Reviving Ophelia Essay - 914 Words

Reviving Ophelia nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Mary Pipher, author of the book Reviving Ophelia, has made many observations concerning young adolescent girls in our society. She wrote this book in 1994, roughly eleven years ago. Although some of her observations made in the past are not still accurate in today’s world, there are many that are still present in 2005. The primary focus of Pipher’s comments is to explain how young girls are no longer being protected within our society. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;This female inferiority idea has been imbedded in the world for many years. Fairy tales are a very good example of how this notion has been present in the United States. The themes that exist in these stories normally deal†¦show more content†¦These efforts to please these three men cause her to go crazy with grief. Eventually, she drowns herself in a pond. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;One thing that Pipher describes is how girls’ views change as they enter adolescence. Lots of girls bury their childhood, and submissively enter adult existence. These girls who are becoming young women, according to Pipher, stop thinking. The main focus on their minds is, â€Å"What must I do to please others?† This thought is true to a certain extent in some young girls. It is true that many of the things that some girls do are solely for the purpose of living up to a societal expectation. Many of the beauty magazines portray images of supermodels; something that young girls may interpret as what the society expects. Also, all of the television and movie actors are very pretty, and many young girls are dying to fill out that expectation that seems to have been set for them. Although it seems clear that not everyone has â€Å"movie star good looks†, this idea can be hard for a young immature mind to grasp. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Something that Mary Pipher has brought up in the first chapter of her book was how society is causing young women to suffer many different problems. One of the most common and worst problems that arise is eating disorders. The media may be the culprit for this issue. Girls who are striving to be thin, and fit the mold of a star may never reach their goal, under natural conditions. As a resultShow MoreRelatedReviving Ophelia1717 Words   |  7 PagesThe book, Reviving Ophelia, is about the hardships girls go through when they are growing up and trudging through puberty. As the author Mary Pipher states it, adolescent girls tend to lose their â€Å"true selves† in order to fit in and comply with the standards that society sets for women. Pipher, a practicing therapist, uses her own case studies to show how pressures put on girls forces them to react in often damaging ways. In most case studies she tells the audience how she helped these girls healRea d More Reviving Ophelia Essay example1902 Words   |  8 PagesReviving Ophelia Adolescent girls growing up in today’s society endure many more hardships than in previous years. Adolescence is no longer a time of endless sunny days spent on the back porch with a glass of country time lemonade and a smile extending ear to ear. Adolescence for girls is now generalized as a dark and depressing period of life that often seems hopeless and never ending. Mary Pipher PH.D tries to illustrate just how drastically life has changed over the years for teenage girlsRead MoreThe Growth And Development Of Adolescence : Reviving Ophelia Essay1595 Words   |  7 Pagesrequired to read three books regarding the growth and development of adolescence; Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher, Ph.D., Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D., and The Teenage Brain by Frances E. Jensen, M.D. with Amy Ellis Nutt. Each book was for a different audience because they’re all discussing different topics but they all discuss the growth and development of adolescences in our society . Reviving Ophelia discusses the different types of scenarios Dr. Pipher faced in her practice with teenageRead MoreEssay on Book Report on Reviving Ophelia by Dr. Pipher1488 Words   |  6 PagesReviving Ophelia Dr. Pipher remembers her cousin Polly as a young girl. She describes her as energy in motion. A tomboy, Polly dances, plays sports with the neighborhood boys, and rides horses. Once Polly enters adolescence, however, other children begin teasing her about her tomboyish ways and insist that she be more ladylike. The boys exclude her from their activities, and the girls isolate her because she is different. Polly becomes confused and withdrawn. Later, Polly begins wearingRead MoreReviving Opheli Saving The Selves Of Adolescent Girls1360 Words   |  6 PagesReviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, is author, Mary Pipher’s attempt to understand her experiences in therapy with adolescent girls (Pipher, p. 11). In the text adolescence is described as a border between childhood and adulthood (Pipher, p. 292). In her quest to understand adolescent girls, Pipher attempts to answer these questions: Why are so many girls in therapy in the 1990s? Why are there more self-mutilators? What is the meaning of lip, nose and eyebrow piercings? HowRead MoreHow Gender Role Socialization Effects Girls More Specifically, Depending On The Teenage Girls Developmental Level1280 Words   |  6 Pagesdecisions concerning how they will act, with who they will associate with, and what life decisions they will choose. Ultimately, the progression by which they determine their identity must inevitability be one of trial an d error. In the book Reviving Ophelia, clinical psychologist Dr. Mary Pipher discusses the social and cultural pressures faced by today s adolescent girls based on her individual clients’ stories. This paper will examine how gender role socialization effects girls more specificallyRead MoreThe Portrayal of Ophelia on Stage Over the Years959 Words   |  4 Pages------------------------------------------------- Portrayal Mary Catherine Bolton (afterwards Lady Thurlow) (1790-1830) as Ophelia in 1813, opposite  John Philip Kembles Hamlet While it is known that  Richard Burbage  played Hamlet in Shakespeares time, there is no evidence of who played Ophelia; since there were no professional actresses on the public stage in  Elizabethan England, we may be certain that she was played by a boy.[11] The  early modern  stage in England had an established set of  emblematic  conventions  forRead MoreReviving Opheli Saving The Selves Of Adolescent Girls881 Words   |  4 PagesWhile reading Mary Pipher’s, â€Å"Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls† and Dan Kindlon and Michael Thompson’s, â€Å"Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys,† I got a better understanding of the mindsets of teenagers in todays society. I learned that countless girls and boys have the same inner battles and do not even realize it. The two songs I chose that best represent ideas of woman and manhood are â€Å"Unpretty,† by TLC and â€Å"Stan,† by Eminem. I believe these songs support manyRead MoreEssay on Women Dont Exist in Their Own Right in the Play1641 Words   |  7 Pageswhat exactly do we mean? In my opinion the way the female characters, Ophelia and Gertrude, in `Hamlet exist, is the way in which they live, the way t hey are viewed by others in the play, and the way would be perceived by us, or the Elizabethan audience. We have to see exactly who the male characters are, and the different parts they play. In addition, this essay will attempt to discover exactly how Shakespeare used Ophelia and Gertrude for the plot, and consider if they exist in their own rightRead More Hamlet - Shakespeares Ophelia as Modern Icon Essay3388 Words   |  14 PagesShakespeares Ophelia as Modern Icon Shakespeares Ophelia is not lacking in attention. As one of Shakespeares most popular female characters she has enjoyed many appellations from the bard. Fair Ophelia. Most beautified Ophelia. Pretty Ophelia. Sweet Ophelia. Dear Ophelia. Beautiful Ophelia†¦sweet maid†¦poor wretch. Poor Ophelia. (Vest 1) All of these names for Ophelia can be found in Shakespeares The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Since Shakespeares incarnation of Ophelia many