Assignment: When have you experienced Ghosts in your lives? Think back on your lives. Look at the decisions and experiences. Where have voices from the past impacted your decisions? Have there been times when you could not tell if you believed something to be true, or that you were supposed to believe? Think about the news. Do you see ghosts "in between the lines of the newspaper"? In this blog space, please share these experiences. Begin your post with 1-2 direct quotations from Ghosts that match the feelings you are sharing, so we can see the direct parallels and engage with the text. I provided some moments from Act II, below, to help you get started. I look forward to your responses. Your post should be 300-400 words.
Quotations from Act 2
- Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.
- Yes--when you forced me under the yoke of what you called duty and obligation; when you lauded as right and proper what my whole soul rebelled against as something loathsome. It was then that I began to look into the seams of your doctrines. I wanted only to pick at a single knot; but when I had got that undone, the whole thing ravelled out. And then I understood that it was all machine-sewn.
- Oh, wait a minute!--now I recollect. Johanna did have a trifle of money. But I would have nothing to do with that. "No," says I, "that's mammon; that's the wages of sin. This dirty gold--or notes, or whatever it was--we'll just flint, that back in the American's face," says I. But he was off and away, over the stormy sea, your Reverence.
- It only shows how excessively careful one ought to be in judging one's fellow creatures. But what a heartfelt joy it is to ascertain that one has been mistaken! Don't you think so?
- At last he said: "There has been something worm-eaten in you from your birth." He used that very word… He said, "The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children." No other explanation was possible, he said. That's the awful part of it. Incurably ruined for life--by my own heedlessness! All that I meant to have done in the world--I never dare think of it again--I'm not able to think of it. Oh! if I could only live over again, and undo all I have done! [He buries his face in the sofa.]
- I only mean that here people are brought up to believe that work is a curse and a punishment for sin, and that life is something miserable, something; it would be best to have done with, the sooner the better…But in the great world people won't hear of such things. There, nobody really believes such doctrines any longer. There, you feel it a positive bliss and ecstasy merely to draw the breath of life. Mother, have you noticed that everything I have painted has turned upon the joy of life?--always, always upon the joy of life?--light and sunshine and glorious air-and faces radiant with happiness. That is why I'm afraid of remaining at home with you.
By the way, that photo looks very Burtonesque!🔼
ReplyDeleteOSWALD. At last he said: "There has been something worm-eaten in you from your birth." He used that very word—vermoulu.
DeleteMRS. ALVING. [Breathlessly.] What did he mean by that?
OSWALD. I didn't understand either, and begged him to explain himself more clearly. And then the old cynic said—[Clenching his fist] Oh—!
MRS. ALVING. What did he say?
OSWALD. He said, "The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children."
MRS. ALVING. [Rising slowly.] The sins of the fathers—!
OSWALD. I very nearly struck him in the face—
MRS. ALVING. [Walks away across the room.] The sins of the fathers—
OSWALD. [Smiles sadly.] Yes; what do you think of that? Of course I assured him that such a thing was out of the question. But do you think he gave in? No, he stuck to it; and it was only when I produced your letters and translated the passages relating to father—
MRS. ALVING. But then—?
OSWALD. Then of course he had to admit that he was on the wrong track; and so I learned the truth—the incomprehensible truth! I ought not to have taken part with my comrades in that lighthearted, glorious life of theirs. It had been too much for my strength. So I had brought it upon myself!
MRS. ALVING. Oswald! No, no; do not believe it!
OSWALD. No other explanation was possible, he said. That's the awful part of it. Incurably ruined for life—by my own heedlessness! All that I meant to have done in the world—I never dare think of it again—I'm not able to think of it. Oh! if I could only live over again, and undo all I have done! [He buries his face in the sofa.]
⚠Making terrible things look like they never happened only increases the risk of them happening again.⚠
DeleteTherefore, denial does more harm than good. Prior knowledge is necessary for distinguishing what worked well, what can be improved upon, and what shouldn't happen again.
