DO NOT NOTIFY MY MOTHER. SHE HAS A HEART CONDITION" This, the last words of a suicide victim, Steven H., the 500th jumper from the famous Golden Gate Bridge. Early on in Steven's life, extending back to his genital or adolescence stage, he was not very involved with school activities or sports, and had minimal friends. He did show signs of anger but failed to express why his anger existed. Many had blamed the absence of his father in his life, who had divorced Steven's mother when he was 3 years old. Steven's father has had no contact with Steven since the age of 3 years. This, I believe, was the root of Steven's anger during his adolescent years. Being ignored by his father probably made him feel unworthy and useless in life. As with many males, he had a hard time expressing his feelings to others. Even tough many had tried to befriend him , Steven probably thought they too would leave in time and ignore him. The only one to understand him was his mother. To her, he could do no wrong. Her love was unconditional. This has been a strong mutual love between him and his mother. He often blamed himself for his parents not being together and his father not being a part of his life. His father only existed from a financial standpoint, but not a personal level. It seemed Steven wanted and liked to love others, that is why he had mentioned his mother in his note, the only one who he felt really loved him and had been given a chance to love her back. I feel he did have a problem receiving love and loving himself because of his father's lack of acknowledgment of him. He just could not repress the memories of all those missed opportunities of a father-son relationship like a normal child. After all the broken friendships and relationships, he began to fall deeper and deeper into depression as his peers left him behind and could not be bothered with him. They went on to college and full time jobs, while he could not hold onto a part time job with only his mother behind him. Self actualization would never be because of his lack of self esteem or belonging. Safety as well as physiological needs were all missing. Steven's hierarchy of needs are the necessity to love himself, which none were existent.
he sees his father as strict, but not overly demanding. He seems to begin to
late father. He was also not ready to face the fact that his Uncle marries his mother
...se toward the father has replaced the longing for the mother. "Jesse loved his father more than he had ever loved him"(Baldwin, p. 2010). He feels like a man because, "his father had carried throught a mighty test, had revealed to him a great secret which would be the key to his life forever." He subconsciously traded his innocence for closness to his father.
...age 19) Referring to this quote, it proves that he was trying to take care of himself, but instead of asking a grown-up for help, he decided to do it independently. Asking a grown-up could lead to problems incompletely solved as well as looking vulnerable. The removal of his monitor causes his fear, ruthlessness, independence and loss of trust in others to appear, which causes isolation, leading to the loss of childhood.
At the beginning of the novel, Steve is only mentioned very rarely. At first it was thought that Daniel’s father was no longer apart of his life. Chapter four was an insider of Steve’s continuous grumpy attitude and dishonesty. After work, instead of spending time with his wife and children, Steve would lock himself in his shed, and refuse to come out for dinner. Daniel, one of Steve’s three children, would often have to distract Toby, the youngest child, from Steve’s grumpy attitude. An example of a distraction from the book, was when Daniel encourages Toby to “go get the eggs” (pg. 21) when Steve wad in his usual grumpy mood after work.
When Steven learns about Jeffery’s diagnosis he is shocked. He thought it was a mistake. Steven starts to go downhill in his schoolwork and suddenly becomes very closed off. Steven’s mother starts crying when she has to tell the news, but she stays strong. She takes Jeffrey to Philadelphia every week and tries to stay on top of everything. Steven’s father just gives a completely blank when he hears about the diagnosis. He barely talks or makes no sign of a facial expression.
Sammy’s immature behavior is predominant throughout the short story in multiple occasions. He is judgmental
care of her, and wanted the best for his only daughter. Though his love was great, he
For example, his mother. In the text, it says, “This time, struggling with the shaking of her voice, she said, ‘Darling, you do not know what it has been like, all these years.’ By which he understood, finally, that he was not important to her. Not that important” (66). Ian always assumed that his mother’s personality was nothing more, and when she announces that she will be leaving with another man, Ian feels betrayed by her. He does not accept her for putting her own happiness before family, an action he expects any good mother should. Ian also knows that his father wants Ian to stay with him in Struan, even if he says he wants Ian to do what he wants and does not want to tie him down. He thinks to himself, “He looked exhausted. Was he ever going to get over it? And if he didn’t, how could Ian leave him? The thought swamped him with guilt, and the guilt made him angry. You shouldn’t have to feel pop guilty about living your own life. You shouldn’t have to be responsible for your parents’ happiness. It wasn’t fair” (110). Although Ian knows his father is trying his best, he still feels burdened by the pressure his father needs to endure and blames his mother for leaving him. Ian tries his best to do his part and help out at the clinic, but he feels like his own happiness is obstructed by the need to help his
shows the motivation of doing so. He admires his father so much that he would
but even as a son, "can't get near him." Even though he accepts his father as a
This reality leads us to believe that over time he has become even more motivated to revenge his father's death, and find out who his true friends are.
At the age of ten, Steven and his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona because of his father's job. Spielberg considers Arizona his home because according to Steven ,""For a kid, home is where you have your first kiss; it's where you do your worst stuff and get your best grades"". Arnold took Steven to see a meteor shower which later inspired him to create one of his first movies, Firelight. Steven's father, Arnold, would film family trips, and Steven would criticize his father's home movies (Rubin 15). Arnold then gave him the 8mm Brownie camera to film with. He filmed his train cars crashing into each other and a family camping trip that gave his sister, Leah, the first glimpse of the “Spielbergian touch”. Steven even earned his twenty first merit badge when he made a short film of a gun fight, and was promoted to become an Eagle Scout. St...
As Stephen grows, he slowly but inexorably distances himself from religion. His life becomes one concerned with pleasing his friends and family. However, as he matures he begins to feel lost and hopeless, stating, "He saw clearly too his own futile isolation. He had not gone one step nearer the lives he had sought to approach nor bridged the restless shame and rancor that divided him from mother and brother and sister." It is this very sense of isolation and loneliness that leads to Stephen's encounter with the prostitute, where, "He wanted to sin with another of his kind, to force another being to sin with him and to exult with her in sin.
Stephen's relationship with the opposite sex begins to develop early in his life. Within the first few pages of the novel lie hints of the different roles women will...