Blog #6

I would literally go insane after maybe two weeks of living alone in isolation. The most famous account of living in complete isolation is probably Tom Hanks' character in the movie "Castaway." He too went insane at first. His only will to survive came from the notion that he would see his girlfriend again (If I recall correctly he planned on proposing after the ill-fated trip). I do not believe that I would have the strength to continue on for as long as he did (almost five years!). I would need the companionship of somebody to make it that long. In the movie "I am Legend," Will Smith's character survives with a dog. If I had an animal friend then I think I could make it. But if I was truly alone, my existence and sense of self would wither away. However, if I had someone that meant so much more than the world to me and I meant that much to them too, then I would fight to live just for them.

Blog #5

My favorite specific part of Judy Brady's "I Want a Wife" is that she writes about wanting "a wife who will type my papers for me when I have written them." I thoroughly despise typing papers and there are many who could vouche for that. On more than one occasion I have written out papers to have a parent type them. Brady's essay was written in 1971, when women were "gaining ground" on the men in the workplace. No longer did women stay at home all day and acting subservient to their husbands were becoming less and less the norm. "I Want a Wife" is effective in that it exemplifies what everyone wants in a spouse. Brady is attacking men in declaring that she wants a wife like what her male friend expects out of a "perfect" wife. She, as well as many other women, want someone to do the dirty things in life while she advances her own life. Medea can relate to this essay in that she wants Jason to do "wife" things while she does whatever she wants. Instead of taking care of the kids or loving Medea like she wants him to do, Jason is flirting unfaithfully with the princess. Medea would definitely be an extreme feminist rights fanatic.

Blog #4

I do believe in revenge. Revenge is a natural instinct of human behavior. One might almost be considered inhuman if he or she has not thought about revenge at some point in his or her life. Ever since Cain killed his brother Abel, revenge has existed in its most common form - murder. Although I believe in revenge, I do not believe it is right. John Milton wrote in his Paradise Lost that "Revenge, at first though sweet, Bitter ere long back on itself recoils." In other words, revenge feels good at first, but will haunt you for long afterwards. Although it may seem justifiable originally, revenge is never truly condonable. There are no benefits to revenge in the long run. In committing an act of revenge, any human should be followed by a pang of remorse until his death unless he/she makes up for the wrong. The famous English philosopher Francis Bacon stated, "In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior."

Ethan Frome

Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome

The Visit

The Visit

Number 6

Living alone is probably one of the scariest things to think about, considering the fact that we are social beings. I think that being completely and totally alone would be hard to deal with. Human beings almost require companionship, that is why we take on pets to help keep us company if we do not have anyone else. I personally would probably do okay all alone for at least two days, but anything after that I might go crazy. Which probably is not irregular for people who are completely isolated.
By living in his own world for so long, Eathan Frome almost had his own special way of seeing the world. He could not even see the wrong in falling in love with his own wife's cousin. However it is understandable that this happened, because he was not around other people to see their judgment of the situation. He created his own perception of reality, and in his own eyes it was perfectly alright.

Blog #6 - Personal Happiness

I constantly ask myself this question, because ironically I'm in a situation where something that's making me extremely happy would make someone I know devastated. Is my personal happiness justified? The answer is, I'm not quite sure. I constantly have to fight the guilt that I'm hurting someone I truly care about day to day, but the happiness that I'm feeling as a result makes everything else seem to go away. I'm the type of person who has always done things for other people. In fact, the majority of the good deeds I have done have been based on making others happy. For example, one night I had homework coming "out of my ears," instead I chose to make cookies because there were so many people stressed out and/or crying about their own personal homework loads. Do I regret it? Not in the slightest. I feel like it's the little things that I can do day to day to make others happy. Although this is a great quality that I possess, I'm using this to attempt to justify hurting someone else. I've figured, I've done so many things for other people, I should do something for myself. The fact is, after pondering about this subject, what I'm doing isn't justified, and there is no way to justify it. This would be the same if I were to fall in love with someone that people I am close with find unacceptable. Under no circumstance can I vindicate myself.