DeleteI believe in improvising, and only ever conform to nonconformity itself. I keep an open mind, and make room for one and all.☮✝☪🕉☸✡🔯🕎☯☦🛐⛎♈♉♊♋♌♍♎♏♐♑♒♓🆔⚕♾⚛(Correct me if I misused any of these.)
DeleteRemembering terrible things makes them less likely to happen again, yet sometimes, in spite of these lessons, new horrors seem strangely familiar. You all read Elie Wiesel's Night, didn't you? That tale was excruciating, but it's one of the most effective accounts of the Holocaust available to more fortunate people. Though Donald Trump isn't anywhere near as dangerous as Adolf Hitler, he's made racists throughout the U. S. feel comfortable, and everybody else feel threatened. Nazi Germany was much worse, but we can't even take anymore of this.
Delete“Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me.”
ReplyDeleteThis quote reminds me of how the past repeats itself. I haven't had any personal experiences with it, but I it has happened in the world. I would think after there was one World War, there would not be a second one, but because history repeats itself, a second one ended up happening. I would think that the people who lived through World War I were probably experiencing “ghost” when World War II began. Another situation where the voices from the past impact people is when celebrities say something controversial from a few years ago and it comes back to “bite” them now. Multiple celebrities have experienced a situation like this so they must have not been happy when their “ghosts” from the past came back to “bite” them in the future.
Looking back on my life experiences, I like the many characters in “Ghosts” by Ibsen, have let many of my decisions be made by the ghosts I carry with me. There is a line during the play by Mrs. Alving that I would like to focus on, “Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off…” After reading this, I really could relate to what Ibsen was trying to tell his audience. I recognized that I carried many ghosts with me whether it is the ghosts of my culture, ghosts of my family, or even ghosts of my friends. And I, like much of society, have succumbed many times to what the ghosts “tell” me is the right thing to do. For example, the most recent experience of my ghosts and I is with college. The ghosts of my family is telling me to go to college in Canada because everything there is supposedly better. The ghosts of my friends is telling me to go to a school where I can run track at because they believe I have the potential to. All these different ghosts telling me the right decision to make drowns out the only opinion that truly matters, my own. And that is similar to what the characters in “Ghosts” experience, they don’t know whether it is the right decision or not because their ghosts are telling them different things all at the same time.
ReplyDeleteBut there are ways in which we can fend of these ghosts that we carry so that it no longer affects our lives. In act 2, Oswald offers a thought on how to escape it. He said that, “here [the country they are in] people are brought up to believe that work is a curse and a punishment for sin, and that life is something miserable, something; it would be best to have done with, the sooner the better…But in the great world people won't hear of such things. There, nobody really believes such doctrines any longer. There, you feel it a positive bliss and ecstasy merely to draw the breath of life. Mother, have you noticed that everything I have painted has turned upon the joy of life?--always, always upon the joy of life?--light and sunshine and glorious air-and faces radiant with happiness. That is why I'm afraid of remaining at home with you.” Oswald is trying to tell his mother that in their society, nothing will ever be happy because everyone continues to carry the ghosts that negatively impact their lives. That out there, in the greater world, no one seems to carry any ghosts at all and doesn’t let them impact their lives in any way. We could learn a thing or two from what Oswald is trying to say. Instead of carrying ghosts around with us all the time, why not let them free? Focus on building our own path in life instead of one similar to our ancestors.
“when you forced me under the yoke of what you called duty and obligation; when you lauded as right and proper what my whole soul rebelled against as something loathsome. It was then that I began to look into the seams of your doctrines. I wanted only to pick at a single knot; but when I had got that undone, the whole thing ravelled out. And then I understood that it was all machine-sewn.”
ReplyDelete“Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.”
I think a lot of people are often weighed down by the weight of tradition, which is really a ghost in and of itself. In my family, culture is still very prevalent, and along with it comes a lot of unnecessary and outdated responsibility that we have to bear, because “that’s how it’s always been done.” Since I am an only child and a girl to boot, I am expected to be adept at cooking and cleaning before anything else, and a lot of my family will question my choice of going to college, as they think it is most important for girls to find husbands and give their parents grandchildren. In that vein, my mom has a lot of gatherings and events, and regardless of who actually cooked, she feels that she needs to say that she made the food, because to say that my dad made the food would somehow be wrong or improper, as if somehow each person was not properly filling their designated role.
