause their own downfall.
Describe the social and historical context of the story (see chapter 1 of "Learning in Adulthood"). If you are working with a historical movie you will want to address both the social and historical context of the story and the social and historical context of the time in which the film was made. For example, if you are working with a movie made in the 1980s about the Civil War you will need to talk about the social and cultural influences of the time of the Civil War and any influences that you see from the 1980s.
The purpose of Philip Slater’s book The Pursuit of Loneliness is to “reach some understanding of the forces which are unraveling our society” for his readers (xxii). It is a common conception that America is the best country, an idea which is substantiated by economic figures. However, Americans are not happy. According to Slater, “all societies frustrate certain human needs and satiate others (because) humanity and any particular society’s idea of what humanity should be is never very exact” (2). In America, the gap between reality and perception is growing farther and farther apart, at human expense. Americans work their entire lives for the future, in the pursuit of economic security, which ultimately leads to continued unhappiness in the present. American culture “struggles more and more violently to maintain itself, (but) is less and less able to hide its fundamental antipathy towards human life and human satisfaction” (122). Slater’s book teaches people about the existence of the “wide gap between the fantasies Americans live by and the realities they live in,” in the hopes that this will inspire people to react in positive ways (xxiii).
Alienation, the state of being isolated from a group or category that one should be apart of, exists in three forms; man’s alienation from man, man’s alienation from fellow men, and man’s alienation from the world itself. These three classes of alienation are fluid phases of the same process that exists to some extent within every member of society. The intriguing and complex nature of alienation has sparked the interest of many philosophers, artists, and authors around the world, resulting in works of art and literature that attempt to give insight into living life alone. Authors Herman Melville and Frank Kafka both reveal the struggles of functioning set apart from society through the protagonists in their respective short stories; Bartleby the Scrivener, and The Hunger Artist. The overall theme of marginalization in society in both Bartleby the Scrivener and The Hunger
It’s not easy to build an ideal family. In the article “The American Family” by Stephanie Coontz, she argued that during this century families succeed more when they discuss problems openly, and when social institutions are flexible in meeting families’ needs. When women have more choices to make their own decisions. She also argued that to have an ideal family women can expect a lot from men especially when it comes to his involvement in the house. Raymond Carver, the author of “Where He Was: Memories of My Father”, argued how his upbringing and lack of social institutions prevented him from building an ideal family. He showed the readers that his mother hide all the problems instead of solving them. She also didn’t have any choice but to stay with his drunk father, who was barely involved in the house. Carvers’ memoir is relevant to Coontz argument about what is needed to have an ideal family.
There are many themes that occur and can be interpreted differently throughout the novel. The three main themes that stand out most are healing, communication, and relationships.
In the book Ordinary people by Judith Guest it shows how the book advocates for the therapist by Dr. Berger helping Conrad and his dad, Dr. Berger is there for him at all times, and Dr. Berger stays calm at all times.
According to Karl Marx, alienation is a result of living in a socially stratified society, because the mechanistic parts of a social class alienates a person from his or her humanity and human nature. This is done through the work of the market economy and capitalism in which prior, society was cohesive and worked together to combine and achieve ultimate goals. However, with the onset of capitalism, the market economy placed individuals on metaphoric stations doing one single task to accomplish mass production. Based on specific qualities, education, and abilities, people were placed on a specific role to accomplish a task for the powerful to make more money. Since the ideology of capitalism came before psychology, the field of psychology was inherently influenced by this type of process, which has been ingrained into out socialization of society’s function. Methodological Individualism attempts to identify all human characteristics on an indefinite continuum. Once these characteristics are understood, scientists can then research and control for specific outcomes in order to ultimately control human behaviour; this is how psychology functions today. By reducing human beings, we can understand the strengths and weaknesses of individuals and have them place on a track to fit in with a capitalist economy. Like the market economy, humans are issued on a chain for mass
Hence, people cannot rely on those to guide them in life. This contributes to what Frankl (2010) referred as existential vacuum, which is “a sense of futility and emptiness and a feeling of meaninglessness” (p. 41). Consequently, in such state, people are unable to identify their individual wishes that in turn, lead them to conformity or totalitarianism. Frankl (2010) cautioned his readers that such sense of emptiness and meaninglessness are increasingly experienced by young people in the US.
pity. As a result of these actions, they are seen as having some sort of
Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Existentialism is Humanism.” Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Walter Kaufman. Meridian Publishing
In the 1940s and 1950s, many Europeans struggled with existential issues such as isolation, alienation, and meaninglessness (Corey, 2017). Human limitations and the tragic dimensions of life were the focus of European existential philosophers at this time (Corey, 2017). In my opinion, it is important to have a strong understanding of how this theory came about from a historical and cultural sense so that I can become more aware of how this theory is biased. Many early writers had significant influences on the development of existential therapy. Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard wrote about a concept called angst that has a meaning between dread and anxiety (Corey, 2017). Kierkegaard believed that this existential anxiety, as it became known, is not pathological (Corey, 2017). Instead, existential anxiety prompts us to create our true selves. Friedrich Nietzsche supported many of Kierkegaard’s notions, but took them a step further to declare that humans are not rational beings (Corey, 2017). We do ourselves harm to give up our sovereignty; however, if we tap into our power, we tap into the potential for creativity and originality (Corey, 2017). I really resonate with this idea that people create
Hardware and Software Anything you can touch on the computer is hardware. It is capable of accepting and storing computer data, executing a systematic sequence of operations on computer data, or producing control outputs. Such devices can perform substantial interpretation, computation, communication, control, or other logical functions. Why does John brown need hardware? John Brown needs hardware because without it the computer will not function properly.
Computers perform the input, storage, processing, and output functions of the information system. In addition, computers and their devices need ways to communicate with one another. These devices are usually connected by electronic cables when located near each other. The factors that determine the reliability of an information system are the accuracy of data input, the convenience and quality of output, optimal use of storage devices, and the speed of a computer.