Sunday, December 29, 2019
Alice Walkerââ¬â¢s Short Story Everyday Use Essay - 905 Words
Alice Walkerââ¬â¢s Short Story ââ¬Å"Everyday Useâ⬠In Alice Walkerââ¬â¢s short story ââ¬Å"Everyday Use,â⬠tells us a story of two daughtersââ¬â¢, Dee and Maggie Johnson, with different ideas about their identities and values. Dee a young woman who, in the course of a visit to the rural home she thinks she has outgrown, attempts unsuccessfully to divert some fine old quilts ,earmarked for the dowry of a sister, into her own hands. Dee is Mrs. Johnsonââ¬â¢s oldest daughter, the one who has always been determined, popular, and successful. Maggie is her young sister who was severely burned in the house fire as a child. She is still lives with her mother in poverty, putting ââ¬Å"pricelessâ⬠objects to ââ¬Å"everyday use.â⬠A similar view is expressed by Houston Baker andâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦(103) Mama, with grudging admiration remembers Dee as a fearless girl. While Mama imagines herself unable to look at people in the eye, talking to them only ââ¬Å"with one foot raised in flight,â⬠(103) Dee however, ââ¬Å"would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her natureâ⬠(103).She goes on to say Dee is self-centered and demanding but also remembers this daughter as a determined fighter. Dee is concerned with style, but she will do whatever is necessary to improve her circumstance. For instance, when Dee wanted a new dress, she had to ââ¬Å"make overâ⬠a green suit someone had given her mother. Maggie a victim of fear since she was burned by the fire, Mama describes her as ââ¬Å"a lame animal, perhaps a dogâ⬠(103). She says, ââ¬Å"That is the way Maggie walks. She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire burned the other house to the groundâ⬠(104). The major difference between the two sisters is the understanding of heritage. More critics see Deeââ¬â¢s education and her insistence on reading to Mama and Maggie as evidence of her separation from the lack of understanding of her family identity and heritage. Nancy Tuten, for instance argues that, in this story: Walker stresses not only the importance of language but also the destructive effects of its use â⬠¦Rather than providing a medium for newfound awareness and for communityâ⬠¦verbal skills equip Dee to oppressShow MoreRelated(A Critical Analysis of Alice Walkerââ¬â¢s short story Everyday Use)700 Words à |à 3 PagesAnalysis of Alice Walkerââ¬â¢s short story Everyday Use) Albert Camus once asserted: ââ¬Å"Men are never convinced of your reasons, of your sincerity, of the seriousness of your sufferings, except by your death. So long as you are alive, your case is doubtful; you have a right only to their skepticism.â⬠In Everyday Use a strong willed mother tries to protect her younger daughter, Maggie, from having a quilt passed down for generations stolen from her by her materialistic older sister Dee.The short story EverydayRead MoreEveryday Use by Alice Walker: A Look at Symbolism and Family Values879 Words à |à 4 PagesAlice Walkers ââ¬Å"Everyday Useâ⬠, is a story about a family of African Americans that are faced with moral issues involving what true inheritance is and who deserves it. Two sisters and two hand stitched quilts become the center of focus for this short story. Walker paints for us the most vivid representation through a third person perspective of family values and how people from the same environment and upbringing can become different types of people. Like most peoples families there is a dynamicRead MoreThe Importance Of Family Heritage By Alice Walker1100 Words à |à 5 PagesSydney Elliott ENGL 102-52 Dr. Irmer February 25, 2015 The Importance of Family Heritage One of the most inspiring authors in American history is Alice Walker. Walker is the youngest child in a sharecropper family that found her overly ambitious and highly competitive (Walker 609). This gave her a strong fighting attitude, which allowed her to make positive changes in an extremely racist society. Unfortunately, when she was young, Walker was accidentally shot in her right eye with a BB gun whileRead MoreAlice Walker s Everyday Use906 Words à |à 4 PagesCritique of Alice Walkerââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Everyday Useâ⬠Title Often authors use the titles of their writing to portray a part of the story that will eventually come up, or to give an underlying message about whatââ¬â¢s going on in the story. In Alice Walkerââ¬â¢s short story, Everyday Use, she uses a title that isnââ¬â¢t blatantly seen within the story, but is explained through different aspects of the dialogue and actions of the characters. Walker couldââ¬â¢ve chosen to explain the title more obviously within the story, but insteadRead MoreDead Mens Path Literary Analysis1000 Words à |à 4 Pagesvillagers go. ââ¬Å"Everyday Useâ⬠by Alice Walker shows conflict between Mama, Dee, and Maggie. Dee wants to take the quilts away from her home, but Mama already planned to give the quilts to Maggie. Both literatures are relatable to readers. However, one literature shows a stronger connection readers can relate too. ââ¬Å"Everyday Useâ⬠by Alice Walker distinguishes a more relatable conflict to modern day readers than â⬠Å"Dead Menââ¬â¢s Path by Chinua Achebe because