Blog Post #4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejpWWP1HNGQ
A short video on an important issue in my book - Mental Illness

Why I chose this piece?

I chose this piece because words can't really describe the issue presented and really let you get the feel for what is going on. I tried to understand the issue of autism or CDD, which are both closely related, through words but it just didn't work. I chose this piece because it actually showed us examples of this illness and the main narrator is also diagnosed with a very mild type of autism. The video really helped to show how big this problem really is, it gave an example of showing the families of the children speaking to us about how they deal with having the child in their life. How difficult this condition makes it for them to live on a daily basis and just gives us a deep inside view and really understand a lot about my novel.

 

How it connects to the social issue/novel?

This connects to the social issue in my novel because in my book mental illness is a very big problem. It helps explain as the youngest child in the family, Lucas has CDD, child disintegrative disorder which is very similar to autism. It is the type of autism that Rosie's brother Lenny has. The type that doesn't allow him to be independent but rather the type that makes him stay quite, not talk much and be very specific about certain things or he jus cant focus. This is exactly what Lucas has as Lucas doesn't talk much, he is very specific about certain things and sometimes just run off. But most of all is lost in space most of the time. Also it really connected to the part where the families talk about how difficult it is to deal with the kids it really connects. Like in the book we are able to tell that the family has to go out of their way to take care of Lucas and it begins to annoy everyone and it is especially hard because a sibling had recently passed away as well. So it connects because you can tell that both these families find it extremely difficult to take care of them as their mental illness really comes in the way of that limiting it. On top of that they are on vacation in one of Mexico's top five star resorts but all Lucas wants to do is go swimming. But even through all this they still love him and respect him and take him swimming to keep him happy. Similar to in the video how they deal with his disorder and keep Lenny happy. Also in the video we see that there are many types of autism's and CDD's but we can tell that Lucas is lucky and has one of the milder ones. In the video how it explains that people with autism live in a world of their own and block out other people just like Lucas does most of the time when he goes out to play and how when autistic people want something they will stop at nothing to get it. Similarly Lucas runs off at random times and just goes into the water not really listening and there are many clues that connect from the video to the book. I just wish we got a better perspective on Lucas as it would've helped us learn so much more about this.  

ISU Blog #3

http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/170629-lnlb/

Why I chose this article?

I chose this article because it poses many similarities to my article. In my book there is much depression presented in many ways as well. In the article it describes how depression can be internal and doesn't have to show every single time and can sometimes just happen and no one around will know. It also describes what depressions can lead to and the many outcomes after. It also tells us how men and women deal with depression and you can see some of the signs and signals throughout my book and it enables us to know that the character is depressed or not. The article allows us to learn more deeply about the characters and really understand what is going on within them. How they try to deal with it and much more. It gives the reader a much deeper understanding of what is happening and how the social issue of depression and death can be found throughout. Before reading this article I didn't even understand this social issue even though I knew it was taking place but after reading it I understood all the little articles.

 

How it relates to the social issue?

It relates to one of the social issues in my book, death and depression very well. It connects because various characters in my book are depressed. For example Jace, the main character is dealing with depression in many ways but appears to be happy and enjoying his expensive vacation. Yet on the inside is dying because his brother has just died, he is ignored and unhappy in his family, he's still a virgin and he is sick and tired of caring for his younger brother who has CDD. The article helps us by telling us how he is ignoring his depression but can not shake it off as you have to deal with it to get over it. He was feeling the shame in depression just as the article mentions so he was trying to shake it off by trying to have fun, having sex, it wasn't working. Also Jace's older brother, Stephen was a perfect example of hidden depression. No one even knew why how or when he was depressed but they knew he was after they found his body. Just like the article says, depression is not funny, and people should deal with it as ignoring it just begins to become unbearable. Jace's mother and father are also depressed as they are dealing with the death of their son. They're are many little things mentioned throughout the article such as the signs of depression and as you begin to connect it to the book and you really begin to understand the little details that the author put in and it just makes so much more sense then.



This is a really powerful picture as the book runs very smoothly throughout and everyone seems happy but a dark mood is set and for many characters this is a key quote.