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more than just disease
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By close reference to “More Than Just The Disease”, show what feelings you have for Neil in the course of the story. What lessons do you suppose he has learned by the end of it?
In the story, “More than Just the Disease”, Neil who was away from home for a holiday with the Middleton family experienced and learned much. The best part was how Neil managed to take the first step of overcoming his shyness, not to “suffer from more than just the disease”.
At the start of the story, we come face to face with the dominance of Neil’s mother. “Be tidy at all times, then no one can surprise you” and “A little too ornate for my taste-vulgar almost” shows that Neil’s mother does not just exist in planning everything for him(“although he had been reluctant because of this very thing, she had insisted he could not turn down an invitation from the doctor’s family”), she had embedded herself in Neil’s thoughts, even to the end of the story like, “Close your mouth when you’re eating, please. Others have to live with you” and “ It will teach you how to conduct yourself in good society”, all highlighted in italics. This brings about irritation and annoyance as Neil is really a “Mama’s boy”. He does not seem to have a mind of his own and lacked the moral courage to be his own personality. This is worrying as this dominance of his mother may stay with him all his life. I am, to a certain extent, angry with Neil, for being so easily dominated by his mother, and not by his own self. It is rather disappointing of a protagonist.
The continuous excuses given by Neil (“Too cold”, “I told you I can’t swim”, “No, it’s too cold”) shows his defences to cover up his disease, psoriasis as he is inferior about it. This is understandable as he is fearful of being found out and shunned by everyone. (“If there is one thing he couldn’t abide it was to be laughed at”) I sympathize with him as it is indeed unfortunate to have the disease and desperately trying to hide it. However, when he gave his final excuse “I’ve got my period”, the whole situation changed. Besides the readers getting some entertainment, they are fairly amused and laughed behind his back. “There was a long silence” and “Neil heard her (Anna) make funny snorts in her nose”.
In “War” Neil’s attempts to communicate non-verbally through his behaviour are ineffective. However, in both stories Neil reaches understanding through powers of observation, even when the adults are unable to communicate through words. In reaching understanding, Neil takes a step towards adulthood himself. Through the process of looking at Effie’s smiles and looking at his father’s wounded face in the photograph, Neil is able to decode the mystery of their actions.
No matter what actions or words a mother chooses, to a child his or her mother is on the highest pedestal. A mother is very important to a child because of the nourishing and love the child receives from his or her mother but not every child experiences the mother’s love or even having a mother. Bragg’s mother was something out of the ordinary because of all that she did for her children growing up, but no one is perfect in this world. Bragg’s mother’s flaw was always taking back her drunken husband and thinking that he could have changed since the last time he...
The author clearly shows how his childhood effected his adulthood, making in a living example of what he is writing about allowing the audience to more easily trust what he is writing about. Instead of using factually evidence from other dysfunctional family incidences, the author decides to make it more personal, by using his own life and comparing family ideas of the past to the present.
Lou Gehrig's disease is often referred to as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), this is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons come from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the entire body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS would eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is also lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, for this reason patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed (Choi, 1988).
Charlie’s story began with the surgery, the biggest decision he made in his life. Although he was a guinea pig in the procedure, he wasn’t worried at all about the surgery, but rather on becoming smart as fast as he could. Supposedly these doctors were doing Charlie the greatest favor he would ever receive, and he was so eager to learn as much as he could. Soon however, Charlie would encounter challenges he never faced with the intelligence of a 6 year old. Before his surgery, Charlie had great friends in Miss Kinnian and the bakery workers. After the surgery the relationships between Charlie and everyone he knew would take a drastic turn.
It can be seen in chapter 7 when Neil goes into the cathedral to basically ask god what he should do with his life, He received his answer supposedly exiting the church from fifth avenue stating “Which prize do you think, schmuck? Gold dinnerware, sporting-goods trees, nectarines, garbage disposals, bumpless noses, Patimkin sink, Bonwit teller.” (100) This was the moment that Neil thought that he finally realized what his American dream was and what he had to do to achieve that dream. One thing that is crucial is that Neil was never planning this, he had no vision nor has a vision for his own future and even stated “What is it I love, Lord?” This meant that Neil didn’t know if he actually loved Brenda or if he only loved the perks for showing love towards her. This can be tied to Don Draper’s happiness speech from “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” Mad Men when he states that “Happiness is the smell of a new car and freedom of fear.” And to Neil, gold dinnerware and garbage disposals are his new car smell which is supposed to make him
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is an adult onset neurodegenerative disease. It is characterized by the death of motor neurons in the motor cortex, brainstem, and spinal cord. 90% of all cases of ALS are sporadic with no familial history, while 10% of cases of ALS have familial history. 20% of cases of familial ALS cases are linked to mutations in the SOD1 gene. Currently, the pathogenesis of the disease is unknown. However, multiple studies show that there are several mechanisms contribute to the progression of the disease. These include mitochondrial dysfunction, glutamate excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, axonal dysfunction, reactive astrocytosis, protein aggregation, and mutant SOD1 expression.
