Process
IL-Min and I started filming/recording over lunar break, but we did everything on my Mac and then my Mac broke last Friday.. so we had to start all over on IL-Min's computer. We both did our individual parts over the weekend (recording the MP3s, finding images for our own parts) and IL-Min put them together on his Mac.
1. Analysis -- what specifically does the person do well in analyzing?
We were organized with our analysis - we walked through each element of TP-CASTT. We made sure that we do not fail to cover every aspect of the poem. Also, within those categories, we led it to all relate to the final theme of the poem that we deduced. Also, the reading of the poem was done in video form with humor and accuracy, adding to the overall quality of the video.
2. Analysis -- if the person had to do this again, what would you recommend in analysis?
If we had to do this again, we should probably include more about each line in the poem itself - more to do with the meter and convention. Also, we did cover consonants, but not the diction itself and the meaning behind individual words. Also, we could have drove home our main point more.
3. What is something you found surprising? or amusing?
As we continued to read the poem over and over again, we started to notice that there are so many st sounds that make you angry when you read it. Especially, the word exasperated is frustrating to read, and makes the reader really start to detest the nun.
5. Comment on the visual portion of this video.
There are a lot of visuals that go along with what we say - they help the viewers understand what we are saying and also make the TP-CASTT elements more interesting. Most to all images relate to what is being said on the poem. Also, the reading of the poem includes both of us and it is attention grabbing and well acted out.
Grade: A-. I believe our organization was clear, and by the end of the video, everyone watching could feel as if they read the poem and was in Zimmer's shoes during the time of the incident and when he was writing this poem. Also, our reading of the poem effectively showed the true intentions and the theme the author wanted to portray. However, there were areas we could improve on such as focusing more on diction and driving home the point, so I think we deserve an A-.
SCENE 1: TITLE READING
ON THE SCREEN: TITLE TEXT WHITE WITH BLACK BG
VOICE: IL-MIN READING THE TITLE, BANGING IN THE BG
Zimmer's Head Thudding Against the Blackboard
by Paul Zimmer
SCENE 2: FIRST READING OF POEM
ON THE SCREEN: POEM TEXT WHITE WITH BLACK BG
VOICE: IL-MIN READING THE POEM, BANGING FOR 5TH LINE
At the blackboard I had missed
Five number problems in a row,
And was about to foul a sixth,
When the old, exasperated nun
Began to pound my head against
My six mistakes. When I cried,
She threw me back into my seat,
Where I hid my head and swore
That very day I'd be a poet,
And curse her yellow teeth with this.
SCENE 3: INTRODUCTION OF OURSELVES + TP-CASTT
ON THE SCREEN: OUR FACES
VOICE: US TALKING
Hi, this is IL-Min and Annie, and we're covering a poem called "Zimmer's Head Thudding Against the Blackboard."
First, we'll run through TP-CASTT with this poem:
SCENE 4: TITLE
ON THE SCREEN: ANNIE WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: ANNIE
The first element of TP-CASTT is title – Ponder the title before reading the poem.
This poem's title is pretty self-explanatory. Usually, titles don't give this much direct information, but this author chooses to basically summarize and give a preview of his entire poem in the title.
It's interesting because the title gives a sense of mystery: Who is Zimmer? And why is his head thudding against the blackboard?
SCENE 5: PARAPHRASING
ON THE SCREEN: IL-MIN WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: IL-MIN
The second element is paraphrasing – Translate the poem into your own words.
So basically, there's a student who missed six math problems. The nun, who is the teacher, gets angry and bangs this student's head against the blackboard. The frustrated student then makes a promise to himself that he will go into writing, not math, and become a poet to get back at this nun.
SCENE 6: CONNOTATION
ON THE SCREEN: ANNIE WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: ANNIE
The third element is connotation – Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal.
There's humor in the poem, but there's also a deeper meaning.
