In the book "Breathing Underwater," by Alex Flin, the main character Nick attends an anger management class because he was an overprotective and violent boyfriend to Caitlin. He didn't realize how bad he was until he saw what his friend Leo did to his girlfriend Neysa. This makes me think that you not only need a role model, but also someone to learn from his/her mistakes.
In the beginning of the book, Nick had said, "It was just one slap. I didn't hit her." He didn't realize it was the same thing. But when he spent time with Leo and Neysa, Leo criticized Neysa and even snapped things like, "No one asked for your opinion." Nick had also done these things to Caitlin. In the end, Leo shot Neysa and himself after she broke up with him. Nick questioned if that would've happened to him if he hadn't been sent to the court mandated class. Because of that, he decided to take the anger management class again, fully apologize to Caitlin, and change himself. He was able to turn himself around by not doing what Leo did because he saw the possible outcomes of those actions.
Nick using Leo as the opposite of a role model isn't the first time I've seen or read about this being done. Sometimes, when I see the affects of someone's actions, I make a mental note never to turn into that. I think that everyone does this even in small ways. Our parents tell us to do or not do certain things based on the outcome of the people who had tried it before. However, just seeing someone do something wrong doesn't automatically mean that you will never do it. For example, most people know how bad smoking is for you, but new smokers keep on coming. However, I think that overall, many people need a role model and someone to model the wrong things for them. I believe that you'd get a better understanding of why you should or shouldn't do certain things such as being an abusive person. Maybe it would keep people from making the wrong choices.
What you said about people making mental notes about not becoming like something: I think people do do that, but I think that even if people do that, they mever actually follow the mental note. I believe that your subconscious decides what you do and don't do, no matter what you do to try and prevent that. All in all, it was a really good response with nice unpacking of details.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Victoria. And maybe you're right that it's really just your subconscience that steers you in the certain direction. However, I think in cases like in the book, it Nick really was using his mental notes because Leo affected him so much.
DeleteThis is a great post! You really displayed an understanding of the text, characters, and true meaning. I like your connection to real life and smokers also. I think that a lot of the time these people who are "the opposite of a role model" are the ones who make us be the good people we are today, but it would be nice if things like murder and suicide and abuse didn't have to be there for us to see and learn from those mistakes. In a perfect world this wouldn't exist, but you have a great understamding on the topic and an amazing ability to write based on these sort of lessons through books.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ali. I also wish that these things didn't occur, but we have to remember that they do, or else no one will learn. I think that people in a perfect world would be unhappy because they wouldn't know they were doing good. Like good can't exist without bad. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI agree with you guys, but i want to point out that who ever is the opposite role model isn't being helped and if everyone has an opposite role model then we need to turn a lot of good people bad. i don't know if that makes sense.... well maybe it doesn't but I guess I'll just say we're all someone else to someone else... and so some people will have to be good role models and opposite role models for something else at the same time... I guess... I don't really know how to say it... toots!
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point Joelle. I guess that not everyone should have a person like Leo, but I think that it definitley can help. Of course, there are many different qualities about us that don't make us all good or bad. Everyone can be veiwed differently at different times.
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