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Part 1) Context:
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.
Ordinary People was Judith Guest‘s first novel published in 1976 and Robert Redford directed the movie version of it in1980.the novel takes place during the late 1970s and focuses on Calvin Jarrett’s family.
Calvin and his son have two sons their oldest Buck is extremely popular at school and their youngest Conrad who looks upon his brother. The family seems financially privileged but becomes dysfunctional when buck dies in a boating accident. Buck and Conrad were boating when Buck died and Conrad cannot stop blaming himself. He is so emotionally distraught that he attempts to kill himself. After being in the hospital for a month he is physically cured but he is still emotionally distraught and cannot stop blaming himself.
The late 1970 saw an increase in psychotherapy for adults, teenagers and adolescents. The controversial idea of psychoanalysis was preiminent during the 1970sordinary people helped psychoanalysis become more accepted. Two other issues that were closely related were suicide and depression. According to the CDC from 1970 and 1980 there were almost close to 50000 youths who committed suicide in the age group of 15 to 24 years. Young adults 20 to 24 had twice the number and rate of su...
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...ression and guilt self-blaming, suicidal attempt, including the effects of his mother’s emotional unavailability, his resentment that his mother loved his father and brother more.
Conrad asked his therapist “So what should I do now?” The therapists responded with information and advice “Recognize her limitations” etc. These were educational comments about the mother’s probable narcissistic character disorder which were intended so Conrad might begin to understand his own conflicts about her love Conrad’s focus was initially external when he then questioned ” you mean why she can’t love me”. The therapist responded to an internal psychological explanation aided by educational comments about the mother’s personality limitations.
Refrences
Merriam, S.B., Caffarella, R.S. &Baumgartner (2007) Learning in Adulthood: A comprehensive guide, san Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass
Ordinary People is a movie that chronicles the struggles of a “normal” family reamed by the death of their eldest child Bucky and the attempted suicide of their youngest, Calvin. The Jarrett’s are a middle class family in the suburbs of Chicago who, at least to outside appearances, have a fairly typical life, though we learn this is in fact not the case. Conrad has just returned from the hospital and seems to be experiencing not only depression but also PTSD. Conrad is the seemingly identified patient, even though the whole family is struggling in their own way, especially Beth. We start to see the background of the Jarrett family through Calvin’s therapy sessions with his new therapist, Dr. Berger.
Throughout the novel one person who had an affect on Conrad was his father. From the beginning of the novel, Con’s father had an understanding of him. From talking to spending time with Con, his father was there most of the time. When Conrad was confused or had a question, his father would try to help and answer him to the best of his ability. Because his father was put into a home I think that he was able to understand Con a lot more. Just as understanding he was also caring. Whenever Con felt upset or happy, his father was there to share the experience. His father would always make sure that Con was all right. His father cared so much that he gave Con a number of a psychiatrist. Unlike the mother, the father would like to see Con back to normal.
Conrad gets so depressed that while his parents are away he tries to commit suicide. He doesn’t succeed because of his parents early coming. He is then sent to a hospital to heal the wounds and mental damages. After he gets out of the hospital is faced with the real world situations. When his mother and father are talking, his mother says, “He has escaped this time but even the smallest, most insignificant encounter is alive with complication and danger. He wishes himself, for a moment, back inside the hospital where things were predictable. Mercifully dull.”(Guest 114). Holden wishes that he had never gotten out of that hospital, he wishes that he wouldn’t have to deal with his mom and other people. The only person Conrad is really able to talk his feelings with is his therapist Dr. Berger. Berger is what Conrad would call a trustworthy man. In one of Conrad’s session Berger asks what the overall problem of Con’s life is, Con says, "There 's a guy in the closet. I don 't even know him, that 's the problem."(Guest 146). Conrad can 't go into the closet in order to figure out who he is running from. Berger is trying to get at the point of, how can there be a problem if there is
His parents more than anything went through emotional problems such as anger, afraid, shocked, sad to name a few. The parents mostly felt angry about the situation. The mother had self-doubt about her son. While the father felt angry, there were parts in the film where he was angry because of what his son did. For example, when he was arguing with his wife Kate, he mentioned that maybe it would have been better if they never had him. In another part of the film, when he goes back to work he sees everyone staring at him and all he is thinking about is what his son did, and he sees his co-workers whispering to each other and looking at Bill like if it was his fault. He’s angry when they break into his son’s room while no one was home. The mother was also angry when she was trying to sell the home people had just came into the home to take pictures of her son’s
