Psychology

The Kite Runner is a story told in first person by a character named Amir. He begins by telling about an unknown experience that happened in the winter of 1975 which changed forever who he was a person. This sets up foreshadowing and anticipation of what this even possibly could be. Amir begins telling about his family life, about his rich father who shelters him and a servant boy named Hassan. Amir tells about how he made fun of Hassan and how Hassan would do anything for him. He also tells us that Hassan’s first word was his name and that they breast fed from the same breasts at a young age.

This continues setting up plot because it is evident that whatever the event was in the winter of 1975 included both Amir and Hassan. Amir tells us that he doesn’t have a strong connection with his father and that his father almost favors the servant boy over his son. As the book progresses, a character named Assef is introduced. Assef’s introduction is significant because he tells Amir and Hassan that he will get them back. When the annual kite flying competition happens, Hassan chases the kite for Amir. Amir wins for his father and Hassan gets raped by Assef for once again standing up for Amir. I believe that this is the central conflict in The Kite Runner. This sets up an internal conflict within Amir, one where he strives to be punished for not helping his best friend and where he sends Hassan away. Once Hassan is sent away, bad things happen to him and his family, which Amir blames himself for again.

There is a minor conflict when Amir moves to America with his father. He meets a girl named Soraya and they get married only to find out they can’t have children. I believe this is also a very important part the way it is revealed in the novel because Amir’s wife makes a big deal about how adoption isn’t for Afghans and blood means everything. Amir needs to go back to Afghanistan for a family friend named Rahim Khan who is dying. Rahim reveals what happened to Hassan, and that Hassan has a son who needs to be saved. This creates more tension between Amir and his internal struggles.

This tension might mean that in order for Amir to feel good about himself and not guilt whenever he thinks of Hassan he might need to stand up for what he believes is right. Amir goes on a mission to find Hassan’s son and finds out that Assef, the same boy who raped Hassan in the winter of 1975, is the one who has Hassan’s son. Amir stands up to Assef, gets beat up and feels satisfaction for the pain he is receiving.

I believe the conflict of the story is significant because without Amir witnessing Hassan’s rape, he never would have felt guilty for not stopping it or for sending Hassan away as a child. It is significant the way Assef is introduced, Amir and Hassan being brothers is introduced and the satisfaction that Amir receives from being beat up by Assef because it shows the major conflicts within the novel. Also, the outcome of the novel (Assef having one eye, Sohrab being free and Amir being free of his internal struggles) is important because it shows how Amir has changed as a person, one who is selfish and only thinks about himself, to a person who would do anything for his best friend’s son.

For my blog on characterization/character development I will focus on Hassan. Since The Kite Runner is told in first person by Amir, the analysis of Hassan is limited to what Amir says/feels about him. Hassan is a Hazara, one of the disadvantaged minorities in Afghanistan who are of the religion Shi’a. He and his father Ali are servants to Baba and Amir in Baba’s household. Hassan is characterized as a loyal, forgiving, brave and innocent character. The most complex relationship that we know of Hassan having is with Amir. We know that Hassan is loyal to Amir because even when Hassan didn’t want to throw rocks at the neighbor’s dog but he did anyway because Amir told him to and when Hassan got raped so Amir could keep his kite, a symbol of happiness.

We also know that Hassan is loyal to Amir because even when he is older and can read and write on his own and writes a letter for Amir, he still says that he hopes they can be friends one day. Hassan also wouldn’t throw the pomegranates at Amir, but instead, crushed one on his own forehead. He is a good-natured person with good values and ethics. Hassan can also be characterized as a protagonist within the story. He, as well as Rahim Khan, encourage Amir to be writer and he also encourages his son Sohrab to learn how to read and write. I believe that Hassan is a static character since he does not change throughout the novel. Many details of his adult life are excluded, however going off the letter he left for Amir through Rahim we can assume he would have been similar to what he was as a child and that he did not change much throughout the series of his life.

Hassan’s values and ethics can be seen through his fate: when he stands up to the Taliban for attempting to throw him and his family out of Rahim Khan’s/Baba’s house. Even then, knowing he was a Hazara limited to his social class, he should have walked away for his family’s safety but instead he stood up for what he believed in, again showing his bravery. Finally, Hassan is not an envious person. Even when he is a child knowing that Amir has more than him, he is not jealous and is happy he has his little shack house, his father and his best friend Amir. I believe that a central theme in this novel is the need for redemption.

