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... recovering the self. Isolation is both a prison and a sanctuary. Adult Children suspended between need and fear, unable to choose between fight or flight, agonize in the middle and resolve the tension by explosive bursts of rebellion, or silently endure in despair. Isolation is our retreat from the paralyzing pain of indecision. This retreat into denial blunts our awareness of the destructive reality of family dysfunction and is the first stage of mourning and grief.
It allows us to cope with the loss of love and to survive in the face of neglect and abuse. 3 The Butcher Boy highlights the emerged necessity to provide appropriate accommodation, psychological help and healthcare for children whose families are not capable to provide family care for them. Such families are usually affected by alcohol abuse. As it was already mentioned, Irish literature of the twentieth century reflected the complexities of a nation fighting to achieve political and economic results as to the poverty, social problems and religious conservatism. The McCabes novel provides the resources that bring the discussed matter to life. The novel is a representation of social life. It represents the cruel reality of the mistreatment of children.
It said that the novel is based on the specific case of a disturbed young man who grew up in rural Ireland in the seventies. At that time, it is clearly seen that the problem of adequate care for vulnerable children has not under consideration. There is evidence to support the point that there is still no proper provision by the state for children who are mentally disturbed and neglected. Although the child tries to keep the alcoholism a secret, teachers, relatives, other adults, or friends may sense that something is wrong. Child and adolescent psychiatrists advise that the following behaviors may signal a drinking or other problem at home: Failure in school; truancy, Lack of friends; withdrawal from classmates, Delinquent behavior, such as stealing or violence, Frequent physical complaints, such as headaches or stomachaches, Abuse of drugs or alcohol; or Aggression towards other children, Risk taking behaviors, Depression or suicidal thoughts or behavior. Some children of alcoholics may act like responsible "parents" within the family and among friends.
They may cope with the alcoholism by becoming controlled, successful "overachievers" throughout school, and at the same time be emotionally isolated from other children and teachers. Their emotional problems may show only when they become adults. It could be argued that Irish society has learned little from the past in terms of the tragic stories that have emerged in recent years regarding the mistreatment of children in industrial schools. The official authorities did not acknowledge the existence and scale of child abuse in institutional care in Ireland. Much of contemporary Irish literature suggests that Irish culture stays with its rural past, and has not yet found a way to transfer to the urban reality.
Patrick McCabe's novel The Butcher Boy is a sophisticated elaboration of the effects of modernization in Ireland. It challenges examination of the gap between tradition and modernity and the sense of the American popular culture. Many questions on societal responsibility, dysfunctional family, parental responsibility, child abuse, lack of family support are raised in the novel. The Butcher Boy clearly shows the mixture of paranoia and madness that was Ireland in the ' 1950 s and ' 60 s.
The threat of nuclear disaster runs throughout the book, and serves as a metaphor for Francie's state madness. At this place of our analysis, it is worthy to mention that: in childhood, our identity is formed by the reflection we see in the eyes of people around us. We fear losing this reflection-thinking the mirror makes us real and that we disappear or have no self without it. The distorted image of family dysfunction is not who we are. And we are not the unreal person trying to mask that distortion.
In counseling we stop believing we have no worth and start to see our true identity. As Adult Children grow to maturity, we see the need to separate emotionally from our dysfunctional homes. Only in complete separation can we find the freedom to express who we are and to create the experience of intimate closeness we so desperately needed as children. A dysfunctional home can be a violent place.
Children exposed to such violence come to believe they are to accept punishment and abuse as a normal part of existence. They identify themselves as objects of hate, not worthy of love, and survive by denying their underlying feelings of hopeless despair. In loving homes, children are eager to see themselves reflected by those around them. A positive self-reflection increases their sense of security and feelings of self-esteem, and give them confidence in relating to others. They see respect for their need to be protected from harm and relate to authority with trust not fear. They come to believe they have value because they are accepted and loved.
Whether or not their parents are receiving treatment for alcoholism, these children and adolescents can benefit from educational programs and mutual-help groups such as programs for children of alcoholics Woods et al. , 1997. Early professional help is also important in preventing more serious problems for the child, including alcoholism. Child and adolescent psychiatrists help these children with the childs own problems, and also help the child to understand they are not responsible for the drinking problems of their parents. 4 The Butcher Boy is concerned with the relations between the individual and the widening network of social and cultural institutions like family, community, church and authority. Francie all the way challenges the hypocritical norms of rural Irish society in the early 1960 s. He lives a dysfunctional home life. The reason of the Brady family's destruction lies in the fact that Francie's father had been a victim of sexual abuse.
