Attention vs Distraction
...name was Dame Ragnell. (258) This description made me grind my teeth. It made me feel disgusted for Sir Gawain, who was going to have to marry Dame Rangell if he wanted to keep his life. The vivid picture also helped me from getting distracted while I was reading the passage. As a whole this passage allows the reader to get involved in the reading. Davidson asks questions to keep the reader involved, which makes sure the reader understands what points she is trying to make. The description that she gives allows the reader to get a vivid image in his or her head. This also keeps the reader involved in the passage. I think that this passage is very interesting and easy to follow. “Predictable Crises of Adulthood” was my least favorite passage from the adulthood chapter. Although I do agree with Sheehy that these crises are predictable I also think that they are preventable. If you can predict something you should in turn be able to prevent it. I don’t think that Sheehy does a good job at keeping the reader’s attention, but the passage is hard to follow from stage to stage. Going from each development period to the next, we learn new things about ourselves. Everyone goes through these stages at his or her own learning pace. The first stage that Sheehy talks about is called pulling up roots. In this stage Sheehy says: The tasks of this passage are to locate ourselves in a peer group role, a sex role, an anticipated occupation, an ideology or world view. As a result, we gather the impetus to leave home physically and the identity to begin to leaving home emotionally. (207) A crisis that happens during this stage is that part of a person wants to become more individual, but the other part wants the safety of being attached to another person. I can relate to this stage directly, which made me keep my attention on the piece. I am becoming more individual by leaving home, but all I can think about is attaching to a significant other and living the same life with comfort. I know that if I just decided to attach, or get married at this stage I will cause turmoil down the road. This crisis is preventable if the effect it can have is known, such as divorce. The following stage is the trying twenties stage. This stage talks about exploring and experimenting with jobs and new people. Sheehy states that if something is done only because it should be then it is wrong and will end in failure. Also if a person tries a little of everything they will never be happy with what they do indeed finally decide. I disagree with these statements because I think it is really how a person is brought up. If they are brought up to go to work than they will. If that person is brought up to start a family then that is what they will do. I don’t see any crisis in doing things the way a person is brought up. Sheehy lost my attention in this piece because she didn’t display any strong evidence or factual information to change my views on the subject. In the next stage, Catch-30, Sheehy uses evidence from case studies to back up her claims. This makes it hard to argue against. I understand how this crisis is a problem. I still think that a person can look ahead at the crisis and prevent it by planning out what needs to happen. Sheehy does a good job at keeping my attention in this passage because the evidence she used was a personal story between a husband and wife. It is hard to argue with personal experience. The deadline of the decade crisis direc...