The next question that comes with hurting someone else, how much am I personally willing to pay for personal happiness? I've learned a few of the consequences as time has gone by. If you're keep what's making you happy private, you can't share things with your friends. Your personal life becomes yours, and the girl talks that once existed are no longer present. You have to remain secretive, because that's the only way you can protect others. If you share you personal happiness with the world at the risk of others, there's a few things that happen. The friends and/or family that you have upset with your decision may choose to cut you out of their life. In that case, you have to decide if you value what's making you happy over others that have been by your side for sometimes only a short amount of time or even a lifetime. I never thought that I would choose myself before others, but after finding myself in a similar situation, I find that it's extremely hard to not become completely selfish over things that make us happy. Therefore, I would pay the price of staying happy even if it meant hurting others around me. It's a hard realization to swallow, but sometimes you have to think of your life and no one else's. No one should make themselves completely miserable under any circumstance.

-CAR

Isolation

I think it would be extremely terrible to be isolated. Life would be so lonely and harsh. The only thing that a person has is their sanity, which sometimes is also gone. You're pretty much just alone with your thoughts. This can sometimes be the most dangerous thing; having too much time to think about life. Without having a companion or seeing others, social skills are disregarded and not developed at all. This major issue causes many stresses later down the road.
On the other hand, being isolated without the social media and its effects is not necessarily a bad thing. The world that we live in today judges anyone and everything. Most humans, especially in countries such as the United States, Europe, or China focus mainly on material possessions. The good thing about being isolated is that thoughts are more open because you don't have to cloud your mind up with useless things involving others.
I am a very social person, and I always feel the need to talk to someone. If I did not have anyone to talk to, I think I would go crazy. If I was born in an isolated situation I think I could do it, but not if I was first raised in social areas then suddenly isolated. I would have to write in a journal or something to keep my mind off of being lonely or depressed. It would also be terribly scary. There is always the thought that someone will come and murder or kidnap you. I don't know what is worse; the society that we live in, or being alone with just your thoughts.

6

Being secluded without anything would make me go insane. At first I would be relieved to have a few days to myself of just rest, but after a while the loneliness would get to me. Without any other human interaction my self-worth would erode away. Boredom would overcome me and I would I feel y days would consist of having to choose between braiding my hair or some sort of redundant counting of either floor tiles or ceiling tiles. The psychological impact would make me feels like time is moving slower. Depression would most likely kick in and I would start thinking way to much about past events, and that past would erode away at me. My reaction might be comparable to that of tom hanks in Cast Away. I might create my own friends like Hanks did with his volleyball Wilson. I obviously would loose total sense of reality.

The mere idea of being for that long is frightening because the psychological affects could be one of the most painful things a human could endure.

Six

An Isolated life is something I've always wondered about. I have to say though, I've come pretty close. Hunting usually keeps me away from any electronic connection. I don't have cell phone service, or any connection to the city life I'm used to. However I usually still have some companionship, whether it's my dog or a friend I'm with. But it does give me an interesting feeling, one that I sort of like. I think it's one of the reasons why I like hunting. Not having the option to find out what's happening in the rest of the world is kinda of nice. It's a stress free or care free feeling.

But I don't know whether going the extra step of having no companionship would be a good thing. The movie cast-away is a good example of what might happen. He goes a little crazy and makes his own companion out of a volleyball. Maybe total Isolation would be nice for a couple days, but I don't think it would be good for an extended period of time.

Blog #6- Personal Happiness

Throughout my life I have witnessed other people as well as myself battle with what makes them truly happy and their desire to satisfy others. If there is one thing I have learned from these observations, however, it is that sometimes it is necessary to be strong and put yourself before other people. Whether its the stay-at-home mom who never takes care of herself because she has to take care of an entire family or the daughter who is forced to live out her parents lost dreams, most people are guilty of not stepping back and taking a moment to think for themselves.

For myself, I worry about going off to college and leaving my parents behind. I can see the constant dread on my mom's face of the days when I will no longer live with her. As bad as I feel, however, I know that the last thing I intend to do is spend the rest of my life at home. Life is never meant to be easy and my mom should be able to understand that concept. These events are going to occur whether she wants them to or not, and I can not put my life on hold simply because I feel bad. Plus, my desire to have a life of my own and a place of my own overrides any other negative emotion I may be feeling.

There is, however, a fine line between listening to your heart and being selfish. The distinction is very delicate and difficult to describe. Although we should listen to our hearts and find our own purpose in life, we should not let that take control of us. For example, although balancing work and a relationship is important, one should not become obsessed with working and having a career to the point that it destroys the relationship.

Basically, it is all about balance and because we are human, none of us are very good at it.