Therefore, the boy gained a psychological problem. The event always subconsciously guides the boy is his actions. Francie also uses his hyper real imagination to mask their dysfunctional home life: during a fight between his parents he describes how "something else broke crockery or something." Francie's emotional growth is stunted, he does not wish to face stark reality; he is stranded at a particularly susceptible stage between childhood and adolescence. Because of his mother's suicide, he has not been able to experience the gradual separation from her that would allow him to mature emotionally and psychologically. Francie searches to find objects and relationships capable of replacing the replete identity he experienced with his mother, but because this was only an imaginary relationship.
Several studies provide evidence that children and adolescents receiving mental health treatment are more likely to attempt and complete suicide. Suicide and suicide attempts are almost always associated with a psychiatric disorder, and among those with psychiatric disorders, those who have made a suicide attempt are more likely to come into contact with the mental health system than those who have nor. As many as 25 % of children receiving psychiatric outpatient treatment report a prior suicide attempt. While family risk factors such as a history of physical or sexual abuse and the psychopathology of immediate relatives have been associated with suicide attempts, these factors have not been studied specifically in populations receiving mental health services. Some recent literature suggests that in addition to the differences between those who have and have not attempted suicide, the characteristics of youths who have attempted suicide for the first time are different from those of youths who have previously attempted suicide. 5 Francie never finds his self and his world degenerates into ceaseless state.
The ringing in his head which overtakes him towards the end of the story is the unmanageable clash of all the voices that he hears. Francie cannot overcome the gap that always appears between his imagination and reality. Therefore, his identity is being destructed. Francie's world has always been on the edge of destruction, since his parents' personal and marital problems added problems to his ill mental state.
Francie bases his understanding of the world on the perspectives of alien cultures, which came from television, cinema and the comics of England and America. The early signs of disturbance displayed by Francie fail to be detected or dealt with in a serious way but are treated as the butt of humor. (2). Francie's thought process is strait. He has a most peculiar and different sort of intelligence. It is seen that he requires psychiatric help, although when he is hospitalised it is evident that the treatment available to him in the mental institution is hopelessly un appropriate. But the problem had to do with the complex case of a disturbed child on the madness.
The institution could not provide that help. As it was said, Francie's mind is always open to influence. But, by the close of the novel, his identity has become fixed, defined by a subject position identified as the Butcher Boy. When he kills Mrs. Nugent he enters fully his role of Butcher Boy.
It is the time to say that the problems of dysfunctional families are not only local but also global. Alcoholism appears to be appears to be the primary reason for the major dysfunctions. Diagnosis of alcoholism is often brought about because family members call an alcoholic's difficulties to the attention of a physician. A physician may begin to be suspicious when a patient suffers repeated injuries or begins to experience medical problems related to the use of alcohol. In fact, some estimates suggest that about 20 % of a physician's patients will be alcoholics. Diagnosis is aided by administering questionnaires that try to determine what aspects of a person's life may be affected by his or her use of alcohol.
Determining the exact quantity of alcohol that a person drinks is of much less importance than determining how his or her drinking affects relationships, jobs, educational goals, and family life. 6 Prevention of alcoholism must happen at a young age, since the first instance of drunkenness with alcohol usually occurs during the teenage years. It is particularly important that teenagers who are at high risk for alcoholism receive education about alcohol and its long-term effects. As we already mentioned, high risk of alcoholism and the consistent mental disorders derive from the family invironemnt. Children and teenagers exposed to this risks are those with a family history of alcoholism, an early or frequent use of alcohol, a tendency to drink to drunkenness, alcohol use that interfere with school work, a poor family environment, or a history of domestic violence.
How this is best achieved, without irritating the youngsters and thus losing their attention, is a matter of debate and study. The National Institute of Mental Health is currently engaged in a nationwide study to determine with greater accuracy the prevalence of mental disorders among children and adolescents. This information is needed to increase understanding of mental health problems and to improve the treatment and services that help young people who are affected by these conditions. Caring families and communities working together can help children and adolescents with mental disorders. A broad range of services often is necessary to meet the needs of these young people and families. Bibliography: Burden, H.
Task Force on Child Care Services: Final Report to the Minister for Health. Dublin: The Stationery Office, 1989. Carlson and Cantwell. Alcoholic Abuse. New York: The Viking Press, 1982. Goldston, A.
Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale. New York: Med. Editors Press, 1996. Gould, H. Nature of Dysfunction. New York: Said.
Players Publishing, 1996. Stone, F. Characteristics of out-patient adolescents with suicidal tendencies. Acta Psychiatr Scand 85: 96 - 106.
Wagner, G. Emotional Disturbance served by Center for Mental Health Service. J Behav Health Serv, Res 27: 47 - 54. Woods, G. Mental Disorders in Early Age. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc. , 1997.
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Research essay sample on Children And Adolescents Child And Adolescent
