Throughout the play, “The Valley” written by Joan MacLeod, there is a definite denial and avoidance theme taking place within all the relationships, but mostly there is a lack of acceptance for what is really happening in each of their lives. In the drama, by Charlie
Kaufman, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind”, there is also a similar theme of unacceptance among the main characters Joel and Clementine, although it only seems that they lack acceptance for themselves, and each other.
In “The Valley”, the characters are in denial of the present situations that are taking place in their lives and they are seeking to find past memories to deal with their present reality.
Whereas, in the “Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind”, the
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Memories keep us stuck and don’t allow us to move on, once you have had the experience you are no longer the same person, you have changed in that moment. Memories will try and take us back to a place we can’t go, because our perceptions of the event shapes our memories and our perception will change over time, ultimately changing the way we remember the event. In the play, “The Valley”, Sharon the mother of a freshman boy in college who had a run in with the police attempts to see her son through her memories of when he was young to avoid seeing the person that he has become. Sharon is unaccepting of the possibility that her son Connor may be experiencing some type of mental illness; she avoids dealing with what is happening in the present by discussing what he use to do and who he used to be from her memories of him. When she meets with the arresting officer Dan, she starts the conversation by discussing Connor when he was in Kindergarten, and brings in a manuscript that he wrote, this information having no bearing on the situation at hand. Consequently, whenever
While she might think that her plans are working, they only lead her down a path of destruction. She lands in a boarding house, when child services find her, she goes to jail, becomes pregnant by a man who she believed was rich. Also she becomes sentenced to 15 years in prison, over a street fight with a former friend she double crossed. In the end, she is still serving time and was freed by the warden to go to her mother’s funeral. To only discover that her two sisters were adopted by the man she once loved, her sister is with the man who impregnated her, and the younger sister has become just like her. She wants to warn her sister, but she realizes if she is just like her there is no use in giving her advice. She just decides that her sister must figure it out by
Each person has a place that calls to them, a house, plot of land, town, a place that one can call home. It fundamentally changes a person, becoming a part of who they are. The old summer cabins, the bedroom that was always comfortable, the library that always had a good book ready. The places that inspire a sense of nostalgic happiness, a place where nothing can go wrong.
Repressed memories is a topic that has been an ongoing dispute among some, however ac...
characters felt the need to settle down in life and both saw the image of
how he beat her. Mel, Terris husband, gives us his feeling for his ex-wife, and
This is an example of Jeannette’s parents trying to keep their children as optimistic as possible.They knew that their life would be rough and tough based on what they had gone through however if they always kept the positive mindset it would make things a lot easier for
Man must not only remember his past, but also choose to remember it as it really happened—for, to again quote Eliot, “What might have been is an abstraction" (175). Fantasizing about an abstract, idealized past will never give success i...
Our most significant memories are shaped by who we are and what is important to us. They are often guided by those around us, who help us to remember. Memories can be triggered by things: objects, pictures, music, tastes and smells, colors and physical feelings. To quote Cesare Pavese: “we do not remember days, we remember moments.” Shared memories connect people, create a sort of legacy. They reinforce our sense of community. One reason why memory loss due to illness or old age is so tragic is that it can distance a person from loved ones who have shared common life.
Mental illness is a debilitating disease that can wreak havoc on a person and, their family. Mental illness is also a major theme in Proof, and the readers see that the main characters display signs of mental illness. Robert’s mental illness, while never disclosed, affects his mind and the way he thinks. Catherine, on the other hand, may not have a problem with mental illness rather a problem with too much stress. Catherine has stress on her to take care of her father and to live up to his legacy. This stress is enough to affect long term mental stability and can change the way a person’s brain functions. The stress on Catherine could manifest itself into a mental illness like state.
often share a long history of past experiences with one another. These past experiences have a
In conclusion, the tenuous relationship Sethe shared with her mother led to Sethe’s inability to provide for her children. Consequentially, the murder of Beloved built an emotional barrier that added to the preexisting issue of concerning her stolen milk left Denver with too little milk and the primitive drive to live that at first seemed foiled by her mother’s overbearing past. Yet, against all odds Denver was able to break her family’s legacy of being engulfed in the past and began taking steps for a better future.
One of the main causes for her insanity is the treatment she is receiving by her husband. Right when the story begins the narrator moves into a home with her husband and new born child to stay for a few
Memory is the tool we use to learn and think. We all use memory in our everyday lives. Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. We all reassure ourselves that our memories are accurate and precise. Many people believe that they would be able to remember anything from the event and the different features of the situation. Yet, people don’t realize the fact that the more you think about a situation the more likely the story will change. Our memories are not a camcorder or a camera. Our memory tends to be very selective and reconstructive.
Everyone has a special place that people will never forget. Sometimes it is because there were places that people experienced great joy or comfort. A special place represents peoples’ special memories either good or bad. Memory will following people whole life, and store people’s heart deeper. Good memory will coming all time. My special place and my memory is my grandparent’s house; my grandparent’s house practically is my second home. I would never forget that special place because of things going on my grandparent’s house, which is symbolized by my grandparent’s love.
The sites of memory tell that we must create archives, preserve memories because the memories will not occur again naturally. Memory becomes a history with each passing moment. In modern societies today, memory is archival through recording, taking pictures. With the advent of modern technology, people are creating memories and preserving them as well. As today it is very difficult to draw a line of distinction where we can say what to remember and what not to. The prediction is impossible what we should therefore remember. “Memory transforms from historical to psychological, social to individual, from repetition to creating re-memories.”(Nora: 15)