Sigmund Freud.His Conception Of Mental Illness Essay

Sigmund Freud.His Conception Of Mental Illness - Essay Example For a long time, mental handicaps were seen as completely insurmountable, just something that nobody could engage with or do anything about. In the 20th century, though, that began to change. The notion that mental illness was treatable began to become widespread, and mental hospitals because places of treatment rather than mere confinement. A good example of the changing attitudes is the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, based on Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel of the same title. In it, Randle McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, is transferred from prison to a mental institution, where he challenges the way the institution is run. Prior to his arrival, the institution is essentially a holding pen, a place where people are kept because society doesn’t want to deal with them. There is no real expectation that anyone ever will, or ever can, leave the institution or be cured of their problems. Indeed, McMurphy initially goes there because he thinks it will be an easier place than prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence, only to discover that one he’s in the institutional system, he can be kept there indefinitely against his will. However, by engaging with the other patients as human beings, McMurphy challenges the authority of the institutional system.... The 1960s were a fertile time for changing attitudes, and the liberation of McMurphy’s compatriots should be seen in that context. In 1968, the Special Olympics were founded, as parents of mentally disabled children were encouraged for the first time to take pride in their offspring despite their disability. Prior to this era, such parents were frequently told to have their children permanently institutionalized, and tell people they were dead. As another example, three years prior to the release of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there had been a famous television expose of the Willowbrook State School, a grossly abusive and inadequate institution for mentally disabled children and youths. It led to a public outcry and a series of reforms in how such institutions were run. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, in that sense, is chronicling an unfolding cultural narrative about the treatment of mental handicaps; it’s a story about changing attitudes that came out in a time of changing attitudes. There is often an easy narrative applied to the Civil War, one in which evil, racist Confederates are opposed by virtuous, non-racist Union troops. Few would phrase it in exactly that way, but that is the basic structure of the model many people absorb from pop culture and conventional wisdom. Like most such good-vs.-evil narratives, it is a gross oversimplification that misses much of its own point. Reality is, as ever, more complex. At another end of the spectrum, one finds those who insist that the war had nothing to do with slavery, that that was a mere incidental issue. Considering that every state that seceded wrote an elaborate proclamation of their reasons, and that every one of those documents cites slavery as their central ideological issue, the

Green Grass, Running Water Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Green Grass, Running Water - Essay Example What is that â€Å"authentic† Indian behavior? Does progress and modernity of the Native Americans mean that they need to say farewell to their original cultural traits? â€Å"Green, Grass, Running Water,† by Thomas King depicts what true Native American spirit is about. What is the nature of struggles of Northern Aboriginal people trying to keep in touch with their culture and/or move towards a more modern western culture—what are its limitations and how far influences of whites in some areas are inevitable? Lionel and his aunt Norma are engaged in an anxious and spirited conversation that has an undercurrent of racial tension. Norma represents the typical Native American in her thinking and she has great apprehensions about the change that she identifies in Lionel as for the white culture. Does she basically hate the white leanings of Lionel? The answer is both yes and no! Rather than hating the whites, she is deeply interested that Lionel should retain the Nat ive identity. They are in a car, and the casual comment by Lionel regarding Indian Council paving a dirt road, is seriously taken up for a racial debate buy Norma. Thomas King writes, (1994, p.7-8) â€Å"Lionel, if you weren’t my sister’s boy, and if I didn’t see you born with my own eyes, I would sometimes think you were white. You sound just like those politicians in Edmonton. Always telling us what we can’t do.† This indicates Norma’s deep-rooted dislike for white dispositions towards which she believes Lionel is moving. Her comparison of Lionel with politicians in Edmonton, gives the clear picture about how the whites perceive the Native American and have poor estimate of their abilities. Thus an unbridgeable gap is established between the Native Indians and White Americans. She sincerely wishes that Lionel remain associated with their heritage and she is apprehensive about his moving towards the other side of the cultural fence that div ides the whites and blacks. The argument between the nephew and the aunt thickens and reaches wider horizons as Norma picks up more issues concerning Lionel. She recalls, when Lionel was a boy, his tonsils were operated upon by a white doctor. She remarks, â€Å"Indian doctors weren’t good enough.†(p.32)This has an element of sarcasm, as well as worry for her about Lionel imitating the white traits, as his life was shaped and influenced by white culture. Her latent resentment towards all that is white is also evident. She doesn’t wish to â€Å"lose† Lionel under any circumstances, and desires to remind him that they should be proud that they belong to the heritage of Northern Aboriginal people of America. Her resentment towards the white race is evident when she sarcastically says addressing her nephew, â€Å""As if they [white men] were something special. As if, there weren't enough of them in the world already" (37) This is almost like a policy stateme nt of Norma as for her attitude towards the white race. It is evident that her concern has assumed serious proportions and she emphatically tells Lionel the desirability to retain his Native American heritage, and not try to imitate the white. Norma dominates in the conversation, speaks without intermission, and hardly gives any chance to Lionel to explain his viewpoints. In defense of her position, Norma gives one more argument from which she desires that Lionel take lessons. She gives the examples of his sister Latisha, who has stuck to the native roots, in establishing and running a good Indian restaurant