Although the poem is rather simple, the author criticizes several things:
1) the education system. In the author's opinion, the education system is messed up. Students should not be perfect - that is why they are going to school - but the education system in the poem only praises the perfect students and discourages the ones who are lacking in intelligence.
2. religion. The author criticizes religion through his poem by bringing in the irony of the nun. During the time when the poem was written, Christianity strongly encouraged education. But the author describes an event where his teacher, a NUN, discourages him from learning.
In this poem, there are certain instances with double meaning. Lines 4-6 read "When the old, exasperated nun Began to pound my head against My six mistakes." This could be taken literally, Zimmer's head actually pounding against the blackboard, but it could also be taken as Zimmer being scolded by the nun.
Paul Zimmer uses several poetic devices in his poem - he uses consonance in words such as "against," "mistake," "exasperated," emphasizing the harsh s-t sounds in order to evoke a feeling of anger in his readers.
He also uses enjambment. The enjambments exist to accentuate the unfairness and mistreatment of the poem. Zimmer purposefully ends the line with words such as "missed," "against," and "swore" to highlight the anger. Also, the end words are especially filled with consonants, making the last word of each line sound more rough and angry. THis makes the whole poem sound more bitter. More specifically, most end words have the letter T in them, further accentuating the anger residing within the poem.
SCENE 7: ATTITUDE
ON THE SCREEN: IL-MIN WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: IL-MIN
The fourth element is attitude. Observe both the speaker's and the poet's attitude (tone).
In this case, the speaker and the author are the same person - the author speaks through the narrator.
Paul Zimmer was born in 1934, meaning this even probably happened sometime during the 1940s. The poem was written in 1983. The author had lasting harsh feelings against his nun teacher from his childhood. And by describing the event to us, the author makes us feel the same sort of antagonism towards the nun. He wants to degrade this type of education system - the type where they criticize those who are less talented or less intelligent than others.
SCENE 8: SHIFTS
ON THE SCREEN: ANNIE WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: ANNIE
The fifth element is shifts. Note shifts in speakers and in attitudes.
We found one shift in this poem. Until the second to last line, what we saw in the poem was the stupidity and helplessness of Zimmer. But once we read “That very day I'd be a poet,” we saw the transformation from a hopeless, helpless student to a determined person with a definite goal in life.
SCENE 9: TITLE 2ND TIME
ON THE SCREEN: IL-MIN WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: IL-MIN
The sixth element is title, again. Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.
After discussing paraphrasing, connotation, attitude and shifts, why do we think this is a good title?
First of all, using his own name - Zimmer - in the title, is a good technique. It makes the entire poem seem more personal, which in this case, it is.
“Zimmer’s Head Thudding Against the Blackboard” is a good title also because as we mentioned earlier, it creates a sense of mystery. Readers may interpret it in many different ways, and can find out what it really means only by reading the poem.
Also, the title is a very visual title. It helps us imagine the scene described even before we read the poem itself. Lastly, the use of consonants and harsh sounding words in the title itself gives us a hint of anger. Although he didn't name himself, the word Zimmer itself is a consonant word.
SCENE 10: THEME
ON THE SCREEN: ANNIE WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: ANNIE
The last element is theme. Determine what the poet is saying.
We found two underlying themes in this poem:
1) inequality – The nun clearly treats Zimmer a lot worse than she treats the more intelligent students, just because he can’t reach her expectation. Although ideally, every student should be treated equally, that isn’t how it is in the poem.
2) the hypocrisy of education. Like we mentioned earlier, Zimmer's intention was to degrade this type of education system where teachers criticize students who are less intelligent.
SCENE 11: WHY WE CHOSE THIS POEM
ON THE SCREEN: IL-MIN’S FACE
VOICE: IL-MIN
I found my poem while looking through a textbook of poems. I was initially attracted to this poem because of its unconventional title. Many other poems are named Winter or Spring or some other thing that is mildly attracting, but the title, Zimmer’s Head Thudding Against the Blackboard, foreshadowed a poem far more interesting than others. Also to be completely honest, the length of the poem attracted me too. There are poems like Beowulf that are super long, but the conciseness attracted me.
