Hands: Paranoia
It seems that in all three of these works there is a sense of paranoia.
In "Hands" a man is fearful of what might happen if he continues to do as he has
done in the past, touch people. A terrible fear of what a small touch could
lead to. In the story "Eveline" a young woman is confused about what to do with
her life. Whether to go with a man she thinks she loves or stay with her father.
In the poem "Summer Solstice, New York City" This man is made crazy and
paranoid because of something. That something has driven this man to the point
of casting his body over the edge of a building.
Straight from the text of Hands, a story about a man and his paranoia of
his own hands. An example of Wing Biddlebaums fear. "Wing Biddlebaum forever
frightened and beset by a ghostly band of doubts."(p. 882) Adolf Myers, or Wing,
as the town people called him, was a dreamer, he wanted others to dream with him
and experience what he did. "Adolf Myers walked into the evening or had sat
talking until dusk upon the school steps lost in a dream."(p. 884) "In a way
the voice and hands, the stroking of shoulders and the touching of hair were a
part of the school Master's effort to carry a dream into the young minds."(p.
884) This is a man that was run out of a town for something that was not a bad
thing. Nor was this something intended the wrong way. Mr. Myers did touch only
to pass on something great, a dream. Mr. Myers was run from a town. "They
intended to hang the school master."(p. 885) "As he ran away in the darkness
they repented their weakness and ran after him."(p. 885) Mr. Myers was so
paranoid about touching someone he would do anything to keep his hands from
doing so. "When he talked to George Willard, Wing Biddlebaum closed his fist and
beat with them upon a table or on the walls of his house."(p. 882) Once Wing did
let that one thing that he tried so hard not to do happen. He touched someone,
when he realized it I feel that the paranoia set in. "For once he forgot his
hands. Slowly they stole their way upon George Willard's shoulders."(p. 883)
"With a conclusive move of his body Wing sprang to his feet and thrust his hands
deep in his pockets." "Tears came to his eyes." "I must be getting home, I can
Dreams are often thought of as unreal and as viable modes for escaping reality; however, for John Grady dreams are an extension of his reality. Dreams extend his life through different roles: dreams as ambition, as fantasies and as an unconscious act during sleep. His dreams enable the reader to understand John Grady character as his expresses openly his aspirations in his dreams. A person’s aspirations are frequently in conflict with their reality. Likewise dreams can be in conflict with ones destiny. Nonetheless, there is blurred difference between the nature of dreams and reality. The complexity of life transforms itself into our dreams, thus dreams enable the dreamer to re-evaluate life his or life destiny.
Stephen King’s perception in “The Symbolic Language of Dreams” gave me a new, profound insight on dreams. On the other hand, his interpretations also made me realize how little is known about them and their significance to our lives.
and attacked the falcon and killed it. The owl, lower then the falcon on the
This essay will begin to look at the stories, ‘The Darkness Out There’ and ‘The Red Room.’ Both of these stories seem to hold at first glance similar themes but closer reading and analysis show the reader that there are different attitudes to the main theme fear.
The cheerful pleasant mood at the beginning of the story slowly fades, as the tension and suspicion rise. Within the story the reader begins to detect small hints which suggest everything is not as it seems. The anxiety grows as the lottery approaches. "He held it firmly be one corner as he turned and went hastily back to his place in the crowd, where he stood a little apart from his family, not looking down
We all dream and wake up wondering, “what was that all about?” Can we ever really be sure? Some dreams are crazier than others and leave us questioning our own sanity, just like the speaker in this poem who dreams about forcibly taking advantage of a woman. The speaker in Robert Herrick’s 1653 poem, The Vine, uses the manifest and latent dream content and the battle between the id and superego to reveal his undisclosed desires.
Dr. Leonardo Tondo gave a lecture titled, “They’re after me!: Paranoia in History, Literature, Clinical Theory, and Practice.” This lecture was given on December 6, 2017, as a part of the Heinz Bluhm Memorial Lecture Series. Dr. Tondo began with the idea that paranoia is everywhere among us. He raised the question, “Would you open the door to a stranger?” Most people would answer this question, “no”, with little hesitation. He attributes this to the distrust that has been transmitted from generation to generation. Dr. Tondo then posed the question, “Would you trust most of the people?” 19% of Millenials, 31% of Gen X, 37% of the Silent Gen., and 40% of Baby Boomers answered “no.”This proves that distrust grows with age and there is traditionally less trust associated with low socio-economic groups.
Similarly this could be seen as Willy’s first ‘wrong’ dream. First of all Willy started to chase this dream with everything he has but came out empty handed. He is terrible at selling things and is an unsuccessful salesman. He is put onto to straight commission because he isn’t selling anymore, eventually gets fired from his job, and had to lend money from his neighbor Charley in order to pay the debts he had. He is also not content with his job because he came home and a “word-sigh escapes his lips.., “Oh, boy, oh, boy.””[pg.8]. The word “sigh” infers that Willy came ...
We finally arrived at the cabins after a treacherous eight mile hike up and back Hawk Hill, a mountain on looking the raging but soothing waves of the ocean. Hannah, along with the rest of her class, went to the dining hall to enjoy a delicious meal. After the now class of full bellies finished their meals they rushed to their night activity. Every last one of them crammed into a small room on the campus. They talked about the trip to Muir Woods the next day. The talk took about twenty minutes then they separated into small groups and perform skits. When the night activity ended, everyone went back to their dorms where Mr.Monroe, their homeroom teacher, sat on a chair in the corner of the room with the look of despair and anger on his face.
The narrator's sense of imagination through hearing had led to senseless fear, which had then led to his mind going into a protective state for both himself and his lrene. This same idea is also presented in a terrifing moment I have lived through once in my life.
... condition terrified, it infected me... I felt creeping upon me, by slow yet uncertain degrees, the wild influence of his own fantastic yet impressive superstitions.” The narrator giving the impression of first being of a rational mindset makes this even more unsettling.
handed back to him and he says “….it takes no hold of me now.” This
The man clothed in rags sitting on the side of the street stares as I walk by. His eyes have an element of gloominess to them. We make eye-contact, I slyly turn my head, and pursue on. Still thinking about the man I hear change jingle in my wallet. “I should have given it to him,” I think.
on who is shouting to him, so he turns himself about , and raises his