People also often feel the need to perpetuate these ghosts, because they provide a shield against the truth that many people are afraid of. This is visible in the news, especially now. Both sides of the political spectrum turn a blind eye to the inconvenient truths of those that they are backing, because to face the truth would mean that they would have to take responsibility for their own views and complicity in whatever wrong has been committed. This is often an argument against things like racism and sexism, where people excuse their words and actions by citing the fact that people have been saying and doing those things for years, or that its was simply the way that they were raised. We see this in the way that educated people often fall back on the views of their parents, even though they have grown to know better.
Looking back into my childhood and even today, I remember my aunt (mom's sister) who passed away a few ago due to cancer. Her spirit is in my heart through her letters, as well as her jewelry. My mom gives me some of her sisters belongings and I always treasure them. I haven't seen her in person ever since I was 2 years old, but her voice echo's in my head when she gives me comfort or advice if I have accomplished something, when I need someone to talk to, and even on my birthday. I feel her soft presence everyday watching over me.
ReplyDeleteI visited my cousin three years ago in Dubai and as I hung out and talked with her, I could see so much resemblance of her and my aunt (her mother) through looks and personality. I was able to connect and give my cousin all the support she needed. Everyday, she would give my aunt an offering of food before she or her father ate any meal. Even though my cousin was happy, I could still see the pain in her eyes of loosing the person she loved and connected most with. I am glad I was able to see her and help her because it is very hard in losing your mother. But even though my aunt is not physically present, she is always alive in my heart and in everyone else's in my family. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. This is similar to Mrs. Alving's way of seeing ghosts because she feels the presence of her ghost that she will never forget about no matter how hard she tried.
MRS. ALVING. [Hoarsely.] Ghosts! The couple from the conservatory—risen again!
“Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.”
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect, throughout my life, I’ve let ghosts decide my actions, opinions, and choices. The most influential ghosts are those from my family. Being asian-american can be stressful and difficult. Ghosts of my ancestors have set expectations far beyond what I consider reasonable. The expectations are derived from the mentality of most chinese people. In China, there is no Common Application and college admissions solely rely on tests. As a result, my family’s ghosts have many times pushed me away from a social life toward a more rigorous bland life of studying. In addition, ghosts have also affected the way I’ve pursued injustice. Chinese people have developed this mindset of avoiding people’s business. As long as it doesn’t affect you, there shouldn’t be any reason to pursue it. This view becomes more and more prevalent with each generation. These ghosts are scared to speak out because of what the chinese government would do. There were many instances where I felt pressured to stay quiet because I thought someone else would step up. Today, I try to avoid these ghosts. As the first generation in my family to be born in the United States, I acknowledge that the experiences I will go through are completely separated from those my ancestors went through. “But in the great world people won't hear of such things. There, nobody really believes such doctrines any longer. There, you feel it a positive bliss and ecstasy merely to draw the breath of life. Mother, have you noticed that everything I have painted has turned upon the joy of life?--always, always upon the joy of life?--light and sunshine and glorious air-and faces radiant with happiness. That is why I'm afraid of remaining at home with you.”
“I only mean that here people are brought up to believe that work is a curse and a punishment for sin, and that life is something miserable, something; it would be best to have done with, the sooner the better…But in the great world people won't hear of such things. There, nobody really believes such doctrines any longer. There, you feel it a positive bliss and ecstasy merely to draw the breath of life. Mother, have you noticed that everything I have painted has turned upon the joy of life?--always, always upon the joy of life?--light and sunshine and glorious air-and faces radiant with happiness. That is why I'm afraid of remaining at home with you.”
