Confessions of a Second-Rate Mind
Recently, I found myself drawn to Woody Allen’s essay, “Random Reflections of a Second-Rate Mind.” I liked the title; I can relate to random thoughts, but I hated the idea of relating to Allen himself. I dislike him on a personal level. I have trouble condoning the behavior of a grown man who refuses to ignore his animalistic urges and sleeps with his teenage step-child. But perhaps Allen had some clue as to what he was doing considering that the latest Hollywood tabloid reports that he and his step-daughter/wife have just had a child together, and are doing well. I won’t speculate, but I have put aside my issues with his personal life, and have found common ground. I too, have random thoughts, and
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As Allen resumed his random thoughts on growing up Jewish in New York, and his struggles in later life dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, no doubt inspired by his encounter with the Holocaust survivor, I began to recall similar experiences in my own life.
I have a good friend who lived abroad in Scotland last fall. We both have the uncanny knack of meeting someone for the first time and inevitably end up knowing their entire life history within a fifteen-minute conversation. He and I communicated over e-mail, sharing daily stories. One in particular began, “…and over Big Mac’s and fries, the Doctor told me, some random curly-haired kid, his story of the one that got away.” As it turns out, my friend met a retired doctor who had been in the service during World War II, and had been stationed in Scotland. While there, the doctor met “the one,” a Scottish girl, but never told her how he truly felt. Before he shipped out to return to the US, he debated finding her, and asking her to go with him, but he just couldn’t get up enough nerve. And so there he was, over fifty years later, returning to Scotland to see if he could find her. My friend met this man on the last leg of his trip. He had traveled all over looking for his lost love, and he was now returning home; He hadn’t found her. He said he knew it was a shot in the dark, but something he just had to do before he died. The doctor
Sometimes the strongest connections in life are formed during the worst circumstances. This is exactly what happened during the Holocaust between Elie Wiesel and his Father. In Night, a memoir written by Elie Wiesel, Wiesel recounts the appalling events him and his father were subject to at the hands of the Nazis. Amidst the atrocities happening around them Wiesel develops a bond with his father he never could have achieved without living through one of the lowest points in the world's history. Although Elie Wiesel's relationship with his father is challenged numerous times due to the atrocious events they were succumbed too, in the end this bond is what maintains Wiesel's will to live.
Throughout history, Georg Simmel and W.E.B. Du Bois have had a significant influence on important theories and ideas developed in the Social Sciences. Perhaps two of the most relevant and well-known concepts developed by both of these theorists are the concepts of “double consciousness” and “the stranger”. In this paper I will be analyzing both of these pieces of work to draw upon differences and similarities between the two. The similarities I will be elaborating on are the usage of the paradoxical figure, which both Simmel and Du Bois discuss in their theories, and the coexisting feeling of division from mainstream society. The difference between the two theories that I will be exploring is the perception that mainstream society has of
Countless people around the world listen to various styles of music. Despite the genre, whether it be country or hip hop, these songs deliver a message onto it’s listeners daily. Same songs could have a different meaning to different people depending on the experiences that they go through or the tribulations that one is currently facing. Spotless Minds by Jhene Aiko offers a message about love and how although love could be a blessing, it can also act as a curse. This song should not be viewed as merely a song, but more like a lesson that is teached using only a few lyrics. The deeper the context, the more meaning the song will have on particular people. The art in the way these lyrics are carefully composed, when sung, conveys a bittersweet message that reminds listeners of the joys and miseries of love as well as the experiences that Jhene went through. The lyrics, the deeper meanings hidden behind stanzas, and the relatability of this song are reasons why Spotless Minds is an interesting yet harsh reality that love isn’t how people see it in the movies. This song carries in it a meaning of true love that yearns to be heard around the world. Whether heard by a married couple or a high school relationship that is still blossoming, this song speaks to all who are willing to listen.
During the years prior to Elie's Wiesel's experience in the Holocaust, Elie and his father shared a distant relationship that lacked a tremendous amount of support and communications but, eventually, their bond strengthens as they rely on each other for survival and comfort.
In the past many horrific events have happened that many people choose not to believe. One of those events was the Holocaust. Millions of innocent people died during this tragedy, but what about the people who survived? How did this affect them? A survivor, Elie Wiesel, wrote about his experience during the Holocaust, and how it changed him as a person. In his book “Night”, the main character Elie went to the concentration camp Auschwitz. Throughout the story, he gained new character traits that he carried for the rest of his life.
