Critical Analysis Nursing Care for the Older Adult

Critical Analysis Nursing Care for the Older Adult Dementia is an umbrella term to describe a collection of symptoms that develop in association with a progressive disorder of the brain of which dementia of the Alzheimers type is the most common. Other forms of dementia include Lewy body dementia, Picks disease and (MID) multi-infarct dementia (Ramsay et al, 2005). The main features of dementia are a decline in memory, ability to learn and understand in a continuing progression. There are often changes in social behaviour, general motivation and the clients ability to control their own emotions (Burgess, 2005). These changes vary from a gradual to more sudden onset that varies from individual to individual. In the early stages of dementia memory problems are often the most obvious sign (DH, 2009). Mental health practitioners find that memory problems and other needs are only the beginning of the process in making a diagnosis. The doctor is required to check in what ways an individual is not functioning as they would expect. Assessments may be carried out at home in order to gain a clearer image of how the client is managing (Ramsay et al, 2005). The doctor will also need to know the clients medical history including any physical illness and current medication. The doctor will also want to rule out depression as a cause of the memory problems. If the memory problems are attributed to depression, then treatment using an antidepressant could help substantially (Ramsay et al, 2005). Diagnosis is a scientific tool. Beyond that the carer requires an understanding of the clients experience of having a problem or disorder, health and social care needs to be values based as well as evidence based. To translate this philosophy into practice requires that the assessment process be driven by the principles of partnership, holism and personalisation (Atkins et al, 2004). Assessment is a valid and integral part of any nursing intervention and must be performed in partnership with the client (RCN, 2004). Following this, the next step is to consider involvement of various investigations, often carried out in hospital or in a clinic, including the use of blood testing, X-ray and if necessary, brain scanning to discover the cause of the symptoms (Ramsay et al, 2005). To carry out a full assessment of the clients problems, other practitioners are likely to play a part in the assessment as part of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT). Members of the team may include nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists, physiotherapists, social workers and doctors. Making a diagnosis is important as diagnosis affects the type of treatment used (Ramsay et al, 2005) Difficulties that can occur in practice when attempting to engage with clients in an effective manner include; making all of the information that is being exchanged comprehensible to the client, finding methods to reduce frequency of forgetting that can occur, finding methods to encourage clients to feedback information positive or negative to overcome any difficulties that many people can feel in clinical settings (Ley, 1997). The reflective account outlines the importance of communication skills in practice where the nurse can be delivering care to individuals with very specific needs that must be attended to with privacy, comfort and dignity for the health and wellbeing of the patient. In the account it is clear that clients with dementia can find communication, mobility, and physical health problems difficult and in managing the care of clients with dementia although challenging, may be overcome through empathic understanding and best practice including evidence based care delivery. In relation to communication, the most suitable approach is the use of selective questioning, providing information, respecting personal dignity and being clear so that the client understands (Zimmermann, 1998). Patient centred methods of care place demands on nurses because such a method involves responding to the cues from clients in which feelings and emotions are expressed. Nurses are required to develop the expertise to respond in an appropriate manner to the clients feelings and emotions (Stewart et al, 1989). In order to provide high quality person centred care, the needs of each patient must be assessed individually to ascertain additional requirements that the client may have. Conversely, some clients will require less assistance than initially considered by the team. It is equally important to understand these needs in order to respect each clients need for independence (Stewart et al, 1989). Best care can be defined by the underlying principles that communication should always be person centred (Oberg, 2003). Therefore the client should be provided with a quality standard of care that allows a sense of control over the treatment that is being provided. It is vital that the client is involved in their own care and treatment, not only does this maintain the comfort and dignity of the person, but prevents errors and miscommunication leading to an effective client/nurse relationship. In one study findings concluded that actively involving the patient in aspects of care and treatment often leads to earlier recovery and an improved quality of life (Stewart et al, 1989). Overview of Care Practice Reflection in Action In practice, a male client was confused as a result of his dementia. The client was an older adult who used a wheelchair and required assistance with mobility because of a leg amputation. Sometimes the client would try to leave his wheelchair which resulted in him falling to the floor. The client was unable to find the lavatory and was becoming increasingly frustrated by his inability to identify specific places. In addition the client became agitated and at times had difficulty with speaking. On one occasion the client called a nurse who responded to the patient, approaching him slowly from the front and greeted him, and asked How can I help? Is everything ok? The patient responded to the question with an answer I needà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I need to go to theà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The client repeated this statement several times with increasing sense of urgency but was unable to find the correct word to finish the sentence due to his level of confusion. The client experienced memory problems and episodes of agitation. Managing the clients ability to be continent was another important consideration in the care of the individual as he used an attachment (catheter) and was occasionally incontinent of faeces (Johns, 2000; Schà ¶n, 1983; 1987). The assessment phase of the nursing process is fundamental at this stage of the interaction so that the nurse was able to ascertain if the client required the use of the toilet (Kozier, 2004). The nurse asked the client if he needed to use the toilet. The client responded by nodding his head and saying yes. The planning phase of the nursing process is equally important at this stage. The nurse informed the client that he would show him the way and escorted the client to the toilet. When speaking to the client the nurse was careful to maintain eye-contact and speak slowly and calmly to ensure that the client would understand. Whilst being escorted the client explained that he had been incontinent of faeces. The client began apologising but the nurse reassured him and explained that he would get him some fresh clothes (Johns, 2000; Schà ¶n, 1983; 1987). The nurse was able to provide comfort and maintain the dignity of the client as well as the clients confidence in the nurses abilities. The client was reassured and an explanation of the procedure was provided to the person in a step-by-step process, asked if he understood and if he was agreeable. The client confirmed he was agreeable and began to converse with the nurse and appeared much more relaxed. The client responded with additional banter and appeared more content. The client was able to carry out more intimate aspects of his personal cleansing so that further consideration to preserving his dignity and independence was maximised. The nurse recommended that the clients catheter bag was emptied on a more regular basis to aid comfort and reduce distress (Johns, 2000; Schà ¶n, 1983; 1987). The NMC (2008) guidelines stipulate that nurses maintain the respect, dignity and comfort of clients. After being washed the client was assisted with putting on clothing, explaining each step slowly, the client responded y following each step and no longer appeared agitated and was returned to the lounge in a wheelchair. The student reported the information to the rest of the team and discussed regular catheter care for the client. Reflection on Action During the reflection in action (Johns, 2000; Schà ¶n, 1983; 1987) the nurse was able to quickly and effectively clean and change the client with comfort and dignity through implementation of the nursing process and incorporating the ideas of assessment, diagnosis and planning phases of care. The reflection on action (Schà ¶n, 1983; 1987) highlights what the nurse was trying to achieve and provides opportunity to consider alternatives for future practice. Care was delivered to the client using the Care Programme Approach (CPA) and the procedure implemented to offer a framework to complement policy documents and therefore allow the process to be followed. The approach allows mental health practitioners to provide a structured pattern of care throughout the process, assess clients need, plan ways to meet the needs and check that the needs are being met (DH, 2007). Those who experience dementia may find some tasks increasingly difficult such as everyday tasks of living, including washing and dressing without assistance or with finding the right words when talking. Interaction for the person can become increasingly difficult and distressing for the client in their relationship with others (Ramsay et al, 2005). Dementia care practice provides opportunities to mental health nurses on how to engage effectively with clients. During the initial