In the final chapter of The Impossible Knife of Memory, the main character of the book, Hayley begins it off talking about being in a fairytale. If this was her fairytale, this chapter would be her happily ever after. Before this chapter of the book, her life had been disorganized frequently because of her father’s disorder. Her father, Andy Kincain, a war veteran, has PTSD. Also known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; this disorder is caused by seeing or experiencing a very intense, and terrifying event. In Andy’s case, the war was what caused his condition. Hayley explains to us that when memories from the war began to haunt Andy again, they would pick up their things and get on the road. However, for once in her life, where they …show more content…
Behind Hayley’s back, Andy called a woman named Trish. She used to date Andy, and be like a mother figure to Hayley. Then, as Hayley describes, she started drinking a lot more, and began to make their lives a living nightmare. That was when her hatred for her began. She stepped out of their lives, for a little while but eventually, she re-entered. This brought back painful memories for Hayley to deal with. A few years later, Andy called Trish behind Hayleys back, asking for help. Hayley was totally oblivious to all of this happening, until the night of Halloween. Hayley had walked around with Finn, her boyfriend, her best friend Gracie, and Gracies boyfriend Topher. Hayley began to get cold, and wanted to go home to get a sweatpants. She walked back with her friends, to find out that Trish was having a dinner date with her father. This hurt Hayley’s feelings,to find out that Trish had moved in with them.This also ruined her trust with her father. After this, everything started to crumble, and go downhill. Since this was all going on, Hayley told Trish it was best if she left. Not much time after she left, Andy started to get out of control. He would overdose, drink
On their way home from school Jenny and Willie hook up. Then on the weekend, Jenny, Johnny, Willie and his family decide to go to the lake. Willie and Jenny set the table for a picnic when Johnny is out skiing. Willies mom complains about him never being safe enough. Next it is Willie's turn to water-ski. As Willie was doing a 360° turn, he caught the tips of his skis under the water and he crashed. Willies dad was in shock, Jenny had to give Willie mouth to mouth, and save his life. The left the boat, got into the vehicle, and drove to the hospital. Willie ends up with a speech impediment, and problems walking. He ends up doing crazy things, like acid, and drinking. He talks to a counselor whom he really likes. Willie does not want to go into a Special Ed class that the school is referring him to. He feels hopeless, and even jealous of his girlfriend for her athletics. He tries to play racquetball, but his dad gets frustrated with him. That night he hears his parents arguing over him. He hears his dad say that he thinks it would have been easier if Willie had died in the accident. From there he suspects Jenny and Petey of getting together, and finds out that they are.
Bill goes to trial for the death of Mary and they sentence him guilty. Mary’s mom cried after the verdict was announced. Ralph hears the news about Bill and he begins to break down and feels guilty, he keeps saying that he needs to see Jack. Ralph finally sees Jack and beats him up, which finally escalates till Mae to call the police. The drug raid was busted and all the people involved in the operation were arrested. Blanche tells the police what really happened, that Bill was framed by Ralph and it was all their faults. Bill got off of trail because there was new evidence that corroborated his innocence. Blanche then jumps out of the window right before she was going to either be prosecuted for accessory to murder or going to be used as a suspect against Ralph. Before she actually jumped she reminisced about how she affected and basically ruined Bill’s life since he cheated on her then got his girlfriend killed. Then Ralph is put through a mental institution because they believed he had to be crazy to act the way he did. Then the original guy at the beginning says his last few words about how marijuana could take over anyone’s
Andy loses his best friend in a car wreck after drinking and driving. This affects Andy greatly. Draper shows Andy having to go to therapy for his depression from losing Robert. The beginning of therapy sessions were not great. Andy
When Buck and Tracy got involved she realized that he had a gambling problem. She had confronted him about him losing money while gambling in front of his friends. Buck became furious and punched the door working his way around Tracy. Buck then starts yelling and saying how his mother put a gun to his head and asked Tracy never to leave him. Seeing his vulnerable side, Tracy felt sorry for him. This showed Tracy that Buck had a shattered soul and a sense of humanity.