readers connect the short story to everyday problemsRead MoreAn Analysis of Alice Walkers quot;everyday Usequot; Essay929 Words à |à 4 Pagesp An Analysis of Alice Walkers Everyday Usep Alice Walkers novel, The Color Purple, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982. This novel, in addition to her short story collections and other novels, continue to touch the emotions of a vast audience. This ability, according to critics, has solidified her reputation as one of the major figures in contemporary literature (Gwynn 462). Born to sharecroppers in Eatonton, Georgia, in 1944, Alice Walkers life was not always easy. Her parents strived toRead Moreââ¬Å"Everyday Useâ⬠by Alice Walker Essay1310 Words à |à 6 PagesIn its simplest form, a child is a product of a man and a woman but Alice Walker one of the foremost authors during the twentieth century, adds depth to her black American women by focusing on the role that race and gender played in their development. Family reunions can be times of great anticipation, excitement and happiness but for Dee, a young, beautiful, African American and our leading character, it was a reunion with underlying, unspoken tensions. Dee was Dee but Dee had changed; a new husbandRead MoreSymbolic References in Everyday Use by Alice Walker1848 Words à |à 8 PagesSymbolism is the taking of an object big or small, and giving it something to stand for. It could be your everyday math symbols for addition, subtraction, division, and etc. Although math symbols are perfect examples of symbolism, thereââ¬â¢s also objects that can be more than what they are. For example animals, Lions are known to be symbolized as strength, aggression, and assertiveness. Birds like doves are symbolized as love and peace. Colors are also held symbolically, for instance the color blackRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1725 Words à |à 7 Pagespeople forget that heritage has to do with truly understanding their past. Many often misrepresent it, especially the younger generations who just accept its presence. Alice Walkerââ¬â¢s short story, ââ¬Å"Everyday Use,â⬠revolves around an African American family that consists of three wo men, who are very different from each other. The story begins with Maggie and Mama waiting in the yard for Dee, the main character, to visit from Augusta. Dee is the first person in her family to attend college, which createsRead MoreIn 1973 Alice Walker wrote a short story called Everyday Use. This story is told in first person by800 Words à |à 4 PagesIn 1973 Alice Walker wrote a short story called Everyday Use. This story is told in first person by mama and in set in the Deep South. Now, Alice Walker is a very well known name when it comes to writing and acting. She began her life in Eatonton, Georgian and was the youngest of eight children. Her family made their living by sharecropping and she says that, ââ¬Å"It was great fun being cute. But then, one day, it ended.She had an accident with a BB gun and it almost blinded her at the age of eight
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Social Work and the Criminal Justice System - 1282 Words
Chp. 13 Social Work and the Criminal Justice System Arrest crimes vary by sex. A little more than one fifth of all crimes are committed by women. Younger women, or juvenile women are twice as likely to be arrested. Men are more likely to commit violent crimes. Men commit murder nearly ten times the amount of women. Women commit more property crimes. Men are abandoning women which is making them commit crimes to raise and care for their family. Younger people are more likely to commit crimes. The crimes committed by young people tend to be more violent crimes. 44.3 of all arrests are people younger than the age of 25. Younger people tend to stick to blue collar crimes, rather than forgery, fraud, and counterfeiting. People aged 65 and older made up less than one percent of total arrests. Minorities are disproportionately represented in statistics. African Americans represent about 14 percent of the population, but account for more than 38 percent of all violent offenses. African Americans also hold 28.6 of all arrests for property crimes. An estimated 12 percent of all black males in their late 20s are in jail. Only 1.7 of all white males in their twenties are incarcerated. Although there is this information its wrong to say that race and crime are related in any way. There may be a bias against minorities in the court system. Blacks are sent to prison at a rate of 8.2 times higher than whites. If trends continue two-thirds of every black men between the ages of 18 and 34Show MoreRelatedThe Australian Criminal Justice System Is Shaped Largely by Our Society. Discuss This Statement.1269 Words à |à 6 PagesThe criminal justice system is the system the Australian public look to for protection and justice against those that disregard the law but there are mixed opinio ns from the general public that the justice system is too lenient and that the public opinion isnââ¬â¢t taken into consideration when assessing crime and punishment. In this essay, I will argue that the Australian criminal justice system is in fact shaped largely by our society because if it doesnââ¬â¢t reflect social conscience, the justice