"The Foul Reign of 'Self-Reliance'" by Benjamin Anastas

"The Foul Reign of 'Self-Reliance'" by Benjamin Anastas discusses the idea of "self-reliance" proposed by Ralph Waldo Emerson and how it is effecting society. The essay opens with a narrative of the author's experience in English class at his private school, and the (egotistically-portrayed) teacher who first introduced him to Emerson. This was also the beginning of Anastas's aversion to the essayist's ideas. He goes on to describe how the idea of "self-reliance" has negatively impacted American society, especially in politics and government because of the self-centered view that it presents. Anastas quotes Emerson on how one should trust themselves and not conform to society. He then makes an allusion to an advertisement for Apple that features a poem called "Here's to the Crazy Ones" which, he contests, reflects how the view that being a nonconformist has become so important in American society that the actions one actually takes have little meaning. Anastas writes "'A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition,' Emerson advises, 'as if every thing were titular and ephemeral but he.' If this isn't the official motto of the 112th Congress of the United States, well, it should be. The gridlock, grandstanding, rule manipulating, and inability to compromise aren't symptoms of national decline. We're simply coming into our own as Emerson's republic," (Anastas 4).  With the adoption of self-reliance, he explains, comes self-importance and self-centeredness. In our politics, it has been detrimental by preventing compromise and inhibiting anything from being done. By using illustrations from our modern society and contesting the points Emerson makes in his essays, Benjamin Anastas argues his point. There are many more current examples that he could have, and maybe should have, used, however, he still achieves his purpose of demonstrating how the idea of self-reliance as proposed by Emerson is harming our society.

Least Productive Congress in Decades: Anastas argues that the 112th Congress is quarrelsome and ineffective because of the way the politicians embody Emerson's ideas. (image from tv.msnbc.com)

"Killing My Body to Save My Mind" by Lauren Slater

Lauren Slater, the author of "Killing My Body to Save My Mind", suffers from obesity. However this obesity is actually a side affect of a psychotropic drug she takes, called Zyprexa. This essay is about how Slater chose to accept these side affects in order to heal from her depression. It starts off with a narrative of the author's experience being tested at a life insurance office. Then she goes on to describe how she began taking the medication that caused her to gain so much weight. Lauren Slater suffered from a depression so bad, she experienced psychotic hallucinations. None of the new drugs she was prescribed worked, until she was put on Zyprexa. This drug did lift her depression, but it also made her hungry for food all the time. Even after her appetite stopped growing, she kept gaining weight. This put her at risk for a variety of weight related diseases, including diabetes. However, Slater describes how she accepted the risks and the breakdown of her body in order for her mind to be free of depression and her life to be happy. She expresses this trade off in terms of Descartes's theory of dualism. He thought of "the body as one thing and the soul, or mind, as another... the mind and body were so different as to practically exist in separate realms" (Slater 259). Lauren Slater concludes that in her experience she has had to choose her mind over her body, and though it is scary, it is worth it to her. The combination of her narrative and her allusion to Descartes idea help her to demonstrate her purpose: to show how the choices in our life have consequences, and we have to make the most of them. Through both of these strategies, narrative and allusion, Slater appeals to both the emotions and the logic of the reader by presenting her own choice, and the emotions and philosophy behind it, as well as the negative and positive effects. Despite the dangers of Zyprexa, it helps make her life worth living, and that is what is important to her. Slater makes this point clear, that some things are worth sacrificing for the gaining of others.

Lauren Slater references Descartes's theory of dualism to illustrate how she chose the health of her mind over the health of her body (image from kheper.net).

"Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?" by Mark Edmundson

"Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?" is an essay about using one's education to its fullest potential. It is definitely intended for college students or students about to enter college. Mark Edmundson, the author, starts by congratulating the reader on getting to the first day of college, and then announces that, if the reader wants a good education, he or she is going to have to fight for it. He goes on to describe how colleges have become institutions where you create your social life and pay for your degree, and where everyone, faculty, administration, and students, no longer seems to care about the courses themselves. Mark Edmundson is a professor at the University of Virginia and is the author of seven books. In this essay, he presents a small narrative of a conversation he had with his dad before he went off to college. In this conversation, Edmundson's dad, barely a high school graduate, told him he had better study what interested him and not what he thought would make him money. This begins his discussion about the importance of doing something for the fulfillment it offers instead of for the money or success it will earn. Edmundson references great authors as he writes about how the importance of reading their works is to examine and redefine one's self and adopt the ideas that one finds are truths. The essay appeals to the readers emotions; it starts out sounding rather pessimistic and makes the reader feel deprived and even guilty because of the way society has forgotten education. However, the essay is also inspirational and uplifting in its encouragement to take advantage of education. Edmundson's purpose is to remind the reader that education is learning about the world and one's self and to inspire the reader to use his or her opportunities to do what fulfills them, not necessarily what is considered successful. These ideas are connected to the reader by Edmundson's use of second person; he writes directly to the audience. Also, with his combination of narration and allusion, Edmundson succeeds in calling his readers to change their mindset and be more active in their education.

YOU! Mark Edmundson is able to better achieve his purpose by writing directly to the reader. (Image from commons.wikimedia.org)

"My Father/My Husband" by David J. Lawless

"My Father/My Husband" reads almost like a short story. It is by David J. Lawless, former president of St. Mary's University College and St. Francis Xavier University and describes his daily life with his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer's and dementia. She has severe memory loss and frequently does not recognize her husband. The piece artfully employs repetition to communicate the ongoing troubles occurring in their household. Every night while her husband is making dinner, the wife asks if her father is coming, and her husband reminds her that her father died forty-five years ago. She usually confuses her father and her husband, believing her husband to be her father at times, and projecting features of her husband's life and personality onto her memory of her father. Thus, the title. There is also repeated description of the husband being woken by his wife at four in the morning to answer questions about who he is, who their children are, and where they all live.  A lot of dialogue is used to display the couple's interactions, which is part of what makes the piece read like a story, but also what helps build the reality of the characters. This piece definitely appeals to the reader's emotions; the struggles of the couple are sad and despairing, but the end delivers a bit of hope. Despite the difficulties, their love still allows them to have a life together. At the end of the essay, the wife and husband have this conversation: "'Where is my husband?' 'I am your husband. Here, give me a kiss.' 'You are not my husband. I never had a husband.' 'Yes, I am.' He taps his cheek and leans toward her. She kisses his cheek and they both smile," (Lawless 206). That seems to be the message here: love is stronger then the disease, and allows life to go on despite the obstacles. This essay gives a very real portrayal of living day-to-day with a loved one affected by Alzheimer's and memory loss. However, it achieves the purpose of reminding the reader that life is more than it's struggles; their love makes their life possible and worthwhile.

The dialogue and its repetition creates reality and appeals to the emotions. (Image from ceartas.org.uk)

"The Crazy State of Psychiatry" by Marcia Angell

"The Crazy State of Psychiatry" is an essay discussing the increase of the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses in the US in the past decades. The author, Marcia Angell, is a medical doctor and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School and is already well written on issues including the disconcerting practices of pharmaceutical companies. Throughout the piece she raises a series of questions: why are the numbers of cases of mental illnesses increasing? Do the psychoactive drugs generally used to treat these illnesses really work? If not, why are they so prevalent? She then presents answers to these questions by laying out the opinions of three other authors. These are Irving Kirsch, a psychologist, Robert Whitaker, a journalist, and Daniel Carlat, a psychiatrist. In the past fifty years, the theory has developed that mental illnesses are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. However, the authors quoted in this essay contest that this theory, which was developed after the creation of the first chemically-altering psychoactive drugs, is not correct. In answering her overarching questions, Angell cites data that shows that these drugs are not much more effective than simple placebos. This leads her to explore how the interests and promotions of pharmaceutical companies are what have increased the prevalence of psychoactive drugs. Angell greatly appeals to the ethics of her readers as she reveals the financial and political motivations of companies and practices behind the treatment of mental illnesses. She also presents quite an unsettling explanation of how these less-than-perfect drugs may be increasing illness symptoms. Overall the essay incites a wariness of current psychoactive drugs and their manufacturers and calls for the return to alternative methods of treatment for mental illnesses

Do psychoactive drugs really work? Studies have shown that they are not much more effective than placebos. (Cartoon by Chris Madden)

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