v Yerushalmi Professor Thompson English 2150-B 30 April 2014 Research Paper: Final Copy A Psychological Examination of a Self-Destruction It’s most likely that every sensible person living in this world has experienced some sort of mild depression, despair, and sadness at some point in their life. As human beings, it is human nature to cope with our short-lived emotional problems. Sadness is an appropriate, normal human emotion for all the numerous situations we encounter daily. However, some people are unable to emerge from such problematic feelings due to chemical imbalances in the brain, which is considered to be a critical factor in what causes major depression. According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, major depression is a mental illness that “interferes with one’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat and enjoy life.” Additionally, the Mental Wellness Today magazine states that such symptoms are “typically felt over a period of time by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy.” My research paper focuses on the aspect of what factors contribute to the mental development of an individual based on the classic debate of nature (the biological or genetic makeup of a person) versus nurture (the way one was taught, and the environment in which he or she grew up). Moreover, my paper will consist on the life of Ernest Hemingway, who is considered to be one of the most significant and popular American authors of the twentieth century, as claimed by the European Graduate School. I will also be analyzing the reason why Hemingway suffered immensely from depression as well as his dependence on alcohol use. Documentation of well-known facts and research reported from leading psychologists and scholars establish credibility o... ... middle of paper ... ...ersation at a café during a crisis point in their relationship. After the couple got off the train, they decided that they should have something to drink when the man suggested they should perhaps order beer, emphasizing “Two big ones.” The couple could have ordered any drink, so it is important to pay keen attention to why the author, Hemingway, decided to incorporate alcohol into his short story. Maybe Hemingway wanted his readers to think that the couple was going through emotional problems and beer was the solution to help cope with them. As we see with this particular couple by reading the text, we begin to understand the woman depended on drinking to cope with her troubles. When the girl did not want to speak anymore to her partner, she asked the waitress for another beer. As we now know about Hemingway, such a mechanism relates to the way he lived his life.
In Hemingway's short story there are three characters, two waiters and their customer. Of these three, two are older men who are experiencing extreme loneliness. The customer sits alone drinking his glasses of brandy slowly, and very carefully, peacefully becoming drunk. While he is meticulously drinking his alcohol, the two waiters talk about him. They discuss his suicide attempt of the week past. The younger waiter doesn't seem to understand why a man with money would try to end his life. Although the older waiter seems to have an insight into the customer's reason, he doesn't share this with the younger one. He seems to know why this deaf old man is so depressed, and sits there alone and silent. When the younger waiter rushes the customer, the older waiter objects. He knows what it is like to go home to emptiness at night, while the younger man goes home to his wife. The older waiter remarks on the differences between him and his younger companion when he says, "I have never had confidence and I am not young.&qu...
The debate of nature vs. nurture still continues today in the world of psychology. The effects of an individual’s genetics and the effects of their environment on their personality and actions is an age old debate that is still inconclusive. However, it is evident that both sides of the argument carry some form of the truth. It can be contended that the major characteristics of an individual are formed by their environment, more specifically, their past experiences. An individual’s past moulds and shapes their identity, if they do not make an effort to move on from it. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows that clinging on to the past prevents individuals from fully experiencing the present, eventually leading to resentment, dissatisfaction, and misjudgements.
Throughout time, the growth and maturity of an individual has been a common theme in literature. Often times, a literary character initially appears juvenile to the reader in his or her age, thoughts and actions yet, as the story develops, grows into a mature and dependable individual. Many positive and negative factors can influence the growth of an individual and the evolution of personal character. These factors can include external forces such as an individual’s surroundings, their personal relationships with others, and the conflicts and challenges they face in life. However, there are also innate forces that can influence the growth of a person such as his or her moral beliefs and conscience, which sometimes are enough to overcome negative
Depression is a mental illness, which affects millions of Americans each year. Currently there are many prescription drugs, called anti-depressants that have been proven to successfully treat it. The causes of depression are somewhat of a medical enigma, however, it is known that depression is associated with a change in the brains chemistry involving the function of neurotransmitters (Reichert). This chemical change occurs in healthy brain’s, which experience sadness, but ends after the unpleasant stimulus is removed. In people suffering from depression this chemical change does not correspond to any particular stimulus. Symptoms of depression are often incapacitating and include severe and extended sadness, feelings of worthlessness, feelings of emptiness, irritability and anxiety (Reichert, Spake).
Throughout the story, Hemingway has the couple order and consume alcohol whenever their conversation gets to a point of causing one or both of them discomfort. The couple drinks alcohol at the story’s beginning. Settling in at the table, the prospect of facing each other for forty minutes and having to make conversation spooks them into ordering drinks before they do anything else new. They spend the first third of the story dancing around discussing the pregnancy without ever directly mentioning it. They are trying to avoid a decision they need to make about the pregnancy. The alcohol is also being used as a way to change the subject. When they start thinking about bringing up the subject while sitting together, they order another drink and talk about the “white elephants”
Depression is much more common than most people think. Because it is essentially an invisible illness and is largely in the mind, it is difficult to correctly diagnose it and most people suffer for months, years, or even decades with depression. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines depression as “a mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty with thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal thoughts or an attempt to commit suicide.” Most medical definitions are able to explain what happens and why it does, but after carefully examining this one, we only notice that it explains what happens, but not why. Usually, the symptoms of an illness are...
