There is no doubt that Ahab is the most uncivilized and barbaric of the sailors. Although he is the captain of the ship and holds authority over the entire crew, his actions do not merit him respectability. The harpooners carry a tarnished image by virtue of their profession – they are obligated to massacre the…
Category: Psychology
Theme of Personal Obsession in The Emperor’s Babe and Purple Hibiscus
Both the stories in question have a female, colored protagonist. The two central characters Zuleika and Kambili are also similarly aged – it is their teenage years that are being explored. Even before they reach adulthood they go through enormous upheavals in their lives. Moreover, their stories fit into a colonial discourse with attendant features…
How does Freudian Theory help to explain social formation?
Freudian Theory has been criticized by feminists for espousing a patriarchal social formation. The most vocal critique among Second Wave feminists is Betty Friedan, whose cornerstone work Feminine Mystique (published in 1963) took issue with Freudian psychoanalysts. She perceived Freudian Theory to comply with a subordinate role for women in and outside the household. The…
Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models
Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S.A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582. Aggression is all around modern society. We witness it in television, video games, news, cinema, etc. The research article by Bandura, Ross & Ross makes it near conclusive that children learn…
What are effective discipline strategies to use with a child who is going through the “”terrible 2’s?”
There is truth to the popular belief that toddlers of 2-3 years old are the most difficult to deal with. This is so because during this phase, toddlers are exercising and consolidating their newly acquired motor and language skills. They tend to speak or babble a lot and also run about the space at home. …
The dramatic differences found by Piaget in the development of preschoolers and elementary-age children
A child undergoes rapid physiological and cognitive developments in the first few years. Preschoolers or toddlers slowly shed their ‘ego-centric’ view. This means that a newborn baby does not have the capacity to think of and for others. This ability to understand that there are others in the world is slowly gained during the years…
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy: An analysis
One of the later works of Leo Tolstoy, the novella is preoccupied with the meaning of death, and by extension the meaning of life. The main character, Ivan Ilyich, is a sort of a symbol for common man in the industrial age. Outwardly, he has all the trappings of a successful life, but there is…
How the Brain Learns?
It is now a standard theory that students’ prior understanding of a subject matter plays the pivotal role in furthering their understanding. The easiest demonstration of this theory at work is the design of school curricula from primary education through high school and college. Basic concepts are introduced at earlier levels, which are further built…
A Study of Aristotelian tragedy in Oedipus
The great Greek myth of Oedipus continues to be integral to the Western literary canon even today. Starting from 5th century B.C., various ancient writers of the Hellenistic era made references to Oedipus in their works. The best known version of the Oedipus myth comes from Sophocles’ trilogy of Theban plays: Oedipus the King, Oedipus…
Summary & Themes in The African Child by Camara Laye
The novel was originally written in French and later translated to numerous other languages including English. Mostly autobiographical, the novel paints a colourful picture of life in Africa. There are the typical ingredients of African wildlife, traditional tribal culture, belief in hoodoo or black magic, etc. But each of these facets to the novel presented…