How far is too far? What would you do to get the attention of one person or a group of people? Many people push themselves in a positive or negative way to get someone to notice them. Whether it is for love, popularity, or just wanting to get seen by the world, we all have our limits of how far we would go. In the book Sickened, we see a daughter named Julie Gregory made sick by her mom for the attention of medical professionals. Her mom would feed her “suckers” which were actually matches (Gregory, 21). There were days where it would be two o’clock in the afternoon, and she had not eaten anything (Gregory, 131). Her mother would bleach her hair so many times; it was on the edge of falling off (Gregory, 107). Julie Gregory said it was usually after her “mom slipped the little white pill under” her tongue that her migraines got worse (Gregory, 32). Sandy, Julie’s mother, would lie in order for the doctors to continue investigating a condition that did not exist. She would exaggerate the truth by saying Julie had a sore throat every day when it actually was only for a day (Gregory, 30). Not only does her mother lie at the doctor’s office but also, at home. One day, Julie’s mother had lied to her father saying Julie had called him bad words and had thrown his new tool in the pond (Gregory, 72). He believed it and “branded” her with his favorite belt (Gregory, 73). Julie’s education was also not considered. Julie missed so many days of school; they sent a letter saying she would have to be held back if it continued (Gregory, 59). She was “demoted to the lowest reading level” (Gregory, 98). “I’m failing at school because I’m sick; because there’s always something wrong with me” (Gregory, 101). Her mother choose to be noticed... ... middle of paper ... ...uld die and were ready for it. They were literally willing to risk it all, even their own lives to get the whole world’s attention. Nothing in their mind was too far. Hurting their families, killing thousands of people and giving it all up, was something worth the risk. In all these examples, we have seen how people, in different ways, have gone to the extreme to call the attention of a person or a whole nation. Either by sickness or by religious reasons, these people did not consider the lives and sufferings of families even their own, in order to accomplish their purposes. It is hard to understand why people would go to such lengths, instead of looking for options that would not harm themselves or others. It is important to be aware of all these types of situations and understand the need of psychological treatment and help these people before they hurt others.
Even in the medical field, male doctors were dominate to the hundreds of well educated midwives. “Male physicians are easily identified in town records and even in Martha’s diary, by the title “Doctor.” No local woman can be discovered that way” (Ulrich, 1990, pg.61). Martha was a part of this demoralized group of laborers. Unfortunately for her, “in twentieth-century terms, the ability to prescribe and dispense medicine made Martha a physician, while practical knowledge of gargles, bandages, poultices and clisters, as well as willingness to give extended care, defined her as a nurse” (Ulrich, 1990, pg.58). In her diary she even portrays doctors, not midwives, as inconsequential in a few medical
Patrick is a 15 year-old-boy who is suffering from Hirschsprung’s disease, which is a disease of the digestive tract. Since he was a young boy, he has had multiple operations performed on him, each taking a small portion of his digestive tract. Currently in the story, there is little to no tract left and the people in the ethics committee are trying to make the dreadful decision if they should perform more operations on the Patrick, or simply encompass a DNR (do not resuscitate). For this specific meeting, Patrick’s mother, Oria, was supposed to show up and listen to what the doctors think about Patrick’s situation and help make a decision. Oria was late to the meeting, so the ethics committee started without her. When she finally did arrive, nearly an hour late, they explained to her that surgery is not the option anymore for Patrick, and that shocking him back to life will also be more harm than good for the young boy. It is during this time that Belkin tells us, “She hates meetings like these. She feels she is being judged, and she is right. She is confused by the medicalese and embarrassed at her shadowy presence in her own baby’s life “ (Belkin p. 45). Oria feels that the doctors, nurses, and others in the hospital who are taking care of Partick are judging her, especially in meetings like the one previously talked about. She feels as if the doctors are looking down on her because she works so much and does not spend sufficient
Sixth grade Jodee enrolled at a private academy and the first few months were without incident. Jodee reveled in having friends and tried to do everything right to stay in their good standing. The trouble started when she called her mother to leave a party early. Jodee begged her mother not tell what was going on with the twelve year olds—but they were all caught in the act. Monday morning at school she found her favorite suede shoes floating in a toilet bowl of urine with a note attached—“Bitch, this is just the beginning.” She was cruelly treated, spit at, beaten, and shunned on a daily basis. Her parents were sympathetic to her dilemma and finally forced her to see a psychiatrist. She was placed on medication that made her very sleepy. The psychiatrist said that “kids will be kids and that possibly she was looking for attention from her parents.