systemRead MoreCriminal Justice Systems Paper1153 Words à |à 5 PagesCriminal Justice System Paper The criminal justice system and the criminal justice process has shaped the laws of this country into what they are today from the concerns of politicians and government leaders as far back as the 1800s with crime control. Basically, the criminal justice system was designed to ensure the safety of individuals whom are citizens of this country. Essentially, the criminal justice system is ââ¬Å"the structural basis used to maintain social controlâ⬠(Education DecisionsRead MoreSolving The Consensus And Conflict Model942 Words à |à 4 Pagesconsensus and conflict models as explanations to the origin of criminal law. First it is important to distinguish the difference between the two models. According to the textbook ââ¬Å"Criminal Justice Todayâ⬠the consensus model is defined as a criminal justice perspective that assumes that the systemââ¬â¢s components work together harmoniously to achieve the social product we call justice and the conflict model is defined as a criminal justice perspective that assumes that the systemââ¬â¢s components functionRead MoreWhy Do We as a Society Need a Criminal Justice System Essay1216 Words à |à 5 PagesWhy do we (as a society) need a criminal justice system? Introduction As a society there is need for a criminal justice system, as it is essential to have laws throughout the population. We have these laws so people cannot use money or power to benefit themselves. The laws also establish that each person should understand their and everyone elseââ¬â¢s rights and obligations within the community. The criminal justice system, is a system of laws and rulings which protect community membersRead MoreResearch Methods in Criminal Justice and Relevant Terminologies1202 Words à |à 5 PagesMethods in Criminal Justice: Research is widely recognized as the basic technique for advancing a body of knowledge across various professions including the criminal justice field. This tool has the ability of enhancing a body of knowledge because it assists students, scholars, professionals in the criminal justice field, and governmental policy makers to determine effective methods for various issues like law enforcement, prevention of crime, and corrections. For students in criminal justice, learningRead MoreA Comparative Study of the Field Criminal Justice and Criminology1314 Words à |à 6 PagesFields Criminal Justice and Criminology Javier Landa-Miranda Ivy Tech Community College CRIM 101 What is Criminal Justice and what is Criminology? They are the same? Those are the questions that people ask their selves when they talk about those fields. There might be many controversies about the differences and similarities about Criminal Justice and Criminology. People must think that these two fields are totally different or just the same thing. The reality is that Criminal Justice and CriminologyRead MoreRestorative Justice And The Justice System1044 Words à |à 5 PagesRestorative justice has can be seen to have multiple definitions among the most used are: A) a theory of justice that focuses on repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior and B) an approach of justice that aims to satisfy the needs of the victims and offenders, as well as the entire community. The most broadly accepted definition of restorative justice, however, is a process where all the parties that have equal power in a specific offense and collectively come to a solution on how to deal withRead MoreOrganizational Behavior1387 Words à |à 6 Pagesagencyââ¬â¢s work environment. It includes many subjects which include sociology, communication, psychology, and management. Its primary purpose is to review and report in the ever expanding study in criminal justice organizational behavior areas in the workforce. This discussion focuses on the forces of change and the approaches to managing organizational change in criminal justice agencies, including identifying observable aspects of organizational cultures (Robbins amp; Judge, 2013). What social, politicalRead MoreEssay on Roles Needs of a Criminal Justice Professional1378 Words à |à 6 PagesRoles Needs of a Criminal Justice Professional Sarah Cavileer Kaplan University CJ100: Preparing For a Career in Public Safety September 18, 2012 As we all know ââ¬â there are tons of social issues within the entire world that Criminal Justice Practitioners deal with, most likely, on a daily basis. One of the many social issues Iââ¬â¢ve chosen is Prison Overcrowding. Prison Overcrowding is one of Americaââ¬â¢s most critical issues in the Criminal Justice system. Just as the name states, the problemRead MoreStructural Functionalism And Structural Theory782 Words à |à 4 Pagesbelieve social consensus is what holds society together; social consensus being a condition in which most members of the society agree on what would be good for everyone. Structural functionalists view society as a web of social structures, each structure being functional to fulfill itââ¬â¢s own needs, but dependent on all other structures for survival (Vago, 2012). The Criminal Justice system is a working system and can be explained through the eyes of a structural functionalist. It is a system comprised
Friday, December 13, 2019