After reading the poem, I was then sure that this poem was one that I wanted to do. First it was in the form of a story, which was more attention grabbing than other poems. Also, it focused its theme on education and how to fix education, which was a topic that I am deeply interested in. These are the reasons I chose this poem by Paul Zimmer.
SCENE 12: SECOND READING
ON THE SCREEN: US ACTING IT OUT – SILENT MOVIE
VOICE: IL-MIN REREADING THE POEM – SLOWER, DRAMATIC
At the blackboard I had missed
Five number problems in a row,
And was about to foul a sixth,
When the old, exasperated nun
Began to pound my head against
My six mistakes. When I cried,
She threw me back into my seat,
Where I hid my head and swore
That very day I'd be a poet,
And curse her yellow teeth with this.
Judith Guest
In “the Presence of Grief: Helping Family Members Resolve Death, Dying, and Bereavement Issues,” Shannon Hodges(from Questia) focused on analyzing and assessing the counseling methods put out in Dorothy S. Becvar’s--the psychologist at question--book, the Presence of Grief.
Becvar effectively relates her argument by showing death of a family member not only from the psychological viewpoint but also from a personal viewpoint(she lost a 22 year old son due to a car accident). Becvar divides the death of a loved one into a process: unexpected death, searching for meaning, and ultimate reclamation of joy. She gives reconstruction of identity, goals and religion as key ways to overcome this issue. Becvar takes a serious risk to her career when she suggests that her dead son tried to communicate to her through her spirit, but Hodges suggests that it is these humanness in the book that makes the book more credible than others. In conclusion, Hodges states that the personal episodes aided by professional psychological information makes an effective mix in the book.
The most interesting part was the fact that Becvar the clinician would mention religion as one of the most effective ways to escape from the pains and loss of a family. Not only that, she goes as fall as to suggest that she truly believes that her son tried to connect to her via the spirit after his death. As the article suggests, she runs the risk of being a laughing stock in the western psychology world where such is considered irrationalism, but she nonetheless presents it. This speaks more to me than anything else because it shows the true mind of one who just lost a family member: the utter wish to grab at anything, whether it goes against your beliefs and learnings or whether it is illogical, if it suggests that you may once again be together with your loved one.
Also, the idea that there are three processes to losing a loved one was very intriguing. Usually, people consider death as the last step in anything, but the three-step process presented here has death as the first step of the process of recovery. Also, the idea that one ‘loses joy’ and reclaims it by this process was fascinating.
I do not agree completely with the idea of religion in coping with the death of a loved family member. Although religion is great for some people, especially those who already have some religious background, it might not be as effective or helpful to those who believe it is just a hoax. In Ordinary People, Cal, the father who loses his son due to an accident at a lake, tries to depend on church for recovery from the pain, but ultimately, it does not do much for him. Cal briefly mentions ‘trying church,’ but dismisses it by saying that such superfluousness could not help his deep pain.
In the Judith Guest’s novels, it is the other members in the family who are also in pain and suffering that work together and help each other cope through the pain. In such context, an outside source such as religion does not help very much. It mentions it in the article that fellow family members are also crucial to the reclamation of joy. In this aspect the article and Judith Guest’s books fit in perfectly.
Overall, the article features great knowledge on psychology of those who lose a loved member of a family. How many pages? Bibliography entry? Nice mention of Cal. Your books are obviously going to be comparative. 9/10
Article 2
Il Min Ahn
AP Literature
Ms. Porter
Article Criticism
The article “Life after Death: Grief Therapy after the Sudden Traumatic Death of a Family Member” coauthored by therapist Paul Clements, Josepth DeRanieri, Gloria Vigil and Katheleen Benasutti, focuses on the outlook a family member should hold after the death of a loved one and how to handle such grief to the best of their ability.
