Charlie Goldman, as portrayed in Ann Packer’s Nerves, is a thirty-something man-child who is losing his wife and comes to realize that it is he who is lost, somewhere in the streets of New York City. Gripped with overwhelming fears and psychosomatic ailments or hypochondria, Charlie suppresses the true causes of his condition while making a futile attempt to save his marriage. His childlike approach to life and his obsessive approach to marriage pushes his wife Linda towards a career in San Francisco and ultimately divorce. This essay will explore the broader themes of growing up, obsession and love. In Nerves, Charlie is depicted as someone adrift on the sea of life. A decade removed from college he has failed to embrace even the thought of a career, choosing instead to settle for jobs that have flexible hours, a convenient location and discounts on photography supplies. To Charlie, a career is put in a category with pets and lawns, “people were always talking about them, and tending to them, but they just weren’t that interesting (pg.145)”. What does interest him is getting and holding the attention of his college sweetheart turned wife, Linda. The dilemma for Charlie is that Linda has been unhappy in their relationship for some time and he has been blissfully ignorant of that fact. In the story Charlie is depicted in the role of child to Linda’s mother in their marriage dynamic. Linda goes to school full-time so that she can have a career in architecture while Charlie works part-time in a camera store. It is made clear that she is exasperated because he doesn’t “…care if things are clean. It’s totally up to me (pg.162).” She feels the pressure of being the breadwinner in the family and is frustrated with his blissful ignorance and inability to make a contribution to the household. But he never thinks anything is wrong because “he didn’t know how to think of their marriage as troubled; it had always seemed to him that they got along very well –no fights (pg.161).” His lack of self-awareness and maturity blinded him to the clues that something was wrong but, like a child, he only knows someone is upset when they hear raised voices. The stunted growth and lack of maturity demonstrated by Charlie’s character is also evidenced in the way that he loves. Charlie has difficulty achieving true intimacy with his wife, leading one to wonder if he ever truly loved Linda.
only see the "old" Charlie, and not the man who longed to care and provide
Louise, the unfortunate spouse of Brently Mallard dies of a supposed “heart disease.” Upon the doctor’s diagnosis, it is the death of a “joy that kills.” This is a paradox of happiness resulting into a dreadful ending. Nevertheless, in reality it is actually the other way around. Of which, is the irony of Louise dying due to her suffering from a massive amount of depression knowing her husband is not dead, but alive. This is the prime example to show how women are unfairly treated. If it is logical enough for a wife to be this jovial about her husband’s mournful state of life then she must be in a marriage of never-ending nightmares. This shows how terribly the wife is being exploited due her gender in the relationship. As a result of a female being treated or perceived in such a manner, she will often times lose herself like the “girl
Charlie’s sister didn’t appreciate Charlie in the beginning of the book, but came to love him and trust him as she did when she was younger. During the time Charlie’s sister was involved in an abusive relationship, Charlie unwittingly informed his parents of
Soon however, Charlie would encounter challenges he never faced with the intelligence of a 6 year old. Before his surgery, Charlie had great friends in Miss Kinnian and the bakery workers. After the surgery, the relationship between Charlie and everyone he knew would take a drastic turn. A growing problem for Charlie’s is his extremely mixed emotions toward the opposite gender. He starts a serious relationship with Alice Kinnian, his former teacher.
... still thinking how long is it going to take for him to stop been punish from his past lifestyle. Still in the end Charlie showed his integrity because he could of flip off and start drinking again but he only had one drink as he promise himself to have every day, and because he wanted to prove to his sister in law that he is not the same person anymore. He tried all that he could to have his daughter to move with him
Emotional discomfort can sometimes be perceived as mental instability. A person may look, act, or feel insane, when in truth they are just very uncomfortable in their own skin. The narrator has a genuinely difficult decision to make which far outside his comfort zone. He is choosing between a woman who has been like a mother to him and much needed job that he feels he may enjoy. This choice is tearing him apart from the inside out. From the ringing noises that interrupt his every thought to the skin he is scraping off. The author uses diction, syntax, and extended metaphors to express the complete and utter discomfort of the narrator, both physically and emotionally.