This bothers the girl because “that’s all [they] do. look at things and try new drinks.” This shows that the girl is tired of doing the same thing and wants to do something different, like having a baby and a family, instead of fooling around all the time. She wants to stop being a girl and become a woman. Hemingway then presents the reader with two contrasting hills.
In terms of drinking, the author uses it a means of showing just how much the two were not keen on having a meaningful discussion of their problems and how to solve them. Throughout the story as the two are waiting for the train, the author points out that they are both drinking alcohol as if they are trying to avoid the important discussions that they were having. As soon as the two set their foot in the station, they order large beers with the hope that drinking will take as much of their time as possible and would not give them the chance to communicate. The lack of commitment in the conversation about how to deal with the white elephant or the baby is shown when the girl requests to order more alcohol just to avoid having that discussion. The reader can also get the sense that the two are also drinking to forget about other problems that they seem to have throughout their relationship. This is depicted when the girl points out that the two do not really engage in other activities apart from the tasting out of new alcoholic drinks. One can also get the view that as a result of the drinking and the lack of communication between the two, the future is not that far for them and that they are bound to lead separate ways. This is shown as they separate when the girl is drinking with another
It happens often that individuals believe they are suffering through depression when in reality, they are simply feeling sad. Sadness is caused by an event that is happening in the moment in contrast to MDD (Major depressive disorder), when the individual is suffering through a constant feeling of mixed emotions for a long period of time. MDD is a mood disorder that causes one to feel constantly sad and lonely. It also causes a loss of interest in past hobbies and activities, and affects the way one feels, thinks and behaves. There are many symptoms and signs of MDD and they always come with a cause, but there are always diagnostics and preventions for this dreadful mood disorder.
Through the characters' dialogue, Hemingway explores the emptiness generated by pleasure-seeking actions. Throughout the beginning of the story, Hemingway describes the trivial topics that the two characters discuss. The debate about the life-changing issue of the woman's ...
By illustrating the manner in which the old man regarded alcohol, it illustrates their solace and need for companionship. The alcohol served as the old man’s companion and he wished to spend the night drinking without thinking about any other thing. As the story develops, the waiters start a conversation that expands the details on the old man. This man lived and survived under the sole care of his niece (Hemingway 1). To begin with, the writer fails to include the children and wife of the old man in order to help develop ...
Depression is an illness within itself that affects the “whole body”. (Staywell,1998) The body, feelings, thoughts, and behavior are all immensely altered when someone is depressed. It is not a sign of personal weakness, or a condition that can be wished or willed away. For some people depression is just temporary, but for others it can last for weeks, months and even years.
Depression is well known for its mental or emotional symptoms. Symptoms for depression include: persistently sad or unhappy mood, loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities, difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions, anxiety, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, and thoughts of death or dying. “People who have endured a major depressive episode describe the experience as a descent into t...
Depression is a mental illness that needs to be treated like any other sickness. More than 17 million Americans are victims of depression (Wolff 6). People don’t view depression as a serious disorder, most assume it will go away with time. Depression is a mental illness in which one is overwhelmed with sadness, loss of appetite, acts of being unsocial, and tiredness (Dudley 14). The most serious side effect of depression is suicide; an irreversible act that a depressed person can rationalize as the only answer for happiness. The science behind depression is neurotransmitters in one’s brain bind to neurons to communicate; depressed individuals have too few transmitters (Dudley 9). Neurotransmitters such as serotonin which carries
The key to understanding suicide and self-destructive behavior comes from the awareness of how some destructive thought processes control the need to end one’s life. Being cognizant of how these thoughts are veiled and can lead to a self-destructive downward spiral, enables clinicians to better assess risk and design interventions for depressed and suicidal clients. According to Nock and Banajii (2007) worldwide, suicides among adolescents have increased dramatically averaging one million each year. Many teenagers experience strong feelings of stress, confusion and self-doubt in the process of growing up. Pressures to succeed, the economy, and the environment can intensify these feelings. At present, self-report has been unsuccessful in the prevention of teen suicide; the tools available to help health care professionals detect potential suicide ideation are not sufficiently reliable (Nock & Banajii, 2007). In fact, Nock and Benajii stated that often during therapy, suicidal ideation may not be present and surfaces once the patient goes home or oftentimes, the patient will deliberately hide the urge to end his life. Because the existing tools rely solely on subjective statements, it is very challenging to decipher congruency between what is verbalized and what remains unsaid (Nock & Banajii, 2007).