Ageing
Popular pieces of literature that include a theme of aging are books such as are Missing in Machu Picchu, Traces of Bliss, The Spectator Bird, The Meadow, etc. They all include stories of how one grows up and goes through a journey. The protagonist typically starts the story at a young age and goes throughout his or her life facing challenges as they age. It has been shown that aging within literature is a common method used when creating a story, as it sets a timeline for the author to build off of. The idea of aging in literature is not a new one at all and has been around for quite a long time. Discoveries of aging appeared as early as the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. There were typically two approaches to this type of writing.
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The first thought to come to mind is usually becoming weak and dying. If it's well known that the theme is about aging, it's often avoided over and over again. There's been an allusion made about aging that is now what writers use to structure their writing in interviews and also essays. Aging is capable of generating topics such as “new relationships, among time's , memory ,family history, and form.” It's not an exciting topic that most readers enjoy because it's close to home. It's important to discuss different narratives in order to establish if the topic means decline, creating generational, or conflict. The lack of not furthering the idea of aging has limited the meaning of aging. Women contemporary writers have learned to use aging as a topic in their own way. Such as addressing their life challenges and using it to express their feelings as they come to age. The typical women writer that writes about aging usually focuses on maintaining a home and parenting a child. As in the real world no one really wants to talk to old people. That's the same within literature. The main reason is due to its comparison to the past. Things have changed drastically to where comparing when you didn't have internet to do your homework does not correlate anymore. The way things are now is that you have to have internet to do your homework. Younger generations get easily annoyed because older people do not …show more content…
From a young reader, they learn to recognize some level between their lives and what they read in books. But with reading about aging it relates to closer to reality which is death. Also gives the idea that the only alternative is death. Which is why ageing is not really in children's books. Due to its continuous of representing loneliness and acute intelligence it's absent from young readers books. Our older generations are to blame for the stereotypical “age means death”. It's also stereotyped as elderly. Which has become a contemporary issue. Aging is not specifically old or death but certainly involves it. Since it's so dark and gloomy no one really wants to think about that. In other stories that part of ageing is sometimes left out. Due to leaving that particular element out you're left with only a journey. Whether that be a story of a young girl growing to be a doctor ,or a young boy becoming a superhero it's all a journey. You have to go through something to get to the end. What makes that a ageing theme is the fact they have to find themselves or learn what they're capable of. Lessons and learning from them is what ageing is really about. But this part of the theme is usually hidden from the reader or the writer isn't aware that should be included. When Including ageing or coming to age in literature, there is a great story within it . This makes the stories more interesting and deeper than the
Part of aeach human’s experience is about learning who one they isare. The process of making oneself betterbettering yourself as a human being is known as coming of age. The definition of coming of age is to grow or become more mature. Elisa in the story “Chrysanthemums” does not come of age because she is distant from the people around her, can’t experience the world, and can’t control her emotions when a problem deals with her flowers.
As we age, the way that we see the world changes. As we age, we gain more experience in what the world is really like. As we age, we become more in control and command of our thoughts and desires which limits our imagination that we once had. It is rare for an adult to hold on to the wonders and enjoyment that comes with childhood. It is not that we are not capable of seeing a boa constrictor instead of a hat, but that we chose not
become older, and how they look back at their youth. Without similes like this, the
With healthcare in the United States advancing so rapidly, there are new ways to treat just about any kind of illness every day. With being able to treat illnesses in new ways, and also the advancement of medical equipment, comes the possibility of a lot more people living up into their 90’s, and maybe even getting to reach 100. The aging population, which keeps growing every so rapidly, will be using up a lot more sources as the years go by. This means, that we need to educate more doctors and nurses, etc., and also make more living facilities for older adults. The question that comes up in my mind, is when is “old” actually”. Most people stereotypically consider ages 75 and older old, but that doesn’t mean they are actually “old”, does it?
Hiller, S. M., & Barrow, G. M. (2011). Aging, the individual, and society. (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Prominent musician, Celine Dion, once said, “There’s no such thing is aging, but maturing and knowledge. It’s beautiful, I call that beauty.” To many, growing old is just a natural, beautiful part of life. It is inevitable. It is inescapable. The functionalist perspective of sociology states that the elderly perform a function in order to keep society running with ease. Functionalists focus on the disengagement theory and how people tend to disengage from society as they approach death. Symbolic interactionists focus on how environmental factors and relationships with others affect the aging experience, focusing on the activity theory and the continuity theory (Carl, 2011, p. 220). Conflict theorists focus on the discrepancies that arise between different age groups. They also focus on the economical side of aging and the issues that may arise due to an active elderly population (Carl, 2011, p. 221).