It is developed throughout the novel. In the beginning of the Kite Runner when Amir reveals that his mother died during childbirth and how proud his father was of his wife, Amir blames himself for her death. He knows he is not the son his father always has wanted and wants to prove to his father that he is good enough. Amir even says that his first word was his father’s name, showing he looked to his father. Amir tries to play sports for his father and involve himself in things which are stereotypical of males in his society. When Amir fails and he over hears his father talking to Rahim Khan, saying es his son were stronger and meaner.

Then Amir says that his father was wrong about the mean streak, by purposely being mean to Hassan. When Amir sees Hassan being raped he doesn’t help him, and instead makes sure the kite isn’t ripped because that is something that his father would value, over his friendship. I believe that part of the reason Amir sends Hassan away is also because then his father would only pay attention to him and he wouldn’t need to compete for his father’s attention or be compared to the idol child Hassan was. In Afghanistan, Amir feels guilty for what happened to Hassan and requests that Hassan take violence out on him or be mean to him so that Amir would feel better. He believes if this were to happen he would be redeemed and would no longer be an insomniac. a. Amir feels guilty whenever he thinks about Hassan because of how well his life turned out and not knowing how Hassan was.

When Rahim Khan tells Amir about Hassan he feels guiltier, blaming himself and wondering if he never would have sent them away if Baba would have brought them along to America. He then goes to find Hassan’s son, because he believes this will finally redeem him and justify what happened as a child. When Amir finds Assef and they get into a fight, finally he receives the redemption he has been wanting and finally feels like he got what he deserved for not standing up for Hassan. Paper II Question: How valid is the assertion that literature is a voice for the oppressed? I believe that the Kite Runner is a good example of how literature is a voice for the oppressed. The definition of oppression is a feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, etc. Amir’s oppression can be seen throughout his story.

Amir feels oppressed by his father’s control. He blames himself for his mother’s death, which was out of his control, and this is something that always has been troubling to him. In attempts to relieve the oppression from his father his best-friend ends up getting raped. This creates a whole new level of oppression. His internal struggles make him anxious and an insomniac. If these events wouldn’t have been present in Amir’s childhood, there would be no use for the novel. The Kite Runner would be boring and based off of his father’s power and control and his wife’s infertility. His internal oppression makes him feel guilty and want to redeem himself, which is also a major theme of the Kite Runner. Throughout the story, it can be seen that Amir is trying to relieve the guilt and the problems he ran away from as a child. When Amir is getting beat up by Assef, he says “…for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace.

I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this.” (pgs. 254-255) This shows that he is no longer oppressed and is able to relax again. Also, we know that Amir was oppressed because when he has Hassan’s son he calls his wife and is able to speak for the first time about everything that happened. This is near the end of the book. Amir finally feels alright with who he is as a person. This book if told from first person narrative after everything happened. Because of this we are able to assume that Amir is no longer oppressed because he is no longer silent about everything he is feeling.

If those events did now happen when Amir was a child, he would not feel guilty and the piece of literature would be incomplete. The novel reflects his feelings and regrets and if this same book were to be written without the feelings and without the major conflict, there would only be Amir talking about his bad relationship with his father and his infertile wife. Amir says “..for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this.” (pgs. 254-255) This shows that he is no longer opressed and is able to relax again.

Also, we know that Amir is opressed because when he has Hassan’s son he calls his wife and is able to speak for the first time about everything that happened. From reading the Kite Runner it is obvious that there are various motifs which are recurring throughout the novel; two motifs which I chose to follow were eyes/happiness and winter. Winter can be seen as a motif because it is a season that Amir and Hassan would look forward to until Hassan got raped when it became a time to dread. We know it is a reoccurring motif because within the first few chapters it is mentioned a lot, especially how the winter of 1975 forever changed Amir and who he is today. Amir says “I loved wintertime in Kabul…” and then after Hassan got raped Amir talks about winter and says “my memory of the rest of the winter in 1975 is pretty hazy.”