The Art of the Renaissance Free Essays
The Art of The Renaissance by Maria Large Did you know that most likely the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa, was painted in the time of the Renaissance? The oil painting of the straight faced woman (or man), painted by the famous Leonardo De Vinci, is said to be painted between 1503 to 1506. No one knows who the person in the painting is. No one even knows whether or not it is De Vinci himself, a relative or even a man or a woman! The English name ââ¬Å"Mona Lisaâ⬠, came from a description by Renaissance Art historian ââ¬Å"Giorgio Vassarâ⬠. We will write a custom essay sample on The Art of the Renaissance or any similar topic only for you Order Now There were many exquisite paintings done in the time period of the Renaissance. Iââ¬â¢m going to briefly tell you what happened in the time of the Renaissance and what styles or cultural aspects influenced these talented artists. Also, how their faith reflected the artwork they made. The Renaissance first occurred in Italy, spreading throughout the countries starting approximately in the sassââ¬â¢s and ending around the sassââ¬â¢s. It was after the Middle Ages and after the Black Death had swept through many countries and eventually ending up in Europe killing 1. O 4 million people in total. The Renaissance was a new uprising, it displayed many things, such as freedom, independence, creativity, the rebirth of classical learning, the rediscovery of ancient Rome and Greece, and many other things. In the Middle Ages there were only certain religions allowed and certain ways of living. The people thought of the Middle Ages as a dark time but the Renaissance changed all that. The y no longer wanted the old ways so they changed many aspects and ways of living in this time period, including there own language. The Renaissance artwork was typically not done for fun or as a hobby. It was usually used to make money or made for religious reasons. Only the paintings done by the masters hand would sell for big money, all others being of little value. Back then, the church was a big part of the income, resulting in many paintings that were religious themed. They would sell their artwork to cathedrals and churches for money. Most of the paintings were based off the Life of Christ, the Life of the Virgin, the Life of the Saint or Salvation. The paintings brought new ideas to artwork such as ââ¬Å"a sense of spaceâ⬠, which makes your eye see 3 dimensional and also the use of perspective. A big part of the art of the Renaissance was religious based. The way the artists painted these paintings portrayed faith very well, even to the point of making the humanists think spirituality instead of thinking with human individuality. There were many famous religious paintings done in the time of the Renaissance such as Leonardo De Vineââ¬â¢s paintings called, ââ¬Å"The Last Supperâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Virgin of the Rocksâ⬠. Another famous piece of art, is the painting of the ââ¬Å"Sistine Chapel Ceilingâ⬠by Michelangelo. Also among his famous works are his sculptures, ââ¬Å"Davidâ⬠, representing the David in the bible and ââ¬Å"Pietaâ⬠, showing Jesus dead body in the arms of his mother Mary. An interesting fact about the paintings is that in the Middle Ages, because of the strong dedication to Catholicism, they were not allowed to study the human body. After the Middle Ages ended, because people had more freedom of religion, people started studying the human body, which resulted in paintings that coked much more realistic. As you have seen, the Renaissance was a very big historical change for the people of that time as well as the people of today. I have only mentioned a few of the many pieces of artwork created during the Renaissance. The artists and their paintings are still remembered to this day. The styles of their artwork have affected how people create there own art today. We can learn from the styles they used, their use of perspective, colors that showed the time period, and even small things added to their ark that changed the whole picture itself. In one sense, the art of the Renaissance could be said to be the true beginning of art and the pathway that was set for the future artwork that is created today. References: Art and Expression- Renaissance Art by Maria Lacy Kitchen Oracle Think Quest- The Renaissance Period by (unknown) Web Gallery of Art- Welcome to the Gallery by Emil Kern and Daniel Marx Renaissance by Thomas J. Choke, Harold E. Damager and Jose Marie Devalue BBC News- Is Ad Vineââ¬â¢s Mona Lisa a self-portrait? By Nick Watt and Mama Snappily How to cite The Art of the Renaissance, Papers
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Edie Sedgwick a Troubled Beauty free essay sample