The article runs on the premise that understanding the factors of sudden trauma improves the process of grief and pain that follows. Usually, co-victims describe the process as a lonely endeavor since the process is uniquely painful to everyone. When one does not follow the 6 R’s of mourning--reorganizing the loss, reacting to the separation, recollecting the relationship, relinquishing the old attachments, readjustment into the new world without forgetting the old--one will be hit with a painful mourning process. Sudden death, seen as ‘unfair’ creates feelings of shock and anger.
First, shock and numbness come, and death often causes evaluation of roles within the family. The co-victim, overwhelmed with both practical and emotional burdens, they need therapists to take over their concentration and emotional sector. The one that knows the pain best, however, is the co-victim himself. Because they usually think more than they need to and develop a loneliness of their own, they should be reminded that they should accept the care of others. In conclusion, grief is the process and the endpoint is to how to reinvest in life.
What I thought most intriguing was the idea that grief is not the endpoint but simply the process. As the article states, the goal should not be trying to forget the death of a loved one, but rather to remember, understand and accept the loss and learn how to reinvest in life. This was interesting because getting over the death of a family member is usually the endpoint or goal that people who have lost someone puts as. However, because such a sad idea is a goal, the article states that this causes a significant confusion for the co-victims. This is intriguing because once one ponders on the cruelty of forgetting a loved one and putting that as the goal(which is probably a extremely difficult goal to reach in the first place), one could not possibly think that erasing a loved one from his or her memory is a correct decision.
Although this concept is engrossing and clever, I do not completely agree with it. First of all, the article says that the co-victim needs to understand and accept their death, but a sudden death can never be justified, even to a bystander like me, and certainly not to a direct co-victim. Also, the novels Ordinary People and the Tarnished Eye by Judith Guest disprove this fact. In both of the novels, there are parents who suffer from the unpredicted death of their child. However, the interesting part is that the stories revolve around the pain of those characters years after their children’s death. According to the article, the parent or family member should have already understood the death of their child. Cal has certainly done so because he states that he comprehends that such things happen to lots of people, not just his deceased son. Similarly, Hugh lives on perfectly fine with his life, functioning as a crucial part of society. However, both have not escaped the haunting truth. Both are constantly reminded of their son’s death and are hurt by it. They do recover from the case, but from their family.
This summarizes and analyzed the psychological article on the death of a loved one and the recovery of the co-victim, or the surviving family member. Okay. Your next article needs to now explore another topic. What makes these books literary or are they? 10/10
__
Answer the following questions about your character to help you with your interpretation. Post these to your page in the wiki.
What does your character want in the chosen scene?
Polonius wants to figure out Hamlet's state of insanity and exactly why he is in such a state. He especially wants to prove that Hamlet is in agony because Ophelia did not accept his love.
What does the character do to get it?
He tries to have a conversation with Hamlet and tries to get him to say things that will be clues to his current state.
What obstacles stand in his or her way?
Hamlet is too intelligent to give Polonius what he wants, and keeps on saying nonsense.
How does your character really feel about what is happening in the scene? How can you tell?
He feels offended and confused because he keeps asking himself questions and tries to unsuccessfully figure the situation out in his asides.
What do other characters say about your character in the scene?
Hamlet calls him a fishmonger, as well as other words(of course with negative connotations in it). Hamlet is the only other character in the scene.
What does the character’s language reveal about his or her personality? Think about the meaning behind his or her words. Write down a few phrases he says that might demonstrate something about his personality or are characteristic of his mode of expression.
His language is very obsequious even though he does not like Hamlet, showing the pretentious and untrustworthy character Polonius is. This is shown in his continual repetition of 'my lord,' and 'I will leave him and suddenly contrive the means of meeting between him and my daughter'
How does this scene add to your knowledge of the character?
It shows that Polonius is very pretentious and is a person who would do anything to get the information he wants. Also, we can conclude that he is not too good in analyzing situations, as he did not find out what was wrong with Hamlet.