He tells stories and accounts that encompass symptoms pointing towards Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). John Haley describes PTSD as, “A psychological disorder that can occur as a result of experiencing or witnessing an extremely stressful event” (Haley 1). A severe symptom of PTSD that Mr. O’Brien shows towards the end of the novel is where the person will become belligerent and relive their unsightly traumatic event or events over and over again, “At night I sometimes drank too much. I’d remember getting shot and yelling out for a medic and then waiting and waiting. Passing out once, then waking up and screaming some more….. I kept going over it all in every detail” (O’Brien 200-201). Another symptom related to PTSD is that the person will become detached from the outside world or depression. O’Brien describes his time after the war as, “I survived but its not a happy ending” (O’Brien 61). PTSD can cause a variety of effects; one effect that Mr. O’Brien reveals is about memory loss and goes on to say, “What sticks to memory, often, are those odd little fragments that have no beginning and no end” (O’Brien 98). In conclusion all these symptoms of story-truth Tim O’Brien point to him having post traumatic stress
When Charlie was younger, his Aunt Helen molested him. That had a negative impact on Charlie’s life, considering he kept it a secret from everyone. He always found himself blaming for everything, which caused him to get depressed. Charlie’s depressive actions indicated that the event in which he was molested by his aunt show that child abuse has such a negative affect on the child that will last a lifetime. An online critic, Barbara Nicolosi, believes that child abuse has an affect by stating, “it is revealed that Charlie’s social dysfunction is actually rooted in his experience of child sexual abuse at the hands of a beloved aunt”. Because of Charlie’s difficult past having dealt with child abuse, he is not pleased to see his sister’s boyfriend slap her in the face. He tries to do something about it, but his sister defends her boyfriend telling Charlie not to tell anyone. Because of this event, Charlie is reminded of his Aunt Helen and his depression is triggered and begins having suicidal thoughts. Charlie then thinks of his aunt who abused him, causing him to get even more depressed. Child abuse is something that nobody should have to go through. Unfortunately, Charlie was victimized by his Aunt Helen and the thoughts haunt him to the point where he gets
Andy goes to psychologist, Dr. Carrothers, to discuss his depression about Rob's death. He does not think he needs to be there because he is fine in school and he is fine at home. Andy talks about why the accident is his fault. He realizes he needs help with his depression and wants to come back for another visit to discuss what is going...
Gingers views of fulfillment begin to change after a barrage of insults and the embarrassment of having a menial lifestyle lead her to question what she actually desires out of life. She is disillusioned by her sister’s insistence that a man with a better job would present a better life so she chooses to leave Chili and see if a better opportunity can help. She soon realizes that her desires were based on this incorrect assumption and that Jasmine’s want for a happy life differed from her own. Ginger realizes that her choice has almost cost her true happiness and ultimately causes more disruption in her life. This allows Ginger to reflect on her key values and by the end she is able to resume more of a Hedonistic lifestyle which brings her
Melinda's struggle starts when she goes to a party ,and she is raped by a guy named Andy Evans. She later calls the police and since then she is known as a snitch and she suffers from shame and bullying. Also, everytime she sees Andy she either runs or hides in fear. For example when she encounters Andy in the bakery ,”Bunny Rabbit bolts, leaving fast tracks in the snow.” This only influences her to obtain more and more fear which she can't seem to face her problems or even warn her friends about him and his inappropriate and hurtful actions. A reason she can't stand up to him is because she suffers with her friendships causing her to be speechless and untrusted, for all her past friends left her and she is left alone and vulnerable.