contact stages of any nurse and client interaction it is important that the nurse keeps the environment simplified and to eliminate noise that can distract the client (Zimmermann, 1998). It is useful if the nursing team minimises activity occurring in a shift change because a confused client may misunderstand nurses saying goodbye to each another and may wish to leave. Approaching the client slowly and making eye contact can reduce any risk of alarming the client (Zimmermann, 1998). Also the nurse should speak slowly and calmly with pauses so that the client responds to the content of the communication and not the mannerisms of the nurse (Zimmermann, 1998). These skills may help to reduce the clients anxiety and confusion. The National Service Framework (NSF) for older people sets out national standards and service models of health/social care that older people using mental health services can expect to receive, whether they are living at home, in care or are in hospital (DH, 2001; WAG, 2006). Older people are generally referred to as anyone aged sixty and over and the national ten year initiative is to ensure better health and social care services for people meeting the criteria. It includes older people with dementia, carers and ethnic minority groups. In addition, age discrimination and patient-centred care have been identified as two key areas. Including the NSF, there have been a number of campaigns to promote dignity in the care of older people, recognising that standards of care in some cases are poor and inadequate (DH, 2006a). Unfortunately, there has been a lack of clarity associated with the notion of dignity and the appropriate minimum standards and/or recommendations that should be applied. For example, in an attempt to address the concerns of dignity the Department of Health published an online public survey around the views of dignity and care provision (DH, 2006a). Results of the survey reported that a many aspects of care were identified by older people as vital in maintaining dignity, such as respecting the person and communicating effectively. The Lets Make It Happen NSF (2002) outlines eight standards of care that address issues such as age discrimination, person centred care, mental health and the promotion of health and active life in old age. The success of the NSF for Older People depends on how well it is being implemented. Lets Make It Happen follows the NSF for Older People in 2001 and focuses on examples of research and good practice through evidence based care provision, which demonstrates how implementing good practice can improve peoples quality of life and should also help to develop ideas for how the NSF might be implemented (Alzheimers Society, 2002). In 2006, the Department of Health released a report: A New Ambition for Old Age, in an attempt to move the requirements outlined in the National Service Framework forward, and offers details of the next stage of healthcare reforms for older people. This documentation places older peoples needs as integral to care planning and delivery, with respect and the maintenance of dignity by recognising the existing issues around health related age discrimination (Department of Health 2006b). Furthermore, the Department of Health have established a set of benchmarking tools to root out age discrimination and to advance person-centred care (Department of Health 2007a). This is to be achieved, in the first place, by actively listening to the views of users and carers about the services they need and want (Department of Health 2007a). Within Wales the Care Programme Approach (CPA) is highly regarded as the cornerstone of the Governments mental health policy and procedures. The framework was introduced in 2004 for the care of people with mental health issues who are accepted as clients by mental health services in an inpatient or community setting. All NHS Trusts in Wales participated in a review and all had processes in place to deliver CPA to clients (Elias Singer, 2009). Although the review sample was small, findings were consistent across all the organisations, and demonstrated that CPA had not been implemented as effectively as it should. If this randomly selected sample is representative of all mental health services in Wales, there is a risk that services are failing clients and carers due to a lack of adequate risk management processes, a lack of focus on the outcome of patient interventions, and a lack of service planning and service models to safely and adequately meet clients needs. Greater focus is nee ded on the assessment and management of risk (Elias Singer, 2009). Practitioners must be prepared and fully trained to fulfil the role of care co-ordinator. Information systems need to meet client needs rather than organisational priorities. The current system is very complex and bureaucratic particularly where CPA and the Unified Assessment (UA) have been integrated into a single process. A record management system needs to be developed that supports CPA and UA whilst also providing the least administrative burden for clinicians and practitioners (Elias Singer, 2009). A significant amount of evidence exists suggesting that providing care for a person with dementia is not only stressful, but can also have a negative impact on the carers mental health (Cooper et al, 1995). Recently, government policy has expressed the importance of offering support to carers. This has been highlighted by the Audit Commission report examining mental health services for older people (2000). Research suggests that carers needs are multifaceted, and that support is needed at times of transition, for example diagnosis, admission of the person they are caring for to residential care and the death of the person with dementia. (Aneshensel et al, 1995). The need for more advanced training in the field of dementia care has been recognised for quite some time (Keady et al, 2003). NICE and the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) recently developed guidelines for supporting people with dementia and their carers (NICE SCIE, 2007). The guidelines identified the main therapeutic interventions and when and why they should be used. The principal focus of care should involve maximising independent living skills and enhancing client function. This will involve assisting clients to adapt and develop their skills to minimise the need for support (NICE SCIE, 2007). This should start in the early stages of the condition, and could involve a number of services and the clients carers. Providing care in ways that promote independence is liable to take time, but it is the core intervention for people with dementia on a therapeutic basis. The NICE and SCIE (2006) guideline identified key interventions that should be utilized for maximising function. Care plans are vitally important and should include the activities that are important for maintaining independence. Care plans should take account of the individuals type of dementia, their needs, interests, preferences and life histories (NICE SCIE, 2006). Obtaining advice about clients independent toilet skills is important. If the client experiences episodes of incontinence, any possible causes should be assessed and then treatment options tried before the team concludes that incontinence is permanent. Physical exercise should be encouraged when possible and facilitated in a safe environment, with ass essment advice from a physiotherapist when required. As exercise is thought to help improve continence problems, loss of mobility and improve endurance, physical strength and balance in falls prevention (NICE, 2004) physical exercise should be promoted by all staff. Therapeutic interventions for the cognitive symptoms of dementia are comprised of psychological and pharmacological treatments. However, providing supportive levels of care that encourage clients to maintain as much of their independent functions as possible is equally as important as any specific interventions for the cognitive symptoms of dementia (NICE, 2007; Moniz-Cook Manthorpe, 2009). Much has been written about medical and social models of dementia, some of which has implied that there are a number of different ways of looking at dementia, one as a disease model and one as a disability. Some of these differences are described in Tom Kitwoods Dementia Reconsidered (Kitwood, 1999). Kitwood described the medical model as the standard paradigm, and argues eloquently that it is the wrong model to use. Dementia is an illness that causes a progressive decline in cognitive abilities and there are demonstrable changes to the brain. It is, however very important to remember that we are treating a person with dementia. How the condition presents depends on the clients personality, their relationships with others, and who they are as a person (Kitwood, 1999). Nurses and GPs have cited inadequate professional training as one of the main factors influencing their ability to provide an optimal service to people with dementia (Iliffe Drennan, 2001; Alzheimers Society, 1995). However, it is not known what method of training would equip them with the right range of knowledge and skills. Around 700,000 people in the UK have dementia, and this number is predicted to double to 1.4 million over the next 30 years (DH, 2009). Conclusion In summary, dementia is a debilitating disorder that is having a massive impact on mental health services. The introduction of numerous frameworks for the care of the older adult and other policy documents have set the standards expected of mental health professionals and backs up evidence based care with a high standard of principals and values (RCN, 2004; DH, 2009,). The number of people being diagnosed with a dementia is increasing, and although difficult to manage, through continued research, development and training of staff and practicing with empathy, treating clients with dignity and respect and upholding the core values of the nursing profession (NMC, 2008) dementia care services and service providers may transcend the potential difficulties that lay ahead. In these uncertain times it is comforting that the care of the older adult has not been forgotten.

