Perfection In Donna Milner's After River

Perfectionism is often viewed as a psychological flaw by people who have found themselves in the presence of it, despite its positive potential. In the short story “Pancakes” by Joan Bauer, a teenage girl named Jill is labeled a perfectionist by her mother and ex-boyfriend, both annoyed at her for being so, while she does not see a problem with said characteristic; in the short story “The Crummy First Draft” by Anne Lamott, the author advices her readers on how to write a perfect piece by going through a lengthy yet effective process. Aiming for the best should not be utterly categorized negatively nor positively as it can be a factor in achieving greatness and chaos simultaneously. Things are not always black and white, one has to think

“The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a criticism of human’s focus on perfection and the damage it can cause. Georgiana has a birthmark on her cheek that many believe to be one of the many sources of her beauty. But her husband, Aylmer, believes it to be a hideous imperfection. Aylmer, a scientist, believes that he has the cure for something as damaging as a birthmark. After much persistence, he receives permission to attempt to remove Georgiana’s birthmark and has to deal with its inevitable consequences.

Pressure, the one thing that can single-handedly change normal behaviors to the strange and the foreign; the one force that toys with emotions. It makes the mind commit the worst of atrocities, or the best of blessings upon oneself or unto the surrounding people. Pressure is the biggest factor in what changes people, pressure forces change. The man of grandeur and dignity from the story “The Lie” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Doctor Remenzel, is a man who finds himself being played with emotionally by internal pressures. Thus, he is forced into committing an inconceivable act of hypocrisy and having drastic behavioral changes wrought upon himself.

Pubicness has certainly had its effects on society through the years, for better and for worse. The play, Death of a Salesman, introduces readers to a frustrated, publicity envying Willy Loman. The best way to debunk a myth is to test it. And that is exactly what the public does to perfection.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s shorty story “The Birthmark” coveys a message how perfections is not everything. Hawthorne tells a story of how a man who is obsessed with fixing all of failures, and will go to the ends of the earth to right his failures. The story hits on the theme of man versus the natural world, and how people will do whatever to themselves to make them look perfect. Even though people will go to great lengths to make themselves look a “perfect”, it is the imperfection that make them human.

Being Average-Synthesis Essay Have you ever felt like you’re not good enough or smart and people tell you to quit because you will never succeed? Well I have experienced this in many ways. For me, I take this as a motivation to become the best person I can be. To show the people who said that I will not succeed in things, that I will and that I will succeed ten times harder than someone else would, just to prove a point.

How does perfectionism affect depression of ADA students? Multiple researchers indicates the existing connection between perfectionism and psychological disorders including depression and anxiety (Blatt, 1995; Flett, Hewitt, Blankstein, & Mosher, 1995). Perfectionism represents the expectation of meeting high performance standards followed by self or others’ criticism. As a result, even though perfectionists achieve success, failure of meeting high standards and fear of mistakes drive them to anxiety, stress and depression (Flett, G. L., Blankstein, 1992). Significant findings indicated that there was a positive relationship between sub dimensions of perfectionism and depression among college students (Erozkan, 2011).

Breaking Out of Perfectionism Throughout life, most people strive to "be the best." In school, at sports, at a craft -- anything they put their minds to must be perfect.  Later in life, being a perfectionist can limit personal development and accomplishments. This is due to the fact that most perfectionists will only do things they are good at. They work very hard to stay within their comfort zone and to make that area a perfect place.

Irresponsibility is a theme prevalent throughout the novel seen in characters like Owl Eyes, Jordan, and Daisy; their actions surrounding car accidents and conversations with other characters provide evidence that Fitzgerald desired to convey the irresponsibility of the upper class. At the first party, Nick attends there is an accident as guests begin to leave, and he realizes Owl Eyes was the driver. Owl Eyes makes excuses for his actions and says, “‘Don’t ask me... I know very little about driving - next to nothing” (Fitzgerald 54) while others try to explain to him that the wheel came off and he cannot simply drive away. The topic of driving appears again in a conversation between Nick and Jordan where she states, “‘It take two to make an accident’”

Perfectionism can be understood as a personality trait characterized by an interaction between setting high standards of performance and excessive self-criticism or concerns to reaching them (Blankstein & Dunkley, 2002; Stoeber & Otto, 2006). Several authors have claimed that perfectionism could be adaptive or maladaptive depending on how individual interpret their performance (Hamachek, 1978; Suddarth & Slaney, 2001; Rice & Slaney, 2002). Thus, if a person has a severe self-criticism, possibly consider that there is a wide discrepancy between their ideal and actual performance, bringing him or her to experience psychological distress. By contrast, those subjects who have a flexible evaluation of its achievements, tend to be considered adaptive.