ReplyDeleteFor me, this quote represents several experiences in my life. Although I am not going to specifically, describe one in detail but for me, it seems that whenever I look forward to something, it seems that it does not go as according to plan. In fact, it ends up being the complete opposite of what I expect. It is only when I look forward to something, like I am super excited for a family vacation or whatever, it turns out so badly. It could be something like we get into a family argument or someone forgot something super important that we need and everything just goes crashing down. However, on the other hand, this is also true for the opposite. It seems that whenever I really hate something or don’t want to go somewhere or to an event, it turns out to be absolutely amazing. Everything is a blast, similar to when I look forward to something, it is nothing that I expected. More often than not, there is a surprising event that enhances the mood and atmosphere. Whether it is finding new friends, meeting old ones, a special place or anything else, the experience is incredible. So now, I basically try not to look forward to vacations or meeting old friends in the hope that it will turn out a lot better.
“Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.”
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to believing in “ghosts”, I see where I can find them in my experiences of thinking in my life. In my life I see people practicing their religions and it always makes me wonder why do they know to believe what they believe. I wonder, are these people practicing something that they think deep down is fake but they do it anyway, or is it something deeper than that. Maybe their parents or their past have shaped how they practice their religion. In other words, how do they believe something that they cannot see? That is what I always wonder in terms of thinking about ghosts in my own experiences.
The quote above connects to my ghost experience because Mrs. Alving is calling into question people’s beliefs like I just talked about above, people’s ideals, people’s ideas, and as she says “so forth”. Perhaps it has something to do with people’s parents that “walks” inside the people who practice their faith/religion and who are possibly afraid of the light, afraid of believing different than what others want them to believe about themselves believing. I feel this is a very strong connection with this quote and this idea of what people believe, how they believe it, and why in the first place did they start believing it.
"But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off." much of the world we live in today is a result of the ghosts that still linger within each of us. from our government to our education and even how we treat our fellow man, we're all whether we like it or not influenced by the will of others from the past, present, and even future. Ghosts are alive in every aspect of modern life. Christmas was originally a roman holiday intended to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ but now it's mostly just a consumerist even where everyone goes out and buys presents for one another. we all conform to this holiday and spend our hard earned money just because that's how we've always done it. I think that there are a lot of things in our lives in which everyone unanimously agrees should be changed, but we're controlling each other and preventing it. like boy and girl colors, toys and clothes for example. who actually cares about that stuff? the hierarchy in high school and i'm sure other places is based off of who can conform to the most stuff. The cool kids are always wearing big brand names and talking as they think they should to be "cool". I don't think that anybody is really cool per se but even I have to follow the unspoken spoken rules
ReplyDeleteThere aren’t many times i’ve experienced ghosts in my life, however there is a time I do remember. My first year on the volleyball team I was very nervous and scared to try out as I had never tried to play volleyball anywhere besides gym class. I thought there was no way id get any kind of respect because I was so bad at playing , I didn’t feel like my normal self around the upperclassmen and the other players trying out. However when I made the team and the season progressed, I stopped seeing those ghosts of my first few weeks and I eventually began to consider myself as an “equal” to the other players on the team, I began to make friends with the other kids who weren’t just on JV and I am still friends with most of those kids today. However when I came back around for my second season I started to see those same ghosts that I had seen last year, except I didn't see them in myself, Like when Ms Alving sees the ghosts of her husband cheating on her: “When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off”. I saw them in the new freshman who had walked on to the team I made it a personal goal of mine to make the transition into the sport easier for them than it was for me. I saw so much of myself in those kids that it was almost scary because I knew exactly what they were going through. I think that is represented well in this quote “It only shows how excessively careful one ought to be in judging one's fellow creatures. But what a heartfelt joy it is to ascertain that one has been mistaken”. This relates because most of the kids think that their every move is being judged and mocked by the upperclassmen but everybody was that freshman/sophomore at one point in their life and nobody seems to think of it like that.
ReplyDelete-Aidan Foley
Delete"It only shows how excessively careful one ought to be in judging one's fellow creatures. But what a heartfelt joy it is to ascertain that one has been mistaken! Don't you think so?"
ReplyDelete"Yes--when you forced me under the yoke of what you called duty and obligation; when you lauded as right and proper what my whole soul rebelled against as something loathsome. It was then that I began to look into the seams of your doctrines. I wanted only to pick at a single knot; but when I had got that undone, the whole thing ravelled out. And then I understood that it was all machine-sewn."
