My Arrest and Rebirth

849 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Psychological impact of war on soldiers

My Arrest and Rebirth

With great embarrassment and pain, I must tell you that I have once been arrested; it was over a fight with my brother Jacob.

The police attribute Jake's behavior to chemical dependence; my parents blame it on some unknown incident while he was at school. I don't know, myself; I do know that I returned from Israel to find Jake had taken over my room, as well as anything else in the house he could manipulate or control. The TV, VCR and computer were his absolute domain; I missed a calculus final because he took the car without permission. He refused to engage in any conversation at all with my parents. His "conversations" with me and Sol were primarily a barrage of put-downs and insults. He kept lists of "crimes" other people had committed, for which he sought revenge, by stealing things or just hiding them. Nothing was secure or safe at home; I didn't feel secure or safe there. Home was worse hell than the army had ever been.

How can I explain how traumatic this was for me? Imagine being asleep on the sofa (the only bed I had) and being awakened in the middle of the night by the blasting of the TV. If I complained, I would be either ignored or screamed at. If I pretended interest, he would start changing channels, or switch to the stereo. If I called my parents, my "crime" got added to his list for later revenge.

I pleaded with my parents to intervene, but they just called me selfish; couldn't I see that I had a sick brother, that I had to "help" him by tolerating his behavior until he magically got well? "Magically" because we couldn't seek any help; that would require letting an "outsider" know We had a problem.

After he beat up my brother Sol, my father ordered Jake to leave until he cooled off, the first time he had ever intervened. But Jake called my father's bluff; he disappeared for two weeks. This pattern of violence, abusiveness, drinking and disappearing escalated throughout the summer. After one particularly violent outburst, I finally tried to show my parents that by refusing to deal with Jake's illness, they were hurting Sol and me. I staged a suicide attempt with sugar pills I had placed in an aspirin bottle.

Show More
Related

  • All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Paul Baumer is a young soldier who volunteered to enter into the German army with a group of his schoolmates.  All the events that take place in the novel are seen through Paul’s eyes, they are described on the basis of the perspective of this young soldier.  In the first chapter, Paul recalls the reasons for why he and his friends enlisted.  He talks about their schoolmaster, Kantorek, who would lecture them constantly on the fact that they should “join up” (pg. 11).  Another reason that played as a facto...

    Read More

  • Life After Prison: In Life After Prison

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    Once released from prison, he or she is deemed a felon. Losing the right to vote, not being able to serve on a jury, and inability to enforce his or her second amendment is just a few of the disadvantages of serving time, but this is just the textbook interpretation. There is no much more that is at stake when you step foot behind bars. Once a person gains their freedom the better question to ask is what wasn’t taken form them? Their job if there was one in the first place, their children, their family, and most importantly the part of the person that made them a member of society.

    Read More

  • El Nino: Past, Present, and Future

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wang, Risheng and Bin Wang. "Phase Space Representation and Characteristics of El Nino-La Nina". Journal of Atmospheric Sciences: vol. 57, No. 19, pp. 3315-3333.

    Read More

  • All Quiet On The Western Front

    2133 Words  | 5 Pages

    Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, a novel set in World War I, centers around the changes brought by the war onto one young German soldier. During his time in the war, Remarque’s protagonist, Paul Baumer, changes from a rather innocent romantic young man to a hardened and somewhat caustic veteran. The story also focuses on the lives of Baumer’s comrades. They all begin by patriotically marching off to join the army. However, their visions of the glories of war are soon swept away with horror as true friends die in the battlefield. The soldiers go in fresh from school, knowing nothing except the environment of hopeful youth. At nineteen and twenty, they come to a premature and distorted maturity with the war...their only home. Throughout the length of the novel, Paul learns of the hardship war brings. He learns the destructiveness of war.

    Read More

  • Effects of War Exposed in All Quite on the Western Front, Bury the Dead, and Paths of Glory

    2030 Words  | 5 Pages

    A war novel that gives its reader an insight into the lives of soldiers during WWI, All Quiet on the Western Front, written by Erich Maria Remarque, is considered the greatest war novel of all time. This book brings its readers into the personal life of Paul Baumer and the horrors he had to encounter as a young German s...

    Read More

  • Cause And Effects Of Domestic Violence

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    He was an alcoholic and his drinking caused him to have irrational thoughts and violent outbursts. Even though, I was not part of their household I was exposed to the behavior. Being a child, I questioned his hostility all the time, as I did not understand the reasons for it. I also noticed that nobody would talk about it and it was rapidly forgotten as if there was a sacred secrecy and/or “taboo”. I could not help but to be scared of my neighbor; and most of the time, I avoided his presence. I learned to associate him with violence, aggression, profanity and bad odor. I still remember how loud his voice was; and the way he treated his wife and kids with such disregard for their feelings. Although, indirectly, domestic violence had a profound effect on the way I interact with others and my ability to trust people. As an adult, I think about those times and realize that it was not my fault that my neighbor was an awful human being. I understand that his disparity was not caused by my presence; but by his alcohol abuse and lack of respect for others. It reminds me of one of my favorite poems; (Children Learn What They Live, by Dorothy Law Nolte.) It is very much true; we learn what we

    Read More

  • King Arthur

    549 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many have heard about King Arthur and the legendary castle of Camelot. However, many do not know what really happened. From falling in love with Guinevere to fighting Mordred, this charming tale still intrigues people all over the world today.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: The Great Deception

