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Personal growth and understanding essay
Personal growth and understanding essay
Personal growth and understanding essay
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In the story, I’m a Mad Dog, the main character, as we all know, does not have the brightest mindset. He comes across many different situations that must be dealt with by a decision made by no other but the man himself. Might I add that he easily put himself in these situations. Let’s call the main character “MC” for short. In this short story, MC struggles efficiently to make life altering decisions and never finds himself learning from his selfish, thieving ways that at the end of the day he still thinks everything he has done is not even close to how bad the reality is.
MC is a very selfish man who continually takes part in unfortunate events that he puts himself in. The big question is “Why?”. Why doesn’t he just turn around and stop the
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What did the author put into his mind that made everything be okay? We know at the end of the story he thinks that he now comes across as a father figure to this child he left stranded. Because that helpless baby was stranded, the baby now knows that life is meant to be cold all thanks to the “great” role model, MC. In class, we talk about consequences in life and how we are supposed to react from them. The correct way is to respond in a positive matter and learn to almost never do it again. Here’s the biggest question though, How is MC supposed to learn from the “consequences” if he doesn’t think he did anything wrong in the first place. The author knew he didn’t have a chance from the beginning.
I understand why we read most of these stories. When we read we’re supposed to relate to them, thrive in our imagination. Relating to, I’m a Mad Dog, is relieving, honestly. The fact that I know the difference between right and wrong is a blessing. To know that if I make a bad decision, consequences are awaiting me. MC is only a character and will never learn the difference between right and wrong. In his atmosphere that is okay, but in my world, in reality- it’s
McCandless was different to other people, Westerburg saw this, explaining how McCandless ”tried too hard to make sense of the world. To figure out why people were bad to each other so often”(18). When McCandless originally left, he had felt betrayed by his parents and in college he slowly started pushing his friends away. He was disgusted by all the lies and began to shut down and came the plan to leave in his Datsun. Anybody else in his place would have decided to take charge and take a decisive turn turn in their life, hoping it would be for the better. Many don 't realize that although the beginning he was escaping, he later preferred living in nature and didn 't want to stop. He said it himself in a letter “ The freedom and simple beauty of it is just too good to pass up”(33). Also, in McCandless story you’re able to see the evolution of McCandless mentality. At first, he is alone trying to cope with the setbacks he encounters, in which he almost dies from. Then, needing to recharge, he makes friends like Franz and the Westerburg that allow him to see the positives of having someone there for you. However, he still was not convinced that human relationships were necessary, he keeps a safe distance sending them postcards when he can. It is not until at Alaska that McCandless discovers what happiness consists of, he writes in bold letters, “Happiness only
In the story, the father is the boss, and it is not okay if he is not in control. When he is not in control, he gets frustrated, and kind of dangerous. This need for control comes from his fear of embarrassment, and his fear of not being right. He feels that he is not always right, but if he is in control then people will not question if he is right or wrong, and he will not be embarrassed. Crutcher writes, “It’s just that when he thinks he’s not in control of everything, he gets kind of dangerous. I think nobody told him when he wanted to have kids-a decision made in a state of a severe deprivation, according to the family myth-that they’d want to be in control, too.” The father is scared of not being in control, and not being right. No one will notice that he is not right if he is in control, and therefore he will not be embarrassed. This proves that the father is fearful because he is embarrassed of himself, and his mistakes. He is scared that people will not think of him as the best if he makes mistakes, or is not
...elligence to help him last an extended period of time in the Alaskan wilderness. In truth, McCandless was someone who wanted to find himself. He wanted to get away from a life in which he could not find fulfilment, which is something many others would be able to relate to. Although most people would not go to such extremes to find fulfilment, everyone has a different way of finding happiness and going after what their heart truly desires. For McCandless, his desire was to live out in the wild. Unfortunately, this man of great character did not succeed in getting out alive. However, that does not change the fact that he tried. McCandless knew what he wanted for himself and he persisted, regardless of the obstacles he faced. He put an incredible amount of effort into accomplishing his goals and never gave up, and that is why Christopher McCandless is someone to admire.
Person vs. Society: Frank must learn to cope with the people who are unforgiving of his mistake and think he should receive further punishment. It is difficult for him to hear negative remarks and ruthless comments for strangers saying he should have greater consequences, even though he is paralyzed for life.
Malcolm Gladwell’s Usage of the Straw Man Method of Persuasion in What the Dog Saw
The settings in the story have impacts on the theme of young manhood. Chris leaves his family and decides to go on a journey to find a new life. Christopher felt affected in his family presence so he sends his final school report to his family: “McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well-relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it”(Krakauer,55). He believes that this is a way to find his true identity and peace of mind, which he thought could be achieved by fleeing into the wild. Chris seemed to have a bad relationship with his parents, especially with his father because Chris found out that he had a child with his first wife when Chris was born. This fact is revealed by his dad’s old neighbour, “Walt’s split from his first wife, Marcia, was not a clean or amicable parting. Long after falling in love with Billie, long after she gave birth to Chris, Walt continued his relationship with Marcia in secret” (Krakauer121). Chris knew about his father’s affair with another woman and this made it easier for Chris to not care about what his family has to say ...