Process
IL-Min and I started filming/recording over lunar break, but we did everything on my Mac and then my Mac broke last Friday.. so we had to start all over on IL-Min's computer. We both did our individual parts over the weekend (recording the MP3s, finding images for our own parts) and IL-Min put them together on his Mac.
1. Analysis -- what specifically does the person do well in analyzing?
We were organized with our analysis - we walked through each element of TP-CASTT. We made sure that we do not fail to cover every aspect of the poem. Also, within those categories, we led it to all relate to the final theme of the poem that we deduced. Also, the reading of the poem was done in video form with humor and accuracy, adding to the overall quality of the video.
2. Analysis -- if the person had to do this again, what would you recommend in analysis?
If we had to do this again, we should probably include more about each line in the poem itself - more to do with the meter and convention. Also, we did cover consonants, but not the diction itself and the meaning behind individual words. Also, we could have drove home our main point more.
3. What is something you found surprising? or amusing?
As we continued to read the poem over and over again, we started to notice that there are so many st sounds that make you angry when you read it. Especially, the word exasperated is frustrating to read, and makes the reader really start to detest the nun.
5. Comment on the visual portion of this video.
There are a lot of visuals that go along with what we say - they help the viewers understand what we are saying and also make the TP-CASTT elements more interesting. Most to all images relate to what is being said on the poem. Also, the reading of the poem includes both of us and it is attention grabbing and well acted out.
Grade: A-. I believe our organization was clear, and by the end of the video, everyone watching could feel as if they read the poem and was in Zimmer's shoes during the time of the incident and when he was writing this poem. Also, our reading of the poem effectively showed the true intentions and the theme the author wanted to portray. However, there were areas we could improve on such as focusing more on diction and driving home the point, so I think we deserve an A-.
SCENE 1: TITLE READING
ON THE SCREEN: TITLE TEXT WHITE WITH BLACK BG
VOICE: IL-MIN READING THE TITLE, BANGING IN THE BG
Zimmer's Head Thudding Against the Blackboard
by Paul Zimmer
SCENE 2: FIRST READING OF POEM
ON THE SCREEN: POEM TEXT WHITE WITH BLACK BG
VOICE: IL-MIN READING THE POEM, BANGING FOR 5TH LINE
At the blackboard I had missed
Five number problems in a row,
And was about to foul a sixth,
When the old, exasperated nun
Began to pound my head against
My six mistakes. When I cried,
She threw me back into my seat,
Where I hid my head and swore
That very day I'd be a poet,
And curse her yellow teeth with this.
SCENE 3: INTRODUCTION OF OURSELVES + TP-CASTT
ON THE SCREEN: OUR FACES
VOICE: US TALKING
Hi, this is IL-Min and Annie, and we're covering a poem called "Zimmer's Head Thudding Against the Blackboard."
First, we'll run through TP-CASTT with this poem:
SCENE 4: TITLE
ON THE SCREEN: ANNIE WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: ANNIE
The first element of TP-CASTT is title – Ponder the title before reading the poem.
This poem's title is pretty self-explanatory. Usually, titles don't give this much direct information, but this author chooses to basically summarize and give a preview of his entire poem in the title.
It's interesting because the title gives a sense of mystery: Who is Zimmer? And why is his head thudding against the blackboard?
SCENE 5: PARAPHRASING
ON THE SCREEN: IL-MIN WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: IL-MIN
The second element is paraphrasing – Translate the poem into your own words.
So basically, there's a student who missed six math problems. The nun, who is the teacher, gets angry and bangs this student's head against the blackboard. The frustrated student then makes a promise to himself that he will go into writing, not math, and become a poet to get back at this nun.
SCENE 6: CONNOTATION
ON THE SCREEN: ANNIE WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: ANNIE
The third element is connotation – Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal.
There's humor in the poem, but there's also a deeper meaning.