She was the seventh of the eight children of Francis Sedgwick and Alice De Forest, both of exceptional lineages, but who together created a dysfunctional household (Stein, 1982). Francis, who insisted on being called ââ¬Å"Fuzzyâ⬠by his children, was advised not to have children due to a diagnosis of manic depressive disorder and a previous institutionalization due to a breakdown (Painter Weisman, 2006). Fuzzy exhibited his disorder by behaving almost like a ââ¬Å"Greek god:â⬠he was obsessed with his physical appearance, worked out for hours each day and was largely absent in his childrenââ¬â¢s lives except to discipline them (Stein, 1982, p. 6). Both parents seemed to live separate lives apart from their children, creating space both emotionally and physically (Stein, 1982). For example, Edieââ¬â¢s parents relied on nurses to raise their children; Edie lived in a guest house on the familyââ¬â¢s ranch with her nurse and other young siblings, visiting her paren ts in the main house for a few hours a day (Stein 1982). Edieââ¬â¢s parents isolated the family from the outside world (until the children were old enough to attend boarding school) by living on a 3,000 acre ranch (Stein, 1982). This contributed to the childrenââ¬â¢s worship of their father at a young age because he owned everything ââ¬Å"as far as the eye could seeâ⬠(Stein, 1982, p. 55). Edieââ¬â¢s parents aimed to maintain their public image, but the family was already deteriorating by the time she was born. Fuzzy had begun to have affairs because he no longer found his wife attractive because her body had been exhausted due to having so many children; while at first opposed to having children, he later did not want to stop just so he could boast that he had more children than anyone else he knew (Stein, 1982). He would openly flirt and dance with young, beautiful women at the lavish parties at the ranch while Alice looked the other way (Stein, 1982). While she never verbally expressed her feelings on the matter, Alice began getting frequent ââ¬Å"low grade fevers,â⬠often visiting the hospital and declining invitations to parties due to this stress on her relationship with Fuzzy, but she refused to leave him (Stein, 1982, p. 89). The other children were silent like their mother; only Edie was outspoken enough to verbally object his behavior (Stein, 1982). She even witnessed him making love to another woman in their house once, but he flew into a rage, claiming she was insane and immediately calling doctors to the house, ordering them to give her tranquilizers (Stein, 1982). This episode dramatically changed the way Edie viewed her father who discredited her and her mother who refused to believe her, thus beginning a destructive path of feeling helpless and vulnerable that would continue for the rest of her life. Edie was in and out of various boarding schools and institutions throughout her teenage years. She first attended the Katharine Branson School near San Francisco when she was thirteen (Fall 1956), but was removed by her parents by the spring semester and brought back home (Painter Weisman, 2006). Her eldest sister, Alice (nicknamed ââ¬Å"Saucieâ⬠) heard multiple rumors as to why Edie was taken out of school but knew it was because Edie had developed anorexia, and Saucie partially blamed it on their father, since they all learned to idolize him as children (Stein, 1982). According to Saucie, In a way, my father was a model for Edie because he would eat such quantities; then he would burn it off with his exercises and swimming and riding. But Edie vomited it up. She would sit down to a very special meal which she herself would carefully choose and eat helping after helping of, course after course, excusing herself during the meal to go and be sick, to throw up what she had eaten so she could eat more. But nothing reached her stomach, or very little did. (Stein, 1982, p. 105) The following year (1958), Edie was sent to St. Timothyââ¬â¢s school for girls across the country in Maryland (Painter Weisman, 2006). Edie at first thrived at St. Timothyââ¬â¢s, excelling academically and becoming a member of the basketball team and class president, but her behavior started changing by the end of her first semester (Stein, 1982). She began disobeying her teachers, violently expressing her anger and starting feuds with and among fellow classmates (Stein, 1982). Edie was once again removed from the school by her parents during the spring term (Stein, 1982). Edie was the only child at home because everyone else was in school, and she exhibited manipulative behaviors over her parents, convincing them to let her sleep late, drive the car and indulge in similar actions that were previously ââ¬Å"considered absolutely out of the questionâ⬠according to Saucie (Stein, 1982, p. 109). Fuzzy forced Edie to go to Silver Hill mental hospital in Connecticut in 1962 due to her worsening anorexia, the first of many stays in psychiatric institutions for Edie (Painter Weisman, 2006). Silver Hill was an open facility, so Edie was able to maintain her eating habits and often went shopping with friends, charging hundreds of dollars of merchandise at almost each store she visited (Stein, 1982). When Edieââ¬â¢s weight dropped down to 90 pounds, Fuzzy had her transferred to Bloomingdale, a closed facility, in New York the fall of the same year (Stein, 1982). Because Edie was unable to manipulate her situation, she was able to become healthy during her time at Bloomingdale (Stein, 1982). However, when she neared her ââ¬Å"graduationâ⬠from Bloomingdale when she was 20 years old and was granted a day pass to see if she could ââ¬Å"handle [her]self outside,â⬠she made love for the first time and became pregnant (Stein, 1982, p. 118). She was immediately