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    Until the twenty-second of March, I thought my parents were happy with each other and that they would be together for the rest of their lives, but that was not the case. I was given no reason to suspect that anything bad was occurring, but when I came home from school that day everything was revealed. My father told me that he had been wanting to speak to me alone. He looked fearful and bit anxious. I knew this conversation was going to be different from every other talk we have had. He started off with, “Please just listen and give me a chance to explain myself before you judge me.” I had nodded

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay About Homelessness

    1552 Words  | 4 Pages

    When I was younger, living in the south side of Chicago my mom and dad looked after me, my sisters, and my brother. My dad would occasionally drink too much whenever he had money. Sometimes he would get violent reminiscing on his past or the current past-present. One day my mom packed some of our clothes in our book bags. Then she rushed us out into the night. We wondered the streets as children and eventually made our way in to a shelter. We stayed several days and nights. We would visit my mom’s side of the family from time to time just to catch our breaths. Later during our wondering, travels my mom bumps in to an old friend. She fills him in on our situation and he lets us stay with him for a while. The two of them become very acquainted with each other. There is a problem. The building that her friend lives in does not allow children, or so we were told. To make matters worse he sees me and my siblings as a hindrance. We leave the apartment to look for a new place to rest or heads but this time the friend comes along.

    Read More

  • Why Is Dance A Dance Essay

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Ballet as an art form began in the late 1400s during the Renaissance, in the Royal courts of France and Italy” (Mitchell 6). The dancing at this time consisted of simple steps, small hops, curtsies, promenades and gentle turns. The dancing was kept simple for two reasons. First, none

    Read More

  • Eulogy for My Father

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    At times my Dad would be presented with the need to cope with a behaviour from my brother or I that he didn’t have an pre-made answer for, one that he would just have to cope with on the spot.

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence: A Short Story

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    When I was younger, my father wasn’t around most of the time and when he was there he was always arguing. Being the age I was, it was futile to attempt help my mother. My brother and I scrutinized, and that’s really all children who live through this can do. Though all of this pain was being inflicted upon us, I still loved my father a great deal and didn’t fully understand the situation, but my mindset had changed to one of great fear when I was about 7. I was in the backseat with my younger brother when an argument had broken out between my parents. I don’t exactly remember why they had started arguing, but this time was different than others. It all happened so quickly that it’s a blur, the part I remember as clear as day is when my mother

    Read More

  • Hidden Pain

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many have agreed that the stages of adolescence are the most difficult times in a person’s life. During this period, too many people find themselves suffering in silence, and turning to harmful behaviors such as, cutting, burning, extreme dieting, and even suicide as a method of dealing with their pain. I fell victim to these factors as well. Day in and day out I starved myself to achieve perfection that did not exist. Purged every bite I was forced to ingest in hopes of ridding myself of all pain and emotional baggage. I ran my emaciated, eighty five pound, body into the ground as a method of coping with life. However, I smiled, laughed, and pretended like everything was great when I was with my family. After several years of struggling with the thoughts associated with Anorexia Nervosa I never told anyone. I was embarrassed, and the thoughts and feelings did not make sense to me. I am close with each of my parents and I still did not want to take the risk of disappointing them. Even though my peers witnessed my unhealthy behaviors they did not tell an adult. Looking back I began to wonder why. Why would they let me harm myself like that right in front of their eyes? My behaviors did not make sense to them, and my threats of hatred and relationship abolishment overpowered their logic. It became apparent to me that this is all too common in high schools especially. Programs for students, teachers, and parents regarding education about noticing warning signs, and addressing self-harming behaviors do not exist, and need to be installed to ensure more methods of prevention and treatment of self-harming activities.

    Read More

  • My Experience: One Of The Lowest Point In My Life

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    I had a crush on a guy at school, so I made sure I wore my good t-shirt and fixed my hair. Tumbling down the stairs, I saw my dad sitting in the living room with my older brother, which was an odd situation to see. There was a single chair open so I sat down at my dad’s request as he asked me, “Do you know why I am here?” Still confused I responded, “I have no idea,” and my dad proceeded with “Janelle, you are going to rehab today.” I sobbed out in tears that I had been doing better and had not taken any Xanax in two weeks. My parents did not accept my explanation and, the next thing I knew we were heading north in my mom’s Hyundai Sonata. During the ride my mom explained that the program was a co-ed, forty-five day program in Stephensville, Texas – also known as the middle of nowhere which happened to be a meth town. I received advice from my brother that I should think of rehab as a vacation, so I took that advice and planned to have a blast wreaking havoc in the forty-five days of

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative Essay: Do You Know Yourself?

    2881 Words  | 6 Pages

    When I went to bed around 11 o’clock, I was crying, like I usually did, but this time was different. I couldn’t fall asleep and my cries got heavier. I began hyperventilating, which soon woke my little sister, who was sleeping in the bed above mine. She called out to see if I was ok, but I was unable to respond. She ran down the hall to my parents room and told them that something was wrong with me. My parents ran to my bedroom, which awakened my whole family. My mom was yelling at me to respond, but I couldn’t. I was paralyzed. There I was sitting in a ball on my bed, hyperventilating uncontrollably, with my family standing in a circle around me. They had no idea what was going on, and there was no way for me to tell them. My mom crawled into bed with me and the two of us just laid there. She was silent, just listening to my deep, powerful sobs. It took a long time for me to calm down. It had been 5 hours since I first went to bed. Around 4 o’clock was the time I was able to sit up and answer my mom’s questions with one word answers. we talked the rest of the morning, and I told her all about what had been happening for the past 7 months, except I left out the part about being suicidal. I couldn’t bear to tell my mom how bad I was, and that I never told her before.

    Read More

More about My Arrest and Rebirth

Open Document