Depression has presented itself in society well before the scientists of today were able to begin research and truly try to understand this disease. Depression in its earliest form was known as “melancholia”. The earliest accounts of melancholia appeared in ancient Mesopotamian texts in the second millennium B.C. ("Mental Help Historical Understandings of Depression Comments", 2007). Mental illness back during these times were thought to be of demonic possessions and/or punishments from the almighty God. Society at this time did not believe that there was a problem that was taking place in the brain and changing the behaviors of individuals affected by the diagnosis. Darkness Visible by William Styron is vulnerable account of his own stretch …show more content…
Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems (("Depression (major depression)"). For an individual to be diagnosed with depression they must first meet 5 of the 9 criteria as stated in the DSM-V. After being diagnosed the individual most likely will begin to explore treatment options that can range anywhere from medication to psychotherapy. There are three different types of therapies: cognitive-behavioral therapy which examines the way behaviors and the way you think about them factor into your depression. Also, interpersonal therapy which happens to be focused on the relationships with the people around and how they affect you emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Lastly, there is problem- solving therapy which involves honing in on the specific problems and a therapist is there to help the individual in understanding how everything should …show more content…
I have been exposed to the concept of depression before but never like the way I’ve been exposed to while reading Darkness Visible. The theme that kept appearing throughout the novel was one of loneliness. While Styron is explaining the situations of the different artists he allows himself to feel vulnerable in his own self and I think that makes it easier for him to come to terms that he needed professional help. The decision for him to not end his life was a strong one. Styron’s constant fight with his self-worth and self-esteem deepened as I progressed throughout the novel. The belief that the disease of depression in not the bodies of those that suffer from depression create a controversial aspect in regards to the recovery of these individuals. The most enjoyable parts of the book were when Styron chooses to utilize psychotherapy and pharmacology to aid him in conquering his
The Power of Nature and Healing in Starlight Nature surrounds all of civilization, and the further we run from it the further we run from peace and a better wellbeing. A major theme of Starlight by Richard Wagamese is nature and its power of healing. And the characters shown throughout the novel all exhibit the levels of healing from within and its different stages. Frank, the main character of Starlight, is the strongest example of nature and its mindset-altering properties. Healing in this book holds great significance as it reveals character development throughout the novel.
In Anthony Doerr’s All The Light We Cannot See , a blind girl named Marie-Laure LeBlanc lives with her father, Daniel LeBlanc, in Paris. When Marie-Laure was a little girl, she went on a children’s tour of the museum where her father worked. On the tour, the tour guide talks about this stone called the Sea of Flames and it was said that the keeper of the stone would live forever, but as long as he kept it, all the people that he loved would face many problems. When she is twelve years old, the Nazis occupy Paris, so Marie-Laure and her father flee the city, with the Sea of Flames, to go live with her great uncle and aunt, Etienne LeBlanc and Madame Manec in Saint-Malo. A forty-one year old man named Sergeant Major Reinhold von Rumpel, is very
All the light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, chronicles the lives and relationship between Marie and Werner, two children who grew up in France and Germany. The society around them forces discriminatory ideals that cloud their perception of the world, but they find its meaning through their own self-definition. In this, they are both guided by a single radio and the message and legacy that it contains. Throughout the book, the author isolated the two characters, but also created subtle connections between the two. The most important of which would be the radio. It created a bond between the two where they learned from each other’s experiences and struggles. All the Light We Cannot See recreates a new picture of the world by contrasting the two separate journeys taken by Marie- Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig to gain that image, which is guided by the power of a radio and the message it contains, ultimately leading to the meeting of the two characters that officially forms an image of the world where one’s actions are valued more than one’s physical features.
Arloa Sutter’s book, The Invisible (Sutter, A. (2010). The Invisible. Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House). This book is about how as Christians it is our job to go and help the poor. Sutter tells about her own personal journey of how she go to where she is now. She tells tales of some of the people who have been in the homeless shelter. These stories are touching and at times, really emotional. Sutter calls us to go and help the homeless. She gives us tips on getting closer to God and listening to his voice. She calls us to be more like Jesus, Sutter uses a lot of scripture to back up her points in how we can be like Him.
Howard Thurman removes the window dressing in the African American experience of segregation in America. Thurman in his book, “The Luminous Darkness” paints an obscure portrait that delved deep into the consciousness of Black men, women and children freshly freed from chattel slavery. Two hundred years of slavery and one hundred years of darkness seeping into each soul perpetuated by an evil explained only through the Word of God. Although this book was published in the 60’s, the stigma segregation continues resonate in the souls of those who remember and perhaps even in the souls of those who do not.