The overbearing presence of the pressure to change shadows over Neil as he realizes that his love for Brenda is not enough to detach herself from wanting to make her past also his past. Only after Brenda over welcomes herself into his life, does their relationship find it’s breaking point and dulls clearly into the sight of lust not love “What was it inside me that had turned pursuit and clutching into love [...] What was it that had turned winning and losing [...] I was sure I had loved Brenda, though standing there, I knew I couldn’t any longer [...] Whatever spawned my love for her, had spawned such a lust too? If she had only been slightly not Brenda … but then would I have loved her?” (135-136) It becomes evident that Neil finally comprehends his naiveness of misunderstanding that their relationship began from “turned pursuit and clutching into love”. This unhealthy dependency made him chase after her constantly, being afraid of “winning and losing” her in the process. Despite that there could have been the existence or possibility of love “If she had only been slightly not Brenda”, the desire of their forbidden love “had spawned such a lust too”, because of the societal gaps between them that created a challenge. In the end, love could would have never survived through the war zone and battle of their relationship, as long as society
I believe disease was a key factor if not the primary factor in the depopulation of Native Americans in the Americas. Throughout time, there has always been inequality during the evolution of humanity. Over the course of evolution, different cultures as well as races have progressed more rapidly and at a stronger rate than others have. The depopulation of Native Americans happened because Europeans had better and more efficient supplies as well as immunities to the diseases that they brought over with them.
Secondly, in this extract, Neil the protagonist is presented by the writer as a son who was torn between his own desire to follow his heart or to live up to the society and his mother’s expectations of him. He tried to vision himself as the son that his mother expects of him through the use of modal “could” – “He could make a list of his own selves: the child, the adolescent, the promiscuous faggot son, and finally the good son, settled, relatively successful.” (Paragraph 2, line 3)By using the modal “could”, it gives the readers a feeling that he is capable of doing what he was expected to and it only depends on whether he is willing or not.
Nothing really happens at the meetings other than the reading of poetry for inspiration in life. Neil, perhaps the most perplexing character in the movie, discovers his dream in life is to be an actor. His father, for a reason none other than...
Lou Gehrig’s Disease or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a collection of rare neurological diseases that affect the motor neurons that control the voluntary muscle movements. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative illness that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS is a disease that belongs to a wider group of disorders that are known as motor neuron diseases. This is caused by gradual deterioration and the death of motor neurons. ‘Amyotrophic’ comes from the Greek roots that mean ‘without nourishment to muscles’. ‘Lateral’ means ‘to the side’ and refers to the position of the destruction in the spinal cord. ‘Sclerosis’ means the hardening of the spinal cord.
Besides the ending of story, we can also figure out the contradiction what the narrator said from the front depiction. Above all, in the first paragragh, the narrator told us he was “very, very dreadfully nervous”, and it was the “disease” that had sharpened his senses. Moreover, this “disease” had a serious impact on his sense of hearing.
The movie begins with the family and parenting styles concept of child development by introducing the audience to the main character James and his parents. James lives in a two-parent household with his authoritative parents who are providing him with warmth, love, and encouragement (Levine & Munsch, pp. 521-522). This concept of parenting styles is shown as the movie begins and James is seen spending time with his parents. Then suddenly, James’ world changes and he is abandoned as a result of his parents being killed. This causes James to become orphaned and forced to live with his authoritarian aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge are very controlling towards James and expect him to obey their rules without allowing him to express his feelings. This authoritarian behavior is seen throughout the movie. Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge are also uninvolved, neglectful, and abusive, using verbal and physical punishment on James when they feel it’s necessary, which is also seen throughout the movie (Levine & Munsch, p. 522). These behaviors cause James to develop lower self-esteem, show less intellectual curiosity, and feel lonely and afraid, which are typical outcomes of an authoritarian parenting approach (Levine & Munsch, pp. 521-523). Although James’ aunts’ authoritative parenting style has an effect on his emotional and social behaviors, it is his parents authoritative parenting that plays a...
The pain was with him thirty years, the length of his adult life. Until he found its healer. At first he did not know this would be the healer of the pain. For many weeks, they talked. They talked about the fears, the insecurities, the longings, and the needs. They talked about the rage he had carried with him all his life. They talked about his weakness and his strength. Some of these things he knew, some he didn't.