given an abortion when she notified her doctors but was still permitted to leave Bloomingdale later that year (1963) and shortly thereafter decided to begin her newly independent life in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Stein, 1982). Although she continued to see a psychiatrist three to five times a week, Edie decided she wanted to study art and began taking lessons from a private nstructor. She was a social butterfly, quickly obtaining a following, mainly consisting of men, that she was rarely seen without (Stein, 1982). Her art instructor noted that ââ¬Å"she was very insecure about men, though all the men loved her,â⬠so she gravitated more towards homosexual male companions that were non-threatening (Stei n, 1982, p. 119). Many of her Cambridge companions noted that she was so alluring because of her beauty and her charming vulnerability (Painter Weisman, 2006). She began dating Bartle Bull, an ivy league gentleman, who noticed her unpredictable nature; she ââ¬Å"could become immensely difficult or very sweet;â⬠¦be creative and sculpt and have an organized week; or she could retreat and be chaotic and not do anything,â⬠but he brushed it off, saying that it was just ââ¬Å"part of her charmâ⬠(Stein, 1982, p. 121). Bartle also observed that ââ¬Å"sex was a nervous, uneven thing for her. If she talked about it, it was only very lightly: offhand, frivolous,â⬠possibly suggesting a difficulty with intimacy (Stein, 1982, p. 21). Her younger sister, Suky, noticed that Edie never liked anyone to get too close to her: ââ¬Å"As soon as there were men who were interested, she would wriggle awayâ⬠(Stein, 1982, p. 123). Though Edie did not like people getting too close, she adored the superficial attention she received from everyone she met and thrived off that infatuation. In March 1964, one of her older brothers, Francis ( nicknamed ââ¬Å"Mintyâ⬠), committed suicide in Silver Hill, the same institution that Edie had previously been a patient in (Painter Weisman, 2006). His suicide tore the family further apart because it apparently immediately followed Mintyââ¬â¢s confession of his homosexuality to his father, who did not take the confession lightly, aggressive voicing his disapproval (Stein, 1982). Edie blamed her father for Mintyââ¬â¢s suicide and further believed that Fuzzy was the reason for all her siblingsââ¬â¢ problems (Stein, 1982). When Edie celebrated her twenty-first birthday less than two months later, activating a trust fund from her maternal grandmother, Edie decided Cambridge was too small for her so she moved to New York City (Painter Weisman, 2006). Her social networks blossomsed, but her family was struck with another tragedy before the year ended. She and her eldest brother, Bobby, were involved in car crashes on New Yearââ¬â¢s Eve on opposite sides of the country (she had gone home to California for the holidays) (Stein, 1982). Edie made a full recovery; Bobby died twelve days later (Stein, 1982). Edie again blamed their father for her brotherââ¬â¢s death due to the destructive relationship her father and brother had, similar to her fatherââ¬â¢s relationship with Minty (Stein, 1982). By this time, Edie drank heavily and had been chain smoking for years. It is undetermined when she began using illegal drugs, but these behaviors all escalated once she met Andy Warhol in March of 1965 (Painter Weisman, 2006). Andy was immediately taken with her and she soon became one of his ââ¬Å"superstars,â⬠accompanying him to parties and being featured in his photographs and underground movies (Stein, 1982). The Bohemian, often predominantly homosexual crowd that hung around Andyââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Factoryâ⬠and accompanied him to parties was driven by illegal substances (Painter Weisman, 2006). Andy and Edieââ¬â¢s relationship was very controversial, but most viewed them as a team; they thrived off of each otherââ¬â¢s identical artistic soul (Painter Weisman, 2006). Edie was so enthralled with Andy that she cut all her hair off and bleached it in order to match his haircut; they also often wore matching outfits to parties (Painter Weisman, 2006). Edie rose to fame due in part to Andy: she trademarked her style of black tights, leotards, loose tops and chandelier earrings and was featured in such magazines as Vogue (Painter Weisman, 2006). Andy has been criticized for exploiting Edie because she paid many of his bills when they were out together and he let her take center stage in all social situations, remaining in the background himself, photographing and filming her demise as she fell deeper into the clutches of addiction (Painter Weisman, 2006). Edie continued to draw people in with her needy innocence and naivete which gave way for her lack of inhibition and thus addiction to alcohol and drugs which helped her spiral more and more out of control (Painter Weisman, 2006). Edie had always been used to charging everything she bought and consequently had little concept of money (Stein, 1982). She spent her entire $80,000 trust fund from her grandmother in six months in New York; as the bills started piling up, she just neglected them, continuing to spend exorbitant amounts of money on clothes, fur coats, make up, and lavish dinners for the entire Factory