The Central Theme and Symbolism of William Faulkners A Rose for Emily

William Faulkner's central theme in the story "A Rose For Emily" is to let go of the past. The main character in the story, Emily Grierson, has a tendency to cling to the past and has a reluctance to be independent. Faulkner uses symbols throughout the story to cloak an almost allegorical correlation to the reconstruction period of the South. Even these symbols are open to interpretation; they are the heart and soul of the story. With the literal meaning of Faulkner's story implies many different conclusions, it is primarily the psychological and symbolic aspects, which give the story meaning. Miss Emily cannot accept change to any degree. She is unable to ameliorate as the rest of the society does. The Old South is becoming the New South, and yet Emily still has a Negro man helping around the house. Her house "had once been white" and sits on what "had once been" a most select street, however now it is surrounded by cotton gins, garages, and gasoline pumps. This scene creates a sense of the house being "an eyesore among eyesores" (469). Another example of Miss Emily's ability to refuse change is when she does not allow a house number to be placed on her house when the town receives free postal service. Emily's father denies her the freedom to establish relationships with men. In fact, Emily was denied her ?rose.? A rose if often referred to as a symbol of everlasting love between a man and a woman. Since her father denies her the chance to court men, she has no chance to even fall in love. "We had long thought of them as tableau, Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the... ...the point where he was inextricable in the bed. ?Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long stand of iron gray hair? (475). Miss Emily has apparently poisoned Homer for fear of him leaving her. She loved him so much, that she would have rather him lay dead in her house than to have a broken-heart. Instead of grieving as a normal person would, Miss Emily turns into a psychotic crazed lover. For many years, Emily must have lain next to him in an embrace. She wanted to preserve her love, and this further proves her unwillingness to change. Work Cited Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." Literature For Composition. 6th Ed. Sylvan Barnet, Burto, Cain, Stubbs, Et. Al. New York: Longman, 2003. 621-631.

Henrik Isbens A Dolls House Essay -- A Dolls House Essays

After she reveals the "dastardly deed" to her husband, he becomes understandably agitated; in his frustration he shares the outside world with her, the ignorance of the serious business world, and destroys her innocence and self-esteem. This disillusion marks the final destructive blow to her doll's house. Their ideal home including their marriage and parenting has been a fabrication for the sake of society. Nora's decision to leave this false life behind and discover for herself what is real is directly symbolic of woman's ultimate realization. Although she becomes aware of her supposed subordinateness, it is not because of this that she has the desire to take action. Nora is utterly confused, as suggested by Harold Clurman, "She is groping sadly in a maze of confused feeling toward a way of life and a destiny of which she is most uncertain (256)." The one thing she is aware of is her ignorance, and her desire to go out into the world is not to "prove herse lf" but to discover and educate herself. She must strive to find her individuality. That the perception of woman is inaccurate is also supported by the role of Torvald. Woman is believed to be subordinate to the domineering husband. Instead of being the strong supporter and protector of his family, Nora's husband is a mean and cowardly man. Worried about his reputation he cares little about his wife's feelings and fails to notice many of her needs. The popular impression of man is discarded in favor of a more realistic view, thus illustrating society's distorted views. Ibsen, through this controversial play, has an impact upon society's view of the subordinate position of women. By describing this role of woman, discussing its effects, and predicting a change in contemporary views, he stressed the importance of woman's realization of this believed inferiority. Woman should no longer be seen as the shadow of man, but a person in herself, with her own triumphs and tragedies. The exploration of Nora reveals that she is dependant upon her husband and displays no independent standing. Her progression of understanding suggests woman's future ability to comprehend their plight. Her state of shocked awareness at the end of the play is representative of the awakening of society to the changing view of the role of woman. "A Doll's House" magnificently illustrates the need f... ...le that Nora expects and the miracle that actually happens are entirely different. Nora dreams of the day that her husband will sympathize with her and cease to be the dominating figure with the "upper hand" in their relationship. She expects him to understand her struggles with the law and to be willing to take some of the blame himself. However, when he reacts to Krogstad's letter by exhibiting more dominance and control than ever before, Nora becomes more aware of her own individual needs as a woman in society. She understands that in order to be free, she must develop her own view of the world, by setting herself apart from the control and determinism that males have over her life. Therefore, Nora's decision to leave her husband and family is ironic because it proves to be the "miracle" she is waiting for, rather than the one she originally expected. Nora becomes a feminist heroine in the play by showing what women can achieve, but rarely attempt. The dete rminism that many men force on their women partners in society (in forms of control, dominance, and power) restricts the women's ability to strengthen as individuals, and gain their own self-determinism.

Meditation Essay -- Natural Healing, Meditation Therapy

Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects. Western medicine has recently discovered the powerful affects of meditation, by allowing doctors to treat the body and the mind. In reality, the mind is a very misunderstood and unexplored region of the human existence. Modern science knows more about the composition of the earth than it does about the mechanics of the human brain. Yet, meditation thwarts all notions of modern medicine with its shocking ability to to take obscure visualizations and create physical responses in the body. Mahayana Buddhism, found mainly in the autonomous region of Tibet, has become the main reference and standard for meditation practices in the west. Tibetans have used meditation for centuries as treatment for illness, and now, modern medicine of the western world is just beginning to reap the benefits of this unique and unconventional treatment for a variety of physical and mental ailments. Once a practice reserved strictly for Buddhist monks, meditation has become a worldwide phenomenon. Simply enter â€Å"Buddhist meditation† into the any Inter... ...ay 2015. https://www.sbp-journal.com/index.php/sbp/article/view/390 Michalon, Max. â€Å"Selflessness in the Service of the Ego,† American Journal of Psychotherapy. Vol.55, No.2, 2001. Web. 21 May 2015. http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/4765470/selflessness-service-ego-contributions-limitations-dangers-buddhist-psychology-western-psychology Tacon, Anna. â€Å"Meditation as a Complementary Therapy in Cancer,† Family and Community Health. Vol. 26, Issue 1. pp63-73, January – March, 2003. Web. 18 May 2015. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/10712485_Meditation_as_a_complementary_therapy_in_cancer Terrence, Clifford. Diamo Healing: The Buddhist Medicine and Medical Psychiatry of Tibet. Motilal Banarsidass. 2003. Thera, Nyanaponika. Translated by Roberts, Peter. The Heart of Buddhist Meditation. Weiser Books; Revised edition, July 1, 2014.