This quote reminds me of an experience I've had before with ghosts trying to convince my decision making. In sophomore year of high school i was doing a photography project. The teacher told me that i couldn't include a certain picture in my final photos because it did not fit the rubric. I though about this for a while and i ended up submitting the picture any ways just because i liked it, ignoring the grade i might get. In this experience in my life, the ghosts heavily influenced my decision, telling me to go against what other people were telling me to do and follow my head. This quote made me feel this way when i read it, cause in the moment of this experience, to me my teacher was mistaken in not letting me submit my picture as i believed it showed the mood i wanted. To other people, she may have been right but the ghost told me that she was mistaken with her rubric. The next quote also reminds me of this same experience but for a different reasoning. This quote reminds me of this by saying that the duty and obligation of the person was rebelled against. When I decided to put my picture in, i felt a little sense of this, going against the rubric and doing my own thing. In the end, after submitting the picture i felt better like i had done the right thing by not listening to my superiors. Which gives me the same feeling as, it being machine sewn. I felt like the project was machine sewn when it shouldn't have been. To me it felt like the teacher was forced to tell me if this wasn't allowed. But instead i feel like in a art class there shouldn't be such strict projects, and if i do my own thing despite others around me, that it is success in itself.
- Troy Kennedy
“Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.”
ReplyDeleteI have experienced ghosts throughout my life, especially this year when applying to colleges. I was very picky and did not have certain things that I liked, I just had a feeling about some of the colleges. When my search first started junior year, my mom had voiced how much she liked Montana State University, a small state college located in Bozeman Montana. She has cousins that live out in Montana, and they all went to it as well. Also, one of her cousins is a professor at the school, so it was clear why she had such a heavy bias towards the school. When I first looked at the school online I thought it was nice, but had a few things that I strongly disliked about it, like the location being so far away from my family and friends. I felt pressured by my family to apply to this school, not as if I was forced to, but morally I was obligated to at least apply to this school to please my family. This is very similar to ghosts because I felt like I didn't have the choice, and the ghosts guided me to making my decision of applying. Now I think to myself if these same ghosts are going to follow me when I am deciding on colleges, and whether the ghosts will make me apply as well. This is similar to in act 1 when Regina was talking to her dad about how he wants her to come home with her. He wanted to have her come work at a sailors house, or a prostitute house for him. She is disgusted and does not want to. This is similar, but not to the same degree what my story was about. We both blindly were expected to follow orders from our parents because they knew what was best for us. Even though the children should know what is best for themselves.
Yes--when you forced me under the yoke of what you called duty and obligation; when you lauded as right and proper what my whole soul rebelled against as something loathsome. It was then that I began to look into the seams of your doctrines. I wanted only to pick at a single knot; but when I had got that undone, the whole thing ravelled out. And then I understood that it was all machine-sewn.
ReplyDeleteIt only shows how excessively careful one ought to be in judging one's fellow creatures. But what a heartfelt joy it is to ascertain that one has been mistaken! Don't you think so?
A ghost that has appeared in my life was my perception of the people around me. As a child I believed that the adults in my life were perfect, and knew everything. I was taught to respect my elders and listen to everything they had to say. However, as I grew up I began to realize that many people in my life had differing opinions, and rather than listening and agreeing with all of them, I had to choose what to listen to for myself. I also found that I did not agree with or respect a lot of what they had to say. It became harder and harder for me to reconcile the ghost of how I had seen this person with how I began to see them. I wanted to continue to view them as the childhood hero that I had seen, but that hero was becoming more of a ghost than a reality. However, the ghost still haunts me when I remember better memories with them. Seeing the ghost makes me wish I was closer to them, because the ghost is happy, and the reality is not, but the ghost can’t change what I know, it can only show me what I thought.
-Solace Lockheardt
MRS. ALVING. Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.
ReplyDeleteThroughout modern society there are many examples of ghosts. People tend to follow the status quo instead of doing what they really believe deep down. A lot of people act how they think they should act based on other peoples actions, making decisions that aren’t truly their own. A lot of people also base a lot of their choices on traditions and how people acted long before them, similar to ghosts.
