Martha, Marcy, May, and Marlene's View of Freedom
You will be graded on the depth of your consideration, how you struggle with the ideas and thoughts and not rely on easy answers. And you will be graded on your ability to be clear about your ideas. You should write like yourself, don’t be too fancy, but make sure and state what you mean and explain it. The biggest mistake students make is stating ideas with little to no explanation. A C paper (60 -69): some grasp of the course material and ofers a thought but not a deeply explained one. It is lacking in stylistic clarity and in depth of reflection. A B paper (70-79): is either very clear but not very strong in its ability to reflect on the question and its own thought, the student presents a broad surface but does not explore their own thought in significant depth. Or vice versa, they have provided a very good base of thinking but not a very clear presentation of their ideas, many statements and fewer explanations. An A paper (80-89): is very clear and excellent in both aspects. An A+ paper (90-100): is profoundly clear and thoughtful, the student is aware of complexity and nuance and demonstrates both in an absolutely clear fashion. Advice for Success on This Assignment Choose a question that interests you. Being interested is essential to good work. Speak your truth, but also wonder about how you might be lying to yourself. Do not forget about the course for which this paper is being written. Your discussion must converse with lecture material. Write in your own voice (but with more clarity!). Do not mimic an “academic” style. I want to hear your thoughts on these topics. There should be no reference to secondary sources. Be bold! Do not rely on clichés, platitudes or long held opinions. Do not strive to tell me what you think I want to hear. There is no singular "right" track. If you start your paper and everything makes sense and then you suddenly realize that everything that you have to say is now complicated, that is probably the right track. Feel free to disagree with lecture material. I know that many of you think that thoughts about abstract concepts like love, beauty, freedom, and the like, are subjective. You do not need to write about "that it is all subjective.". You should tell me what it is you think and why you think it. It is fair to not know what you think but this also must be explored. Please do not mention how the dictionary defines certain words. Do not perform your paper, write it with a sense of self-exploration. A good sign of a good paper is if you enjoyed writing it (although this does not always make it clearly written). Your style of writing for this paper should serve communication. Strive to show what you think and why you think it, in a way that your reader (me) can understand. Pay attention to any and all questions that someone might ask about your thinking. Imagine someone reading your paper who is exactly as smart as you and thinks that you are wrong - pay attention to what they might say and consider it. You do not need a conclusion or a title page. Also, attached is a sample of a paper written for another course that I thought was good work. The question that the student is responding to is: 1. Ahimsa is built on the need for selfforgetting. Can you see yourself becoming devoted to the account of self-forgetting that is required? What are the attractions and detractions of forgetting about oneself?
Martha, Marcy, May, and Marlene's View of Freedom
The family institution plays a key role in molding people’s ideas of what is right and wrong, as well as their definitions of freedom and success. My observation is that persons whose family has loose morals very often end up adopting the loose morals themselves. This is because our family or whoever reared us is mostly responsible for socializing. It seems natural that a person's parents would use their income to determine their level of success since they think a paycheck determines the level of success. Equally, if someone from a family believes that freedom is defined by a person's ability to Live off the grid, it is obvious that such a person will have similar views.
People often come to terms with the fact that they differ from their families as they age. More often, people tend to contradict their family's beliefs and definitions of success and freedom by coming up with an opposite view. In Martha Marcy May Marlene, this is clear. Martha has two families in the movie: her biological family and her adopted one. Regarding their concepts of freedom and success, they both represent the two opposing extremes of the spectrum. Their views on what constitutes the "correct" way to live diverge.
Throughout her stay with the cult, Martha has discovered that everything she had previously believed about life was false. The rape she experienced is one instance of this. She was informed that it was an honor and a necessary step in the cleaning (Penner, 2021). She was led to feel it was advantageous. Combined with Patrick's careful observation, the atrocities carried out inside the cult severely distorted Martha's sense of right and wrong and even caused her to lose her sense of self.
People value family so highly because it meets many of our requirements. In many situations, our needs for food and shelter are met by our families. Our families always fill our needs for affection and care, but this is not the case with Martha. When Martha initially joined the cult, she was unaware of a need (Penner, 2021). By making her feel important and showing her that her former family was awful and did not care about her. She felt unique, intelligent, and yet foolish around him. He successfully manipulated his members thanks to his understanding and attentive listening skills. He begins by enticing his followers with love and sharing all the benefits of their new way of life, such as farming and meditation. Then, when they get uncomfortable, he labels Martha as being weak and uses violence and terror to dominate them.
A key moment in Patrick's deception of Martha is when he claims she is a teacher and a leader. After joining the cult, Martha is instructed to expose...