Killed his best friend’s mother, and does not believe his friend will forgive him. During the whole
When Conrad first arrives home from the hospital he immediately represses all his emotions and is overall numb. Anytime the subject comes up he displays silence and just answers that he is fine. He eventually begins talking to a Psychiatrist who gets him to show his emotions. This causes him to act out numerous times in violence. For example, when their family is taking a picture his father tries to get a picture of Conrad and his mother, Conrad then yells at his dad to give the camera to his mom. Instead of keeping all his emotions bottled up causing him to erupt like that he could of tried to
In Ordinary People by Judith Guest, Guest takes an extraordinary family and makes them seem ordinary. By using the title, Ordinary People, Guest tricks the reader into questioning outrageous situations with a sense of normalcy. She makes the situations appear to be a typical part of life. But the irony of the title is that because of the obstacles the Jarrett family, has had to face, they are no longer ordinary people. They are extraordinary. Guest goes to great lengths to make everything in her novel appear to be ordinary. The book opens on an ordinary day and the family lives in a typical, ordinary neighborhood but if the audience looks close enough, they will find that the Jarrett family is not ordinary at all.
Throughout the film a focus on family and the dynamics is prominent. A traumatic event, the loss of a son, brother, and friend, has influenced the Jarrett greatly. Due to the circumstances in which Conrad, a severely depressed teenager and the main character, was present during the death of his brother, feelings of guilt had built up in this young man. A great deal of stress and tension is built between the family members because of this tragic accident. Here is where the concept of, change in one part of the familial system reverberates through out other parts. (Duty, 2010) The relationship between the Conrad and his mother become even more absent because, in the film it is presented to show that the mother blames and has not forgiven Conrad for the death of his brother Buck. Six months after the death of his brother Conrad attempts suicide with razors in the bathroom of his home. His parents commit him to a psychiatric hospital and eight months later, he is trying to resume his “old” life.
When Conrad learns of a tragic event, he becomes mentally trapped in the present. After reading in the paper about the suicide of one of Conrad’s friends, Karen, he is sent into a panic. With confusion and shock overwhelming him, he cannot comprehend his own thoughts. That night, Conrad “[…] awakens to fear again; his mouth dry. For terror-filled seconds he doesn’t know if it is happening all over again. Or worse, that time has tipped backward and it is happening still” (Guest 214). This exposes Conrad’s inner emotions and feelings towards the incident with Karen. He believed she was in a stable position and that her condition was improving. These thoughts overwhelm Conrad with doubt because now he, himself, is unsure if he has progressed at all. He feels as though time is turning back and ‘it’ is happening again. This is a setback for Conrad because he has lost the ability to recognize the strength within
L. The Role of Aging in Adult Learning: Implications for Instructors in Higher Education (2004,December)
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.
Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Andragogy assumes the following about adult learners: 1) self-concept becomes self directed, 2) life experience and knowledge is a valuable resource that builds further learning, 3) possess a readiness to learn, 4) motivation to learn is based on a problem solving approach with an immediacy of application (Werner & DeSimons, 2009). Moreover, this implies, that irrespective of age, successful learning require learners to possess certain attributes such as: a level of self-efficacy, motor reproduction abilities plus motivational need in order to influence learning potential while applying andragological techniques such as collective planning, self-determination and peer collaboration to enhance these qualities (Werner & DeSimons, 2009). In addition to these assumptions, older and younger adults, whether Baby Boomer or Gen Y, can and do have similarities and differences in their learning abilities which is dependant on their individual situation, and these differences need to be considered when assessing learning needs (Bohlinger & van Loo, 2010). Distinctions can lie within the same generational cohort as much as between them, with the differences becoming apparent as people age due to job involvement and career stage (Rocco, et al.,
Knowles, M., Holton, E., & Swanson, R. (2011). The adult learner. (7th ed.). Burlington, MA: Taylor and Francis.
Tusting, K. & Barton, D. (2006). Models of adult learning: a literature review: Institute of Education University of London: National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy.