A Revolutionary Road | Analysis

A Revolutionary Road | Analysis In a society that promotes conformity it is hard enough to come to find oneself as an individual and to find your own identity. In a society that sucks the best out of our personality. Maintaining your own identity has little chance when being around a false image of affluence. This place is known as the suburbs. The ideas of deception pulled in a lot of people that were raised around nice families that only had the American Dream in their mind. In Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates, Frank and April Wheeler are sucked into suburbia with the dream of raising their two kids in a safe and comfortable area. But, as the two quickly find out, suburbia is not all its cracked up to be. Soon, suburbia and the complimentary standard gender role poses a problem for the couple as their relationship begins to deteriorate over time. But, in order to understand the situation, you must first understand the times. The suburbs were created as an escape from the hectic and, sometimes, dangerous life in the city. As time went on, the suburbs became known as a middles class paradise with ties to a nearby big city. Along with the suburbs came the stereotypical suburban family. The father was the head of the family while his wife was completely under his rule. Her main job was to take care of the kids and cook for the tired man when he got home. This family was supposed to have everything together and be the picture perfect example of the achievement of the American Dream. This stereotypical view of the suburbs created a strong misconception that attracted many families to the area and created a place void of individualism. The fantasy of the American Dream in the 1950s formed a naive view of suburban life and its equivalent standard gender roles and rigid view of the ideal family structure. The American Dream in the 1950s produced an idealistic view of life in the suburbs. In Dwight D. Eisenhowers State of the Union address in 1954, he describes what is the beginning of suburbia when he says, The details of a program to enlarge and improve the opportunities for our people to acquire good homes will be presented to the Congress by special message on January 25. This program will include: Modernization of the home mortgage insurance program of the Federal Government (Eisenhower). This place, as endorsed by one of the most popular presidents of all time, was sugar-coated from its inception. When Eisenhower spoke, people listened. When he endorses a housing development that will improve the opportunities for anyone living there that can help them achieve the American Dream, the public was willing to jump on the bandwagon in a moments notice. So began the false advertisement of the suburbs that ensnared so many families with good intentions of bringing up a beautiful family in a place that was supposed to ease them along the way. In an article about the history of American families, the author describes how people derived their beliefs on the typical suburban family by saying, The Leave It to Beaver ideal of breadwinner father, full-time homemaker mother and dependent children was a fiction of the 1950s, she shows. Real families of that period were rife with conflict, repression and anxiety, frequently poor and much less idyllic than many assume; teen pregnancy rates in the 50s were higher than today (The Way). The false impression that a popular television show had on 1950s society contributed to the even greater fallacy that all suburban families had everything together. The reality is that the suburbs was a place stricken with the same basic problems that everyone else had and maybe even more. Many families were under the impression that everything was going fine because they had all the elements of a traditional suburban family: a breadwinning dad, a stay-at-home mom, and servile children. But, simply being able to claim these things does not make a family tantamount to the perfect family that they are perceived to be as evidenced by the conflict, repression, and anxiety. In Richard Portons article on the American Dream and the suburban nightmare, he describes the delusion that many families drowned in when he argues, Lewis Mumford maintained that the suburb served as an asylum for the preservation of illusion. He fumed that suburbia was not merely a child-centered environment; it was based on a childish view of the world' (Porton). Since the suburbs were associated with prosperity and happiness, they also became linked to the American Dream. When families entered this suburban paradise they immediately became seduced by the lore and awe of finally achieving that dream. Unfortunately, many never came out of that dream and continued to be deceived by this fantasy land that was almost juvenile at times. It is easy, now, to be o n the outside looking in and wonder how they fail to see that things crashing down around them. But since they were so deeply rooted in their dream world, it seemed that everything was going perfectly when, in reality, their personal life was a disaster. The American Dream provided the fuel that led to the conflagration that was the impractical view of suburbia. The American Dream in the suburbs formed absurd family roles that were usually stereotypical. In an article about the role of women in the 1950s, the author explains, Women who spent too much time outside the home, social commentators were quick to warn, were endangering their families, neglecting their husbands and especially their children. Life magazine, in a special issue devoted to the American woman, deplored the changing roles of married couples and placed most of the blame on the increasingly aggressive wife (Womens Roles). The fact that women had to be regulated shows how they were mistreated and forced to fit into a role that no one could be completely happy with. A woman who wanted pursue a career was viewed as overaggressive and held responsible for the breakdown of the family. Women were expected to sacrifice themselves for the family and become stay-at-home mothers all because that is what American society says a perfect mother should do. In the same article, the author says, The belief in a womans destined social role was reinforced by the popular media of the dayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The magazines of the time were filled with images of dedicated housewives whose only pleasures were that their families were satisfied and their chores made easier (Womens Roles). From the start, women never really had a chance to become what they wanted or pursue a career. From an early age, it was drilled into them that they would become a mother and that they would look to their husband to bring home the bread and make important decisions. The American Dream stripped women of their ability to overcome the status quo by sending a relentless message that their purpose in life was to become a housewife and nothing more or less. In another article about the plight of the 1950s woman, the author says, When women started complaining of boredom, society invented the sowing and quilt making clubs. They would do anything to please their men because their life depended on them s o much. To disagree with her husband would have been the gravest of all errors. The men had almost total control over their wives (A Womans Role). Women who tried to establish themselves as an individual and stand up against societys twisted view of what a suburban family should look like were repeatedly shoved back into their rightful place. When women started getting out of line, men were quick to invent something to occupy their time and get their minds back on their tasks. Disagreeing with the man was an unforgiveable mistake that could have negative consequences in the future. In spite of their will to change, efforts to change the system were kept at bay by the scheming man who did not want to see his power diminished by a lowly, rebellious wife. Overall, the American Dream shaped an unjust role for women in suburban society. In Revolutionary Road, the foolish quest for the American Dream creates an unbalanced family with identity problems and, quite often, complete subjugation. As Frank finally convinces April that having an abortion would be a terrible mistake, she cries in his arms as he proudly thinks, And it seemed to him now that no single moment of his life had ever contained a better proof of manhood than that, if any proof were needed: holding that tamed, submissive girl and saying, Oh, my lovely; oh, my lovely, while she promised she would bear his child (Yates 52). The head of the family in the ideal suburban household was the father. This father was supposed to have everything in complete control and solve every problem that crossed his family. By conquering his wifes emotions and desires, Frank establishes himself as the rightful head of the family because that is what he thinks he is supposed to do. His actions were influenced by the ridiculous thinking of that time period and not because he truly believes that was how he should have handled the situation. When Frank tries to diagnose Aprils problems, he rants on and on about a story of a girl who wished to be a boy and says, I think we can assume, though, he said, just on the basis of common sense, that if the most little girls do have this thing about wanting to be boys, they probably get over it in time by observing and admiring and wanting to emulate their mothers- I mean you know, attract a man, establish a home, have children and so on' (Yates 245). Franks ignorant comments show the fallacy in the thinking of the 1950s. He says that their goal in life was to attract men and bear their children. Franks comments show the misunderstanding of suburban families because it is hard to believe that someones lifelong goals would be that shallow and without any other ambitions. Women probably wanted more than that but were sucked into believing that that was all they should want which eliminated them as an individual and l ed them to be controlled by men. After a fight with April, Frank leaves to go do yard work and thinks to himself, Even so, once the first puffing and dizziness was over, he began to like the muscular pull and the sweat of it, and the smell of the earth. At least it was a mans work. At least, squatting to rest on the wooded slope, he could look down and see his house the way a house ought to look on a fine spring day, safe on its carpet of green, the frail white sanctuary of a mans love, a mans wife and children (Yates 47). Under the influence of suburban folklore, Frank feels that he needs to establish his identity as a man by physically exerting himself and doing something that no woman could do. The sweat on his brow and the strain of a good days work are what make Frank feel like a man all because someone said that was how a man should act and how a man should feel. The immense workload gives Frank a feeling of masculinity that no woman can give him. Instead of solving his proble ms with April, he decides to do what a man was supposed to do in that situation instead of the right thinking to do. By and large, the ideal suburban family was so heavily influenced by the American Dream that they failed to find themselves and, instead, fell into a general role that they did not belong nor function well in. In Revolutionary Road, the American Dream has also created a warped and impractical view in the minds of suburban families. When April tries to convince Frank to move to Paris, she tries to pry him from his suburban way of thinking by arguing, Because you see I happen to think this is unrealistic. I think its unrealistic for a man with a fine mind to go on working like a dog year after year at a job he cant stand, coming home to a house he cant stand in a place he cant stand either, to a wife whos equally unable to stand the same things, living among a bunch of frightened little my God, Frank, I dont have to tell you whats wrong with this environment Im practically quoting you. Just last night when the Campbells were here, remember what you said about the whole idea of suburbia being to keep reality at bay? You said everybody wanted to bring up their children in a bath of sentimentality. You said - (Yates 115). At this point, April finally sees the lies that they were sucked into when they first bought a home in the suburbs. She is trying to convince Frank who, although he has realized the same lies, is still having trouble letting go of a doctrine that he has held fast to for so long. She realizes that what she and Frank have been experiencing in the past few years is not reality and that they need to find a way to break free and Paris would be a great place to do so. In the same instance, April goes further to say, Thats how we both got committed to this enormous delusion- because thats what it is, an enormous, obscene delusion- this idea that people have to resign from real life and settle down when they have families. Its the great sentimental lie of the suburbs, and Ive been making you subscribe to it all this time (Yates 117). April continues to elaborate on the lies that were told to the couple when they entered the fabled suburbia. When they first got there, they were led to believe that starting a family was the end to real life. The whole time they had been living a lie that neither of them was willing to admit which caused a loss in crucial years of their lives that could have been spent establishing their family as a unique tight-knit group that was not influenced by the ignorance of the time period. When Frank and April go on a walk with John Givings, he fumes on and on about the self-deception of suburbia and the failures of society by stating, Its as if everybodyd made this tacit agreement to live in a state of total self-deception. The hell with reality! Lets have a whole bunch of cute little winding roads and cute little houses painted white and pink and baby blue; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and if old reality ever does pop out and say Boo well all get busy and pretend it never happened (Yates 68-69). John hits the nail on the head when he describes the fantasy that the people of the 1950s live in. He describes suburbia as a flowery place where everything looks t he same and everyone lives far away from reality. When confronted with reality, they act as if it never occurred and go back to the dream that they never want to wake up from never mind the fact that it is destroying them as a person. The American Dream in their lives has distorted their take on reality and led to them to believe that their way of life is real. By listening to the lies of the American Dream, suburban families were deceived into creating a dream world away from bona fide life that the rest of the world had to face every day. The desire for the American Dream in the mid-1900s created an immature outlook on suburban life and its corresponding gender roles and unyielding doctrine of the perfect family. Ever since its creation, suburbia has been sugarcoated to please potential home buyers and consequentially ensnared many families during the 1950s through its bold but enticing lies and the twisted view on what a real American family should look like. It produced absurd roles for a family that made it hard to function properly and took advantage of the wife by forcing her to subject to her husband. Furthermore, the suburbs distracted its residents from real life by giving them a false euphoria that rarely lasted long. Finally, it made many people give up their dreams and sacrifice their individuality in order to conform to its views. Its never beneficial to give up your identity which is why so many families have suffered and continue to suffer even today. Rather, it is always best to preserve the individual inside rather than change your beliefs and morals to fit society. Posttramatic Stress Disorder: Causes and Effects Posttramatic Stress Disorder: Causes and Effects A War Without End:  The Struggle of Posttramatic Stress Disorder Abstract This analysis is divided into two major parts. The first portion is dedicated to describing  posttramatic stress disorder, as well as the stress response and its contribution to developing PTSD. Along with describing PTSD is a reaction to a Frontline Documentary on veterans struggling with the  disorder. The second portion is an analysis of a personal friend that is currently undergoing treatment  for PTSD. Though the information of his treatment is true, information about his identity or personal  life will be altered. Part I. The issue of PTSD has gained a lot of attention with the United States fourteen year endeavor in  the middle east. The number of veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD is quite  staggering. To better understand PTSD it is important to look at stress and trauma, and how these two  mechanisms manifest. Their manifestation is crucial to our understanding of PTSD. Stress Stress can best be exemplified as our natural physiological response to a treat. To say that stress  itself is a bad thing would imply that our survival is bad. The stress response is what has allowed our  species to adapt and reach our current status. So what is the stress response? It all starts at the hypothalamus which sits dorsal to the limbic system, the system that is  responsible for our stress response. The hypothalamus than triggers our endocrine system by relaying  electrical signals to the pituitary gland, also know as the master gland of the endocrine system. When  the stimulation of the pituitary is that of a perceived threat, adrenocorticotropic hormone is released  stimulating the adrenal glands (Cohen, 2013). The adrenal cortex responds by releasing cortisol, and  the adrenal medulla releases epinephrine. Cortisol is responsible for raising glucose levels by  stimulating the release of stored glycogen in the liver. Epinephrines response is what raises heart rate,  dilates blood vessels, and prepares us for the situation that of