Alana Curcione February 8th, 2016
ENG 101
Greenlee Brown
Health
What
is “Health”? Health can be described many different ways depending on who is
giving the description. Due to the following evidence given to us through
Christian Bale in American Psycho and
Roxanne Edwards in “Roxanne Edwards is Superhuman”, we see a different dynamic
that can question the reader to have two different sides to the notion of being
in good health. Christian Bale portrays a man named Patrick Bateman , who focuses
too much on his physical appearance with his numerous amounts of products he
uses and the high paying job. He may seem normal on the outside but inside he
is just an empty space that is filled with rage. Roxanne Edwards is the total
opposite of the character Patrick Bateman. Her physical abilities allow herself
to be confident and proud of what she has accomplished. Her mental state is
stable because she has learned to appreciate what she had. When you are
physically fit it can correlate to having a positive mental state but it can
also become so obsessive that your mental capability of feeling is only found
deep in your subconscious. This is what
I discovered while I was researching the topic of “Health.”
Everyone
knows that one person that will look at himself or herself too long in the
mirror or someone who just thinks they are better looking than everyone else.
The person that perfectly fits this description is a man named Patrick Bateman.
Technically he is a character in the movie American
Psycho. At first sight many women would say that he is very attractive but
little do they know that underneath his perfect physique is a cold blooded
cereal killer. How does this relate to “health” you may be asking yourself?
Patrick Bateman corresponds to the side of health that proves physical stature
takes over the mind and leaves it empty. What I mean by that is Bateman uses
every type of cosmetic product such as deep pour cleansing wash, exfoliating
gel scrub, herb mint facial mask, after shave lotion with no alcohol, moisture,
anti-aging eye balm, and a final protective lotion. This all seems a little OCD
for a man to have a morning routine that would probably take a few hours to
complete. It just isn’t normal. After
this descriptive scene the director Mary Herron adds, “Although I can hide my
cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe
sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simple am not there”(Herron).
This quote is the exact message I am trying to send. It basically says that
even though someone may look very clean cut and put together on the outside
such as Bateman with his designer suits, fancy penthouse and custom business
card, it doesn’t mean they are the same mentally. Bateman tries to over
compensate for the way he feels mentally by sleeping with different women and
doing cocaine with is friends in the bathroom of a club. Inside they can be
insecure, disorganized and a little insane which is the opposite of their
appearance. This proves that physical health does not automatically mean your
mental health is the same.
There
can also be more radiant ad happier side to health that leads people down a
very successful path. They learn to love and cherish life through their health
experiences. Roxanne Edwards is a prime example of a person that loves whom she
is inside and outside. The way she looks reflects her personality. Her
interview with DISmagazine explains her reasoning for the way she looks. She
talks about how her motivation for getting physically built was because she
wanted to look good naked. She wanted to be happy with her own body before
showing it to the world. Many people may think the pictures she takes are very
controversial but to her she is just showing the world all the hard work that
she put into her body. In the interview, “Roxanne Edwards is Superhuman”, S.
Adrian Massey mention, “The world is set up to tell you what you can’t do, who
you cant be, and what you cant look like. Your job on this planet is to tell
them who you are, why you’re here, and what you’re capable of doing”(Massey). This
quote is a pure representation of Edwards’s confident and carefree personality.
This shows that her mental state is very stable and isn’t altered by anyone and
this came to be like that because of the way she physically looks.
1.) In her introduction, Alana argues that being physically healthy doesn't guarantee a mentally fit mind.
ReplyDelete2.) Her thesis statement succeeds at making a debatable assertion because it is an opinion she formed from her definition of health, which she states has no definite description. Alana's thesis is interesting as she takes on a different perspective of the relationship with the physical and mental well-being. She asserts that most times mental health is intertwined with the success of physical well-being. To improve her introduction, Alana should form a concise thesis followed by her examples instead of jumping back and forth between her main idea and Edwards and Bateman.
3.) After the introduction, the rest of the essay just defends her original thought. There is little development through out the paper, each paragraph contains examples that uphold her thesis. To further her argument, Alana should try connecting each example back to the original point she made and create a fourth paragraph that compare Edwards' and Bateman's mental state.
4.) She fails to wrap up her essay with a conclusion.
Alana's thesis to me is basically that there are 2 different types of health, one mental and one physical, and they do not always go hand and hand. I personally like the thesis because not only did I not think of it but to me it makes for a very good discussion, and is interesting because I don't think a lot of people would have decided to choose that as a thesis. Also I like the way she explained both examples and how this idea of mental and physical health is an important role in their lives. The only thing that I would personally add is a more broad statement at the end which reinstates the thesis form a larger perspective.
ReplyDeleteAlana's thesis to me is basically that there are 2 different types of health, one mental and one physical, and they do not always go hand and hand. I personally like the thesis because not only did I not think of it but to me it makes for a very good discussion, and is interesting because I don't think a lot of people would have decided to choose that as a thesis. Also I like the way she explained both examples and how this idea of mental and physical health is an important role in their lives. The only thing that I would personally add is a more broad statement at the end which reinstates the thesis form a larger perspective.
ReplyDelete