An interview was arranged with an older adult to discuss issues related to aging. The interview was designed to gain appreciation and understanding of an older adult. One theory of aging came into mind when I thought about this topic. Erik Erikson Life-Course and Personality Development theory, “Erikson described the task of old age as balancing the search for integrity and wholeness with a sense of despair.” NS is the older adult that I conducted the interview with. I’ve decided to pick NS to interview because she is very positive about life and her age. Everything that I have come across about aging is negative such as depression, isolation, and illness.
Coming of Age is when a character in a story goes through a life-changing event they learn a life lesson from. There are many types of books and short stories that are based on Coming of Age, "The Flowers" by Alice Walker is one of them. In the story the main character, Myop, is wandering through the woods. However, she later decides to shorten her walk, after she starts to feel uncomfortable and fearful, of her surroundings. Soon she decides later to find her way back home until she stumbles across something... a dead body. At first Myop was astonished of what she had uncovered . It was something she had never encountered before. After examining the body she began to realize that it was actually something very interesting. Seeing the lifeless
Aging occurs in every species. Over time a change occurs on a cellular level in a person’s body, which causes degenerative effects on the brain, muscles, organs, bones, hormones, and DNA. In 1991, the book Evolutionary Biology of Aging, offered the following definition of aging: a persistent decline in the age-specific fitness components of an organism due to internal physiological deterioration.1 Aging affects the body physically and mentally. Many people dread getting older due to the numerous changes the body goes through. The geriatric population experiences many pains and is inflicted with various diseases. There are a few who are lucky enough to not get diagnosed with a life altering disease, such as Alzheimer’s, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, macular degeneration, or some form of cancer. Studies have shown that genetics play a vital role in the aging process.
Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...
Ageing is something that everyone will eventually experience if they are fortunate to live a long life. The process of ageing comes with various negative and positive outlooks. In western culture, ageing for both genders is particularly condemned. In the media in particular, the process of ageing for men and women vary greatly. Where, women are condemned for ageing more than men are. Media greatly highlights on the stereotypical notion of ageing especially in the aspect of portraying men and women and their social roles through advertisement. I will be discussing
Ageing is a continuing life cycle, it is an ongoing developmental event that brings certain changes in one’s own psychological and physical state. It is a time in one's own life where an elderly individual reminisce and reflect, to bask and live on previous accomplishments and begin to finish his life cycle. There is a significant amount of adjusting that requires an elderly individual to be flexible and develop new coping skills to adapt in the changes that are common in their new life. (Dhara & Jogsan, 2013).
Late adulthood should be a time in a person's life where they feel fulfilled. They can look back on their memories and be happy with the way they have lived their life. Now, too many elderly people are not satisfied and look at this stage as depressing. Most fear death of either a loved one or for themselves. This topic is interesting to me because elderly people should make the best of their last stage of life. This topic discusses about getting older, the life changes that they go through physically, emotionally, and mentally. We should know more about it so that we can help our family and friends get through one of the best, yet toughest part of our mortal life.
All living things age, it is an unavoidable process. It is associated with cognitive, emotional, and physical transformation (Sarma & Bhagawati, 2015). According to Sarma & Bhagawati (2015), there is an increase in the population of older adults worldwide. Very often they feel isolated and neglected from their own family and friends. As people get older they become more forgetful, many have dementia that made them loose their ability to comprehend the world around them. They live in their own reality and remembering the past may help boost their life satisfaction and decrease depression. Elderly tell the stories to younger generations, it is a tradition that has been around for a long time. By storytelling, older adults are able to connect to younger generations, and it helps the younger ones to understand the person that now cannot remember their own children. Reminiscence is remembering the past and bringing old memories back to life (Lindinger-Sternart, 2013).
Is aging a true moral dilemma or just harsh criticism of society? The poem "Next Day" by Randell Jarrell and Ulysses by Lord Tennyson Alfred are good examplesof what role society plays in wht one feels they should look like, act like, and the differences between sexes and aging. In the "Next Day" poem by Randell Jarrell the woman is most devastated by aging. She feels that society giver her less respect and she is pushed aside because she has aged and lost her youth and vitality. when at her friends' funeral, what she sees is an aged cold body. Feeling of fear that aged and cold is all she is becoming. She feels at a loss. That because she has aged, she has lost everything that counts as a person. I feel it is obvious that this woman is desperate for something more in her life, but first she needs to realize that because you have aged does not mean your dying. It should be shown from society that your matured and experienced, with everything to offer from your mind and not just your body.