I first became aware that I, too, was hitting middle-age when I had to get my first pair of bifocals. To add insult to injury, the kid optometrist (I swear he was still in his teens) told me that most middle-aged people needed bifocals. Middle-aged! Egad, I didn’t feel much different than I had in my 20s, so I decided to ignore it. Then I started having hot flashes, which were hard for me to ignore because the tips of my ears would turn red. Plus I’d wake up in the middle of the night dreaming I was caught in an inferno, immediately followed by a chill and a desperate need to pee. Another kid, this time a cute little ob-gyn who looked twelve, told me I was having night sweats because of peri-menopause. Sheesh. The final insult was when an
In American society, love, social class, and ambition are in the present life of Americans. Both books "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Hurston, are examples of Gatsby and Janie and their strive to reach the American dream. Both Gatsby and Janie are searching for love. Gatsby has found his love for Daisy, but he can’t have her because of there differences between social classes. On the other hand, Janie spends her journey searching for sense of herself and someone who treats her as equal. Despite the beginning of their past life they both reach the appearance of wealth and fortune. For Gatsby, his character is a delusion created by those who spread rumors just by seeing him throw the lavish parties. Gatsby's wealth is only a front because he was given the house from wealth and illegal dealings with Meyer Wolfsheim. Janie's character changes throughout the story in search of her identity. Janie inherited money from the death of her second husband. But the money doesn’t mean much to her ever since she met Tea Cake but still uses her money to provide for the both of them. Gatsby and Janie faced challenges on the search for their American Dream. In
From start to finish. The old man examined how each individual water droplet splashed once it reached the ground one after the other. He would lay on the bed and watch how the raindrops fell from the roof and how reunited they became once they landed. His rusty, most prized, phonograph, played in the background, the sweet melody of The temptations singers, soothed his ears. The rhyming beat of the instruments made the man feel young again and brought back part of the happiness he once carried with his significant other. “I guess it’s time to get up and make my breakfast already.” he said, as he looked at the clock.
America and Race have a long and entangled history. The concept of Race, like America is a recent invention. Race is an idea constructed by society to further political and economic goals. Race was never just a matter of how you look, it's about how people assign meaning toward how you look. It is ironic that a nation that takes great pride in one the foundation “All men are created Equal” can at the same time portray the idea of Race in such a scale that would repress and kill so many people. In this essay I will address what necessitated the creation of the story of race in American history.
Ed Wendt, my father. As a young boy my family and I grew up in a small village in Waialua Nui, Maui, Hawaii. As a child we worked the taro fields by planting, weeding the fields and harvesting taro to make poi. The work hours were long and my dad and our family worked together to get the job done. Only after the work was done was I able to go fishing at the beach. I loved fishing so I always made it a point to get my job done. My father’s dedication to his family and work ethic had an influence on my leadership. He continues to influence me with his dedication to our Hawaiian culture and to teach the future generation of taro farmers. He is a well-known member of the Native Hawaiian community who has spearheaded efforts to protect and
Showing up in a fancy new car, deciding to start a new career, throwing out an entire wardrobe and staring over or ending a marriage of over twenty years, these all seem to be connected what society calls a ‘mid-life crisis.’ Is the mid-life crisis fact or fiction? Mid-life is the life span between the ages of 35 and 65 years old and as people age, there are biological and physiological gains and losses (Tillery 2014). When people enter into the middle adulthood, they have usually settled into family and carrier life, their knowledge base has grown and they are usually particularly healthy (Tillery 2014). However, as adults progress through this life-stage, a crisis can occur; which is the result of biological and physiological changes, an
Some women have real issues with age, and menopause is a landmark time that typically marks the end of middle age.
Lynxrock then thought that was the end. His home was destroyed, it was unrepairable, for he had even tried using his powers to rebuild it, but it only resulted in the buildings crashing down to the barren ground.
John Edgar Wideman’s, “Our Time”, tells the story of how his brother’s mistakes have caused Robby lots of trouble. Many questions have roamed through my head about Robby, John’s brother, and why he turned out the way he was. Why did Robby have to turn out to be the rebel in the family? Could it have been his home town, his family, or his friends? Those are the questions. I feel like it may have been the “ghetto”, Homewood, that influenced him.
Now the question is, what has happened in your life that made you realize you were “coming of age?” The most recent “coming of age” transition that I went through was from young adult to adult. In my two years of college, huge parts of my life have changed. I moved away from home for the first time, my four year, high school relationship ended and I have renewed my relationship with Jesus Christ. These changes in my life were like a ripple effect, but in the end they have made me a better person and required me to grow up and except responsibility.
It was 12:07AM and there was no way I was going to bed after that just happened. 1:32AM I still could not fall back asleep. I was just too scared that, that would happen again. That night I did not fall back asleep and when I went to get out of bed in the morning I realized I had been sweating all night.
Everyone that have ever lived to adulthood, understand that difficulty of the transition to it from childhood. As of right now, I am in the prime of the “coming of age “transition. The overwhelming pressure of our society that forces the adolescence to assimilate the social norms is felt by many. Just as in our first steps, our first words or anything that is expected in our human milestones, coming of age is one of them. It may variety from different societies, religious responsibility or modern legal convention; everyone had to reach this point eventually.
Milo, Tock, and the Humbug all sat in the small vehicle as they drove further and further down the road. It was quite beautiful out; there were miles, and miles of open fields with tall, luscious grass dancing in the wind, small flowers were beaming with brilliant, spectacular colors. Bees buzzed around the flowers and collected honey, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, the sun was shining high in the sky, and just the right amount of huge fluffy clouds hardly sheltered the powerful rays. The Humbug and Tock were casually discussing their favorite letters in the alphabet.
Yesterday, it felt as if I was twenty-five and thought that everything was figured out. I was young and naive, and held so much hope for the world. Last night, I was thirty-seven, all hunkered down and ready to live for the long haul. This morning, I’m at the halfway point of my metaphorical marathon. And it feels like I’m hitting yet another wall. I feel the term ‘midlife crisis’ is a hyperbole.
In both of the articles, each author is trying to share his view, or theory on the short story. The view of Edgar Allen Poe is very pessimistic toward the novel and other forms of long fiction, while B.M. Ejxenbaum takes a more analytic approach.
Middle adulthood starts around age forty and lasts into the mid sixties. Developmental theorists view this time of life differently. Erik Erikson calls the period of middle adulthood the “Generativity versus Stagnation” period. Middle age adults have experienced various things as they lived their lives and as a result have a better understanding of life processes. Middle adulthood is a time of continued psychological growth. The continuous spiritual growth combined with experience inspires middle adulthood age people to leave their mark on the world by creating something that will outlast them. Many people express their desire to leave their mark on the world by creating art or nurturing future generations.