Free Write Before Essay

 

Mind Map

My main purpose of doing this was to get my observations I made about the picture onto a sheet of paper so I could refer to it during my draft.

Draft

My home screen to others could just been seen as a picture of me and my mother. But, when you look deeper into it you could notice the decorations behind me, my mother leaning my head near the table, people behind us, and with these surroundings in the picture you could assume it’s my birthday. Which it was, but the point I’m getting at is a picture could show a story within itself. A picture could intrigue you, enlighten your mood, surprise you, and upset you. These are just a couple examples on how a picture could provoke many feelings. The image. “A Clinical Lesson at the Salpetriere”, an image of Sigmund Freud giving a lecture about hysteria in front of male students in a classroom. Viewing this image, it provoked many feelings and questions by observing it.

The first emotion I felt looking at this image was curiosity. I was curious in why a group of men in a classroom were observing an unconscious woman. You could tell this picture wasn’t recent just due to the style, and how the men were dressed so there were no advances in the medical field. Which is why the patient was in the circumstance she was. She looked helpless, sick, and in need of care but instead she was being held like a doll and as a subject. All men seemed to be confused, intrigued and taking down notes but it seemed there was only one man in the room that knew the answer. It seemed as if one man had the answer due to him being the only one standing but it made me feel upset on how he was addressing it.

Which leads onto the next emotion I felt which was disappointment. I saw it as being in the patient’s shoe, imagine just being dangled from a man’s arm close to falling, and unconscious so you don’t know this situation is even happening. There’s a 99% chance she didn’t give them permission on this but without her consent there she was. You could also observe one nurse has her hands out ready to grab her as she’s dangling, seeming to be the only one caring about her physical well-being.

To add on to being disappointed, I felt disappointed at the fact there was only men in the room to observe her. I saw it as maybe you would want a woman perspective on the situation maybe she would have some insight that could be beneficial. But, as seen in the image that conclusion was neglected due to no women seated to see her. Then, giving me the sense of sexism and male dominance in being displayed in earlier times. Just seeing only male students in the room and no females’ students it just shows the roles on who were the doctors or needed people in the room to check up on the patient.

“A Clinical Lesson at the Salpêtrière” displayed an image with a story with many questions and speculations. Provoking me to feel questionable, and disappointed in many ways in early medical tactics, who were the needed candidates of a medical condition, and the level of respect women were given.  Having to view an unconscious woman who wasn’t in the best of conditions being held as an example to a classroom filled with male students.