How significant was Martin Luther King’s contribution to the civil rights movement in the years 1956-68? Essay

There is no doubt that MLK shaped the way people campaigned for black civil rights in America during these years however weather that was significant to any head way they did make, one example of his significance is the amount of peaceful protest that was carried out, now that MLK was promoting peaceful protests more people could participate in campaigning for what they believed, this made the supporters for the civil right movement far greater in numbers than ever before and opposing people found it harder and harder to suppress any action they may take. The Montgomery Bus Boycott is a perfect example of a peaceful protest headed by MLK this was because this was the first real push for blacks to be more equal to whites and so they could be treated as people, the boycott would also not have succeeded if it weren’t for MLK as he provided structure and inspiration for everyone taking part. This is significant because it gathered more supporters for the movement and gave them more influence when it came to changing things. Another reason that MLK was significant was he branched out the campaign from the south to the north and west which were places which may not have been as bad and public about it but were still very racist and discriminative towards blacks, this is significant because it helped a lot more blacks join in with the campaign and help support in numbers, it also made the pressure on the government larger as there were more and more supporters for the campaign and more and more people (not just blacks) who could influence decisions. MLK had a special gift of being able to create moving and inspiring speeches, this highlights his significance because it was him that was the face of the campaign and with his inspiring speeches he created more and more support for the campaign but most importantly more white sympathisers as they had a lot more power and influence. One other thing that highlights MLK’s significance to the civil rights movement was his death. This was significant because of all the people who looked up to MLK and viewed him as an idol and inspiration now had no one to lead them, this led to confusion and left people not knowing what they should do and who to follow however people also took his assassination as the point where they stand up and really fight for what they believe in. MLK didn’t always pull of these miracles and get more support and get blacks closer to their goal as there have been a lot of examples where MLK didn’t help or he did and didn’t succeed: one example is where he tried to take the fight north  and thought that the struggle in the south would pay dividends however when he left Chicago and left Jesse Jackson in charge people criticized him for not finishing what he started and left people loosing respect for MLK and the civil right movement. Another example of MLK not being a help and sometimes more of a hindrance to the progress of the black civil rights movement was when he agreed to be part of the Montgomery bus boycott and when he agreed to stay in jail, on both of these occasions MLK left and in turn left people doubting his word and judgement. Another example is the Meredith march, MLK did not set out to go to the march until after James Meredith had been shot, this gave people the impression that king only showed up because someone was hurt and not to support the cause even though it was a gesture of good will from MLK. MLK also helped out in the freedom summer in 1964 and the brown vs. board case, sit ins that took place all over America, Freedom rides and Violence in Montgomery. In conclusion I think that it would be incorrect to say that MLK was insignificant to the civil rights movement in these years however he cannot be held solely responsible for the success they had as he always had to have the support of thousands of protesters, people in some sort of power and sympathetic whites. MLK also acted as a martyr and his death inspired thousand. Also other organisations did a very good job of recruiting people and getting support. That is why I would consider him one of the key factors along with other organisations and the people that turned up to rallies and did the dirty work.

Ender Book Report Compassion vs Ruthlessness Essay

In the novel Ender’s game, Orson Scott Card attempts to convey the message of the conflict between compassion and ruthlessness. For one thing Ender often compares himself to his ruthless brother Peter every time he himself does something mean and cold hearted. But Ender also has a compassionate personality. he shows his compassionate personality in many cases. He also shows that Ender may have a bit of a ruthlessness in him, but resents himself for it. He then also shows that compassion beats ruthlessness when Enders overtops ruthless Peter in almost everything they do. Therefore Orson used the theme compassionate vs. ruthlessness by exhibiting Ender’s success and Peter’s failures to exhibit the theme compassion vs. ruthlessness. Peter has more of an influence in Ender’s life then he realized, He even acknowledges it one point when thanks Peter in his mind for teaching him how to hide his feelings. Often Ender compares himself to Peter especially when he ends up hurting or killing something or someone. After he beats up Stilson. He thinks that he’s like Peter. â€Å"Ender leaned against the wall of the corridor and cried until the bus came. ‘I am just like Peter. Take my monitor away and I’m just like Peter. ‘† (page 8) Ender realizes with anguish that he’s turning into Peter. He finds this really sad. Another time he feels like Peter is when is when he’s flying to battle school. On the way there, a boy kept harassing him. Ender then proceeds to harm the boy and break his arm. â€Å"Just as the next blow was coming, Ender reached up with both hands, snatched the boy by the wrist, and pulled down on the arm, hard†¦ I am Peter. I am just like him. And Ender hated himself. † (page 122) Ender, even though he was defending himself, broke a kid’s hand and compared himself to Peter. He also hated himself for it. At one point, after Ender see’s a reflection of Peter staring at him on a mirror in a reality game that shows your perspective of reality, the teacher’s acknowledge it. â€Å"‘But why. His brother is dangerous, his bother was rejected for the program because he’s one of the most ruthless human beings we ever laid hand on. Why is he so important to Ender? why after all this time? ‘† (page 122) Peter is clearly important to Ender because Ender always keeps comparing himself to him, bares such a resemblance, and resents Peter, and himself. In conclusion Peter had a major influence in Ender’s life, in a sense of a bad role model, in Ender’s mind. Ender, all though often comparing himself to ruthless Peter, was actually very compassionate in many senses. When fellow student, and victim Shen is being bullied by Bernard, Ender interferes. Ender makes Bernard look stupid by sending stupid messages in Bernard’s name to make Bernard look stupid and make Shen happy † Cover your butt. Bernard is watching -God. Bernard went red with anger. ‘ Who did this! ‘ he shouted ‘God, ‘ said Shen. (page 50) Ender shows compassion by making Shen have a little bit of a victory, and making Bernard look plain stupid. Also, at one point Ender, when Bonzo and Ender are having an argument, Ender shows some kindness. â€Å"‘But if you want, I’ll pretend that you won this argument. Then tomorrow you can tell me you changed your mind’ ‘I don’t need you to tell me what to do. ‘ ‘I just don’t want the other guys to think you backed down. Then tomorrow you can tell me you changed your mind. ‘ Bonzo hated him for it, for the kindness. Ender tried to understand why. † (page 87) Ender shows kindness, even to Bonzo who his giving him a hard time. He makes sure that Ender wins the argument yet making Bonzo not look foolish in front of his boys. This shows many characteristics including kindness, compassionate, and also leniency. Also Ender shows compassion when he continued to train with the launchies (basically a group of kids that are new to the battle school. Ender was one of them but Ender quickly advanced ahead of his class. ) â€Å"‘Now your really in an army. ‘ said Alai ‘You don’t need have to keep practicing with us. ‘ ‘From you I can learn things nobody knows,’ said Ender ‘Dink Meekr is the best. I hear he’s your toon leader. ‘ ‘ Then let’s get busy. I’ll teach you from what I learnt today. ‘† (page 103) Even when Ender is finally part of an army that actually uses him, he is still trained with the launchies, his former friends. He did not forsake them and showed many attributes such as caring, compassion, and kindness. In conclusion even though Ender may have a bit of Peter’s influenced ruthlessness he is still very kind and compassionate. Compassion is shown to top ruthlessness when Ender succeeds in achieving in everything that Peter failed in. Ender is first more successful then Peter when he keeps his monitor longer then Peter. â€Å"But Peter would not soothed. ‘Like us? He keeps the little sucker till he’s six years old. When did you lose yours? You were three. I lost mind before I was five. He almost made it, little bastard, little bugger. ‘† (page 10) Ender kept his monitor longer then Peter. Peter noticed this and pretty much snapped at his brother. This shows that Peter was both mad and jealous. The second time when he overtops Peter is when Ender is invited personally to battle school by Colonel Graff â€Å"‘My name is Graff Ender. Colonel Hyrum Graff. I’m director of the primary training at the battle school in the Belt. I’ve come to invite you to enter the school. ‘† (page 19) The director of the battle school came himself to invite Ender to the battle school, which is a rare honour which most boys, including Peter always wanted; to go to battle school and learn how to fight the buggers. The final time when final major accomplishment is when he defeats the buggers. â€Å"‘ Ender, for the past few months you have been battle commander of our entire fleet. This was the third invasion. There was no games, the battles were real, and the only enemy you fought was the buggers. You won every battle and today you finally fought them at their home world, where the queen was, all the queens from all their colonies. They all were there and you destroyed them completely, They’ll never attack us again. You did it. You'† ( 296-297) Ender was able to defeat the buggers, and win a whole entire war single handily He achieved every boy’s dream, to beat the buggers and save mankind. In conclusion Ender prevailed over ruthless Peter, which made him more successful then Peter. In conclusion Orson exhibits the them Compassion vs Ruthlessness by exhibiting the success of Ender and the failure of Peter. He shows this by comparing Ender to Peter and making Ender hate himself for it. But also exhibiting Ender’s overwhelming compassion to his other students. He also shows this by most importantly compassionate Ender vs ruthless Peter and how Ender overtopped him in everything he (Peter) did. Ender succeeded in everything Peter wanted to do. Even if though you need ruthlessness to do something dreadful, if you have enough compassion, you win out in the end.

