Affirming Discourse
Both the Malcolm X "Coming to Awareness of Writing" reading selection form The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Julia Cameron’s essay "A Few Irresistible Reasons for Paying Attention" are great examples of using different ways to heal mental pain by paying attention to a particular subject.
The Julia Cameron’s essay shows the examples of Julia’s and her grandmother Mimi’s life, which reveal reasons for paying attention. First, Julia shows her grandmother’s life and how she by paying close attention to her big interest, observing flora and fauna behaviors, heals her "mental pain":
Mimi's husband, my grandfather Daddy Howard, an elegant rascal with a gambler's smile and a loser's luck, had made and lost several fortunes, the last of them permanently. He drank them away, gambled them away, tossed them away the way Mimi threw crumbs to her birds. He squandered life's big chance the same way she savored its small ones. "That man," my mother would say (167).
Second, Julia found out the importance of paying attention as a means to heal mental pain after her marriage blew apart. She moved to a different place and lived alone, trying to survive as long as the pain will go away. She learned that her attention to the cat was an act of connection. By accident, she met a new friend, a gray striped cat [Its normal for a lonely human being finding something interesting in his/her environment]. After a while they get used to each other. By spending more time with the cat, Julia's pain began to go away. The in third reason she found out that pain taught her to pay attention:
Writing about attention, I see that I have written a good deal about pain. This is no coincidence. It may be different for others, but pain is what it took to teach me to pay attention. In time of pain, when the future is too terrifying to contemplate and the past too painful to remember, I have learned to pay attention to right now. The precise moment I was in was always the only safe place for me (168).
She healed the pain or she knew that the pain was always bearable.
The Malcolm X article illustrate his life in the prison. This part shows an interesting and strong approaching to life. In this few paragraphs Malcolm X is trying to show a view for reader how he has came to the awareness of English language in time he was cut away form the world.
This paper is written to give my personal reflection on a book entitled The Autobiography of Malcolm X. It is one of the assignments for EDC3360 Course, Social Work for Community Service. We were asked to read this book because the content of this book has relation with the course we are taken for the current semester.
Malcolm X is an important figure in human history because he was a human rights activist and fought for equality among people. He was a proficient public speaker who spoke for minorities, mostly African Americans. By reading Malcolm X’s story, I visualize on how a man suffered from the effects of prejudice and his whole disposition was formed from it. I see how a very angry man stayed angry at the "white devils" f...
The autobiography of Malcolm X is most widely accredited for its inspirational incentives and exceptionally intense life experiences; the novel itself is a show-stopper. Malcolm X structures his craft through his untold stories and background through the behavior of style and substance. Malcolm creates more than a scene and feel of the novel, but allows the audience to accommodate a tight grasp on his emotions and disposition the life of a young African-American male during a racist time in history.
The controversial topic of insanity manifests itself commonly in Romantic writing, and has been one much disputed over time. Some say that people who seem crazy are so above our own level of thought and understanding that we can’t possibly begin to identify with them and that we can find genius in the form of ordinary lunatics who connect to God and divinity in ways “normal” people don’t comprehend. Throughout works such as “The Cask of Amontillado and “The Castaway”, the authors question insanity with ideas that show the possible outcomes when one looks deep inside themselves for a divine spark or intuition. Both of these stories address madness in different forms, and madness itself is Godly experiences gone wrong; the person who receives the divine vision is unable to handle its raw truth.
In conclusion when addressing an audience it is important to draw upon the audiences interests and to establish credibility in the subject being presented. In Henry’s case his speech which was more serious which had been war, had to be handled with care and acknowledgement of the audiences feelings. To take something away from this speech would be to have a dream and present it to people in the same way you believe in it, this worked a lot better rather than speaking about a plan and presenting it people. For if you tell people a plan they are not invested in you, where as they would possibly be more invested if you told them your dream and knowledge as you develop your credibility with them.
Malcolm X's multiple points of view, organization, and diction in his powerful and passionate overview of his life give the reader a more diverse reading and learning experience that they can easily understand.
