Final Proposal

The purpose of my research paper is to inform and educate others on how Alzheimers disease impacts interpersonal relationships within a family, emotionally, financially, and physically. The sources I will be using give important information on how the Alzheimers disease can affect the patient and family caregivers in both positive and negative ways. Many point out the difficulties families struggle with when dealing with a family member diagnosed with Alzheimers disease, and the little understanding about the the causes and preventions of this disease. One of my interviews will be my aunt who does the bulk of the of the caregiving for my grandma and turned her house into an assisted living house for my grandparents. Based on the information she gives me and my own experiences caring for my grandma who is diagnosed with this disease, I will be able to write about how families all over the world struggle with the same issues my family does when faced with Alzheimers disease. Not every family has the same issues, my family has some advantages when it comes to resource for taking care of my grandma. This part of my paper would be written in more of a narrative. To conclude my paper I will explain the preventions, treatments, and the importance of understanding Alzheimers disease. 

Research Paper RD Proposal

My research project will be on alzheimers disease, and how it impacts the interpersonal relationships within a family, emotionally, financially, and physically. I chose this topic because I have seen first hand the negative and positive things that take place when having someone in your family with this disease. This is a disease that has impacted my family in a number of ways. I can remember my grandma being completely different than she is now. I used to enjoy spending time with her, but now I don’t know if she even recognizes that I am her grand daughter anymore. The disease of alzheimers is deteriorating my grandma’s capacity for remembering people, her past, and how to do the most basic tasks each day.  Unfortunately I can’t interview my grandma due to the disease, but I can interview an assisted living nurse that takes care of her during the day. My grandparents live with my aunt who provides a large amount of care for my grandma at night and on weekends, I am planning on interviewing her as well. I am hoping to also interview my grandma’s doctor, who would give me a medical perspective on the disease with less of an emotional attachment. I will be writing about how this disease can bring a family together but can also create conflicts between family members. Also I am going to research into financial issues when a family is faced with the disease of alzheimers. I am going to approach this paper from a medical perspective as well as tie in my own personal experiences with my family. I will also explore the idea that other families are experiencing similar issues when a family member has alzheimers disease.

Heart of Darkness Thesis

For my Heart of Darkness essay, my thesis is going to be the question, What is Joseph Conrad’s purpose when contrasting the identities of the Mistress and the Intended, which are shaped by white male assumptions due to the women’s race and social class?  I will be focusing on quote that show how the white males make assumptions about both women. One of the quotes I will be using about the Mistress is, “...a wild and gorgeous apparition of a woman. She walked with measured steps, draped in striped and fringed cloths, treading the earth proudly, with a slight jingle and flash of barbarous ornaments...innumerable necklaces of glass beads on her neck; bizarre things, charms, gifts of witch-men...” (Conrad 141-142).  Another quote I will use is, “Her face had a tragic and fierce aspect of wild sorrow and of dumb pain mingled with the fear of some struggling, half-shaped resolve.” (Conrad 142) The quotes i will be using about the Intended is, “But I couldn’t. I could not tell her. It would have been too dark--to dark altogether…” (Conrad 164) Another i have is, “She came forward, with a pale head, floating towards me in the dusk. This fair hair, this pale visage, this pure brow, seemed surrounded by an ashy halo from which the dark eyes looked out at me.” (Conrad 160) In order to answer my question about Conrad’s purpose I will give examples in the text to show the contrast between the two women. I will also show that the descriptions of the women’s looks, thoughts, and actions are characterized based on white male assumptions which concerns itself with social class and race.

Heart of Darkness

In the book, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses imagery and social setting to portray the acts of dehumanization by the white men who lord power over the African people.  

Conrad describes how the African slaves are overworked until they are unable to continue working.  They are literally worked to death.  In this social setting the white people viewed the treatment toward Africans as perfectly normal.  The white men have a firmly held conviction that they are above or superior to the Africans.  “Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth, half coming out, half effaced within the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair.” (Conrad 83)  Throughout this quote Conrad uses imagery to show that the slaves are only considered as working objects by the white people.   The white men have an inhumane attitude toward the Africans because they don’t consider the basic human needs of water, food, and rest as vital. The slaves are describes as “clinging to the earth” this means they are practically lifeless and are struggling to survive.  They are hanging on to whatever life they have left.  The pain relates to the actual physical pain of hunger, heat, and dehydration.  They may have felt abandoned by any kind of spiritual “god” they believed in.  The attitude of despair is based on the slave’s feeling of hopelessness and no reason to live.  This quote shows how weak and powerless the slaves feel. The whites look down on the Africans and considered them a lower social class. The whites use their threatening power to control the Africans because the whites recognize that they have the ability to physically control others with acts of violence. The slaves are dehumanized and were are not treated humanely.  The slaves are not valued as people but only as a replaceable workforce.

In Jon Hassler’s short stories, Rufus at the Door, Agatha McGee and the St. Isidore Seven, and Winning Sarah Spooner, three characters can be viewed through a Gender Theory lens.  The character display opposite gender roles that give them power, they can use to benefit others.  Of the three characters, one failed to succeed at holding power, and the other two held on tho their power.  