The Hour of the Star

â€Å"A sense of loss† and â€Å"The right to protest† A Lacanian reading of the film The Hour of the Star1 When Clarice Lispector wrote this ‘story with a beginning, a middle and a grand finale followed by silence and falling rain. ’ (HE, pp. 13) she hoped that it could ‘become my [her] own coagulation one day’ (HE, pp. 12). In fact, ‘her hour’ was near for she would soon die of cancer. The book emerged as an experimental novel gradually dialoguing with and producing illusions of itself, like images in mirrors, paradoxically portraying the invisible.Both her book and Susana Amaral's cinematic adaptation seem extremely conscious of Lacan’s concept of subjectivity and adherent to his psychoanalytic theory that reinterprets Freud in structuralist terms, adapting the linguistic model to the data of psychoanalysis. What lies beneath the choice to attempt a Lacanian reading of The Hour of the Star is not the film's patent opennes s to Lacan's ideas on desire, lack and the language of the unconscious.Despite the theoretical suggestiveness of much of the analysis that is to follow, the aim of this essay is to analyse The Hour of the Star using the methodology developed by Lacan whilst criticising its very mechanisms, stressing the importance of issues such as ethnicity, marginality, and poverty, social, cultural and political alienation, left behind by his account of the development of the human subject. A fairly mainstream cinematic version replaces the avant-garde, subversive structure of the book.In the film things fall into place more handily in the name of coherence, and social issues (the chronic plight of a certain type of North-Eastern Brazilians who undertakes a journey to the great cities of the South in search of a better life) replace the major metaphysical meditations found in the book. In The Hour of the Star everything is subjected to a multiplicity of reductions, exaggerated to the minimum, a c aricature in reverse that works in favour of a growing invisibility of things.Physical invisibility, abortion and repressed sexuality are highlighted in the film, depicting the drama of Macabea, a humble orphan girl from the backwoods of Alagoas, North Eastern Brazil, who was brought up by a forbidding aunt before making her way to the slums of Rio de Janeiro. In this city, she shares the same bed sitter with three girls and works as a typist. Centred on her (in)existence, the film explores Macabea’s marginality by placing her among the marginalities of the characters that populate the world of Rio de Janeiro.There is a strong focus on the relationships between the characters: Seu Raimundo and Seu Pereira (her bosses), Gloria (her colleague from work), Olimpico de Jesus Moreira Chaves (her ‘boyfriend’), and Madame Carlota (the fortune 1 Throughout the essay, A Hora da Estrela, (HE) will refer to Clarice Lispector’s novel (Portuguese version), while the tit le: The Hour of the Star (HS) will refer to the film, a Brazilian cinematic adaptation of Clarice Lispector’s book (The Hour of the Star, Dir.Susana Amaral, Raiz Producoes Cinematograficas, 1985). The dialogues in this work were translated and transcribed from the film, while the book excerpts were taken from the English translation of the novel: The Hour of the Star, trans. Giovanni Pontiero (Manchester: Carcanet, 1992). 1 teller). Macabea has poverty, inexperience, ingenuity, ill-health and anonymity written all over her. All she can afford to eat and drink are hotdogs and Coca-cola.Her only (unachievable) dream is to become a film star. Without any goals in life, her sole interest is listening to Radio Relogio (Radio Clock) that broadcasts the seconds, minutes and hours of the day along with random information about life. Olimpico, who she meets in the park one day, starts going out with her but ends up in Gloria’a arms, after the latter’s visit to the fortun e teller. When Macabea decides to visit the fortune teller herself, her life seems about to change completely.The promise of abundance is followed by utter disappointment when Macabea, wearing her new Cinderella-blue dress, is run over by a car and dies alone, fantasising that she is running into the arms of the promised rich lover Hans, her long curly hair in the wind. Any Lacanian approach to this Cinderella-in-reverse story would proceed with reference to the unconscious, interpreting the text as a metaphor of the unconscious and the subject as a linguistic construct. Lacan is unequivocally clear when he states that: (†¦) the unconscious is structured in the most radical way like a language, hat a material operates in it according to certain laws, which are the same laws as those discovered in the study of actual languages (†¦)2 To the French psychoanalyst, the unconscious is constituted by a signifying chain, whereby the negative relations between the signifiers3 are n ever anchored in meaning: one signifier leads to another but never to the things it supposedly represents. Macabea launches the play of signifiers in the film: the assemblages of signifiers clustered around her convey the elusiveness of the signified and the centrality of the unconscious.Her problem with the meaning of words stands for Lacan’s model which gives primacy to the signifier and not the signified. The audience feels somehow â€Å"oppressed† by the many unanswered questions and the violence of the oblique illusions of truth inside definitions. What follows is a dialogue between Macabea and Olimpico during one of their walks together: Macabea On Radio Clock they were talking about alligators†¦ and something about ‘camouflage’†¦ What does ‘camouflage’ mean? Olimpico That’s not a nice word for a virgin to be using.The brothels are full of women who asked far too many questions. Macabea Olimpico Where is the brothel? Ità ¢â‚¬â„¢s an evil place where only men go. 2 Jacques Lacan, Ecrits: A Selection, pp. 234 2 ‘Just because people ask you for something doesn’t mean that’s what they really want you to give them’4, Lacan would argue, commenting on this dialogue. What Macabea desires from Olimpico is not exactly a word’s signification but something else implied in that same dialogue. She desires the meaning, yet lacks the meaning and that same lack structures her desire.Macabea asks others for definitions, but others are as ignorant as she is. The film’s plays on ambiguity, misunderstandings and misjudgments add to Lacan’s play of signifiers: Olimpico Macabea Olimpico Macabea Olimpico Macabea Olimpico Macabea Olimpico Macabea Olimpico Macabea Olimpico Macabea Olimpico Macabea Olimpico Macabea Well†¦ Well what? I just said well. But well what? Let’s change the subject. You don’t understand. Understand what? Oh my God, Macabea. Let’ s talk about something else. What do you want to talk about? Why don’t you talk about you?Me? What’s the problem? People talk about themselves. Yes, but I am not like other people. I don’t think I am many people. If you are not people, then what are you? It’s just that I’m not used to it. What? Not used to what? I can’t explain. Am I really myself? Look, I’m off. You’ve no wits. How do I get wits? Insofar as the Lacanian analyst doesn’t take himself/herself as the representative of knowledge but sees the analysand’s unconscious as the ultimate authority, all these questions about the meaning of words are also metaphors of the unconscious.Macabea is under the illusion that meaning can be fixed and the illusion of stability destabilizes her. According to Lacan’s view of interpretation, meaning is imaginary and irrelevant: It is the chain of the signifier that the meaning insists without any of its elements ma king up the signification. 5 In one of the last scenes, Macabea is driven to the fortune teller by her colleague friend, Gloria, in an effort to fix her life. Madame Carlota divines everything about Macabea’s past, acknowledges 3 Lacan followed the ideas laid out by the linguist Saussure, who viewed the ign as the combination of a signifier (sound image) and a signified (concept). Lacan focuses on relations between signifiers alone. 