When I was younger, my parents made me play baseball every year whether I liked it or not. I would act out about it but I would never quit because I thought I would disappoint the people around me if I did. This is an example of ghosts in my life. I believed that my actions would make the people around me happy even though I didn’t actually feel like doing so was the right thing to do.
ReplyDelete“Yes--when you forced me under the yoke of what you called duty and obligation; when you lauded as right and proper what my whole soul rebelled against as something loathsome. It was then that I began to look into the seams of your doctrines. I wanted only to pick at a single knot; but when I had got that undone, the whole thing ravelled out. And then I understood that it was all machine-sewn.”
I think there are Ghosts all around us, whether they are intended or not. I see them a lot with certain “roles” in my own house. A prime example of this is typical chores and duties that my siblings and I tend to gravitate toward. When he is home, it is always expected of my brother to do tasks like mow the lawn or snowblow the driveway. My dad has never really considered asking me or my sisters to do it, nor have we considered volunteering to do so. It is not as if my father or anyone believes the females in my family are unfit to do the job, but it is just always how it has been. At the same time, however, these are the same parents that encourage their three daughters to choose their own paths, provide for themselves, and always be unapologetically themselves. The same father that does not have me mow the lawn encouraged me to be the only girl in an all boys basketball league in middle school. So I think most lurking “ghosts” or traditional values around me are not intended to be demeaning or limiting, they are just routine.
I have also experienced these “ghosts” in the classroom. In history classes especially, I sometimes have felt as though it was most practical to write what I thought a teacher may want to hear rather than how I really felt. Sometimes sources provided by teachers guide you in a certain direction, making it harder and quite frankly more time consuming to argue on the opposing side. Even though it is rarely proven true, there is also the fear that a teacher may grade a student’s paper harder when they take the other side.
Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.
ReplyDeleteIn this scene Mrs. Alving is talking about how ghosts are all over her everyday life, things of the past that are still influencing everyday decisions. She is also saying how Oswald is reminding her of his father, Captain Alving, and she does not like that at all because of his previous actions with bad repercussions.
In today’s world we still see “ghosts” all the time, whether in our own lives or globally in the news. Everyday during school I can feel myself guided by ghosts. My sister is 4 years older than me and has gone through the same high school already. She did very well and I am expected to do the same. I always think about this when doing my work how I have to keep up with how good she did. Also, when we have some of the same teachers they will always say how much I remind them of her, which can be a good thing. However, it is tough to overcome the shadow that has been left by “ghosts.”
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete“It only shows how excessively careful one ought to be in judging one's fellow creatures. But what a heartfelt joy it is to ascertain that one has been mistaken! Don't you think so?” This quote is similar to how I feel sometimes when I am reading sports headlines. Sports headlines are often just rumors that are blown out of proportion by media outlets to get more views. I am often too quick to judge before I get all the facts. One example of this was earlier this year a player, Antonio Brown, was not attending his practices and the media blew this completely out of proportion. Everywhere I turned I saw posts about “reports” that Antonio brown wanted to retire or that he was running out of money. One media outlet had posted some false information in the hopes of getting more views on their article and it seemed like the entire internet had bitten on their bait. Too often I find myself immediately forming an opinion about a player or team based on some rumor I see online. I have learned my lesson and take these headlines with a grain of salt and try to do my own research and form my own opinions.
ReplyDeleteThis experience is very similar to when Pastor Manders found out what books Mrs.Alving was reading. He was quick to denounce them before she could say anything even though he had not even read them. He said he had read reviews of the books but had not read them himself as I had with the headlines. I had read a headline and formed an opinion before understanding the subject entirely. Unlike Pastor Manders I am not controlled by my ghosts, I have learned from my mistakes and now understand the threat of fake news more. In sports and football especially there are certain ideas about teams that everyone simply follows. Everyone outside of New England has a hatred for the Patriots even if they haven’t played against them in years. This mixed with the plethora of misinformation spread by news outlets makes it hard to form your own opinion on a team or player.