The Need for a Connection

Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” and Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro” both share a common theme of relationships and everyday life. On Tuesday I went to a presentation by NAMI (National Association of Mental Illnesses). This presentation was extremely interesting in that it gave you an inside look at the lives of people who suffer from mental illnesses. The short story, poem, and presentation all give people a chance to go inside the minds and make connections with those surrounding you.
In the short story, Walker focuses on the relationship a mother shares with her daughters. With Dee, there is a strained relationship and tension is clearly present. With Maggie, there seems to be a more natural love and appreciation between them. When Dee comes home after being fortunate enough to be able to go away to school, she views herself as superior to her family. Rather than treating her family with the respect they deserve, Dee pushes them around and constantly reminds her mom and sister how much better off she is. She does not take into account their feelings whatsoever and while visiting, makes her relationship with them even more stressed. If she had realized that this is her history, where she came from, and had appreciated and embraced it, then they would all be better off while leading happier lives.
Ezra Pound’s poem also focuses on human interaction but in a much less emotional way. She writes as she zones in on her surroundings. She is in a crowded place and all around her are people of all different cultures, statures, and lives. Despite the countless differences between the people all around, everyone is still connected by living in this society. This is point she is trying to get across in the second line when she states “Petals on a wet, black bough.” It is vital to take in and appreciate the surrounding areas and neighbors. This action will help you make decisions in your life and emphasize the idea that everyone is linked together in some way or another.
The NAMI presentation was one that really opened my eyes. It consisted of a movie that was shown and two speakers. In the movie, there were a group of people that suffered from mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia and schizoaffective. The movie was broken down into four sections entitled “Dark Days”, “Coping”, “Treatment”, and “Faith, Hopes, and Dreams.” Each section interviewed a few of the people that had an illness as they discussed what they went through and what they were feeling during these steps to their recovery. Along with the movie, there were two speakers that came. The speakers also suffered from mental illnesses and they shared their stories with us as well. The man suffered from bipolar disorder. It was interesting to hear his story. He shared with us his darkest days. One of them was when his wife was pregnant. He was driving a car with her in it and was convinced that she was going to leave him. He locked the doors, pulled over and refused to let her out. The police were called and he was arrested. After realizing how low his life has really gone, he underwent treatment. He now lives to see his 20 month old son and says that his son is what makes him want to never go through an episode again. The woman that came suffered from bipolar as well as anorexia. She told us her darkest days were when her fiancée had broken up with her over email. She hadn’t eaten for four days, she drank anything she could get her hands on, would not leave her house and had started to slit her wrists. She knew she needed help and eventually called her mom who then brought her to a hospital where after many rough patches, began to recover. Their stories really helped you understand them better and it was interesting to hear how they have been treated in the past by their peers and family. It is a known fact that a good percentage of homeless people do in fact have a mental illness. After hearing these people tell their stories, I realized that if they had not had supportive family and friends then they could have wound up on the streets as well.
The poem written by Ezra Pound and Alice Walker’s short story both focus on relationships and the need for connections with people. After hearing the people from the NAMI presentation speak, the desire for interactions with people and the feeling of love seem to be even more important than can be realized by most people.