4 J. Lacan, Ecrits: A Selection, Seminar XIII 3 the signs of the future but fails to interpret them. Macabea’s fate is consummated despite the fortune teller’s misinterpretations because, Lacanians might argue, understanding is irrelevant to the process. But, in this case, understanding becomes very relevant indeed for the Lacanian critics who argue that death represents the destiny of those who get hold of the Phallus.By misunderstanding the signs, Madame Carlota tells Macabea her supposedly brilliant future. As if ‘listening to a fanfare of trumpets coming from heaven’ (HE, pp. 76), Macabea learns that she is going to be very rich, meet a wealthy handsome foreigner named Hans, with whom she will marry, and become a renown famous star. Macabea believes every single word she is told, hence truly acknowledging that all her fantasies will come true that very day. Macabea’s desire to have the Phallus is now a reality. Once desire is extinguished, there are no more reasons to keep on living.This scene shows how Lacan’s view on interpretation as an easy reductionist task leading to imaginary understanding can rebound on him. The scene previously referred to is rooted in another depicting the beginning of the relationship between Macabea and Olimpico, which shows the essentialist views latent in Dr. Lacan’s theory of sexuation. Lacan’s concept of ‘object (a)’ is considered to be his most significant contribution to psychoanalysis. 6 ‘Object (a)’ is th at which is desired but always out of reach, a lost object signifying an imaginary moment in time.According to his theory, people delve into relationships because they are driven by the desire to overcome Lack (consequence of castration). Because Lack is experienced in different ways by men and women, both sexes have different ways of overcoming their Lack: they either place themselves in relation to the Phallus (feminine structures) or the ‘object (a)’ (masculine structures). Lacan argues that in the sexual relationship7 the sexes are defined separately because they are organized differently with respect to language/to the symbolic:8 masculine structure limits men to Phallic ‘jouissance’ while feminine structure limits omen to ‘object (a)’ ‘jouissance’ and also allows them to experience another kind of ‘jouissance’, which Lacan calls the Other ‘jouissance’9. By jouissance Lacan implies what ‘is forb idden to him who J. Lacan, Ecrits: A Selection, Instance de la letter dans l’inconscient ou la raison depuis Freud’ In the preface to Ecrits, Lacan mentions ‘object (a)’: ‘We call upon this object as being at once the cause of desire in which the subject is eclipsed and as something supporting the subject between truth and knowledge. 7 It must be kept in mind that Lacan’s work on sexual difference crosses over the borderlines of biological distinction. He defines femininity and masculinity on the basis of psychoanalytic terms. 8 Lacan explains the alternative versions of castration: 6 5 (†¦) suggerer un derangement non pas contingent, mais essentie de la sexualite humaine (†¦) sur l’irreductibilite a toute analyse finie (endliche), des sequelles qui resultant du complexe de castration dans l’inconscient masculine, du penisneid dans l’inconscient de la femme. In ‘La signification du phallus’, Ecrits, pp. 85 9 When Lacan discusses the notion of another kind of â€Å"jouissance† (Other ‘jouissance’), he explains that women (human beings structured by the feminine) are the only ones that have access to it, while men are limited to Phallic ‘jouissance’. According to Bruce Fink, this concept roughly implies that the phallic function has its limits and that the signifier isn’t everything. ’ B. Fink, The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance, pp. 107) 4 speaks (†¦)’10, that is, that completion of being which is forever inaccessible to the split subject.To paraphrase Fink, insofar as a woman forms a relationship with a man, she is likely to be reduced to an object – ‘object (a)’, reduced to no more than a collection of male fantasy objects, an image that contains and yet disguises ‘object (a)’. He will isolate one of her features and desire that single feature (her hair, her legs, her voice, etc. ), instead of the woman as a whole. In a different way, the woman may require a man to embody the Phallus for her, but her partner will never truly be the man as much as the Phallus.Therefore, ‘il n’y a pas de rapport sexuel’ (Lacan’s famous remark) because the dissymmetry of partners is utter and complete. By lack of symmetry Lacan means what she/he sees herself/himself in relation to [either the Phallus or ‘object (a)’]. Going back to the film, the masculine and feminine realms seem to be clearly limited in terms of a traditional heterosexual system (the odd-one-out being the character of the fortune teller in whom we perceive traces of homosexuality). When Olimpico first meets Macabea in the park, she is holding a red flower in her hands.Olimpico draws nearer, asks her name and invites her for a walk. At a certain point he mentions her red flower, gently asks for her permission to pull out its leaves, and finally returns it to Macabea. Under Lacan’s eyes, insofar as she holds the flower, Macabea sees herself in terms of the Phallus, the flower being its metaphor, what she desires to hold in her hands. Olimpico is, in her eyes, the biologically defined man incarnating the Phallus (her true partner being the Phallus and not the man).As Lacan’s theory sets out to show, Olimpico belongs to those characterized by masculine structure. He will search within this woman’s features, a particular one and reduce her to ‘object (a)’ in his fantasy, trying to overcome the primordial Lack. However, it seems terribly hard to invest a precious object that arouses his desire in this particular woman: ugly, dirty and looking rather ill, there is nothing in her left to be reduced to a male fantasy object. Hence the customized flower: Olimpico invests what arouses his desire11 in the flower and not the girl.If we pursue Lacan’s theory a step further in terms of masculine/signifier and feminine/’signifiance’12, we will conclude that his work on sexuation rests on the belief that subjectification takes place at different levels in different sexuated beings: while the signifier refuses the task of signification, the ‘signifiant’ plays the material, non-signifying face of the signifier, the part that has effects without signifying: ‘jouissance’ effects. 13 This is displayed as the J. Lacan, Ecrits: A Selection, pp. 319 A similar flower will appear again in the film: Macabea has put it in a glass n her desk at work. Gloria, her colleague from the office, is getting ready for a first date with a man she never met before. She decides to wear the red flower in her bodice so that he can recognise her. Her appropriation of the flower symbolises her future appropriation of Olimpico’s fantasy (she will steal Macabea’s boyfriend, following the fortune teller’s advice) and her reduction to a male fantasy object. At t he same time, the man she is about to go out with is reduced to his sexy voice. 12 Lacan’s concept of ‘letre de la signifiance’, found in Seminar XX, is explained by B.Fink in these terms: ‘I have proposed to translate it as  «signifierness », that is, the fact of being a signifier (†¦) the signifying nature of signifiers. When Lacan uses this term, it is to emphasise the nonsensical nature of the signifier, the very existence of signifiers apart from and separated from any possible meaning or signification they might have. ’ B. Fink, The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance, pp. 118-9 13 B. Fink, The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance, pp. 119 11 10 5 heoretical reason implying that the signifier of desire can be identified with only one sex at a time, meaning that Woman can never be defined as long as Man is defined. As Fink puts it, (†¦) the masculine path might then be qualified as that of desire (becomin g one’s own cause of desire) while the feminine path would be that of love. 14 Watching this scene in isolation, one has the impression that love is for Macabea as desire is for Olimpico. This is not entirely the case, for in this scene and in the film in general, a woman (Macabea) is defined as long as a man (Olimpico) is defined.In a relationship where the partners are not identical (different feminine/masculine structures) both of them are ruled by desire. On the one hand, Olimpico desires all the attributes that