Although the poem is rather simple, the author criticizes several things:
1) the education system. In the author's opinion, the education system is messed up. Students should not be perfect - that is why they are going to school - but the education system in the poem only praises the perfect students and discourages the ones who are lacking in intelligence.
2. religion. The author criticizes religion through his poem by bringing in the irony of the nun. During the time when the poem was written, Christianity strongly encouraged education. But the author describes an event where his teacher, a NUN, discourages him from learning.
In this poem, there are certain instances with double meaning. Lines 4-6 read "When the old, exasperated nun Began to pound my head against My six mistakes." This could be taken literally, Zimmer's head actually pounding against the blackboard, but it could also be taken as Zimmer being scolded by the nun.
Paul Zimmer uses several poetic devices in his poem - he uses consonance in words such as "against," "mistake," "exasperated," emphasizing the harsh s-t sounds in order to evoke a feeling of anger in his readers.
He also uses enjambment. The enjambments exist to accentuate the unfairness and mistreatment of the poem. Zimmer purposefully ends the line with words such as "missed," "against," and "swore" to highlight the anger. Also, the end words are especially filled with consonants, making the last word of each line sound more rough and angry. THis makes the whole poem sound more bitter. More specifically, most end words have the letter T in them, further accentuating the anger residing within the poem.
SCENE 7: ATTITUDE
ON THE SCREEN: IL-MIN WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: IL-MIN
The fourth element is attitude. Observe both the speaker's and the poet's attitude (tone).
In this case, the speaker and the author are the same person - the author speaks through the narrator.
Paul Zimmer was born in 1934, meaning this even probably happened sometime during the 1940s. The poem was written in 1983. The author had lasting harsh feelings against his nun teacher from his childhood. And by describing the event to us, the author makes us feel the same sort of antagonism towards the nun. He wants to degrade this type of education system - the type where they criticize those who are less talented or less intelligent than others.
SCENE 8: SHIFTS
ON THE SCREEN: ANNIE WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: ANNIE
The fifth element is shifts. Note shifts in speakers and in attitudes.
We found one shift in this poem. Until the second to last line, what we saw in the poem was the stupidity and helplessness of Zimmer. But once we read “That very day I'd be a poet,” we saw the transformation from a hopeless, helpless student to a determined person with a definite goal in life.
SCENE 9: TITLE 2ND TIME
ON THE SCREEN: IL-MIN WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: IL-MIN
The sixth element is title, again. Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.
After discussing paraphrasing, connotation, attitude and shifts, why do we think this is a good title?
First of all, using his own name - Zimmer - in the title, is a good technique. It makes the entire poem seem more personal, which in this case, it is.
“Zimmer’s Head Thudding Against the Blackboard” is a good title also because as we mentioned earlier, it creates a sense of mystery. Readers may interpret it in many different ways, and can find out what it really means only by reading the poem.
Also, the title is a very visual title. It helps us imagine the scene described even before we read the poem itself. Lastly, the use of consonants and harsh sounding words in the title itself gives us a hint of anger. Although he didn't name himself, the word Zimmer itself is a consonant word.
SCENE 10: THEME
ON THE SCREEN: ANNIE WILL HAVE IMAGES/CLIPS
VOICE: ANNIE
The last element is theme. Determine what the poet is saying.
We found two underlying themes in this poem:
1) inequality – The nun clearly treats Zimmer a lot worse than she treats the more intelligent students, just because he can’t reach her expectation. Although ideally, every student should be treated equally, that isn’t how it is in the poem.
2) the hypocrisy of education. Like we mentioned earlier, Zimmer's intention was to degrade this type of education system where teachers criticize students who are less intelligent.
SCENE 11: WHY WE CHOSE THIS POEM
ON THE SCREEN: IL-MIN’S FACE
VOICE: IL-MIN
I found my poem while looking through a textbook of poems. I was initially attracted to this poem because of its unconventional title. Many other poems are named Winter or Spring or some other thing that is mildly attracting, but the title, Zimmer’s Head Thudding Against the Blackboard, foreshadowed a poem far more interesting than others. Also to be completely honest, the length of the poem attracted me too. There are poems like Beowulf that are super long, but the conciseness attracted me.