We know that winter is a season that is looked forward to because even though it may bring pain, such as the cuts on the fingers of the young boys from kite flying, the children would look forward to the break. We also know that in the winter time before Hassan’s rape, Amir and Hassan would play in the snow and camp out outside under blanket with a space heater that Ali would set up for them. An interesting part about tracing winter as a motif, was that even though after Amir dreaded winter, when he met his wife Soroya, he compared her to Yelda, the longest night in winter. We can assume that Yelda is something good about winter, and we know he loved his wife so it’s usual he would compare this dreaded season to his lovely wife. Finally, once Amir rescues his nephew winter is something to be looked forward to.

Not only does he say that the sound of the kite flying reminds him of winter mornings in Kabul, but he also mentions the season of spring. “When spring comes it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting.” This quote is not only a cliché saying that things can be fixed “one step at a time” erring to the happiness that will come from winter once again for Sorahab and Amir This brings me into my second motif. The next motif I traced was the relationship between happiness and eyes. Eyes are mentioned a lot through the Kite Runner, and are talked about when a new character is being introduced or when Amir wants to reveal the true personality of a character. Amir says “people say that eyes are windows to the soul.” Whenever Amir is in an uncomfortable situation, he will describe what he sees through his eyes or how he sees the truth through somebody else’s eyes. “…but to me his eyes betrayed him…” (pg. 85)

This is a quote where Amir is referring to Hassan’s eyes after the rape, and saying how even though Hassan didn’t know that Amir knew, Amir still would have been able to tell through his eyes, through the window to his soul. An interesting metaphor/recurring idea which I came across while tracing eyes was when Hassan was being raped and again when Sohorab was looking to Amir for help. Amir referred their eyes to the eyes that he saw when his family would slaughter a sheep, or slaughtering of the innocent. I thought this was interesting because this is something which is seen in many religions, the idea of sacrificing the innocent for personal gain. These motifs have a strong effect on the reader because they are both something the reader is familiar with. The reader most likely has a symbol in their life that they associate negativity with and eyes always have been something which has been interesting to me.

Although Bentham and Mill’s approach to calculating utility differ quantitatively and qualitatively, both philosophers fundamentally base their theories on the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain. Utilitarianism holds pleasure as one’s most intrinsically valuable goal, and therefore the avoidance of pain is it’s driving force. It is only when evaluating the difference in pleasures themselves that Bentham and Mill conflict. Jeremy Bentham, a 17th century philosopher, drew inspiration from Priestley’s idea of the greatest good for the greatest number of people. His application of this later became his principle of utility, which formed ‘Utilitarianism’.

Bentham’s idea was that irrespective to any moral code, morality is attained in the majority, not the individual. Regardless of the act, if it amounts to the greatest good for the greatest number of people it is thus morally correct. For example, if ten terrorists happily torture one man, Bentham’s hedonic calculation would condone their continuance, on the basis of their greater pleasure.

Here lies the problem, although Bentham may not have advocated any of what society deems to be ‘immoral behaviour’, his philosophy cannot deny it. This problem is addressed almost a century later by John Stuart Mill, who attempts to place value on pleasure in order to avoid the approval of the aforementioned example. Mill structured his argument in his essay Utilitarianism (1863) around the idea of higher and lower values; the former being pleasures of the mind, intellectual stimulation etc and the latter being pleasures of the body, carnal desires and temptation etc.

On this premise, Mill points out that “no intelligent human being would consent to be a fool, no instructed person would be an ignoramus, no person of feeling and conscience would be selfish and base’. He claims that according to his idea of higher and lower pleasures there leaves no room for human beings to dispute, for they should value the goodness of the mind as being paramount. Both Bentham and Mill are hedonist’s in the conservative sense, they both seek pleasure as the ultimate goal, but are not the misinterpreted Epicureans’ people may claim them to be. For Mill, fleshly pleasures are those of animals or ‘swine’, and are therefore lower. It is clear when considering human nature that there must be some moral guidelines, which makes Mill’s extended idea of Utilitarianism more conceivable than Bentham’s, because it encourages human beings to strive beyond fleshly pleasures.

The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, tells the story of a woman trapped in her own life. Set in the 1800s, a time when women and mens roles were strictly defined by society, the woman reveals her true to desire to break free from the confines of her marriage and her life. All the while, she experiences an extreme sense of guilt and shame for her negative view of her life, consciously repressing her innermost desires and joys. Her feelings are revealed through her bizarre relationship with the wallpaper in her room in the house she and her husband are renting for the summer. She develops an illogical perception of the wallpaper, ugly though it may be, symbolically putting her own views of herself onto it.