which caused the initial reaction. All of  what falls under this description of stress results from the sympathetic nervous system, and its effect on  what is known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal ( HPA) axes (Siegel, et al. 2005). Trauma When people experience a traumatic event, in more cases than not, they attach an emotional  response to said event. Looking at traumas long term effects, we see that these responses can be acted  out through unpredictable behavior/emotion, flashbacks, unstable relationships, and even physical  pains (APA, 2013). Trauma can affect anyone at any age, and can result from events such as rape,  abuse, and as it is most prevalent to this topic, combat. When someone suffers from trauma, a nonthreatening  event can set off a stress response if triggered in some way (Comer, 2014). PTSD In a simplified explanation of posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD could be seen as an over  active stress response that follows a traumatic, or series of traumatic events. As is common with those  who see combat or the gruesome consequences of combat, PTSD has left psychological scars on the  veterans who return home after serving. A 2005 Frontline documentary depicted PTSD in a way that was both informative and  emotional. One point that stood out about the documentary was the culture of military life, especially in  the army and marines. The culture is basically this; Being violent and reactive is very much  encouraged, showing empathy is weakness, disobeying an order is cowardice, and showing signs of  psychological issues is as cowardice as it is weak. Because of this disturbing belief system it is really  not a topic to stay politically correct on. Let us start with the fact that violence and reactivity are  considered virtues of a soldier. Finding a peaceful resolution has never resulted from fighting fire with  fire. Attempts to find peace are crushed by the surge of reaction (Martin Luther King Jr., 1965), and for  a very obvious reason. When someone is reactive in a situation that does not readily call for it, more  times than not mistakes are made. In the case of Rob, this issue came center stage when he opened fire  on a civilian women after hearing reports of suicide bombers. She fell with a white flag in her hand  (Frontline, 2005). It is not Robs fault that this civilian died, but rather a consequence of war. He felt  that the threat of a suicide bombing was approaching, and instinctively tried to preserve his life, and the  men he fought along side. When he began to struggle with the event, the men around him labeled him a  coward. Robs story is not uncommon for those who have fought in this war. Turning to a soldier by the  name of Jeff, we see the consequences of not seeking help after a traumatic event. According to the  Frontline documentary, Jeff told his family of a haunting memory which seems to depict the  consequece of blindly following orders. Jeff was commanded to execute two unarmed prisoners of  war, and his obedience cost him his sanity. Jeffs mental decline was shown through his abuse and  excessive use of alcohol (Frontline, 2005). Jeff committed suicide roughly about a year after serving,  which alcohol could be seen as a contributing factor. The experiences of those interviewed in the Frontline Documentary provided great insight in  terms of PTSD, and with this insight the signs and symptoms can easily be spotted. With this  information a brief diagnostic assessment will be attempted, and as stated earlier, some of the  information about this particular individual has been altered. Part II. Background John is a white male in his mid-twenties. He was released from active duty in the Army July,  2013. John has been receiving psychiatric care for PTSD for a year and a half, and he claims that he has  been improving. His psychiatrist has him undergoing drug treatment to help with the symptoms. As is  common with those suffering from PTSD, John takes Lithium to help with his anxiety and feelings of  depression attributed to stress. As an adolescent John was diagnosed with ADHD, and had been  prescribed Adderall up until 10th grade. He has been back on Adderall for the past six month to help  with concentration, and also for the anti-anxiety benefits of taking a low dose stimulant. Behavior John is rather evasive when talking about his time in Afghanistan. When asked about his  experience, John seems to steer the conversation towards boot camp, seemingly as an attempt to keep  his mind off of his duty served in Afghanistan. The only thing that could be confirmed is that John had  seen combat on a number of occasions. At times his speech seems disorganized and forced. He looses  attention during conversation quite often, and has trouble holding eye contact. When John initially  returned to civilian status he began using methamphetamines for a short duration before seeking help.   John has also been trying to limit his consumption of alcohol since being releaved of duty, and though  he has stopped drinking every night, his troubles with alcohol have persisted. Summary Johns behaviors that of which can be observed fall in line with most of the behaviors of those  mentioned earlier in the Frontline Documentary. Drug abuse has been the most prevalent issue in Johns  life after serving, but he has shown signs of progress with his current treatment plan. References Comer, R. J. (2014). Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers.  Revised July 2014 Fulton, Germer, Siegel. (2005). Mindfulness and psychotherapy. New York: The Guilford Press. Cohen, B. J. (2013). The human body in health and disease. 12th Edition. Baltimore, MD:  Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Aronson, Raney (2014) A Soldier’s Heart [Video]. Retrieved February 2015 from  http://www/pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/view King, M. L. (1965). The three evils of society. (Speech). Retrieved from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8d-IYSM-08