Her roommate, a seventeen-year-old girl named Andrea, is a recovering heroin addict who also has a history of self-harm. At first, Gwen refuses to have anything to do with the treatment programs and denies that she even has a drinking problem. One day, Jasper shows up to visit and slips her a bottle of Vicodin. The two then proceed to sneak away from the rehab facility for a day of partying. That night, Gwen returns clearly intoxicated and makes her way to her bedroom. The next day, she is confronted by Cornell, the rehab facility director and fellow recovering addict. He informs her that she has broken the rules of the facility and is being kicked out and sent to jail. Gwen becomes infuriated and continues to deny that she has a problem with alcohol and states that she can quit if she had the desire. She storms out of Cornell’s office and off to her room where she rummages through a tissue box to find her stash of pills. Gwen proceeds to take a pill of Vicodin, but spits it back out before swallowing. She then tosses the remaining pills in the bottle out the window proving to herself she does not need
“Post traumatic stress disorder is a debilitating condition that follows a terrifying event” (Marilyn 8). It occurs when one has witnessed or experienced a traumatic event, such as war, child abuse, or other types of violence. Victims may claim to relive or re-experience events that were traumatic to them. They may even “feel” or “hear” things from the event. Other symptoms may include: “forgetfulness…amnesia, excessive fantasizing…trancelike states…imaginary companion, sleepwalking, and blackouts” (Putman 2). A lot of times, coping mechanisms fail and the following inner dissonance can lead to a multiplicity of upsetting emotional and physical symptoms (Robert Saperstein 2). Some children suffering from PTSD may show traumatic play. This refers to the reenactment of a traumatic experience. Usually, children will change the ending to make it happier. This is an extreme example of using the imagination as a way to escape the terrible memories. Billy has all the symptoms associated with the disorder as he also used his imagination to escape his bad memories.
It is the day Cali will remember for the rest of her life, for it is the day Cali Millhouse discovers her uncle was murdered by a family member. It is Two o'clock and half of the town of Rosewood is piling inside the local funeral home. Mrs. Dunham pays her respects to everyone except Cali’s father, Steve, for Mrs. Dunham finds him to be evil. Maybe she is right, and he killed Cali’s uncle? Whether he was or not, it is still a sad day and she needed the comfort of her father. That morning the sheriff came by and informed Cali and her family that someone related to Keith killed him. Surprisingly, her father made a comment that he believed it was her Aunt Audrey. Audrey was a money hungry, mean, gold-digger who dated men for their money, and she knew Keith had a two billion dollar company that would be left to someone if he passed.Steve felt much animosity towards his older sister, and would vituperate her name any chance he got. Audrey blamed Steve as much as her blamed her, nevertheless you could feel their acrimony towards each
... same images as her father. Her youthful mindset has been severely damaged because of the memories of the minefield. The father has scarred his children with his abuse and taken away their innocence. Although the father may not recognize it, he is carrying his family through the same experiences that he went through during the war. The memories caused by the father continue to haunt Thiel and her family for years to come.
According to Sternberg (1999), memory is the extraction of past experiences for information to be used in the present. The retrieval of memory is essential in every aspect of daily life, whether it is for academics, work or social purposes. However, many often take memory for granted and assume that it can be relied on because of how realistic it appears in the mind. This form of memory is also known as flashbulb memory. (Brown and Kulik, 1977). The question of whether our memory is reliably accurate has been shown to have implications in providing precise details of past events. (The British Psychological Association, 2011). In this essay, I would put forth arguments that human memory, in fact, is not completely reliable in providing accurate depictions of our past experiences. Evidence can be seen in the following two studies that support these arguments by examining episodic memory in humans. The first study is by Loftus and Pickrell (1995) who found that memory can be modified by suggestions. The second study is by Naveh-Benjamin and Craik (1995) who found that there is a predisposition for memory to decline with increasing age.
The findings of Timothy A. Allen along with Norbert J. Fortin, and Erika Hayasaki, reveal further insight into the role episodic memory plays in everyday life for humans. Episodic memory can be understood as memory for personal experience. Episodic memory is a type of long term memory that individuals are consciously aware of; making it an explicit memory. With that being said, this type of memory allows people to relive and re-experience memories from their personal past in their mind. This is why many refer to episodic memory as mental time travel. Through mental time travel, individuals are able to recall the circumstances under which they encountered specific experiences. Circumstances can include concepts such as what, where, and when an experience happened. Given the power that this form of memory provides, it is argued that