Eventually, the woman loses all ability to distinguish reality from illusion and completely loses her mind. Gilman suggests to the reader that by accepting the norms and roles of society and thus repressing ones true desires and feelings can only lead to a loss of identity and sanity. This attitude is brought to light in the readers mind through observance of the womans increasing mental instability as she gives more and more life to the wallpaper each time she resumes writing.

At the beginning of her story, the woman reveals much about herself and the life she lives. She has a husband, John, who is a physician and seems to be more of a father than a companion. It is also learned that she suffers from a problem with depression, deemed a slight hysterical tendency by her husband and accepted by her (425). Her secret opinion that the reason why she is sick and cannot get better is because her husband does not believe she is sick gives the reader the first insight into the womans true self. Almost ashamed to even think that it is her husbands inability to accept her illness, the woman turns the problem back on herself. She proceeds to say that she gets unreasonably angry with her husband and is basely ungrateful, and that she must take pains to control her emotions. Leaving much to be questioned in the readers mind as to the health of her marriage, she abandons the topic and instead describes the house.

All is well until she gets to the room where she and her husband are staying. This rooms wallpaper evokes a sense of anger and passion from the woman as she calls it sprawling, flamboyant, dull, lame, and uncertain (426). Such strongly emotive words to describe such an inanimate object draw the reader to wonder if it is really the wallpaper which she feels about so deeply. One can see the correlation between the words describing the wallpaper and the feelings she seems to imply about herself earlier in her story. She quickly abandons her writings as she hears her husband approaching for fear he will be angry, introducing the reader to a sense of how extensively she represses her needs and desires to do what her husband wants.

The next time the woman writes, the reader senses a slight change in her. She does not focus on her wants and thoughts, instead, she talks mostly of how bothersome and helpless she is. The reader is told that she feels herself a burden on John and the rest of the household. It is also learned for the first time that she has a child, but only in passing. She simply states, It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! (426). There are no other implications of having a child before this, nor are there any in the rest of this entry, striking the reader as odd that a mother would not have any concern for or interaction with her own child. It is also apparent that her focus has shifted primarily to the wallpaper, and her feelings about it have intensified. She calls the paper atrocious and horrid, and begins giving it a life of its own. Her comment, This paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had! strikes the reader with how preoccupied she must be. She also gives it, a broken neck and two bulbous eyes… causing the reader to wonder what this wallpaper really looks like.

The woman says she gets positively angry with the impertinence of it and the everlastingness. All of this personification and emotion gives serious cause to the reader to question the accuracy of the narrator’s perceptions of the wallpaper and the stability of her mental state. It is apparent at this time that it may be wavering. Another disturbing description emerges at the very end of this section as the woman describes something she sees within the paper. But in the places where it isnt faded and where the sun is just so I can see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design (427). The reader does not know what she sees behind the pattern but can see the woman starting to lose her mind.

With her third and fourth entries, the reader is doubtful as to the reality of what the woman is describing as truth. She speaks briefly of the wallpaper and her determination to follow the pointless pattern to some sort of conclusion. . . (429), but tells how tired she gets from thinking about it and studying it. Moving on, she tells more of her relationship with John. It is absurd to the reader how fatherly and controlling John is, and perhaps even more absurd that she accepts his control and internalizes his attitude about her and her illness. One feels sorry for her because neither husband nor wife is unaware of the quickly diminishing stability of her sanity. Both dismiss it as a temporary nervous condition when in reality, the reader sees it as a serious and possibly permanent condition of insanity. The woman simply states, It is getting to be a great effort for me to think straight, an ironic understatement of the gravity of her declining abilities. With full awareness of her mental state, the reader is now told what is behind the paper: And it is like a woman stooping down and creeping about…

The woman sees another woman trapped behind the ridiculous, infuriating and horrid wallpaper just as she is trapped in her horribly repressive marriage and life. She also reveals that the woman in the wallpaper seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out (430). She sees herself in the wallpaper, desperately shaking the pattern that is trapping her, trying to get out. After this significant revelation, she further describes the wallpaper once more as defiant, irritating, hideous, and unreliable, all of which draw more meaning with the trapped woman in the wallpaper. She speaks of seeing the woman outside creeping through the garden, and reveals she does the same. The reader senses how urgent her condition is, yet knows that nothing can stop the imminent loss of self.