Blog #6

I believe the effects of isolation on a person would ultimately be extremely adverse. There is a reason why solitary confinement is one of the worst forms of punishment to receive. For a very limited amount of time, such seclusion could be purifying with a freedom from forced or feigned human relationships and a disentanglement from the useful, yet consuming, technology of today. However, humans are social creatures and need interactions to define themselves and to stay sane. Complete isolation for any period of time more than a few days would probably lead to a delusional state of mind of the lonely individual so that he or she could make up social interactions and relationships. The person in question would likely lose all touch with reality as their isolation deepened and fall into a state of perpetual depression.

I know I would not deal well with total isolation. While I consider myself not the most social person, I realize my need for contact with others. It would be awful to be left solely to my own thoughts which would ultimately disintegrate into meaningless oblivion.

Isolation

Frequently when I’m under great stress, I dream about being able to slip away and live in isolation in a great big forest or meadow. The thought of being able to run freely and not have a care in the world is extremely appealing to me. However, I know that that would only happen in a perfect world. If one were to live in isolation, there would be so many other factors involved such as food, water, and shelter to name a few. Even then, it’s very possible to live in isolation. I think it’s beneficial if every person took a month or two and lived in isolation. Humans can only take so much before they begin to breakdown. Being able to take those months off would help get away from the stress and grind of life. However, having to stay in isolation for a long time, over a year, would be difficult for the average person because many have spent their entire lives interacting with people. Experiencing such a drastic change is bound to be difficult.

Although living in isolation can be beneficial, it also has its consequences. Depending on how long the person has lived in isolation, they could become socially inept or begin to fall into depression because they are used to having people around them. Some people could pick up the habit of talking to themselves because they don’t have anyone to talk to. Others could go completely insane because they can’t deal with being alone. But that’s just an extreme case.

If I were to live in isolation, I would probably only make it 6 months or more if I surprise myself because while I do enjoy being myself and in nature, I would become bored with all the free time I have.

Blog #6

If I found myself leaning toward a situation that was not approved by my family or friends, I would have to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. The opinion of those I care about is important to me, but my own happiness should be important as well. Except in extremely dire situations, a compromise between conflicting groups can be reached. If put in a situation like this, I would have to decide if I was willing to give up part of something I cared about for another. Most likely, the thing that made me the most happy long term would win over the other, but ultimately I would have to go with my gut instinct to make my decision.

Hurting another person is definitely justified. Most of us have hurt people in our lives and have certainly been hurt ourselves. When we do something to others that they are not pleased with, we have a reason behind why we are doing that deed. Usually, that reason is not simply to hurt that person. When we are hurt, we might be upset and angry, but at the same time we realize why the person did what they did, whether or not we can accept it or think it is a good reason. Everyone cannot be happy at the same time, and as people, we accept that we have to get hurt for other people to be happy. Though hurting others isn't ideal, it is inevitable if we want to make our own wishes come true.

Personal happiness is hard to describe, because there are so many factors that make up happiness. If I had to choose between someone I loved and my friends, I would probably not be happy. So, if I had to pay a price, personal happiness could never really be obtained. However, if I had to pay some sort of a price for "happiness", I would probably not do anything extremely drastic. Deterioration of my friendship with one person would be a price to pay for the relationship of another, or the other way around. I would not necessarily be frightened of making sacrifices for things that make me happy as opposed to things that make others happy for me.

Blog #6

I want to discuss the second situation. If I were to live alone without any means of communication with other people I know that I would go crazy. People are social creatures and in most cases we need interaction to be mentally whole. I think such mental effects would be noticed as talking to ones self for company and there probably be a sink into depression. I think that living in such seclusion would be extremely lonely. I like having my house to myself for a few days, but I would hate living alone for an extended amount of time if I never saw people on a day to day basis outside of my home. I would probably be really sad all the time. I believe that being alone would be highly detrimental to the human psyche.

Ethan Frome

Two of the central themes in Ethan Frome are individual happiness versus responsibility and the effects of isolation. To explore these concepts, discuss one of the situations that follow:
• In order to fulfill your own happiness you have to go against societal norms and risk hurting family members and friends. For example, you find yourself falling in love with someone your family and/or friends would find unacceptable. What would you do, and why? Is hurting another person ever justified? What price are you willing to pay for personal happiness?
• Imagine that you live alone, in a remote rural area, without either companionship or any means of communication such as a telephone, TV, or electronic mail. What do you think it would be like to live isolated from other people? What are some possible effects of living a life of isolation? How do you think you might react to living an isolated life?