Searching For The Self, And Other Unicorns By Peg O Connor

In the short story “the White Heron” (1886), Sarah Jewett portrays a young little girl, Sylvia, bear the temptation of money and affection from the young man with mental struggle, and resolutely determined to protect the fairy of nature – a white heron. Through describing Sylvia’s authentic emotions and using of vivid theme colors and exquisite word choice, Jewett delivers the story like showing a lifelike 19-century country-life drama in front of the readers.

The author uses Imagery and dialogue to show the theme that “People are not meant to be perfect, they are meant to be themself.”

Artists use their artworks to communicate different meanings and transfer specific messages to the audience. Their artworks can be presented in different forms like architecture, drawing, painting, sculpture, pottery and many other forms. Each artwork contains a specific meaning which is usually based on the artist 's beliefs, culture, identity and the nature surrounding us. Rona Rubuntja from the Hermannsburg Potters, Bronwyn Oliver, Christo and Jeanne Claude each presented their art in different forms but they all communicate meanings and ideas to the audience. Rona Rubuntja who is a senior member of the Hermannsburg Potters and her famous pottery work ‘I 'm Black’ for the exhibition ‘Our Land is Alive’ at the National Gallery of

To look beyond the person as an individual; to understand the cultural, familial, and fraternal ingredients that make a “self” “the self”. This seems to be the task of Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers: the Story of Success.

In all three texts, “Project Classroom Makeover,” “Biographies of Hegemony,” and “An Army of One: Me,” the authors, Cathy Davidson, Karen Ho, Jean Twenge, respectively, explore different ideas of “the Self.” They defined and expanded what it meant to be an individual through curiosity. How was the “Self” developed? What were the main factors of a more “self-celebrated” society? Why are aspects of narcissism seen more and more today? These answers were discovered when the idea of “self-focus” was introduced into society. As self-focus became prevalent in everyday normalities the individual expanded into something more than the simple dichotomy of “you” and “I,” it became a purpose for life. The evolution of humanity created a world where

In addition to revealing to people what the true "self" of others was, Jean Twenge explains in "An Army of One: Me" that the "self" is changing with generation after another specifically in the twentieth century. Twenge argues that over the second half of the twentieth century, American's have become more about individual celebration rather than the being worried about other. This new change in individualism had a direct correlation how the "self" is now viewed, "[f]or the Boomers, who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, self-focus was a new concept, individualism an uncharted territory... which is why many Boomers talk about the "self" using language full of abstraction,

Over one hundred years ago, transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson declared, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Throughout time his message remains applicable as society attempts to conform everyone to its standards. The secular population tends to wrestle with the idea of individualism, like Emerson, alongside the idea of amounting to society’s uniform expectations. Today’s society sends out mixed messages; one encourages each person to embrace their uniqueness, and another message promotes the similarities between everyone. By establishing conflicting viewpoints, many people struggle to find an identity. Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Journey,” explores the inner

“Project of the self" is one of the most significant concepts created by Anthony Giddens. The author bases his ideas of self-identification upon influence of the modern world and changes created by the process of globalization (Giddens, 1991). The main argument is strong. However the study seeks some further explanations of the role of identity in the social life of individuals.

In the article, Palmer says that it is very easy to become lost in our quest for selfhood because of the external influences that impose upon each one of us. Human beings strive to not only do what is best for themselves but for the larger population of the world. According to Palmer, however, once the self has been achieved, the individual is a more production member of society and fulfills the role that they were originally designed for. "Only when I know both seed and system, self and community,

Death and dying is an inescapable process that all humans will face at some time in life, whether it is the death of a friend or family member. After experiencing the death of a loved one comes the process of grieving, which is part of coping with the loss of a loved one. The Optimist’s Daughter is a novel written by Eudora Welty, and it is based on a girl named Laurel McKelva Hand and her struggles with grief. Laurel utilizes memory to overcome the grief she experiences, resulting from the loss of her family.

I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont and Illustrated by David Catrow is a fiction read aloud book about a little girl who shares all of the reasons she likes about herself. The character of the story accomplishes this by using different types of descriptive words throughout the book: such as wild, different, fast, slow, silly, and nut. Also, she is illustrated showing their meanings and the way she feels when others use the descriptive words towards her. The story narrates how various situations and scenarios where words play a big part on the way she is seen and/or treated by others. Children are social beings and their identity is influenced by the various interactions in their environment. For example, children may experience feelings of isolation,

For every change within a society, personal changes with “self” must happen. These social changes are important to people while, people who don’t benefit from it think changes within the self isn’t important for social changes. Personal change is a journey a person takes of discovering something within themselves and acting upon a social change. That social change is society evolving to better ways. Jane Goodall talks about her experience in a moment of truth with self being absent in a moment of need in her writing titled In the Forest of Gombe, where she spends a few weeks in the forest following chimpanzees has helped her cope with her grief of her husband. She comes to the realization that her “self” was nonexistent and everyone in

Mearns and Thorne (1998) investigates the foundations of the person centred and states that focusing on past experiences is damaging for the present self-concept. This will have a domino effect as this self-concept will not let individuals reach their full potential and therefore, they will fail in becoming fully functioning persons. Furthermore, the need for positive self-regard, according to Rogers, developed in early childhood and directly influenced one’s self worth.

There are references to the “I” self and the “me” self that James theorizes. My favorite quote from the book is “even when I look a mess, I still don’t like me any less, cause nothing in this world…can change what’s deep inside…no person ever anywhere can make me feel that what they see is all there is to me.” The “I” of the young girl is stated to be “deep inside”. The “I” self is consistent and true. The “me” self is influenced by the opinions of others and how one interacts with the environment around them. I Like Myself did a great job illustrating this topic for young kids to understand. It is a very strong statement about not changing for others and staying true to who one is.

In the first chapter titled, “The Search for Glory”, Karen Horney explains a human’s potential to develop their own unique thoughts, wishes, interests and feelings, which is their real self. She describes the real self as, “ that central inner force, common to all human beings and yet unique in each, which is the deep source of growth”. The real self is all about the individual’s depth and clarity of their own feelings, strength of their own will power, special talents or gifts they might be born with, and are able to express themselves. The goal as they grow older is to grow toward self-realization. But first to expand their given potentialities, they must be provided with favorable conditions to grow. These conditions include a warm atmosphere, for a feeling of inner freedom and security encouraging them to have their own thoughts and feeling, leading them to better self expression. Next they need the good will of others in order to develop