Her final entry shows her in a giddy and childlike sort of excitement as she reveals how she will help the woman. With John away for their final evening in the home, the woman helps her trapped friend tear off as much of the wallpaper as possible. Then she giddily tells of her plan of getting the woman out once and for all. She throws away the key to the room so no one can get in and begins to rip off the paper she could not get to before. All the while, she waits with a rope to tie the woman up if she tries to run away.

She wonders if all the women she sees creeping outside her window came out of the paper like she did, her first blatant revelation that she perceives herself as the woman she has seen trapped behind the wallpaper shaking it to get out. Her husband comes home and finds her with the rope tied around her own waist, creeping around the room along the worn smooch she noticed long before. She happily shouts, Ive got out at last. . . in spite of you and Jane. And Ive pulled off most of the paper, sop you cant put me back! The woman is out of her trap, only to be lost to insanity. She breaks through the repression and stored passions, but loses her mind because of it.

Gilman shows the reader how dangerous it could be to abandon your own wants and passions to settle for what others want for you, regardless how innocent or caring their intentions may be. The woman does not even see herself spiraling down so rapidly into insanity. The reader watches helplessly as she represses herself, putting more and more onto the wallpaper until she becomes what she sees in it. The woman goes mad, all because she gave into the idea that her husband knows what is best for her even though she really did not think so at first. Gilman reveals the ironic tragedy that repressing ones true self results in the loss of self.

Carol Dweck is a researcher who has discovered that students who believe they can succeed, will exceed. This thinking is called “growth mindset.” Dweck talks about growth mindset in the article Carol Dweck Revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’ and Carol Dweck’s Ted Talk, “The Power of Believing That You Can Improve.” Both cover the impact of the growth mindset and the fixed mindset, misconceptions and misunderstandings, and the possible outcome of those misconceptions. In Carol Dweck Revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’, Dweck talks about her discovery of how students mindsets impacted their motivation and achievement.

Dweck discusses that if a student believes their intelligence could be developed that would outperform those who believed that their intelligence was fixed. She also discusses the misconceptions and misunderstandings that goes along with growth mindset. Effort is not the only important role, in order for growth mindset to be effective, students must have many strategies to approaching a problem rather than just being stuck. Praise is given to students for effort but not learning and many educators also claim to have the growth mindset but their words and actions prove otherwise, causing the students to having a fixed mindset, the opposite of the intended purpose.

This information can be potentially be very important to the way eductors approach the classroom and help the students reach their full potential. Dweck clearly explains how growth mindset has an effect on students motivation and achievement. She clearly explains, argues her points on the way some teachers approach growth mindsets is incorrect and has the opposite effects. Dweck is very constant with the information she gives in this article and the information she discusses in her Ted Talk. I agree with Dweck that student’s mindsets are in direct correlation with a students motivation and achievement. As a student I know that without a certain mindset, motivation is going to be hard to come by. With my experience with children, I know that if they believe they can do something, they will do it, but if they believe it is too hard they will give up right then and there.

One thing I am having trouble agreeing with is how Dweck only really talks about educators in this article, I believe that any adult figure to the student has to have growth mindset for the student to develop am unfaulty growth mindset themselves, but while saying that, I am also speaking for myself and people I know, not students as a whole. Dweck was very successful in delivering clear and concise information about the impact of growth mindset, misconceptions and what the misconceptions can lead to. Though I believe growth mindset relies on more than just the educators, she did a good job getting her message across about growth mindset and its effects.

According to Gerald Jones, violent media can have positive effects on young people because many feel small and inadequate which internalizes a learned fear and belittlement. The world is a vast and aggressive place, and if one does not fight for what they want, or have any confidence, they have a small chance at success or survival. Prior to reading his first Marvel comic, Jones was a very sheltered individual who was discouraged by his parents to participate in the average activities that his pears engaged in. His very strict parents told him early on that violence and aggression were wrong and disabled him from enjoying these types of medias such as video games and super heroes.

Jones also believes that violent media are a positive influence on children because despite the aggressiveness and violence, several important lessons can be derived from such medias. If it wasn’t for the Hulk and other sorts of superheroes, young Jones may have never been able to break his cycle of shyness (Jones,2016). Whether or not such conclusions are accurate or not, Jones makes a convincing argument for his own personal experiences with violent media, however, he places very little regard for the opposing side of this topic.

