Analysis of a Relationship Essay

“How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie” is in the first story collection of Junot Diaz that was published in 1996. Junot Diaz was born in Dominican Republic, he moved to the United States at the age of seven. He is currently a creative writing teacher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Meyer 97). In the short story, Diaz describes how a teenage boy approaches romantic relationships and characterizes the girls based on their race and social class, instead of focusing on their individuality. The author also adds some sarcastic details to point out that a relationship should be built on trust, not massive lies. In the book Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, Barry defines narratology “as the study of how narratives make meaning, and what the basic mechanisms and procedures are which are common to all acts of story-telling” (Barry 214). Barry also introduces the narrative theories of famous narratologists - Aristotle, Vladimir Propp, and Gerard Genette. In Genette’s theory, he discusses six areas including narrative mode, focalisation, kinds of narrators, timing, types of narratives, and different types of speeches. The story “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie” answers six questions from the theory of Genette and has successfully depicted Diaz’s theme regarding the impact of gender, race, and social class on one’s behavior towards others,

Often times in relationships people tend to drift apart from each other due to their inability to be committed to each other for an extended period of time. Liam and Gabriella from the short story “Bluffing” by Gail Helgason demonstrate their incompetence to maintain a full commitment to one another, which results in Gabriella realizing that her relationship with Liam has come to a fork in the road. Liam has to choose between her, and his hiking career. Whereas John and Ann from the short story “The Painted Door” by Sinclair Ross exhibit their ability to stay together as well as be understanding, truthful, and communicative with one another. They have all the fundamental keys to a healthy relationship.

In the insightful book “My Antonia,” Jim Burden tells about his life growing up with his grandparents and his relationship with the Shimerdas. Reflecting upon this marvelous novel, I find that I relate to several moments in the astonishing story. First, a part of the story I relate to is when the narrator speaks of how the Shimerdas are great people due to the fact that they are always willing to give, even when they do not have much for themselves. Second, I relate to the part when Antonia and Jim kill the massive rattlesnake, and Jim feels that he is a grown man for doing so. Lastly, when Mr. Shimerda kills himself, it reminds me of when my teacher, Mr. Anderson, told me that most suicides are caused by money. These details stuck out to me, and I found I was able to relate them to events that have occurred in my own life.

A particularly interesting concept from the book is Knapp’s stages of coming together (Chapter 6). I will be utilizing these stages of coming together as the foundation for this paper. I’ve observed these stages throughout the course of my current relationship with my boyfriend, Joel. During the past three and half years of being together, I believe that our relationship has evolved into a companionate love (Chapter 7). Of course, relationships aren’t entirely fluid in that within these stages of coming together, we’ve also shared struggles as the dynamics of our relationship are renegotiated while we’ve progress through our relationship.

“Tyler, I want nothing to do with you. You make me uncomfortable.” My best friend exclaimed this past June after blowing up at her and our friend group for no reason other than I was trying to find answers to why I was constantly being excluded from life. This lead to a 6 months period that ultimately

Everyone remembers his or her first relationship because it is a chapter in your life. I can look at my first relationship, recognize and apply the class material and analyze the relationship. Every interpersonal relationship involves some degree of emotion, both facilitative and debilitative with both people constructing and improving the weak points. I will be discussing a two and one half year relationship I had with an ex-boyfriend whom I will call John. This relationship was my first and only long-term relationship that I feel is perfect for this assignment because we went through various stages of Knapp’s model.

I’ve never publicly talked about personal issues, but while scrolling through my news feed, I find that some of my friends have the same problems I do. While creating new bonds and friendships, we would hope that both sides are putting in 100% into the relationship. However, the typical thing we see is that betrayal and manipulation are prevalent. I've been used for my brain, I've been used for my stature, and I've been used for the other benefits that come along. Freshman year of college, even with drastic changes, have given me more drops of high school than I could ever

In the Shakespearean sonnet, “The Sonnet-Ballad” by Gwendolyn Brooks, the speaker uses such techniques as: repetition, metaphors and personification to show how her relationship is doomed because of war. The poem shows how war can change a man who was once confident and unaffected by pain, into one who accepts death without a struggle.

My relationship with my best friend Johan can be easily described as a strong tie. We were roommates for 3 years in high school, so we spent much time with each other (amount of time), self disclosure took place often during our conversation, I would ask him for comfort if my mood was down (emotional intensity), we share private information and knowledge that are exclusive to other acquaintances, (intimacy), and we’re more willing to do selfless and large favors for each other than with other acquaintances (reciprocity of services). Once I was seriously sick, it was Johan who took care of me and sent me to the hospital.

Three months ago, Justin asked if we could be Facebook friends. He tells me he cares about me and he sees me as a friend. How did we move from the pain and anger two years ago, to friendship and care today? The shift began when I shared my yearnings to be cared about. When I first asked, he bluntly told me he did not care about my hurt or sadness and unless it was about Jadyn, he was not interested.

Relationships, whether romantic or platonic, seem like an unpredictable area of life, but are they really? According to communication scholar Mark Knapp, this simply isn’t the case. In fact, Knapp created ten stages of relationship development to model the predictable course relationships take. To illustrate Knapp’s model, and other interpersonal communication concepts, the movie When Harry Met Sally is a perfect example. We will explore just how When Harry Met Sally clearly depicts all ten stages, along with many other concepts. This paper will start with initiation, then move through experimenting, intensifying, integrating, bonding, differentiating, circumscribing, stagnating, avoiding, and end at terminating, while exploring other concepts within these stages

Even though our interpersonal strategies can help us build and maintaining relationships they don’t succeed at all times. Last year, I formed a very strong friendship with my roommate and her boyfriend. Weirdly enough the three of us were inseparable. We even went on a trip together. However, our friendship was tarnished when they kept trying to make me part of their relationship. When they got into

It was the summer before 9th-grade year that I was no longer alone, I made a new friend. She is possessive and controlling. I thought we’d part ways before the two months would end, but she had other plans. Our friendship grew and we became friends with benefits;

The ebbs and flows of relationships develop in breadth and depth of incremental intimate topics.

It seems to me, based on what I have heard from older people and what I have learned about society in even the recent past, the concept of the relationship is a fairly recent one. That is, the word itself was not often used; people had friends, family, business associates, and romantic or sexual partners, and all these types of relationships were usually identified specifically as to how they figured in a person’s life.