As a result of Charlie’s relationship with his aunt Helen, he develops companionship issues after her death. Having had such a close relationship with her, her passing greatly affects his relationships with other people. A shy, timid, and somewhat anti-social Charlie fears getting close to somebody again after his closest friend has passed. His inability to make friends shows when he t...
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...
Charlotte will never be anything but a wife and mother with no room to become a writer. Dependent on her husband for emotional support as well as financial support, Charlotte did not outwardly disagree with John's diagnosis. Without much protest, Charlotte stays in one room for fear of being sent to Dr. Mitchell's for the Rest Cure. (4) Trapped in a room with no aesthetic pleasure, she was left to her own thoughts. Societal norms said th...
When Charlie was younger, his Aunt Helen molested him. That had a negative impact on Charlie’s life, considering he kept it a secret from everyone. He always found himself blaming for everything, which caused him to get depressed. Charlie’s depressive actions indicated that the event in which he was molested by his aunt show that child abuse has such a negative affect on the child that will last a lifetime. An online critic, Barbara Nicolosi, believes that child abuse has an affect by stating, “it is revealed that Charlie’s social dysfunction is actually rooted in his experience of child sexual abuse at the hands of a beloved aunt”. Because of Charlie’s difficult past having dealt with child abuse, he is not pleased to see his sister’s boyfriend slap her in the face. He tries to do something about it, but his sister defends her boyfriend telling Charlie not to tell anyone. Because of this event, Charlie is reminded of his Aunt Helen and his depression is triggered and begins having suicidal thoughts. Charlie then thinks of his aunt who abused him, causing him to get even more depressed. Child abuse is something that nobody should have to go through. Unfortunately, Charlie was victimized by his Aunt Helen and the thoughts haunt him to the point where he gets
The United States is made up of multiple cultures, race, and languages. Many people come from Mexico or Asian parts of the world, like China in search for a better life. One of the struggles many people have when coming from a different country is the language, in this case English. Everyone has a unique way of communicating. In the United States, after people learn English they realize they use different Englishes without knowing, in order to communicate, whether it be with parents, professors, or your own pets.
“When the going gets tough, the tough take a nap.” This statement by Tom Hodgkinson perfectly describes the solution to the life of the average American high schooler, who wakes up early, rushes to school, and undergoes several grueling classes, only to later participate in extracurricular activities and return home to complete homework. Due to all these activities, only a vast minority of teenagers obtain the amount of sleep they need in a night; Tom Hodgkinson’s quote proposes a solution to this problem. By instituting naptime in high schools, students could simply nap to refresh themselves when the going gets tough, whether that be an excessive amount of homework, an extremely demanding test, or a sports practice that lasts long into the
One of the assessments revealed that I am too task oriented and I tend to focus less on the concerns of people. I can enhance my leadership skills by gaining a balance with people and my tasks. Overall I have strong charismatic leader behaviors which accounts for building trust with my employees. Being trustworthy is a core value of being a successful leader and team player.
The definition of personality is the development of the organized pattern of behaviors and attitudes that makes a person distinctive. A personality is what make the people of our society different from everyone else. Every person on this earth has their very own personality. In some cases there may be things a like, but the personality trait combinations are not always the same. My personality consists of these three traits: hard-working, determined, and friendly.
Introduction to Personality Lillian Tracey Hayes PSY/405 April 26, 2014 Les Binnix. Introduction to Personality The concept of personality is not easy to define. Researchers give examples or perceptions to define the personality; however, there are different theories that explain personality. Personality is what makes each person unique and individual and each person has different patterns of behavior, attitudes, and traits that combine to create personality. There are biological and environmental aspects of life that shape the development of personality and differing perceptions of experiences that contribute to differences between people.