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Marilyn monroe biography essay
Marilyn monroe biography essay
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The Story of Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe once said, “Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world.” Marilyn Monroe was just a normal girl who did not have it easy growing up. She did not have a mother figure in her life, and she longed to be loved. She was beautiful, but she wanted to be known for much more than her looks. Her fame came unexpectedly, but it came with consequences. It transformed her into someone she did not want to be. She spent most of her career struggling to find herself, but her public image had taken over who she was. There are two sides to every story, and in this case there are two sides to Marilyn Monroe. Her story is full of heartache, but it is one that teaches a lesson. Marilyn Monroe was more than just a popular movie star; she was a public icon who was frequently misunderstood.
Marilyn Monroe’s early life was one full of great hardship. “Marilyn was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, and spent most of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages” (“Monroe,” Encyclopedia 1). Her mother, Gladys (Monroe) Baker Mortenson, worked as a film splicer; and often visited Norma in the foster homes ("Monroe," Notable 1). Marilyn spent most of her life without a stable mother, and mental illness tended to run in her family. The first memory Marilyn had as a child, was being suffocated by her grandmother Della (Wolfe 107). Her grandmother’s mental instability led to her mother’s. “When Marilyn was seven her mother was admitted into a mental hospital and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia" ("Monroe," Notable 1). As a little girl, Marilyn had to watch both her grandmother and mother act in a way that she could not understand. Due to problems at home, school was n...
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.... She took her life before anyone ever saw her at her best, saw her for whom she really was.
Works Cited
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“Monroe, Marilyn.” Encyclopedia of American Studies. : John Hopkins UP, 2010.
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“Monroe, Marilyn, June , 1926-aug. 5, 1962.” Notable American Women: The Modern Period.
Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1980. Credo Reference. Web. 21 January 2014.
Peterson, Linda. "Marilyn Monroe Fragile Bombshell." Biography 4.9 (2000): 66. Advanced
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“The Transformation of Popular Culture.” Modern American Lives: Individuals and Issues in
American History since 1945. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 2007. Credo Reference. Web. 3
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Wolfe, Donald H. The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe. New York: William Morrow, 1998. Print.
3. Schapiro, Barbara A., "The Bonds of Love and the Boundaries of Self in Toni
When someone speaks of Marilyn Monroe most people think she was nothing other than a woman who slept her way to the top. Of course she had her faults, but there are a variety of traits to describe her rather than just her sexual appeal. Marilyn was an iconic model, singer and actress who passed away too soon from unknown causes. She became a popular, enthusiastic actress and her films produced over 200 million dollars. Although, many people seen her as scandalous, she was more than that, she faced many troubling situations before her rise to the top only to be defeated by a sudden death.
...ose to only see the surface of her but never took the time to see what was on the inside. Marilyn Monroe was a very prominent feminist of her time and even to this day, whether they choose to recognize her as one or not.
Also, Marilyn was mostly famous for playing a funny dumb blonde in her movies.{wikipedia.org} Some movies she was famous for are “Some like it hot”,[1959] “Monkey Business”[1952], “How to Marry a Millionaire”[1953] and “Gentlemen prefer Blondes”[1953] .To begin, Marilyn Monroe won a golden globe for playing a role in “Some like it hot” [1959]. Marilyn Monroe won the Golden Globe Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite Female in 1953. {google.com/site/monroetheicon/awards-and-achievements} Marilyn was nominated for the golden globe award for playing the character Sugar Cane in “Some like it hot”. Also, Marilyn Monroe often struggled with depression. {marilyn monroe and her struggle with depression} Many people think she struggled with depression because of her three failed marriages and 2 miscarriages. Joe Dimaggio was one of Marilyn’s husbands. When they divorced in 1954, Marilyn accused him of “mental cruelty”. She also married Arthur Miller, a famous playwright, but sadly their marriage ended in 1961. Which left her in a fragile state. Some people also believe that her depression came from her mother’s illness. She had many Achievements but marilyn monroe still did have many struggles in her
Marilyn Monroe (Monroe) was an image of fashion and beauty in the 20th century. Overcoming a traumatic childhood to become one of the most confident women. Making bold provocative, but, fashionable statements about how women should be confident about their own body image. Without the help of others, she would not have become the person she is known as today. Marilyn Monroe, a famous actress, who has influenced the rest of the world.
Marilyn Monroe is an icon that is idolized by many and had a great impact on pop culture. She didn’t have the best childhood and had a lot of up and downs in her life. Marilyn Monroe was born in California in 1926. She was named Norma Jeane Mortenson after a popular actress at the time. Her mother Gladys Baker was mentally ill, so she had to put Monroe in foster care. She lived in a foster home until she was seven years old. She had two other siblings from her mother’s first marriage. She never met them because her mom’s first husband took them to live with him in Kentucky.