After reading the poem, I was then sure that this poem was one that I wanted to do. First it was in the form of a story, which was more attention grabbing than other poems. Also, it focused its theme on education and how to fix education, which was a topic that I am deeply interested in. These are the reasons I chose this poem by Paul Zimmer.
SCENE 12: SECOND READING
ON THE SCREEN: US ACTING IT OUT – SILENT MOVIE
VOICE: IL-MIN REREADING THE POEM – SLOWER, DRAMATIC
At the blackboard I had missed
Five number problems in a row,
And was about to foul a sixth,
When the old, exasperated nun
Began to pound my head against
My six mistakes. When I cried,
She threw me back into my seat,
Where I hid my head and swore
That very day I'd be a poet,
And curse her yellow teeth with this.
Judith Guest
In “the Presence of Grief: Helping Family Members Resolve Death, Dying, and Bereavement Issues,” Shannon Hodges(from Questia) focused on analyzing and assessing the counseling methods put out in Dorothy S. Becvar’s--the psychologist at question--book, the Presence of Grief.
Becvar effectively relates her argument by showing death of a family member not only from the psychological viewpoint but also from a personal viewpoint(she lost a 22 year old son due to a car accident). Becvar divides the death of a loved one into a process: unexpected death, searching for meaning, and ultimate reclamation of joy. She gives reconstruction of identity, goals and religion as key ways to overcome this issue. Becvar takes a serious risk to her career when she suggests that her dead son tried to communicate to her through her spirit, but Hodges suggests that it is these humanness in the book that makes the book more credible than others. In conclusion, Hodges states that the personal episodes aided by professional psychological information makes an effective mix in the book.
The most interesting part was the fact that Becvar the clinician would mention religion as one of the most effective ways to escape from the pains and loss of a family. Not only that, she goes as fall as to suggest that she truly believes that her son tried to connect to her via the spirit after his death. As the article suggests, she runs the risk of being a laughing stock in the western psychology world where such is considered irrationalism, but she nonetheless presents it. This speaks more to me than anything else because it shows the true mind of one who just lost a family member: the utter wish to grab at anything, whether it goes against your beliefs and learnings or whether it is illogical, if it suggests that you may once again be together with your loved one.
Also, the idea that there are three processes to losing a loved one was very intriguing. Usually, people consider death as the last step in anything, but the three-step process presented here has death as the first step of the process of recovery. Also, the idea that one ‘loses joy’ and reclaims it by this process was fascinating.
I do not agree completely with the idea of religion in coping with the death of a loved family member. Although religion is great for some people, especially those who already have some religious background, it might not be as effective or helpful to those who believe it is just a hoax. In Ordinary People, Cal, the father who loses his son due to an accident at a lake, tries to depend on church for recovery from the pain, but ultimately, it does not do much for him. Cal briefly mentions ‘trying church,’ but dismisses it by saying that such superfluousness could not help his deep pain.
In the Judith Guest’s novels, it is the other members in the family who are also in pain and suffering that work together and help each other cope through the pain. In such context, an outside source such as religion does not help very much. It mentions it in the article that fellow family members are also crucial to the reclamation of joy. In this aspect the article and Judith Guest’s books fit in perfectly.
Overall, the article features great knowledge on psychology of those who lose a loved member of a family. How many pages? Bibliography entry? Nice mention of Cal. Your books are obviously going to be comparative. 9/10
Article 2
Il Min Ahn
AP Literature
Ms. Porter
Article Criticism
The article “Life after Death: Grief Therapy after the Sudden Traumatic Death of a Family Member” coauthored by therapist Paul Clements, Josepth DeRanieri, Gloria Vigil and Katheleen Benasutti, focuses on the outlook a family member should hold after the death of a loved one and how to handle such grief to the best of their ability.