Many still believe that all the hard times are behind them. Those people believe that since they aren’t the ones having to face those harsh times. However, evil still exists till this day, like the Genocide in Darfur. The subject about Darfur has always been a delicate one to many. However, there are still many in this society that still don’t even have the slightest clue about what is happening over in Sudan. There have been many genocides in the past, and the most well known is the Holocaust, but it’s sad to think that it still goes on till this day. Furthermore, there are still many that haven’t done much about it. Society needs to find out about what is happening in Darfur and awareness needs to be raised as well.
...these people so much that they would turn a deaf ear to the final pleas for help of their own people.
...hole life, and because of this connection, her perception of cancer changed, “It was at this moment that I realized the deceit I had been living under. Children growing up in the American Southwest drinking contaminated breasts of their mothers, my mother-members, years later, of the Clan of One-Breasted Women” (283).
Something that is common between all of these genocides is the bystander effect. In psychology, the bystander effect “occurs when the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency situation” (“Psychology”). From the German and Polish people not intervening in holocaust to the Indonesian gangsters rallying against the communists, without the mass number of psychosomatic people, none of this would have occurred like it
What symptoms classify a person to be diagnosed as sick? A cough, a sore throat, or maybe a fever. Often times when individuals refer to the word ‘sick’, they neglect to mention a common disorder, one which takes a tremendous amount of personal determination, courage and strength in order to overcome. Mental illness took the author, Joanne Greenberg, down a path complete with obstacles, forcing her to battle against schizophrenia, a chronic brain disorder resulting in delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration as well as a lack of motivation. This complex piece of literature was originally composed to fight against the prejudice accusations associated with mental illness, while providing the semi-autobiographical novelist
interesting to me that the more her mother got sick, the more Lola lashed out. It as if she was no longer feared her mother; she instead wanted to hurt her. Perhaps Lola took this callous approach after all the years of abuse. The author demonstrates through the change of Lola’s appearance; she dyes and shaves her hair, takes on a more “punk rock” look and these changes send her mother into a rage, She tries to force Lola to wear her wig; however, Lola sets it on fire. Although these changes were physical, I believe the author used them to show us that Lola wanted to be the opposite of what her mother wanted her to be.
In the pursuit of safety, acceptance, and the public good, many atrocities have been committed in places such as Abu Ghraib and My Lai, where simple, generally harmless people became the wiling torturers and murderers of innocent people. Many claim to have just been following orders, which illustrates a disturbing trend in both the modern military and modern societies as a whole; when forced into an obedient mindset, many normal and everyday people can become tools of destruction and sorrow, uncaringly inflicting pain and death upon the innocent.
To people around her, Gregory, a 35-year-old mother of two daughters, may pass as healthy. But only those in her inner circle, including her husband and children, truly understand the pain she has to endure.
“As they stepped into Ms. Couchon's office, the mother, a nurse, burst into tears. Her husband, a software engineer, had just lost his job,” she explained, leaving the family strapped. “I gave her a hug and let her cry,” Ms. Couchon says. She also refused the mother's request to drop her two preschoolers from the center's roster, telling her she would cut their tuition until her husband got a new job.” (Shellenbarger, 2000).
As the story begins, the unnamed doctor is introduced as one who appears to be strictly professional. “Aas often, in such cases, they weren’t telling me more than they had to, it was up to me to tell them; that’s why they were spending three dollars on me.” (par. 3) The doctor leaves the first impression that he is one that keeps his attention about the job and nothing out of the ordinary besides stating his impressions on the mother, father and the patient, Mathilda. Though he does manage to note that Mathilda has a fever. The doctor takes what he considers a “trial shot” and “point of departure” by inquiring what he suspects is a sore throat (par. 6). This point in the story, nothing remains out of the ordinary or questionable about the doctor’s methods, until the story further develops.
Mary’s mother, Betty, was a poor example of what a mother should be. A prostitute by profession often abandoned Mary to perform sex acts. Unfortunately, Mary was not always abandoned and was brought into the sex acts, abused sexually, and used as a prop for Betty’s customers. Mary reported that she was forced to perform sex acts starting at the age of five at the bequest of her mother. Mary’ mother was physically abusive to her, reportedly choking her and attempting to kill her on multiple occasions. Even as a baby, Mary was not nurtured by Betty, treating her as an object rather than a child. Actually, Betty attempted to give Mary up for adoption, which was thwarted by Betty’s sister.
People are often blinded by the situation in which they are in, and by their personal motives which drive them to act. Humans, by nature, have faults and vices that are potentially harmful. It is the responsibility of society to anticipate harm, whether to oneself or to others. Once dangerous patterns and habits are recognized, it is imperative to anticipate and prevent injury from reoccurring. To allow any individual to be inflicted harm forces citizens to lose trust in the government, thus unraveling the fabric of society.... ...