McCandless’s utter repugnance for his parents caused something to snap within him resulting in his desire to remove them from his life, thus becoming free of their demands, judgments, and inquisitions. Krakauer explains; “Children can be harsh judges when it comes to their parents, disinclined to grant clemency, and this was especially true in Chris’s case" (122). The standards some parents set for their children are often unattainable and often come from a place of their own failures and shortcomings. In McCandless’s case, this is exactly what happened. Walt and Billie had demanded so much of Chris physically, academically, and morally, that when he was made aware of their i...
Even being fully aware of the certain outcome, he still does absolutely everything he can to save everybody he can before himself. With every person he saved, he was slowly getting closer to dying, “he watched everything in the world move away from him, and he deliberately let it happen.” The man in the water did not get discouraged in the way that most would if they knew they were going to die. He took on the impossible challenge of saving those people, and although in some ways he lost, he also won in an even bigger way. He could have chosen to save himself, but instead he chose the other people. He chose selfless over selfish, he proved that human nature has the capacity to be completely and utterly selfless rather than caring for themselves more than everything
However, three ethical decisions that this learning will make after viewing the film is to always assist individual to the best of your ability, despite personal issues with loved ones or friends; next, always report crimes, no matter the consequence they may have; and last but not least, stand up for what’s right, even if it leads to misfortune. The pros of each of these decisions is peace within yourself. However, one of the cons is dealing with negative pressures. For example, when you report a crime, you may be summoned to court, and have to deal with the negative criticism.
Christopher McCandless had very strong convictions. He believed that society shouldn’t rely on material wealth and a secure future. And when Christopher believed in something he stood very firmly by his beliefs and no one could change his mind about it. This is why Christopher McCandless decided not to continue his education, and rejected his parent’s gift of a new car, and walked away from everything because he didn’t want to be tied down by all of these
Have you ever foolishly led yourself into a dangerous situation that could have easily been avoided? This is exactly what happens to Fortunato in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado." The story begins with a narrator named Montresor explaining to the reader that he feels insulted by a man named Fortunato, and that he vows his revenge. Montresor lures Fortunato in by challenging his pride in his connoisseurship in fine wine. He tells Fortunato that he bought a cask of Amontillado and that he needs Fortunato's help to determine if the wine is indeed real. When the duo reach the bottom of the vaults, Montresor describes a niche indented into the wall just large enough for a person to fit. Montresor then chains Fortunato inside the niche then begins to build a wall to enclose him in. After Montresor completes the wall the story flashes forward 50 years to Montresor telling the reader that no one has disturbed Fortunato for half a century. Fortunato allows himself to die a horrific death because of his pride, his inability to withhold his tongue, and his foolishness.
As human beings we constantly struggle with ourselves on whether our actions are virtuous or vice. Some of us choose to act in an ethical way when presented with a certain situation, while others choose to act on their desires and therefore act unjustly. This was the struggle that the character, William Munny, faced in the movie “Unforgiven.” He was unable to control his desires, which resulted in his unethical actions. His actions support Socrates and Plato’s theory that if we let our desires or our emotions drive us we will act unethically when faced with circumstances. In this paper I will show how Socrates and Plato’s philosophy regarding our emotions and desires, explains William Munny’s actions throughout the movie.
...his into consideration, I behaved responsibly. Even when I began to lose my composure with the hospital workers, who refused to take my friend in right away, my true character was revealed. Generally, crisis situations have a tendency to bring out the worst in me, as with most people. This disputes Dostoevsky's theory, which holds that the true nature of a person will be revealed during moments of crisis. My account, as well as the examples taken from literature, prove that Dostoevsky's theory, although valid, is not indisputable.
In the first three episodes of the series Mad Men the main character Don Draper works for a company that creates ads, in the 1960’s, his boss at this company is Rodger Sterling. In the first episode the company that Draper works for is trying to come up with an ad that convinces people that cigarettes are not bad for people’s health. Don Drapper is a high up executive ad man at the company he works for and is trying to find new clients to create ads for. Peggy Olsen, another main character is just starting at the company as Don Drapper’s new secretary. Betty Draper is Don Draper’s wife, they have two kids together. Peter Campbell is a 26 year old up and coming sales man for the same company and works alongside Don Draper. In episode two the company is trying to come up with an ad for right guard spray deodorant. Also Betty Draper is having problems with maintaining control of her
In “The Madman,” Nietzsche describes a man going into a town, speaking about his beliefs, and being derided for doing so. However, with further analysis of several elements of the story, a deeper meaning behind the passage becomes clear. Nietzsche argues that morals cannot exist without God, and that atheists must therefore reject morality, and choose what is right and wrong for themselves. Nietzsche does this by using the character of the madman as a mouthpiece to express his own ideas. The first element of the parable that must be examined in order to understand the passage is a symbol, God, which represents morality in the story. The second element to be examined is the madman’s belief that humans have killed God. The implications of this