Macabea sadly lacks, so he turns to Gloria, Macabea’s ideal imago (a version of what the latter wants to be, a version of herself that she can love). On the other hand, Macabea is not ruled by love. What she experiences with Olimpico is nothing compared to what she feels when Madame Carlota tells her about Hans: she feels inebriated, experiencing for the first time what other people referred to as passion.She falls passionately in love with Hans because the fortune teller had told her that he would care for her. Both Macabea and Olimpico are ruled by the desire to be loved and not by love. And if in this heterosexual relationship (which for Lacan is the norm) the dissymmetry is not entirely complete, what can we say of the homosexuality referred to by the fortune teller, who finds Macabea much too delicate to cope with the brutality of men and tells her, from experience, that love between two women is more affectionate?In fact, Lacan never theorized homosexuality very seriously, although his failure to account for it may be explained by the fact that the Symbolic is structured in favour of heterosexuality. In his theory of the Symbolic, the baby undergoes the mirror stage between 6 and 18 months old. By this time, the baby sees its own image in the mirror and enters the symbolic stage (realm of the imaginary: imaginary identification with the image in the mirror). As Lacan sets out to explain,This event can take place (†¦) from t he age of six months, and its repetition has often made me reflect upon the startling spectacle of the infant in front of the mirror. Unable as yet to walk (†¦) he nevertheless overcomes the obstructions of his support and (†¦) brings back an instantaneous aspect of the image. For me, this activity retains the meaning I have given it up to the age of eighteen months. 15 Mirrors play an important role in Macabea’s life. Looking at her own reflection, she tries to find out who she is.After having used Gloria’s trick (making up an excuse to skip work), Macabea decides 14 15 Bruce Fink, The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance, pp. 115 Jacques Lacan, Ecrits, A Selection, Chapter I: ‘The mirror stage as formative of the function of the eye as revealed in psychoanalytic experience. ’, pp. 1, 2 6 to spend her day off in her room, listening to Radio Clock, dancing and looking at herself in the mirror. The camera shows her reflection and what we see is a split image in the mirror: she stands between what she is, what she wants to be and what others want her to be. 6 When she tells the mirror: â€Å"I’m a typist, a virgin and I like Coca-cola† she complements her identity split with her mirage identity: Macabea is staging her identity by identifying with other people’s perceptions of herself. She is not eighteen months old but an eighteen-year-old in the middle of Lacan’s mirror stage, looking for models (which are the models in shop windows: the parental Other is absent), learning new words (at work as a typist, at home listening to the radio), looking at herself in mirrors. It is as if the Symbolic were staging ‘reality’ too late in the character’s life.During a walk at the Zoo, Olimpico accuses Macabea of being a liar: Macabea It is true. May God strike me dead if I’m not telling the truth. May my mother and my father drop dead right now. Olimpico Macabea You said your parents were dead. I forgot†¦ As Lacan would put it, we are watching how the Symbolic can bar the real, overwriting and transforming it completely, the reason for this being that the Symbolic is but a pale disguised reflection of the Real; the reason for this not being a basic assumption about the condition of being a child without living parents, that is, about the alienation caused by orphanage.This does not mean that Lacan did not reflect on the concept of alienation (check Fink, footnote 28, chapter 7, seminar XVI). In his opinion, that is what places the subject within the Symbolic. In alienation, the speaking being is forced to give up something as she/he comes into language. Lacan sees it as an attempt to make sense by trying to act coherently with the image one has about oneself. These attempts alienate the person because meaning is always ambiguous, polyvalent, betraying something one wanted to remain hidden or something one wanted to express. Lacan does not cond emn or avoid alienation in his analysis.At a certain point, in Seminar XVI, he establishes a comparison between ‘surplus value’ (Marxist concept: the ‘jouissance’ of property or money that is the fruit of the employees’ labour, the excess product) and ‘surplus  «jouissance »Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (what we seek in every relationship/activity but never achieve). While capitalism creates a loss aiming at ‘surplus value’ (the loss of the worker), our advent as speaking beings also creates a loss (the loss of ‘jouissance’ through castration). In Lacan’s economy of ‘jouissance’, both losses are at the centre of the development of civilisation, culture and market forces.At a certain moment in the film, we 16 In this respect, Lacan explains that ‘the only homogeneus function of consciousness is the imaginary capture of the ego by its mirror reflection and the function of misrecognition which remains attached to it. ’ In Ecrits, A Selection (1966) 7 watch Macabea handing over a certain ‘jouissance’ to the Other: she is told by her boss she has to work late. The consequence is that Gloria will meet Olimpico in the park, instead of Macabea. Following Lacan’s theoretical discourse, the scene depicts Macabea being forced to give up ‘something’ as she comes into language (as she finishes typing the documents).That ‘something’ is her love object. The scene can be read as a reference to the primordial loss – castration – by meditating on the importance of the sacrifice of ‘jouissance’ as it creates a lack17 and consequently gears life (the Symbolic/the plot) onwards: Gloria steals her colleague’s boyfriend and eventually gets a husband, following the fortune teller’s instructions; Macabea loses her boyfriend and ends up at the hands of the fortune teller who guides her towards her death.This analysis foc uses on the ‘surplus  «jouissance »Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and not on the Marxist concept of ‘surplus value’, therefore neglecting important class struggle/capitalist issues. Adopting a Lacanian frame in the analysis of alienation in The Hour of the Star involves losing what a Marxist concept of alienation might otherwise bring into light: the alienating effect society operates on Macabea as an exploited underpaid employee who finds herself working (sometimes after hours) for the employer’s enjoyment.The film, on the contrary, is quite clear in its portrait of an alienated subject working for less than the minimum wage in a decadent, poor-lit warehouse. A dialogue between Seu Raimundo and Seu Pereira suggests the capitalists’ attitude towards the proletarian Macabea: Raimundo Pereira Raimundo (†¦) Pereira: Raimundo Besides, she is really ugly. Like a shrivelled pomegranate. Where did you get her? Ok, she’s a bit clumsy. But a brilliant typist would want more money. It’s the new typist, Macabea. Maca what? -beia. Maca-bea. No one else was willing to do the job for less than the minimum wage.Adding to the notion of the film as a metaphor of the unconscious are: mirrors and their fragmented reflections, Radio Clock and its fragmented, dispersed bits of information and the gaze of the camera as the audience accedes to Macabea’s world through furtive gazings behind windows, doors, in the street. This gaze could be interpreted as belonging to Macabea’s wicked aunt who has died but still haunts her conscience. Macabea’s paradoxical fantasy, her dream to become a film star, is also hooked up to the circuit of the unconscious as the end term of her desire.Lacan explains that the unconscious, ruled as a language, is overpopulated with other people’s desires that flow into us via discourse. 