History has always held a place for the "mad genius", the kind who, in a bout of euphoric fervor, rattles off revolutionary ideas, incomprehensible to the general population, yet invaluable to the population's evolution into a better adapted species over time. Is this link between creativity and mental illness one of coincidence, or are the two actually related? If related, does heightened creative behavior alter the brain's neurochemistry such that one becomes more prone to a mental illness like bipolar disorder? Does bipolar disorder cause alterations in neurochemistry in the brain that increase creative behavior through elevated capacity for thought and expression? Is this link the result of some third factor which causes both of the two effects?
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was born on January 4, 1785 (Hettinga pg.1). In the year 1786 on February 24, Wilhelm Carl...
Malcolm X while in prison completed his first transformation. Like many great figures and history makers had a low point in is life. At this time Malcolm was into drugs, hustling, women and money. He became so dependant on making a lot of money he and some of his friends decided to rob the house of an old white man. They were caught for this crime and were not only charged with this crime but were also charged with having sex with white women. Malcolm and his friend "Shorty" were sentenced to six years in prison. The two white women that were Malcolm and Shorty’s accomplices were sentenced to a year in jail. During the first couple days of prison Malcolm was coming off a drug high and was having withdrawals. These withdrawals led Malcolm into solitary confinement for two months. When he was let out of his chamber he met the man that would later be responsible for Malcolm’s transformation. This man was a follower of the nation of Islam and the great Alijah Muhammad. Malcolm learned a great deal form him. This shows us that even in the worst of circumstances we can learn and become better. This transformation was a great test for Malcolm and starts to let us see what a great influence he would end up being in the lives of many Americans.
Through the use of insanity as a metaphor, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, William Blake, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, introduced us to characters and stories that illustrate the path to insanity from the creation of a weakened psychological state that renders the victim susceptible to bouts of madness, the internalization of stimuli that has permeated the human psyche resulting in the chasm between rational and irrational thought, and the consequences of the effects of the psychological stress of external stimuli demonstrated through the actions of their characters.
The autobiography of Malcolm X is a book that will enlighten the reader into some of the hardships and discrimination the Afro-American has had to endure in America. Many people consider Malcolm X to be a radical leader, encouraging violence as a tool to fight discrimination. What this book does, for me and for many others, is open the world that Malcolm was faced and clarifies many of the controversial actions of Malcolm, such as preaching hate towards whites. The autobiography of Malcolm X is a book that helps the reader to understand some of the discrimination that Afro-Americans are faced with, all-the-while, explaining and giving reasoning to the deliberations that Malcolm X dealt and the impact that he has left on millions of people
History shows that signs of mental illness and abnormal behavior have been documented as far back as the early Greeks however, it was not viewed the same as it is today. The mentally ill were previously referred to as mad, insane, lunatics, or maniacs. W.B. Maher and B.A. Maher (1985) note how many of the terms use had roots in old English words that meant emotionally deranged, hurt, unhealthy, or diseased. Although early explanations were not accurate, the characteristics of the mentally ill have remained the same and these characteristics are used to diagnose disorders to date. Cultural norms have always been used to assess and define abnormal behavior. Currently, we have a decent understanding of the correlates and influences of mental illness. Although we do not have complete knowledge, psychopathologists have better resources, technology, and overall research skills than those in ancient times.
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm in Hanau, Germany. Jacob was born on January 4, 1785 and Wilhelm on February 24, 1786. Their parents were Philipp Wilhelm Grimm and Dorothea Grimm. Philipp and Dorothea had nine children together. In 1971, the Grimm family moved to Steinau. Five years later, in 1976, Philipp Wilhelm Grimm died at the age of 44. At this time, Jacob was eleven years old and Wilhelm was about to be ten (Grimm Brothers’ Home Page 1).
Several factors contributed to my pursuit of a career nursing, but the main reason I decided on this profession was my family. The medical field has held my interest since a young age, considering my mom has always worked in healthcare, so I was exposed to the field at a very early age. For many years I juggled with the idea of becoming a doctor or a veterinarian, not quite being able to decide which field in healthcare interested me the most, but in recent years I narrowed the interest I developed at a young age down to a profession in nursing. It was only after a discussion with my great-aunt that I decided to pursue nursing. My great-aunt made nursing her profession many years ago, and at family gatherings, she would often tell me fascinating stories about her time spent working in a hospital.
Becoming a Nurse has been a goal of mine for several years because i love helping people.