The article runs on the premise that understanding the factors of sudden trauma improves the process of grief and pain that follows. Usually, co-victims describe the process as a lonely endeavor since the process is uniquely painful to everyone. When one does not follow the 6 R’s of mourning--reorganizing the loss, reacting to the separation, recollecting the relationship, relinquishing the old attachments, readjustment into the new world without forgetting the old--one will be hit with a painful mourning process. Sudden death, seen as ‘unfair’ creates feelings of shock and anger.
First, shock and numbness come, and death often causes evaluation of roles within the family. The co-victim, overwhelmed with both practical and emotional burdens, they need therapists to take over their concentration and emotional sector. The one that knows the pain best, however, is the co-victim himself. Because they usually think more than they need to and develop a loneliness of their own, they should be reminded that they should accept the care of others. In conclusion, grief is the process and the endpoint is to how to reinvest in life.
What I thought most intriguing was the idea that grief is not the endpoint but simply the process. As the article states, the goal should not be trying to forget the death of a loved one, but rather to remember, understand and accept the loss and learn how to reinvest in life. This was interesting because getting over the death of a family member is usually the endpoint or goal that people who have lost someone puts as. However, because such a sad idea is a goal, the article states that this causes a significant confusion for the co-victims. This is intriguing because once one ponders on the cruelty of forgetting a loved one and putting that as the goal(which is probably a extremely difficult goal to reach in the first place), one could not possibly think that erasing a loved one from his or her memory is a correct decision.
Although this concept is engrossing and clever, I do not completely agree with it. First of all, the article says that the co-victim needs to understand and accept their death, but a sudden death can never be justified, even to a bystander like me, and certainly not to a direct co-victim. Also, the novels Ordinary People and the Tarnished Eye by Judith Guest disprove this fact. In both of the novels, there are parents who suffer from the unpredicted death of their child. However, the interesting part is that the stories revolve around the pain of those characters years after their children’s death. According to the article, the parent or family member should have already understood the death of their child. Cal has certainly done so because he states that he comprehends that such things happen to lots of people, not just his deceased son. Similarly, Hugh lives on perfectly fine with his life, functioning as a crucial part of society. However, both have not escaped the haunting truth. Both are constantly reminded of their son’s death and are hurt by it. They do recover from the case, but from their family.
This summarizes and analyzed the psychological article on the death of a loved one and the recovery of the co-victim, or the surviving family member. Okay. Your next article needs to now explore another topic. What makes these books literary or are they? 10/10
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Answer the following questions about your character to help you with your interpretation. Post these to your page in the wiki.
What does your character want in the chosen scene?
Polonius wants to figure out Hamlet's state of insanity and exactly why he is in such a state. He especially wants to prove that Hamlet is in agony because Ophelia did not accept his love.
What does the character do to get it?
He tries to have a conversation with Hamlet and tries to get him to say things that will be clues to his current state.
What obstacles stand in his or her way?
Hamlet is too intelligent to give Polonius what he wants, and keeps on saying nonsense.
How does your character really feel about what is happening in the scene? How can you tell?
He feels offended and confused because he keeps asking himself questions and tries to unsuccessfully figure the situation out in his asides.
What do other characters say about your character in the scene?
Hamlet calls him a fishmonger, as well as other words(of course with negative connotations in it). Hamlet is the only other character in the scene.
What does the character’s language reveal about his or her personality? Think about the meaning behind his or her words. Write down a few phrases he says that might demonstrate something about his personality or are characteristic of his mode of expression.
His language is very obsequious even though he does not like Hamlet, showing the pretentious and untrustworthy character Polonius is. This is shown in his continual repetition of 'my lord,' and 'I will leave him and suddenly contrive the means of meeting between him and my daughter'
How does this scene add to your knowledge of the character?
It shows that Polonius is very pretentious and is a person who would do anything to get the information he wants. Also, we can conclude that he is not too good in analyzing situations, as he did not find out what was wrong with Hamlet.