This world is filled with many troubles including racism. Society often depicts whites as superior to blacks. However, this is not precise, because every race has both good and bad within it. The world is trying to break away from racism to become a better place for everyone around the world. Racism is not only about the color of one’s skin, it can impact individuals around the world due to their race or religion. The title of this novel is “Black and White” by Paul Volponi. In this coming of age story, two friends, Marcus Brown and Eddie Russo, who are black and white (respectively), are senior basketball stars at their high school. Marcus lives in community housing which is fraught with crime with a single mother. On the other hand, Eddie lives in a private house nearby where Marcus lives. Both Marcus and Eddie are in financial hardships and need to find easy money to cover their school and basketball fees. The two agree to start pulling robberies when they unintentionally shoot a black man. They are left in anxiety trying to avoid getting caught while trying to lead a normal life after the incident. They both end up going through the justice system, and Marcus must serve jail time while Eddie gets to go free. While all of this transpires, Marcus and Eddie manage to keep their friendship strong and overcome any barriers together. Any true friendship can overcome racial stereotypes put in place by society including the racial barrier between Blacks and Whites. The novel
Paul Bogard is a writer and with the article called "Let it be dark" he explains or presents his argument that the next generation of children might not get to see a sky dark enough for the Milky Way galaxy. This was originally published in December 21, 2012 during a time when people were predicted that the world was going to come to an end but of course that wasn't true. But, since then people started to worry more about climate change and environmental issues. Paul Bogard tries to get the audience concerned on whether or not people want to see more darkness by using warning diction and selection of details.
In the novel, Primal Fear by William Diehl, there are many ethical dilemmas in the entire novel. This is to be expected because the plot of the novel was centered around a court case. The stakeholders involved were the attorneys, judges, the citizens of Chicago, as well as the people being defended in court. The three main characters of the novel were the ones involved in the major ethical dilemmas. With the center of the novel being around the court case, there are many different aspects pertaining to the law. The setting of the novel was important in the ethical point of view seeing as the fundamentals of ethics state that just because something is ethical doesn’t necessarily make it legal. Having this in mind, I was able to connect the principles of law and ethics to identify the unethical actions that occurred throughout the novel.
“In a Dark time” by Theodore Roethke gives a retrospect into the inner turmoil’s of finding oneself through a haze of doubts in till reaching a moment of clarity. Each section of the poem describes a different emotion, or inner thought that spirals from fear of death, to emotions of desire. The use of imagery between nature and uncertainties of the narrator give a glimpse into Roethke’s own mind during the time he wrote this poem. Without hundreds of pages Roethke created a poem that connects readers to their own self-doubts and struggles of finding ones way again.
The quote "Character is what you are in the dark" - Dwight Lyman Moody has a few meanings. Mostly it means that you're different when you're alone. When you're around people they are influences of some sort. If you get into a situation when you're with people you might react differently than if you were alone, resulting in a different outcome. A lot of the time people aren't their true self around friends, or family, or whoever it may be for many reasons. A big reason is they don't want to be judged. Maybe they wanna look "cool" or get popular for something. Maybe they think they'll be looked at differently for being who they truly are. So basically fear of what others think keeps us from being who we really are. Fear can make us act different,
In his essay titled, "Let There Be Dark", Paul Bogard writes about the beauty of the darkness and why it should be not disappear. Bogard accomplishes delivering his purpose through the use of concered diction followed by informal diction and his use of sensory details.
When children think of darkness they think of lack of light which causes them to become scared. As we grow older, we begin to not only realize the lack of light, but the objects inside the dark which can be more frightening. We start understanding how darkness makes us feel. Darkness makes one think of unusual scenarios that are not real, but seems so real at that moment. Once we start believing in those scenarios, they start to overcome us and we no longer stay ourselves. There are multiple definitions of darkness and they all go with these two authentic stories, Heart of Darkness and The Dead. In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, darkness is defined as: partial or total absence of light, wickedness or evil, unhappiness, secrecy and lack of spiritual or intellectual enlighten. Comparing, Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad and The Dead written by James Joyce, each author brings out darkness and the living dead into the main character and shows how much it changes them for the worse and/or for the better.
In Darkness Visible, William Styron writes of his deeply personal struggle through depression. He recounts his own thoughts and feelings that he experienced and describes the journey it took to emerge on the other side as he recovered. The book begins on a chilly evening in Paris in late October of 1985 as William Styron becomes aware of the seriousness of his
The teacher will introduce a selected nonfiction book called The Moon by Seymour Simon to students by projecting the preselected page on the document camera. She lets students know that although they may know lots about the moon there may be information in the book that is new and hard for them to understand.
Dorfman establishes a distressful mood to introduce Paulina’s conflicted character, who is burdened by her past trauma. Initially, the setting is established “after midnight,” (3) imparting a tenebrous and anxious mood. Midnight is commonly known as “witching hours,” where ghosts and demons are believed to appear. These lifeless creatures reflect Paulina’s internal conflict over her trauma and parallel the way it haunts her; therefore, Dorfman establishes Paulina’s state of mind as being highly conflicted at the beginning of the play. Furthermore, the motif portrays Paulina's isolation, proving the aftermath of her trauma. The first scene describes as if she is imbibing under the “light of the moonlight” (3). Typically, the moon is interpreted