HSAO Orientation - Assignment 2

I meant to post this here when I turned it in, but I forgot. I'll edit Ms. Kelly's comments in later if she gives any.

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Assignment Two:

You should reply to this message with a post that contains the following:

1. Please list at least five of your own favorite titles (literature or film) that explore reality.
Once you have your list, write a brief statement about what these titles say about you.
Your statement must be at least a three-sentence paragraph, but it certainly can be as long as you like.

Books:
The Oz books, by L. Frank Baum
A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Harry Potter books, by J. K. Rowling
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
The Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books, by Betty MacDonald

Movies:
Finding Neverland
The Village

My list points out that I like children's literature! I do, a lot, actually. Books written for children feel better to me. They are nicer stories, and they more often have happy endings.

My list also indicates that I like stories where people are transported or pretended to other places that other people don't believe exist, and that are often protected by that, or by secrecy, so that not everyone can get there. That makes them special, and safe. They're often magical places, too.

The Village is probably the least like the other titles on my list, because there are some scarier parts of it. I like it, though, because the community in it seems like a really nice place to live. There are secrets, but they are the kind that are meant to be kept for the good of everyone who lives there. The secrets, and the keeping of them, keeps the people there safe from the outside world where bad things happen.

Another movie that is about reality is A Beautiful Mind. I didn't put it on my list, though, because I didn't really like it. I watched it with my cousin, and she really liked it. I didn't like the idea of not being able to tell what was real and what wasn't, though, especially when some of the things were pretty creepy. That kind of stuff scares me a little bit. I don't like bad and scary stuff, and I don't like the idea that there can be bad and scary stuff that doesn't really exist and so shouldn't really scare you, but does anyway because you don't know it's not real.


2. In addition, discuss the following question with those you trust, then form a statement of your answer:
Is the concept of “maternal instinct” based in reality, or is it a myth that we perpetuate and wish upon species, especially humans?

See:
Drs.
Douglas W. Mock
Elyse Rubenstein
Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
Sandra Wheatley

(Note: This is not to dismiss or deny the role of fathers -paternal instinct- or the importance of a pair of parents -parental instinct- in the lives of children. There is far more research about, expectations of and information on maternal instinct than on paternal instinct or parental instinct.)

What is your answer?

The information I read about maternal instinct seemed to vary. I found the research of Dr. Mock to be very unsettling. Animal mothers are so often portrayed as perfectly protective, supportive, and nurturing mothers that it was disturbing to read how harsh they can really be.

The research and opinions of all the doctors that I read about seems to point to the things that most people say indicate "maternal instinct" as being learned. I think that's true, but I also think that it is partly choice, too. In the article I read about Dr. Mock's research, animal mothers would sometimes choose one offspring over another. In humans, mothers sometimes abuse or neglect their children, even though it seems to be common knowledge how a mother "should" be. So I think it is partly that mothers learn to be maternal, and choose to act maternal. Outside influences can affect the choices a mother makes, but nobody makes her make them. Sometimes mothers just choose not to be motherly, anymore or at all, for no good reason. I don't know why a mom who was previously very maternal would stop, but it happens.