entourage (Painter Weisman, 2006). If one store or limo company (a friend had since crashed her Mercedes Benz) canceled her credit due to non-payment, she would simply move on to another (Painter Weisman, 2006). She also shoplifted from stores and took home silverware from restaurants (Painter Weisman, 2006). As previously stated, Edie had never had much interest in serious relationships or marriage, but that changed when she became involved with Bob Neuwirth who worked with Bob Dylan (Painter Weisman, 2006). She was still Andyââ¬â¢s superstar at this time, starring in all his films, but Dylanââ¬â¢s managers wanted to help her become a real actress and suggested she distance herself from him and the scene at the Factory (Painter Weisman, 2006). This caused much tension between her and Andy, especially after she asked him to stop showing her films (Painter Weisman, 2006). Her behavior became more erratic, sometimes shifting multiple times a day between the thrill-seeking, fun-loving personality which everyone at the Factory was accustomed, to a more severe version of herself that demanded that she be taken seriously (Painter Weisman, 2006). The shallow nature of her relationships became evident during this part of her life because few people sided with her in her quest to move on with her life (Painter Weisman, 2006). She and Andy eventually parted ways in February of 1966 (Painter Weisman, 2006). Edie left Andy partly because of her romantic relationship with Neuwirth (Painter Weisman, 2006). She recalled being utterly obsessed over him because it was her first true love and she did not know how to control her feelings; if they were not making love, she started fights with him that sometimes got physical (Painter Weisman, 2006). This was partly due to her drug addictions which consumed her life as much as Neuwirth (Painter Weisman, 2006). He ended it early the following year because of her erratic behavior and addiction to barbiturates and ââ¬Å"speedâ⬠(Painter Weisman, 2006). She had finally let herself get close to a man, but it ended in devastation because of her addictions (Painter Weisman, 2006). Edie had little left in her life by this point except her addictions. In April 1967, she caused a fire at the Chelsea hotel, where she was currently living due to a similar fire in her previous apartment, because she dropped a lit cigarette when she passed out one night after getting high (Painter Weisman, 2006). Now she did not even have her fur coats and jewelry. She sporadically moved from New York back to California that summer when she tagged along with some new friends on their way back to school on the opposite side of the country (Painter Weisman, 2006). The next few years is dotted with trips back to New York which include various hospitalizations due to her drug use and self destructive behaviors, but she ends up back at home with her mother in late 1968, about a year after her father died (Painter Weisman, 2006). After being busted for drunkenly spilling a bottle pills in front of police officers, authorities sent her to the Cottage Hospital psychiatric ward where she met Michael Post (Painter Weisman, 2006). Michael Post fell in love with Edie for much the same reason as everyone else did: her vulnerable naivete combined with her beauty were still undeniably intoxicating (Painter Weisman, 2006). Edie had never fully given up on the idea of becoming a wife; she thought it was something she could excel at if she tried, so she tried with Michael (Painter Weisman, 2006). They were married on July 24, 1971 at her family ranch, just two weeks after he proposed (Painter Weisman, 2006). Unfortunately for Edie, her addiction was more that she could shake, and despite the help and supervision of friends and her new husband, she succumbed to her disease again after being prescribed barbiturates after an illness (Painter Weisman, 2006). She suffocated in her pillow during her sleep on November 16 due to a drug overdose the night before which left her incapacitated (Painter Weisman, 2006). Personality Theory Analysis Edie Sedgwick, despite her numerous hospitalizations, was never diagnosed with a personality disorder- or at least not one that was ever released to the public. However, the personality theories of both Sigmund Freud and Karen Horney lend insights into the origins of her atypical personality. Freud was the first psychologist to claim that the experiences of oneââ¬â¢s childhood shapes the personality which he or she develops and exhibits as an adult, and this personality could be categorized as one of four distinct types: oral, anal, phallic or genital. Edie Sedgwick can be defined as having an oral personality. According to Ellis, Abrams and Abrams, adults trapped in this stage of development ââ¬Å"tend to be dependent, ingratiating and compliantâ⬠(2009, p. 112). Edie never learned to ââ¬Å"self-soothe,â⬠which led to her neediness of other people (Painter Weisman, 2006, p. 91). She fed off the attention of others, and the more she got, the more she needed, because she was unable to internalize those gratifying feelings (Painter Weisman, 2006). Much is still hidden about the childhood of Edie and her siblings, but since she did not live in the same house as her parents when she was a