Kashner, S. (2005, November 15). Marilyn and Her Monsters. Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2010/11/marilyn-monroe-201011
Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jeane Mortenson. A devious soul but a pure heart, a black past, but a bright future; she became one of the most idolized figures in society. Norma was definitely not born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and she never sugar coated her life to the media. She was straight forward which made her heavily known for her quotes such as “I learned to walk as a baby and I haven’t had a lesson since.” (Marilyn Monroe). This was the beginning to her life story as a hero. This may not seem inspiring or heroic to many by the lack of knowledge a person may have on Norma. In the depths of her quotes lay a deep, heartfelt life though. For this quote may seem sensational and comical to the ear, but Marilyn was transferred to many foster homes not really having a parent that would show her the way. What a good role model would do though, and what Norma courageously has shown society, is that when life knocks you down, get up and hit life back twice as hard. Norma Jeane Mortenson, married Jim Dougherty, and started working. Soon she created the character Marilyn Monroe, she dyed her hair blonde, wore short dresses, and she became the momentous and inspirational character that everyone saw through television, newspapers, and photos. She was one of the greatest actors, singers, and models of the nineteen forties and fifties. But like every hero they suffer and create their own demise. Jeane, Marilyn Monroe, is a shakespearean tragic hero, because like every hero she must fall.
Marilyn Monroe is one of the most famous celebrities of the 21st century (Pettinger, 2013). She appeared in 29 films throughout her career, and seemed very successful and well adjusted to outsiders. After she was found dead after an apparent suicide, the public was exposed to her inner turmoil. Monroe spent her short life dealing with problems, many stemming from her unstable childhood (Wholper & Huston, 1964) Karen Horney, 1885-1952, was a psychoanalytic psychologist who developed a theory of neurosis, and studied the ways neurotic people deal with anxiety from interacting with others. Horney deduced that childhood was a time of anxiety, and that children deal with that anxiety by being compliant, aggressive or withdrawing. If a child lives in an unstable home, they will become overly dependent on one strategy, leading to neuroticism in later years (Brenner, 2009). I believe that Monroe childhood fits into Horney’s model of neuroticism based on her tumultuous childhood, and that her behaviour displays many traits associated with excessive compliance in her later years.
The image has a huge effect in society. A celebrity’s image can characterize, shape and circulate societal myths in Hollywood. Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, and model. People think her figure and beauty make her become a popular icon and sex symbol in the 1950s. When people talk about the name of Marilyn Monroe, a blonde beautiful sexy female's image will appear in people's minds. What has the beauty standard shown us through Marilyn Monroe in the mid-20th century? Besides the beauty what other things did she need in order for her to be famous at that time? Marilyn Monroe's status as a sex symbol has influenced many artists since her time, even though the beauty standard has been different since then. If we look at the celebrities today, we can find many imitators of Marilyn Monroe: Madonna, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and even Lady Gaga. They do this not only because of marketing and media needs, but also because people today still “worship” the image Monroe created. A half-century has passed since Marilyn Monroe's death, so why is she still relevant today? As time has passed, Marilyn Monroe's image is becoming even more meaningful and valuable. Think about the image she has created, the main point I want to study is: how does a woman who passed away at thirty-six years old, after starring in only a handful of movies, has such on the impact on women, especially young women, in the 21st century? To find the answer of how she has an impact on young women today will also show how some of the young celebrities today became successful.
Specific Stages of Erik Erickson’s Stage Theory greatly exemplify the deeply confused individual of Marilyn Monroe. The most predominant features of Marilyn Monroe’s personality can be explained by Erikson’s psychosocial stages of “Identity versus Role Confusion”, “Intimacy versus Isolation”, and “Generativity versus Stagnation” (Howard & Shustack, 2009, p. 134-139). During Marilyn Monroe’s most critical period of her life, childhood, she was neither exposed to a stable mother and father figure, nor a balanced environment. Those who did love her did not remain for long enough periods to have a substantial effect on Marilyn’s life. The closest mother-type present in her life, Grace McKee, did not possess the resources needed to raise a child and thus had to withdraw as permanent stature in Marilyn’s life (Learning, 1998, p. 64-76). Aside from Grace, Marilyn also never experienced the protection and love of a father figure, or arbitrary male in her life.
Norma Jean, most famously known as Marilyn Monroe was a famous actress in Hollywood that was one of the biggest sex symbols to come by in the 1900’s. Marilyn Monroe did not start out as an actress or one of the world’s biggest sex symbols, she began her career as a model. Monroe began work in a weapons factory in Burbank, California, where she was later discovered by a photographer. She was married to her first husband Jimmy Dougherty who was a marine. Jimmy had been deployed for some time and when he returned in 1946, Monroe had a fruitful career as a model, and she also changed her name from Norma Jean Baker to Marilyn Monroe in preparation for an acting career (Cinnamon,
Marilyn Monroe was a deeply troubled woman and I believe that in applying a Psychoanalytic Perspective to her life, the first theorist that comes to mind is Erik Erickson and his stage theory of personality. In applying his theory we see that we can assess Marilyn’s personality through Erickson’s psychosocial stages of “Identity vs. Role Confusion” and “Intimacy vs. Isolation” (Friedman & Schustack 133-134). Marilyn’s childhood, the most critical time in any child’s life when any and all relationships are crucial to their healthy development proved to be the catalyst for her later problems in life as evident by the lack of any solid and
“Marilyn Monroe.” The Grolier Library of North American Biographies. Danbury: Grolier Educational Corporation, 1994. 170-171.
She died of a suicide and she that because at a certain point in her life she had enough of suffering.