Closure

When trying to find closure for a traumatic event, some people look to point the blame on someone, regardless of whether it’s fair. In “The Isabel Fish” by Julie Orringer, Sage; Maddy’s older brother, blames her for Isabel’s death simply because she was in the car with Isabel when it was submerged in water. Sage refuses to admit that the way he treated Isabel, at the end of the day, lead to the car accident. Sage couldn’t come to terms with the accident so he blamed Maddy but once he sees Maddy go through the same pain of losing someone she loves that he went through, he realizes that he was abusing Maddy and he needs to be more supportive.

At the first scuba diving lesson, Maddy bricks in the pool and people pull her out. Sage drives her home and he remains closed to Maddy. Initially Sage is abusive to Maddy because he doesn’t want to deal with his emotions. “In the car on the way home, Sage says nothing. He might as well be made of Igneous rock” (9). Igneous rocks are formed underground, from magma, it burned them like how Sage was hurt by Isabel’s death. After, the magma hardens, forming an Igneous rock, hard and tough to break open. Regardless of how Sage was affected by Isabel’s death, he refuses to show any emotion other than resentment. On the car ride home, he doesn’t show support to Maddy even though she panicked in the water. Even going to this lesson was a big step for Maddy, and Sage doesn’t even acknowledge that. Like the igneous rock, he remains unbreakable and harsh to Maddy. Maddy and Sage are at the pool for their first session and everyone is lined up at the edge of the pool, about to swim laps. Maddy wishes she had someone who cared about her feelings. She tries to calm herself down and thinks about her sea anem...

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... many people’s daily lives. Traumatic events can cause many sorts of problems or disorders, such as post traumatic stress disorder. The amount of time it takes a person to overcome a traumatic experience varies from situation to situation and from person to person. Some people, like Sage, need to have closure and come to terms with the event, while others like Maddy, need to face their fear. Some people visit therapists or even take up a new form of expression such as writing, drawing, or playing a musical instrument; something calming to them. Some people don’t have help or just don’t know how to deal with their trauma, and can stay affected by it for the rest of their lives. In order to help these people, we must all do our best to encourage recovery, and not to hinder it. It is important to be aware and to realize that everyone deals with their trauma differently.