young child and they appeared emotionally distant when she did see them, it is possible that she did not receive the soothing that she required in order for her to overcome this psychosexual stage. The oral personality adult is inclined towards ââ¬Å"optimism, equanimity and delight,â⬠which is obvious in Edieââ¬â¢s adult life because she was always looking for the next opportunity for pleasure, whether that be through socializing, dancing or drug-induced euphoria (Ellis, Abrams Abrams, 2009). Her addictions- smoking, drinking, drug-taking and eating (and purging) are all centered physically on the mouth and are characteristic of those with an oral personality. Of the two subcategories, being either oral dependent or oral aggressive, Edie seemed more dependent in her adult life even though she was able to manipulate her parents during her teenage years and some doctors and nurses in her first stint at Silver Hill. Horneyââ¬â¢s theories on personality disturbances ââ¬Å"are rooted in troubled social relationships,â⬠the first of which begins with oneââ¬â¢s parents (or other caregivers), which could have been lacking in this case according to the identification of Edie as having an oral personality (Ellis, Abrams Abrams, 2009, p. 198). Furthermore, the nature of this principal relationship ââ¬Å"sets the pattern for future personality development as well as problems thereinâ⬠(Ellis, Abrams Abrams, 2009, p. 199). It is obvious that Fuzzy had troubling relationships with most of his children, considering the prevalence of psychological disruptions among them; his wifeââ¬â¢s relationship with them was as well affected due to his domination within their relationship as husband and wife. Edie was eternally distorted after being falsely accused of being psychotic after witnessing one of his affairs (Painter Weisman, 2006). Such an accusation certainly does not instill (psychological) safety or satisfaction, which Horney deems the two primary needs of children (Ellis, Abrams Abrams, 2009). This breakdown in the relationship, including domination (by Fuzzy), overprotection (by both parents by raising the children on a secluded ranch) and isolation from other children (when Edie was removed from school) leads to basic anxiety (Ellis, Abrams Abrams, 2009). This anxiety may have influenced Edieââ¬â¢s tendency to ââ¬Å"wriggle awayâ⬠when people started to get close to her emotionally (Stein, 1982, p. 123). Because of her warped initial relationship with her parents (more specifically, her father), she was unable to trust people enough to allow them to become much closer than a shallow relationship. Analyzing Edieââ¬â¢s life according to Horneyââ¬â¢s theory of neurotic needs may also give some insight into Edieââ¬â¢s personality woes. Edie most observably identifies with need 1 (need for affection and approval), but needs 4 (need for power over others) and 7 (need for personal admiration) seem to be evident in her life as well (Ellis, Abrams Abrams, 2009). As labeled by various friends and acquaintances of Edie, there was a neediness and vulnerability about her that worked as part of her charm which drew people in to her. As stated by Fred Eberstadt, a photographer who worked with Edie in 1965, ââ¬Å"she would go to any length to please. She needed to be accepted really on a visceral level, not the way most of us needed to be accepted- kind of casuallyâ⬠(Painter Weisman, 2006, p. 116). He also stated that she showed up late to an interview because she could not get away from her previous engagement and wanted to leave early because she was so worried about upsetting the next celebrity she was off to have dinner with (Painter Weisman, 2006). She was so eager to please everyone that she was unable to keep hardly anyone happy because she overextended herself. However, because she did receive so much affection, she was able to sometimes use it to her advantage, thus manipulating people. She exhibited this with her parents and Silver Hill attendants as a teenager, and as an adult, she was always able to get away with such things as charging dinners and other purchases with little to no backlash and making limo drivers wait on her for hours on end while she dined and danced with celebrities. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons why people display certain behaviors. Was her neediness just to lure people in just to then manipulate them, or was her real necessity just to have affection, and peoplesââ¬â¢ manipulations were just accidental by-products of enticing she was? There is also a fine line between her needing affection and admiration. She refused to let most people get close to her, so did she not prefer admiration from afar to affection? If she just wanted affection, why was she so interested in Bob Neuwirth and Bob Dylanââ¬â¢s offer to make her a real actress? If need 1 is dominant, Edie should be define as ââ¬Å"moving towards people,â⬠but if her motives more likely identify with needs 4 or 7, she should instead be defined as ââ¬Å"moving against peopleâ⬠(Ellis, Abrams Abrams, 2009, p. 200). Perhaps reasons like this are why Edie was never officially diagnosed. In the last years before her death, Edie had been working on a final film project, Ciao!
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