Foolish Pride in Judith Guests Ordinary People :: Judith Guest Ordinary People Essays

Foolish Pride in Ordinary People In the book Ordinary People, the author Judith Guest portrays a "normal" family, living in Lake Forest, struggling with many problems on the inside, but trying their best to hide their feelings. This book explores the need for everyone to act normal, and ordinary, and even though everyone in the book had a huge problem eating them from the inside, they didn't want anyone to know something was wrong. Many characters in the book hid from their problems. By the end of the book most of them managed to get better, but some of them were gone for good. In the book, Conrad struggled with perfection. He tried to be the obedient son, the good student, and eventually everything got to him so much, he felt the only way to escape was to try and kill himself. "An obedient boy. Polite, well mannered. Even in the hospital, with his fingernails bitten to bloody half-moons, the dark circles, bloody bruises under his eyes; always always his behavior was proper" (13). Conrad was strung too tight, fortunately by the end of the book he learned to relax, and not to stress too much about everything. Unfortunately this wasn't true for all the characters. Everyone viewed Conrad's mother, Beth, as perfect. Beth always had to have everything organized, neat. She had to be in control. Everything about her on the outside seems perfect. "Gracious as always, but Cal knows she doesn't like this. She is wearing a white-knit pantsuit, a long-sleeved black blouse, her hair tied back from her face with a black scarf. She does look gorgeous" (64). After her first son Buck died, and her second son Conrad tried to kill himself, she starts to realize that her family is falling apart, but she can't help them. Beth is all about appearance, how she and her family seem to other people. She can't handle talking about major problems, even when they involve the people she loves. Calvin, Conrad's father tries to be helpful to everyone. He is very caring to his son, and tries very hard with his wife Beth. It seems that Cal gives himself away to everyone, making sure his family is ok, but never worried about himself.

A Son of the Forest and Other Writings by William Apess, a Pequot

A Son of the Forest and Other Writings is writings of William Apess, a 19th century Native American.   He was the first Native American to write extensively in the English language.Aside from culling from his first published autobiography, A Son of the Forest (1829),   Ã‚  Ã‚  this volume also contains other autobiographical works like â€Å"The Experiences of Five Christian Indians of the Pequot Tribe† (1832) and his â€Å"Eulogy on King Philip† (1836).In A Son of the Forest he narrates about being born in a tent in the woods of Colrain, Massachussetts, to a Pequot mother and a mixed blood (white and Pequot) father who later separated.   He describes his participation in the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain (after he ran away from indenture servitude) and his conversion to Methodism.He also talks about how his grandfather was a white man who married the granddaughter of King Philip.   He shares how he was abused by his alcoholic grandparents an d eventually sold as an indenture slave while he was very young. His master introduced him to Christianity and allowed him to go to school.   This part was the most influential phase of his life.   He became a preacher in 1833 and moved to Mashpee, the last Indian town in Massachusetts.Here he was able to experience first hand the incompatibility of his Christian faith and the racial prejudice and injustice the whites have done towards the natives. These became the recurring themes of his writings.   In his famous Eulogy on King Philip in Boston in 1836 he strongly forwarded the idea that Indians wanted what the Pilgrims wanted: justice and Christian fellowship.This gripping volume is a subtle political work of Apess of the Pequot Indian people. He articulated Native American consciousness and sentiments through his fiery Christian evangelism.   His topics range from poverty, child abuse, alcoholism (which he himself became one later in life), ethnic identity and religious c onversion.This volume is historically significant because it speaks and argues about racism during the early period of the republic.   Apess chronicled the abuses and injustices suffered by the Indians in the hands of the whites and those acting in God’s name.   Methodism appealed to Native Americans then because of its enthusiastic style and its emphasis on equality.   The work gives an alternative view of the often-written Native American marginalization and rationalization of Indian extinction.The work describes the character of the Native Americans first-hand by one of their own. His most powerful polemic is Eulogy on King Philip where Apess compared the seventeenth-century Wampanoag leader, Metacomet or â€Å"King Philip† to the English, to the republic’s early national hero and founding father, George Washington.He lectures about the relations of Native Americans with the whites in New England. Apess further argues that the Native American cause shou ld not be isolated from American history because Indian history and culture is part thereof.   Their cause is likened to the American Revolution.Published in 1830, A Son of the Forest implicitly challenges the national controversy of the times over the Indian Removal Bill which legalized the federal government’s decision to force Native Americans off their traditional homelands east of the Mississippi River.   Here he promotes the Indians’ humanity, worth, and potential with his life as an example.ReferencesO’Conell, B. (Ed.) (1997). A Son of the Forest and Other Writings by William Apess, a Pequot. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.  

