Search for Love - Literature Essay Samples

In The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, the central character, the governess, feels so isolated that she will do anything necessary to quench the feeling. She decides that the way to do so is to be in love. Unfortunately, because she is located in Bly, such a desire is not possible to actualize. When the governess realizes this she begins to manifest her unrequited feelings in the shape of ghostly apparitions. Her point of view also plays an important role in how the reader observes the ghosts. Subconsciously, the governess has chosen to be an unreliable narrator, seeing fantastical phantoms which participate in an enamored relationship allows her to feel as though she herself was a part of it. When the governess becomes tired with these ghosts, however, she turns to other characters to fulfill her aspiration.The governess sees ghosts in order to satisfy her yearning desire to be in love. The young governess is instantly attracted to the handsome, bold and pleasant (p. 7) bac helor uncle of the orphaned children by whom she is hired. This overwhelming feeling was the original motivation for her accepting the job as governess. The readers introduction to the governess most basic feelings shows the reader that this is one of her primary concerns at the point in her life that the novella begins. The governess craving to be cherished by a man is induced by the uncles charming ways with women (p. 7). His graciousness gives her a taste of how she would like to be treated in life. When the governess leaves to accept the position she is at an undeveloped age, with a background consisting of country poverty and only one position related to children (as a schoolteacher) prior to the event at hand. This results in a lack of knowledge as to what she wants from life. The gentlemanly uncle gives her an ideal to aspire towards.The governess is an unreliable narrator; her dreams to be in love become so realistic to her that she actually begins to see apparitions. Her first sighting occurs only a moment after she is dreaming about how it would be as charming as a charming story suddenly to meet someone (p. 19). The word story implies an innocent, child-like, fairytale view of the emotion she experiences, this diction choice demonstrates her inability to deal with the emotion maturely. When Peter Quint appears on the tower at that point her imagination is taking over and giving her the love that she has been dreaming about since she arrived at Bly. The governess mind shows her Quint as a ghost because subconsciously she knows its unreal and therefore unattainable, that he is a ghost is her rationalization of the situation mental self-preservation. The governess initial sighting of the second ghost, Miss Jessel, is of the same nature as her original sighting of Quint; our narrator wishes for, or in the second case, becomes aware that (the governess) has an interested spectator (p. 35), before seeing it, leading the reader to conclude tha t the ghosts are manifestations of her thoughts. She sees the ghost in her minds eye and because of her imagination is then able to transfer the image to visual. For her to be able to have a relationship with Peter, the above describes the next logical step in her dream: to again allow her mind to take over and invent a Miss Jessel. Miss Jessel and Peter Quint had everything between them (p. 39) according to Mrs. Grose, this supports the romantic relationship the governess conceives Quint to be involved in. Miss Jessel represents what the governess wants to be, a woman who is in love with someone (Quint) who feels mutually towards her. The reader is forced to question the governess narrative reliability, and because it is written in first person it difficult for the reader to accurately assess the feelings and opinions of other characters. The governess arrival to the setting in Bly is a logical place for her unrequited feelings of love to emerge. Her arrival in Bly at the star t of the narrative is accomplished only after long hours in a bumpy, swinging coach (p. 9). This carriage ride is the physical process that brings her away from civilization and to a place (Bly) that allows her imagination to run wild. On a psychological level the journey can be interpreted as a journey of her mind; it takes her away from her ego and super ego and into the deeper realms of id (which covers such primal, instinctual feelings as the need to have sex, coming only as a result of having a male character with whom to interact). Her first impressions describe Bly as having open windows, fresh curtains, bright flowers, a golden sky, and impressive rooms with great beds, full draperies and long glasses (p. 10). The place is in such a state of perfection that the reader gets the feeling it is covering up abominable secrets of the past including taboo deaths (the parents) and Miles ambiguous expulsion. During her first night in Bly the governess considers with uneasy susp icion (p. 10) the guarded (p. 10) way that Mrs. Grose treats her. Such negative underlying emotions could result in an even stronger need on her part to escape to such a positive emotion as love.The narrator looks for love in Bly, as her necessity becomes more and more frantic she looks to different, and all, male characters to satisfy it. It begins with a reasonable attraction towards the uncle, then her displaced emotion moves to the fictitious Peter Quint for the most part of the novella. In the last chapter she even looks to the boy, Miles, for a reciprocating feeling, this is shown in his adult diction and actions in her narrative of him, in her struggle to attain love she actually smothers Miles to the point of death. Finally, it is implied in the preface that after our account of the story ends, she turns the demand on Douglas.

A Reflection on the Ojibway - Free Essay Example

The Ojibway are an indigenous group of people who reside in Canada. These individuals share similar beliefs with the people from the neighboring Cree region. Their culture and traditions have persisted despite efforts to modernize the region. They hold a peculiar belief about food where they have grouped foods into two categories. The first category is the Indian food which they perceive to be healthy. The other group is the   white mans food which they believe is unhealthy (Gittelshon et al., 1996, p. 365). In a bid to understand these beliefs and their relation to diabetes, Gittelshon and his team embarked on a research study which will be the focus of this text. After analyzing these beliefs, we will develop a health intervention plan that best suits this group of people. Lastly, the student will establish the levels of the social-ecological model that the intervention would operate. Public Intervention Plan Diabetes is prevalent in aboriginal populations worldwide. The problem is especially rampant in Canada where studies indicate that indigenous groups have a prevalence rate that is 3-5 times higher than the rest of the population in Canada (Ho, 2006, p. 88). Similarly, these studies indicate that these groups have a higher chance of suffering from cardiovascular diseases. In their research, Gittelshon and his team attributed these high risks to the beliefs and attitudes that these indigenous groups especially the residents of Obijway-Cree have developed and simultaneously refused to let go. The researchers applied qualitative research methodology and were able to gather a significant amount of information. Diabetes in this region is perceived to result from the consumption of white mans food. However, they believe that by eating traditional foods, the disease can be avoided. While eating junk food has been linked to diabetes, physical activity is important in regulating body mass and reducing the risks of diabetes. However, physical activity is not part of the diabetes prevention model among people in this community. While health care professionals have tried to develop health intervention models, most of them have failed due to lack of formative research. But from Gittelshon research, the student would recommend a preventive intervention plan more specifically an education and behavior change plan. The Ojibway Cree study shows that these people have a flaw in their perception of food and diseases. This flaw is based on their cultural beliefs. Therefore, to change their mentality, one has to target their psychological perception on such matters. It is important to recognize that all health intervention campaigns have an educational component. However, what differentiates these campaigns is the effort required in the provision of information (Smith, Ross, Morrow, 2015, p. 3). Education is important in increasing knowledge and impacting new skills. However, education is not sufficient to promote behavioral change. There must be a willingness from the recipients to accept the change offered. Therefore, for the education and behavior health intervention to prove successful, careful investigations must be done in the target population. An example of an agency that has tried to come up with an intervention plan is the Sandy Lake Health and Diabetes Project (SLHDP). The objective of the programs developed by this SLHDP was to promote physical activity and changing diet among the indigenous groups. As such, the public health intervention model proposed in this text would operate on the community level. In this level, the presence of a disease in a specific community is determined. A framework is developed on the amplification of the disease on the society and helps in shaping the risks (Kumar et al., 2011, p. 239). In conclusion, come up with an effective intervention program, relevant stakeholders must maintain culture appropriateness. They should utilize the target community output and engage community members.