I feel that the texts we have read so far in class represent being old as a sort of terrible, lonely, helpless, and dreaded part of life. Which, makes perfect sense when you think about it, but as a child I feel that you view it differently. As a child you always picture grandma and grandpa as these wonderfully happy and content people, who are always there for you and are always pleasant to be around. It isn’t until you get older that you realize, shit, being old really sucks. You can't go anywhere by yourself, do anything on your own, your weak and for the most part people hardly ever visit you.
To be honest before this class I rarely thought about what getting older would be like. I never realized the sense of loneliness that accompanies a heavy set of wrinkles and a walker. I think our characters that we have read about so far in class certainly feel this feeling of aloneness and also a definite sense of neglect. None of their family wants to come visit them and so they are left on their own. The scene from Water for Elephants when Jacob is left sitting alone in the lobby because his family forgot to come visit him was one of the saddest things I have ever read. It I hard for me to contemplate forgetting about someone like that and I hope I am never one to do that to someone. Also, hearing the old couple from Toga Party explain how their kids keep a steady distance from them and basically avoid them was equally depressing. In the end when the inevitably ended their lives it was hard for me to understand what could drive a person to the point where the accept killing themselves. I suppose loneliness does have an immense power over people and its emptiness could be enough to make people want to end it all. I wonder how the kids felt after the found out their parents did this. Did they feel guilty or relieved? I wonder.
1 comment:
I have to say that I agree with you Nicole. When I was a kid I thought about ageing and be old as nothing negative in fact I thought it was cool that my grandpa had all these stories and history. Now it’s hard to look at my grandparents and say that I want to be like that when I’m older. I don’t want to forget or be forgotten, and I can’t imagine having to depend on others for everyday tasks. It sounds like a terrible existence and part of me doesn’t blame the older couple for suicide with such a bleak future ahead of them. Not to mention the fact that as you get older more and more people are dying around you, I can’t even imagine what it must feel like when a person gets to an age where none of their closest friends are alive anymore. The more and more I think about it getting old is just so depressing. It makes me also wonder what’s going to happen when I get that old? What will I think about it then?
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