essay on book, An Angel at my table
In the autobiography we learn much about the author and her experience, as about the age and society in which she lives. Discuss this statement with the specific references to the book (Min. 750 words).From the "down the line" to the "first ocean voyage and it's running smoothly". For someone who is not familiar with Janet Frame biography it sounds almost as a fiction, but for everyone who had read the novel it is living history, proof that there is no limit in ordinary human life. Janet Frame's "journey" had begun on day of her arrival in a big city Dunedin. From day one she started to feel anxiety that was significant point for her future life. Being alone, afraid of the city and Training College and teaching, and yet pretending that none of these was happening, it was almost like living two different lives. With strong imagination (everyone would recognize her as a true poet - refer to page 14) the only company in her life at that stage were the poets. In reality, there was noone to talk to (refer to page 17). And yet, she could not imagine herself belonging to the relatives and friends (page 14). Moreover, there was another contradiction: Feeling isolated a
Her experience clearly describes the attitude of society she lived in. It also shows the lack of understanding and what the level of medical and psychiatric practice was at the time. Inaccurate and unjustified diagnosis and questionable professional ethic may (and probably have!) ruined many lives. It leads us to think that such ignorance and lack of knowledge was typical for that time! She became part of institutional life where many patients had no past, no future and had only a nickname (page 69). I wonder if anyone among "ordinary" people has ever thought about these "secret" people and if anyone does, then in what way? For Janet Frame there was no doubt that she was totally present in the "real" world, but also that she was in the world of imagination (page 73). Fortunately medical science and overall attitude of the society have developed and changed for better. Sometimes we still find wrong attitudes in the society or ignorance among medical professionals, however these are generally isolated cases and do not represent current practice.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Training College, Janet Frame, School Dunedin, , Janet Frame's, refer page, janet frame, attitude society, latent period, started feel, page 14, life stage,
Approximate Word count = 792
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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