In his essay, Jones makes some good points regarding the idea that these violent medias are necessary for young boys. For example, he says that “Children need violent entertainment in order to explore the inescapable feelings that they’ve been taught to deny, and to reintegrate those feelings into a more whole, more complex, more resilient selfhood” (65). Jones properly reveals to audiences that young boys have a natural tendency to bottle up such emotions when unable to express them in appropriate settings such as reading a comic book about fighting evil.

This quote exemplifies his own personal experiences that he undergone as a child. It was not until he was able to engage in these medias that he conquered his shyness and fears (Jones, 2016). However, throughout this article, Jones seldomly discusses the opposing side of these views. It is only discussed briefly towards the beginning. This indicates to audience members that Jones is quite bias in his claims. He feels a certain opinion on this topic and disregards all others who have different views.

Also, the author fails to acknowledge that individuals react to violence in different ways. Just because his son and him both were able to benefit from such medias, does not necessarily determine that other young boys will react similarly. For instance, in Psychology there is learned behavior, which increasingly explains how one will act according to what they see. As CNN has attested in the news report “Computer game portrays active shooter”. This computer game depicted the real motives of a school shooter, only helping children learn the behavior and in other bring fear to them (CNN,2018).

Under no circumstances at all, do I feel that such a computer game should be deemed appropriate for any age group at all. Such events have been increasingly popular within the United States within the last couple years. Numerous innocent children have lost their lives, and in my opinion way too many details and news casts follow such tragic events. It is apparent that such recognition of these events portrayed in media are fueling the fire, which more and more accounts of this occurring. Creating a video game out of this is only going to make matters worse. Such ideas completely contradict the views of Jones and he makes no realizations to such ideas within his entire essay.

All and all, Jones puts a lot of effort revealing his own personal experiences of the matter. However, his experiences do not necessarily reflect those of others. Nor, does he even for a second try to think of the opposing side or outcomes. This makes the author not only bias, but unreliable as well. Initially, I agreed with numerous components of what Jones was stating, however, after realizing the truth of the matter (that only his stance was stated), I began to look at this topic more logically. In some sense, this type of violence can be a wonderful outlet, but for the majority, it does more harm than good. Boys can relieve this aggression in healthier ways, such as sports or debates. Such alternatives were not considered even once throughout this essay; however, each option appears to accomplish the task at hand in a healthier manner.

While some may argue the authenticity and validity of the points made by Jones, I cannot agree with what he is stating. Jones does not take into account many other factors that are necessary for understanding the situation at hand. He fails to acknowledge the opposing side, past research on the topic, or even the current state of violence growing in the United States. When games are being created that mimic actual events, such as school shootings, the need for an outlet is diminished. If one must reenact the horrific scenes of a school shooting in order to lose their shyness, then we have a larger problem at hand.

Freedom, courage and risk – that’s what Amelia lost to Cancer by Candace Fleming: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by candace Fleming. The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming. This book gives an overview of the life of a woman pilot and her impressive achievements. The life of a female pilot and her amazing achievements in a man’s world. For many years, flying was a job for men only, and for women, they were shunned for even trying. It was Amelia Earhart’s courage and resolve that helped her overcome prejudice, to pursue her dreams and advance women’s rights.

In the early 1900s, women were supposed to stay at home and let men do the work. They were expected to wear long skirts and cheer for men in sports (11). Earhart, however, didn’t agree with society’s views on women. Even when she was young, Earhart defied society by displaying tomboy traits. For example, she played sports and wore bloomers (13). Earhart changed society’s views on women by not caring what others thought, as this enabled her to be different and impact many lives. If she instead worried about conforming to society’s views she may not have been able to make as much of a difference.

To overcome obstacles, Earhart’s faith in herself was essential. Her confidence in flight helped others look up to and believe in her. Earhart’s pride rarely faltered when in public and she stood tall. In fact, when Earhart was young, she was already confident in herself. When her toy roller coaster failed, she tried again, confident that she would get it right the second time (14). When Earhart was first learning to fly, her teacher started to give up on her as she thought Earhart may never become a good pilot. But Earhart didn’t give up because of her confidence. She truly believed that she would continue to learn and become a better pilot someday. And she did. Without her confidence, Earhart would have stumbled on obstacles instead of overcoming them. Earhart’s confidence helped herself and others trust her, which most likely resulted in her success.