The Three Topics I Chose For My Final Project Were Those

The three topics I chose for my final project were those of Safe Sex, STI’s, and Pregnancy. These three topics interested me the most and what’s really cool is that they can all be linked and come hand in hand with each other. Pregnancy has a lot of positive and negative sides to it, not to mention a lot of cool facts behind it as far as child bearing choices. Safe sex was particularly interesting with all the statistics and prevention methods of pregnancy (condoms and birth control) and STI’s. Also, the number of different infections that can occur from unprotected sex was astounding. The way I think of it is if safe sex is not happening and being taught, then the products of sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy can occur. The†¦show more content†¦I guess to me and probably many other women it depends on the situation we are in and possibly even how the baby was conceived, would be another deciding factor. The SEX ED GAME has a particular scena rio that states that a pregnancy test came up positive, you are having a baby, time to go get checked out and discuss choices of child bearing. However, it does make you lose a turn, I did this entirely because society looks at pregnancy in many different ways. Most commonly negative, mostly depending on age. In this case the game is teen based, which in society’s perspective, teen pregnancy is negative. Sex is enjoyable. I think almost everyone can agree to that. However, it is the matter of being safe while being pleasured is the issue here. Having sex safely can reduce the chances of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. There are a number of ways to practice safe sex. Using the prevention methods is key. Whether it is condoms, birth control, female condoms etc.†¦ Condoms are the most effective method of safe sex that can prevent both issues. They are 98% effective in preventing pregnancy and STI’s when used properly. â€Å"There is no definitive study about condom effectiveness for all STDs. But several studies have demonstrated Final Project Narrative PSYX 235D Sec 1:40 Hannah Moncur that condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can protect against the transmission of bacterial infections.† (Dawson) Birth control is typically for the female.Show MoreRelatedWriting Assignments For College And High School Essay1288 Words   |  6 Pagesthere is much more expected from me as a writer. In high school, we were given a topic to write about whereas in college, we are given the opportunity to write about what we want to. When I am able to choose what I want to write about, it makes the writing process easier. When being able to pick your own topic for a paper, you can relate to the paper more, rather than having to write about something you know nothing about or a topic that isn’t interesting to you. The requirements for writing in collegeRead MoreGraduation Speech : My Career Life Consuming And Stressful Classes I Have Ever Taken1521 Words   |  7 Pagesstressful classes I have ever taken; however, this has helped me develop my writing from mediocr e to superior. As I compare my past work with my more recent work, I can see a dramatic difference. My first few assignments were written in the same manner as assignments from my freshman year of high school. Beginning the semester, I had the most trouble with grammar and punctuation, such as: commas, semicolons, and colons. I also had a tough time making my sentences flow together easily, my essays soundedRead MoreGiraffes1223 Words   |  5 PagesWhy did I choose to write my essay about the giraffe? I chose to write my essay about the giraffe because this mammal has been my favorite animal since the third grade. My science teacher had us do a project about an animal. I did mine on the giraffe and working on that project I became more fascinated by the giraffe as I was working on the project. It made me just wanted to know more. This is why I chose to write my essay about the giraffe. I already knew a little bit of information about theRead MoreInformative Speech : Psychoactive Drugs Essay1603 Words   |  7 PagesThe second article that I felt needed revision to solidify the success of the piece was the brochure that discusses my topic of psychoactive drugs. While creating this topic in brochure form, I enjoyed the task at hand, felt at ease when creating it, so revising it would not necessarily be a burden on my part. The first major revision worth noting is the coherency. Throughout there were some word phrases that either did not flow well, were out of place, or felt too extra to the discussion at handRead MoreMy Personal Statement On My Career1681 Words   |  7 Pages This class has overall been one of my favorite classes that I have taken over the past four years five years at DeSales. I learned more than I expected and have implemented some of these learned lessons towards simple excel calculations into my work at my job. For my chosen project, I decided to take a look at one of my hobbies. During my senior year I took a personal finance and discussed with one of my professors about my collection of trading cards. The result of this conversation, had me startRead MoreAnalysis Of The Salary Cap1365 Words   |  6 PagesThe National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has a current system that is utterly dysfunctional. I outlined two separate ways that I believe have the promise to fix this flawed organization. One of those, the salary cap, would be replicated after the professional system. To show the complex nature of this, using a power point presentation was the only way. The other, the free market approach, would be translated easily int o the college game. Due to being easier to understand, a paper appealingRead MoreTuberculosis And Its Effects On Society Essay1602 Words   |  7 Pagesthe problem, the existing means of informing the public are not ideal, being either traumatizing to the audience or not emphasizing the severity of the issue to the proper degree. To do my part to bring proper awareness to tuberculosis as well as the injustice surrounding its treatment in various parts of the world, I decided to create a musical piece consisting of two tracks, one representing the progression of TB in a person in Peru and the other representing the progression of TB in a person in theRead MoreTeam Reflection1431 Words   |  6 Pages I don’t think that we could have been any luckier in our team assignment. Although we are four very different individuals, we share similar thought patterns and because some of our members are stronger in analytical thinking and others in creative thinking, there is just enough overlap that we enhance each-other’s strengths while reducing our weaknesses. We are all high B to low A type personalities, which means that although we are all results driven there is no-one on the team who bogarts theRead MoreIntern At Anslow Bryant Construction1330 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction The purpose of this final report is to summarize my experiences as an intern at Anslow Bryant Construction, Ltd. I will discuss the internship orientation and preparation, activities and experiences, and the application of technology. I will continue on to the energy and environmental awareness, and sustainable construction, and communication shill enhancement. I will conclude this report with legal and ethical issue awareness, lessons learned, and the overall assessment and recommendationsRead MoreReflection Paper On The s Television Show The Newsroom 1717 Words   |  7 PagesReflection Paper For this project, I chose a paper I had written for COM 340 Media Criticism. The paper is a formal criticism paper on season one of HBO’s television show, The Newsroom, and focuses on the character Charlie Skinner. Most of the paper concentrates on semiotics, the study of signs. It is fifteen pages long because there is a lot of description before the analysis of what is being described. When I was brainstorming ideas of possible ways to approach this topic, this paper was one of the