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Analyzing Essay
Psychologist Martin E. P. Seligman’s article “On Learned Helplessness” talks about what happens when people go through traumatic events and how the handle the situations. Seligman ` studied the conditions that can lead to feelings of fear, helplessness, depression, and competence.
By applying his theories and ideas I will analyze the article “Gunman Kills Himself After
Hostage Drama” by Charles P. Wallace and Tim Waters.
In the article by Wallace and Waters, a twenty-six year old man named Robert Rose killed himself in a Hollywood hotel early on a Saturday morning after a night long hostage situation.
Rose was apparently depressed after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In the article, it
appeared
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Robert Rose continued to attempt to control his fear by extending the hostage situation and making demands. He asked to speak with a Roman Catholic Priest and have food brought to the room. Rose’s actions were not well thought out and ended up being a setup for his death. He was “nonchalant” about the situation because he knew that he was going to die anyway. In
Seligman’s article he proposes that “if the trauma is uncontrollable, however, struggling eventually gives way to the helpless state” (585). Rose became helpless after realizing he would eventually die from multiple sclerosis. He responded by taking action on those around him.
Instead of dealing with the situation he opted for death on his own terms, according to his actions. Not everyone handles traumatic news the same as Rose. People respond to depressing news differently. Some people fight harder when they get unfortunate news. Some people look to find a cure for their disease or therapies to keep at bay as long as possible. Just as Seligman says, “if the subject learns that he can control the trauma, fear is reduced and may disappear altogether” (585).
The drama that unfolded in the article about Rose is equivalent to Seligman’s theory of fear, helplessness, depression, and competence. Rose had been under intensive psychiatric care for many years according to his mother, Mary. Soon after Rose learned that he was
Rose was placed, in error, in a vocational group of students, which was a lower level. He spent two years in that track before being rescued by
Rose is unable to fully accept herself or the statements made by her mother throughout the chapter, until she reflects back on her relationship and realizes how her mother predicted this by the condition of the garden taken care of by her husband. She understands her mother finally and stands up to Ted, explaining to him how she was going to fight for everything in the divorce.
Although Roselily’s life in Mississippi before marriage may not have been the greatest but, she is comfortable with it, and is scared of the change that is about to occur. As the preacher is finishing the ceremony she thinks” She wants to live for free for once. But she doesn’t know quite what that means.” She knows that once she gets married, between being a housewife and his restrictive religion she will
used the Twenty-Six Malignant Gates to discipline her daughter Rose so she would stay out of
This clearly shows that mainly all our bad experiences are pushed into the unconscious mind causing it to come back many years later this could be through; post-traumatic stress disorder, this means that all your terrors and fears come back through either night terrors or flashbacks. Psychoanalysis deals with early negative emotions this could be by discovering triggers and talking openly about these bad experiences.
| Rose is describing her frustration and also, describes her jealousy towards Caroline’s life; that she escaped from living on a farm and had the ability to choose her life.
Rose conveys his argument by describing the education background of both his mother and uncle. His mother did not have much of an educational background. She dropped out of school in the 7th grade and
Rose’s distraught for her marriage with fiancé is very evident in her facial expression as she runs to the stern and looks off to the ocean. When Jack enters the scene, it is apparent that he is nervous; but, as he approaches Rose, his face reflects calm but courage. While attempting to discourage her from suicide, Jack realizes she is actually very disturbed, but afraid to jump.In this case, he shares with her some anecdotes on his experience with ice fishing to ease her stress off. Examining another sub-scene where she trips and falls, we can see his courageous face turning into a face of her new hope for life. Her face is brightened, her eyes are mesmerized, and her mind is strengthened by the end of this shot leaving audience enchanted.
She is a housewife. She can't do much in her life because of how she's married. Rose has her own dreams, but she keeps them as a boundary by only focusing on trying to be the best wife and mother she can be. She builds a fence to keep her family together. However things change for her, when she learns about Troy's affair. She starts feeling devastated. She tells Troy, "I been right here with you, Troy. I got a life too. I gave eighteen years of my life to stand in the same spot with you. Don't you think I ever wanted other things?" (44). Rose maintained her relationship for eighteen years and has never done anything wrong to mess it up. She sacrificed everything for Troy and her kids, but she never cared or stood up for herself. In order for Rose to survive, she should learn to follow her own
(Knight, p.81) He also said that his own life was in great danger unless he was transported to
In the story of “Confronting Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: My Father's Death” by Susan Wolf, she talks about the difficulties of her dad fighting cancer, and his final days. “Her father had always said that he would want everything, even in a persistent vegetative state (Wolf, 2008). However, his body reaches the point and the daily fight, pain and the struggle he was enduring just to stay alive was more painful and draining than it was really worth. He always told his daughter to fight until the very end and do what was necessary to do so. However, there is only so much pain your body can endure and even though he has always said to fight until the end. Effort They have reached the end of their road and should not have to suffer any longer if they so choose. After all the pain, they have been through and knowing that they are closer to death with each passing day, it should be their choice to end their suffering sooner and pass on peacefully without the suffering. In addition, let them quality of life the person to slip peacefully into the next life without pain and suffering.
Trauma is an experience of such intensity, that it overwhelms the boundaries of the self. The intensity of trauma might indeed overwhelm psychological resources, fragmenting the idea of the ego and altering the ability to sense self, and distinguish reality from fragmented reality. From such trauma many issues may arise, including psychosis. Psychosis is characterised by an impaired relationship with reality and can be seen through a depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness or paranoia, withdrawal from family and friends, and hallucinations. Psychosis could mean a complete loss in being able to distinguish between truth and reality, and losing a sense of self. Literary works, through different literary elements can shape the meaning of
The normal reaction to feelings of helplessness and vulnerability is often a need to regain control–
Rose new he had no control over his life due to the illness that hindered him but he wanted that control that he lost over his life back. As he held the girl hostage, he played out certain events that gave him a sense of control which witch is what he wanted. As police negotiated with him “Rose reportedly asked to see a Roman Catholic, priest and have food brought to the room (585)” by doing this he was gaining control of the situation at hand because the police was
Learned helplessness occurs when a person is repeatedly exposed to an aversive stimuli and feels that no matter how much they try to escape; they are not successful. Therefore, they tend to cave in since a sense of being helpless has been developed to escape the situation. Early studies on the idea of learned helplessness occurred accidently since psychologists were initially studying avoidance learning in dogs. These dogs were subject to a few foot shocks and at first would attempt to escape the shock however, these dogs later on stop attempting to escape and would submissively accept the foot shocks. Then these psychologists tried numerous situations to examine this sensation by placing the dogs in different cages where it would be easier