As she instructed her students, you have to “dare to live” (83). In order for Earhart to be a role model she needed to be determined. Earhart faced many obstacles on her journey to accomplish her dreams, but she persevered, inspiring girls everywhere, and showing them that determination is the key to success. When Earhart was ready, she worked hard to earn her license as a pilot and didn’t stop, even when she had a bad takeoff (40). Then, even when Earhart was really busy she still made time to give speeches to young women because she wanted to encourage them to be themselves, no matter what. If Earhart had given up, she may never have accomplished her dreams and flown across oceans. Without her will to become the best and make a difference, others may not have seen her as a role model, and because she was such an influence the number of female students raised by 50 percent.

Amelia Earhart needed confidence, determination, and an open mind to accomplish her goals. Although sometimes she became scared about failing and getting hurt, that did not stop her from achieving her dreams and flying an airplane. As Earhart wrote, “…I am quite aware of the hazards, I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.” (110) Although Earhart did not live long enough to accomplish all of her dreams in life, her actions were enough to inspire many generations of aspiring young women and teenagers to come.

Some people feel nervous or unsure during the night time because the feeling of being alone in the dark can be scary to certain people. However, for others, the night time, when everything is silent, can be a welcomed break from the busyness of everyday life. William Carlos Williams contrasts a calming setting with disconnected streams of thought to convey the sense of inner-peace and serenity and subsequent disconcertion that the main character feels during the night-time in Dance Russe. Williams starts the poem by introducing the speaker’s wife, daughter, and newborn baby. He makes it clear they are all asleep and the speaker is effectively alone in the house at the moment.

This sense of feeling completely alone can either be very calming or very disconcerting depending on who you are. For the speaker, it becomes clear it is the former. From the very first lines of the poem we are instantly introduced to the speaker as a family man essentially alone in his house while everyone else is asleep. We can assume he is happy with this change of pace. While everyone is asleep the responsibilities he his called upon to take on everyday are minimized. Thus, he knows he need not worry about being called upon for anything at this moment. From here, the speaker moves on to describe the way the sun is coming through the shades.

He uses metaphor and imagery through the explanation of the sun as a “flame-white disc in silken mists”. Then he continues by further describing the scene outside almost wistfully. This suggests he may have some desire to escape the house both figuratively and literally. Almost as abruptly as this description of the outdoors started, the speaker ends his depiction of the outdoors.

Effectively cutting himself off mid thought, he returns to the hypothetical “if I” with which he started the poem. It seems as if he had to remind himself to stay inside the house mentally and physically. His description of the setting started to shift as his focus strayed from the house to his wanting out. From here the poem shifts to his description of his room and his mirror. The way he begins both this line and the first line of the poem tells a lot about his sense of individuality. Though previously mentioning his wife, he describes the north room as his. He removes himself from the rest of his family by identifying it in this way. While describing the way he dances naked in front of the mirror he emphasizes the word “grotesquely” with quotation marks. This implies someone, presumably his wife, has described this habit of his as such. While dancing in the mirror he would sing about his loneliness.

This connects back to the disconnect between his thoughts throughout this poem. He starts the poem by presenting us with information about three others in the house with him. Yet, he still says he is lonely. Perhaps the most interesting and revealing line in the poem, he then says “I am best so”. He openly admits his desire to be alone and recognizes he is able to be himself only when completely alone. He is content on his own while his family is asleep. After this very revealing admission from the speaker, he returns to the “if I” theme he has used throughout the poem. He continues to describe with vanity his admiration of all his various body parts.

This perhaps represents his full vulnerability in his state of complete nudity. In the next line he returns to his pattern of disconnected thoughts by returning to the description of the shades. Almost exactly like before, he cuts himself off mid-thought as his mind starts to drift to the outdoors again. He knows he must keep his thoughts and descriptions on his house only. There is a line break here as if he is gathering his thoughts after the misstep in his train of thought. The poem closes with him describing himself as the “happy genius of my own household”. He uses both I and my in this last line returning to that feeling of solidarity and loneliness even with the presence of his family within the house. This poem creates a vivid depiction of the disconnect between thoughts due to conflicting feelings about night-time while others are asleep.