18 So, our very fantasies can be foreign to us, they can be alienating. Macabea’s fantasy to become a film star could â€Å"Without lack, the subject can never come into being, and the whole efflorescence of the dialectic of desire is squashed. † In Bruce Fink, The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance, pp. 103 17 8 be read as a way of answering other people’s desire: that she takes care of herself, eats better, dresses better, and works better.Interpreting Macabea’s dream as a response to her own desire (she wants to be loved; film stars are loved; therefore, she wants to be a film star) implies walking away from Lacanian theory. The subject is here very much implicated in the process. Others don’t seem to have had a hand in it. Olimpico laughs and humiliates her when she tells him about her dream and doesn’t encourage her to pursue it: Olimpico What makes you think that you’ve got the face or the body to become a film star? (†¦) Take a good look at yourself in the mirror.Lacan’s approach to the unconscious considerably r educes the sources from which one can carve out knowledge in relation to this film. Macabea’s ethnicity calls forth the analyst’s knowledge of Brazil’s North-Eastern structural roots of poverty (drought plagued agriculture, slums, human rights abuse in terms of health and education, the plight of street children, women’s issues in terms of class, race and land tenure). An informed reading of The Hour of the Star raises the question of marginality within the frameworks of location, gender, race, individual/social conscience, language and testimony.In the context of this film, the concept of marginality has to be addressed in the plural. There are different definitions of margin at stake, as well as different layers of marginal behaviours, each of them empowering the social/individual transgressions suggested by Macabea’s lack of attitude towards existence. The characters in this story are aware of their condition as outsiders. They are seen through their relation to Macabea: her apathy and emptiness are exquisitely painful in that they remind others of the collective pain felt in a dehumanised world.In the pyramid of the excluded, Macabea is victimised as a female and as a North easterner in search of her inner self. Her voluntary attempt, although grotesque and inarticulate, to question and witness her blunt existence stands as the last stance of her marginality. It is the hour of the tragic question: ‘Who am I? ’, echoing the major preoccupation of every mortal. Unlike the other characters, she fails in every sphere of her life but not in asking this question.She is aware of her inner otherness, although unable to verbalise or make sense of it. She witnesses it, tries to speak it, but never tells it, because what needs to be told is pure silence narrated from within. The title of the present study resonates with the limits of a psychoanalytic reading of The Hour of the Star. â€Å"A sense of Loss† and â⠂¬Å"The right to protest† are two of the fourteen titles19 advanced by 18 Lacan suggests that ‘it is in the reduplication of the subject of speech that the unconscious finds the means to articulate itself. ’, J.Lacan, Ecrits: A Selection, ‘A la memoire d’Ernest Jones: sur la theorie du symbolisme’ 19 List of titles found at the beginning of HE: The Blame is Mine or The Hour of the Star or Let Her Fend for Herself or The Right to Protest or . As for the Future or Singing the Blues or She Doesn’t Know How to Protest or A Sense of Loss 9 Clarice Lispector in her book A Hora da Estrela. They were chosen by me for two reasons. The first implies that analysing the film by giving the book behind it the cold shoulder would weaken the analysis. Another is the belief that choosing only one title would dramatically reduce the scope of this work of art.Macabea cannot escape looking at mirrors and gazing at a sense of loss that dazzles her in her opa que leading-nowhere-abstractions. But she is herself a mirror reflecting the social inequities of the Brazilian society in she lived. Taking a step further, we could add yet another title: â€Å"I can do nothing†, number eleven in Lispector’s title list. This one would eclipse the Other’s discourse, unconscious and unintentional, and give way to the informed discourse of a conscious audience viewing writing as a representative mirror of reality.Having said all this, one can only afford ‘A discreet exit by the back door’20 once a final, irrevocable question is posed. Is it still possible, having pointed out the missing dimensions of analysis and the resistances to a Lacanian approach of The Hour of the Star, to make sense of Lacan’s theoretical framework? On the one hand, answering with a ‘no’ would seem fatally solipsistic in what the existing quantities of written work on psychoanalysis are concerned, as Lacan’s work lies at the epicentre of contemporary discourses about otherness, subjectivity, sexual difference, to name just a few topics.Answering with a ‘yes’, on the other hand, would plainly simplify subject matters that are, as this work intends to show, very complex. Perhaps the question, in the fashion of all interesting questions, offers no answer insofar as a balanced account of the possibilities, limitations, meanings and implications of Lacan’s theory is not thoroughly considered. or Whistling in the Dark Wind or I Can Do Nothing or A Record of Preceding Events or A Tearful Tale or A Discreet Exit by the Back Door. 20 Final title in Clarice Lispector’s list of titles. 10 Primary Bibliography Lacan, J. Ecrits (Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1966) _______, Ecrits: A Selection, trans. Alan Sheridan (London: Routledge, 1977) _______, The Seminar of Jacques Lacan. Book II. The Ego in Freud’s Theory and in the Technique of Psychoanalysis, trans. Sylvana Tomaselli (N ew York/London: Norton & Co. , 1991) _______, The Ethics of Psychoanalysis: The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book VII, trans. Denis Porter (London/New York: Norton & Co. , 1992) Lispector, C. , A Hora da Estrela, (Rio de Janeiro: Jose Olympio, 1977) __________, The Hour of the Star, trans. Giovanni Pontiero (Manchester: Carcanet, 1992) Freud, S. New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, ed. /trans. J. Strachey (London: Penguin Books, 1991 The Hour of the Star, Dir. Susana Amaral, Raiz Producoes Cinematograficas, 1985 Secondary bibliography Barry, P. , Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002) Benvenuto B. & Kennedy, R. , The Works of Jacques Lacan: An Introduction (London: Free Association Books, 1986) Cixous, H. , ‘The Hour of The Star: How Does One Desire Wealth or Poverty? ’, Reading With Clarice Lispector, ed. and trans.Verena Andermatt Conley (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1990), 1 43-163 Daidone, L. C. & Clifford, J. , â€Å"Clarisse Lispector: Anticipating the Postmodern†, Multicultural Literatures through Feminist/Poststructuralist Lenses, ed. Barbara Frey Waxman (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1993), 190-201 Fink, B. , The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouisssance (Princeton N. J. : Princeton University Press, 1995) Fitz, E. , ‘Point of View in Clarice Lispector’s A Hora Da Estrela’, Luso-Brazilian Review, 19. 2 (1982), 195-208 Lapsley, R. Westlake, M. , Film Theory: An Introduction (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1988) _________, ‘From Cassablanca to Pretty Woman: The politics of Romance’, Screen, 33. 1 (1992), 27-49 Lemaire, A. , Jacques Lacan, trans. D. Macey (London, Henley & Boston: Routledge, 1977) Klobucka, A. , ‘Helene Cixous and the Hour of Clarice Lispector, SubStance, 73 (1994), 41-62 Mitchell, J. & Rose, J. (eds), Feminine Sexuality: Jacques Lacan and the Ecole freu dienne (Houndsmill: Macmillan, 1992) Mitchell, J. , Psychoanalysis and Feminism (London: Penguin, 1990) Mulvey, L. ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, The Sexual Subject: A Screen Reader in Sexuality (London & New York: Routledge, 1998), 22-34 Nelmes, J. (ed. ), An Introduction to Film Studies, 2nd edn (London: Routledge, 1990) Patai, D. , ‘Aspiring to the Absolute’, Women’s Review of Books, 4 (1987), 30-31 Smith, J. & Kerrigan, W. (eds. ), Interpreting Lacan (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1983) Storey, J. , Cultural Teory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, 3rd edn (Dorchester: Dorset Press, 2001) Whatling, C. , Screen Dreams: Fantasising Lesbians in Film (Manchester & New York: Manchester University Press, 1997) 11