Depression (4th Entry)

                Robert’s mother has undergone many misfortunes which had led to her stern and cold-hearted character. Near the beginning of this novel, Mrs. Ross faced the death of her daughter, Rowena, in a tragic accident. Ultimately, this had not just caused her to lose one of her children, but two of them. From Mrs. Ross’s perspective, she had no hope for her son as he had decided to join the army.  Of course, joining the army at such a time was a certain death. This sense of dismay and depression was first introduced when Robert and his mother talked in the bathroom. The tone of her dialogue was very gloomy and had a streak of disappointment. Furthermore, her physical appearance had changed, going from a well groomed woman to a messy haired and poorly dressed smoker. Later, as we progress through the novel, we find out that she had distance herself from her close family and most of her cousins. While she remained close to Mrs. Davenport, Mr. Ross had intentionally neglected her. Although this may not be a significant detail in the overall novel, I found the ignorance of another person’s depression very disturbing. It made me pause to think about our surroundings of today, considering the thoughts of faces I see about in school. I wondered how many of the students or people I walk by, feel as if they were brushed off for what others believe are bigger schemed problems. Taking this into consideration, I found many instances where friends experience dismay and were poorly comforted. I find that the urge to talk to somebody about their feelings are suppressed or ignored, mainly because they are afraid of the reaction they will get. One example of a reaction from a parent may be that they should continue to live through the problem and that it is only a “high school thing.” However, as Martin Wang’s group presented, we cannot live for the future. We must also spend time dealing with the present. We cannot always give false hope to someone who is feeling down, to only make them ponder on the time they will feel happiness again. With this new thought, a new inquiry question comes to mind. What can we do to advocate the accessibility to openly talk about your problems and find helpful support?