Apathy

Virginia Woolf’s short essays, “The Death of the Moth” and “Three Pictures” are both about death, in particular about how death is inevitable and futile to be fought against, and representative of Woolf’s life, in relation to her own suicide. Through rhetorical devices, tone, fragmentation, and metaphors, Woolf manages to incur sympathy for the moth and the widow. Both essays have a narrator that is an outsider, observing. In “The Death of the Moth,” the narrator is observing the moth and in…

The separation of a couple may lead to people behaving in uncharacteristic ways. This occurs in “Popular Mechanics” when the man and woman escalate their actions to an inappropriate extreme. “Popular Mechanics,” written by Raymond Carver, is a concise story in which a man and woman are going through a separation. Their resentment toward each other is incessantly blatant, but without known cause. This resentment and anger result in selfish and destructive behavior. Raymond Carver portrays the…

consideration of affairs divine or metaphysical. Agnosticism functioned as a perfect avoidance strategy, and I saw no reason to trouble myself about greater powers. I began giving actual thought to these matters not because I suddenly regretted my apathy, or was struck by a realization of how spiritually desolate my life had been until then, but because when we read our credos in front of the congregation I didn’t want to embarrass…

humans are naturally sympathetic while antagonistic tendencies are taught. While there are some exceptions, almost all humans are born with empathy which is crucial to civilization as we know it. With few exceptions humans are born with empathy, while apathy and cruelty are learnt. In our first WWYD "Bike Thief" it shows that while humans want to do good, culture imbues them with stereotypes that impede decision making. When people were presented with the dire…

Ladies and gentlemen, Perry Edward Smith brutally murdered Mrs. Clutter, Nancy Clutter, Kenyon Clutter, and Herb Clutter on the night of November 15, 1959. This man intruded into the Clutter family’s normal life and killed them in cold blood. We are confident that ultimately Smith will be sentenced to capital punishment due to his cold blooded and brutal murder of the family, his indifference toward his victims and other human beings, and for being a threat to society. Not only did Smith…

Vroom’s Model of Expectancy Theory What is Vroom’s model of expectancy theory and what are the factors that make an individual act the way they do? We will discuss some of the factors that make individuals act the way they do. Is it that of low self esteem or high challenges in a new job? Having the mind-set to walk into a new job with confidence and knowing you are qualified for the job and will be very successful at it will help your employer know they hired the right person for the job.…

In Anton Chekhov’s short story ‘Heartache’ the main character, a cabby called Iona Potapov, feels painfully alienated since he thirsts for talk but nobody is willing to listen to him. He is desperately looking for someone to share his sorrow with in order to ease his heartache. However, everyone the cabby comes across, no matter their age or the social class they belong to, are so indifferent and heedless of his pain. His loneliness is a result of his sons' recent death and a lack of people to…

The powerful nature of discovery engenders individuals to be holistically transformed; in ways of emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual significance. Such discovery relies wholly on the individual, and their willingness to challenge preconceived assumptions they may hold. Good Morning Year 12. Ivan O’Mahoney’s hybrid documentary “Go Back to Where You Came From” explores emotional and intellectual responses of individuals to confronting humanitarian experiences. Hence, my presentation…

Comedy and tragedy are often two sides of the same coin, black and white in nature, but in the play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf this nature becomes a messy storm of whether we’re supposed to laugh, cry, or both. When we started reading this play, I had no doubt in my mind that it was a comedy. The conversations between George and Martha were sometimes cruel, but I saw it as banter that’s often seen in long-term relationships. However, the class reacted in quite a different way from me, they…

Struggling with depression is like trying to find your way through a storm. Although threatening clouds loom overhead, you remain calm and determined. Map and umbrella in hand, you are ready to battle the torrential downpour. The unrelenting tempest makes each step more strenuous than the last. The struggle to simultaneously keep dry while interpreting the map leaves you vulnerable to the chaos. The map slips from your hand and spirals towards the soaked earth. You scramble to salvage it,…