As with all human beings, there are happy memories and bad memories. Some have no effect, and others can change someone’s life completely. Elie Wiesel’s autobiography, Night, writes about Elie’s external conflict of the horrors of the Holocaust’s violent concentration camps. Elie resolves this conflict by having all the hope of the world in him and enduring the evident deaths of his family members; however, Elie’s trek also illustrates his character as both enduring and dependent. Elie’s decision to staying hopeful and stay enduring also reveals the universal theme of, “The toughest and darkest of times and experience can test your hope”
Psychology is a term derived from two Greek words that translate to life explanation, which makes it an important element of daily life. The field of psychology can be described as a discipline that focuses on the study of mind and behavior. This discipline is characterized by several concepts and approaches that are used by psychologists in understanding human behavior. Since psychology is a broad field, psychologists not only use these concepts and approaches but also conduct scientific research that enables them to understand human behavior. Some of the most common psychological concepts that are used to modify or change an individual’s behavior include operant conditioning, positive and negative punishment,
In Chapter One of The Humble Essay Roy K. Humble starts out by saying that the purpose of the college essay is to explain an opinion of the writer, and that the opinion must be reasonable. Humble then tells about commonly misunderstood terms such as thesis, thesis statement, and topic. The thesis is the main idea of an essay, the thesis statement is a written sentence that articulates the thesis, and the topic is the subject of an essay. Next he talks about what a college essay really is, and then goes on to say exactly what it is not. A college essay gives information about a given topic, provides an opinion about that information, and explains both of them. The following examples are types of essays that are not college essays and pertain
As said by Audrey Hepburn; “Living is like tearing through a museum, not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering - because you can’t take it in all at once.” In Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, the Holocaust took place in an order of layers. As time passed, the extremity was increased each chapter he succumbed to. Elie expresses raw emotion in his memoir, Night, and leaves you in a complete, utter state of wonder and sadness. Not only this, but remembering and cherishing the importance of all the emotions from this time in history. In Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, the theme of remembering is present before the Holocaust and in today’s society.
When relationships are challenged, they can either be made stronger or destroyed. Elie Wiesel’s relationship with his father is tested on numerous occasions throughout the time of the Holocaust. Wiesel writes about his horrific experiences, most of which are in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz, in his memoir Night. Throughout his time in the concentration camps, Wiesel manages to stick by his father’s side, which is hard to do. In doing so, Wiesel’s relationship with his father prospers, rather than declines. Wiesel’s relationship with his father, although difficult to maintain at times, led to his survival during the Holocaust.
Many outsiders strive but fail to truly comprehend the haunting incident of World War II’s Holocaust. None but survivors and witnesses succeed to sense and live the timeless pain of the event which repossesses the core of human psyche. Elie Wiesel and Corrie Ten Boom are two of these survivors who, through their personal accounts, allow the reader to glimpse empathy within the soul and the heart. Elie Wiesel (1928- ), a journalist and Professor of Humanities at Boston University, is an author of 21 books. The first of his collection, entitled Night, is a terrifying account of Wiesel’s boyhood experience as a WWII Jewish prisoner of Hitler’s dominant and secretive Nazi party.
Elie Wiesel experienced a lot of life changes throughout the memoir “Night” that sculpted him into the man that he is today. During his childhood, before the Holocaust occurred, Elie was described as a nice, innocent, young boy, who enjoyed doing things that every young boy liked to do at that age. His life began to change when the Nazi party took over; Elie experienced things that he had never imagined before. He was separated from his family, was starved and beaten, had his personal identity ripped away through dehumanization, and had to do things that someone his age should never be forced to do. As a result of his experiences during the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel changes from a religious, sensitive teenage boy to a spiritually dead, unemotional
"The first precept was never to accept a thing as true until I knew it as such without a single doubt."
Describe what evolutionary psychologists mean when they employ the term ‘theory of mind’. Use examples and research studies from Book 1, Chapter 2 to show why this theory is important in evolutionary psychology.
Tools of mine teacher make sure throughout the day each child’s meets all the part of his or her development learning. Tools of the Mind gives teachers the tools to ensure every child becomes a successful learner, developing the underlying cognitive, social and emotional skills needed to reach his or her development appropriate practices. On the other hand, teachers focus on helping children become intentional and reflective learners, creating a classroom in which instruction in all development domains, and reflect children’s learning capacity, rather than age-level expectations. The teacher I interview he got involved with this approach because it is what used by the organization he works at. As he learned about the curriculum, he grew to really like its approach, especially