In the story Rufus at the door, his mother takes on masculine traits to hold power over others in benefit of her son’s life.  She insists that Rufus is not put in the institution, and she she demands that her other sons respect her wishes.  Throughout the story Agatha McGee, she holds power over the male characters which benefit the school teachers and the community.  She demands that people do the right thing and not break their promises.  In Winning Sarah Spooner, Sarah uses masculine traits to hold power over the male character by using her independent way life to teach him her way of living with benefits him in a number of ways.

These three characters; single mom, teacher, and widow, take on masculine character traits such as confidence, intelligence, dominant attitude, and ultimately taking control of a situation which benefits others.  Rufus’ mother’s death puts a stop to her power, because her son was put in the institution. This would be a source of internal conflict for her because she probably knew that would happen.  Agatha McGee held on to her power by maintaining the respect of her community and will benefit with her being on the school board.  Sarah maintained her power by changing the male character in many ways that benefit him.  Gender Theory applied to these stories demonstrates how Hassler uses masculine and feminine dynamic character traits to show the power dynamics of human relationships.

Rufus at the Door

In the short story, Rufus at the Door, Rufus was only seen as the label he was given: a moron. Examining this story through the Post-Colonialism Theory,  the overall message being communicated is that the narrator realized Rufus was harmed by the institution because it labeled Rufus as sick and repressed him (as well as all of the patients labeled mentally ill).  The author presents a social setting that a narrator is reflecting on, in which it is considered normal to label people with mental disabilities with a variety of terms.  “ As though reading labels at the zoo-- calling out the categories: “These are morons, class, and over there you have the imbeciles. In the next room they are all insane.” (Hassler 22)  The narrator of the story described his teacher, Miss Sylvestri, as someone who controls what the students think about why people are institutionalized.  Miss Sylvestri is a dominating power in this social setting because she teaches the students that this is the correct and normal way to look down on, try to change, repress, and even eliminate the patients from society.  The field trip to the mental institution is seen as a perfectly reasonable student activity; no one questions such an outing, and no one questions the way patients are only referred to as labels and not by actual names.  At the beginning of the story, the narrator describes Rufus as a mentally disabled man who is healthy and content with his life.  After being institutionalized,  Rufus has changed, and the narrator noticed Rufus does not look as healthy as he once did.  At this point, the reader comes to an understanding of the character vs. society aspect of the story.  Both the narrator and Rufus are up against a society that locks mentally ill people out of the community, which in Rufus’s case, made him struggle more than he did being included in the community.

When revising my composition I first started using New Criticism Theory, but I felt I would have an easier time using Post-Colonialism.  I wasn’t really able to fully comprehened how to use New Criticism to analyze Rufus at the Door.  Due to this problem, my first thesis was not very specific about what I would analyze in the writing.  My thesis stated how a person can comprehend the larger message in the story, but failed to include what that actual message is, which I fixed in the second draft.  This composition became my strongest because I feel I came up with a much better thesis and used my evidence earlier in the composition which I think helps draw in the reader.  Once I understood what I was trying to write about it became easier for me to say things clearly.  I was able to use Post-Colonialism theory to answer the question, “Who’s in charge and why?”(Westrum lit theory slide 17).  I used this story because I think it sends out a deeply impacting message, even though it is a depressing story.

Gender Theory in The Third Man

Throughout the film The Third Man, the character ‘Baron’ Kurtz is viewed as a powerful person, but he shows many feminine character traits.  The fact that his name has the meaning of “Lord, power, or royalty”, is one reason why the audience may assume he has power. His name plays a big role in people first impression of him.  The scene that introduces Baron at the cafe, he comes off as a powerful person because of the way he speaks English with a heavy European accent.  The audience is given the notion that he is self confident, intelligent, but at the same time he gives off a creepy and secretive vibe.  The audience may get the sense that Baron is a very manipulative person, this may be his way of attempting to take advantage of Holly.  Throughout this scene he also shows character traits that you would normally see from the opposite gender (female).  He dresses very sophisticated and looks as if his clothing and style is important to him.  In this scene he is wearing a fancy dress coat with fur around the collar, and a polka dot bow tie, which could be considered a feminine way of dressing.  Fur coats are usually worn by women and it is a way to symbolize wealth and power. Baron Kurtz’s powerful personality is toned down by his feminine style of dressing.  His powerful personality is also toned down by him carrying a small dog around.  It is more stereotypical for a female to keep a small dog by her side, like a mother would a child.   In this cafe scene another example of Baron showing a lack of masculinity happens when Baron and Holly were walking down the street and they pass a police officer, Baron quickly moved out of the officer’s way. This shows Baron as having less power, it is as if he is afraid of the characters who have authority over him.  A cinematic element used in this scene is the use of a close-up shot and a medium close-up shot of Baron’s face and his little dog. These shots shows Baron’s power, but at the same time the shot is closing in on the way he is dressed and the way he is holding the dog, which is pointing out his femininity.  Baron has a powerful personality in this scene, but his feminine character traits portray him as less powerful.