Note from the first essay: Agreement and VTI ( Has too much plot summary not enough argument.
The essay that is attached is the second one that must be revised.
Thank you!!
Writing project Assignment 1
Name:
Instructor:
Task:
Date:
Writing project Assignment 1
According to Peck, discipline is a vital tool when solving problems faced by individuals in life. This is attributed to the fact that discipline plays a great part in the development of our spirits and minds. Peck identifies for concepts of discipline which help in solving life problems. The concepts are delaying of gratitude, taking responsibility, commitment to truth, and balancing. Delaying of gratitude involves tolerating problems that one is currently experiencing in order enjoy greater satisfaction in later years. In order to effectively apply this concepts, one is expected to be patient. Peck advocates for patience because he believes that people’s desire to a dress a problem fast triggers the belief that one is incapable of dealing with it. Another issue that usually arises whenever we fail to delay gratitude is to avoid dealing with an issue. This is usually fuelled by pessimistic ideas that the problem will not go away. The other concept of discipline is accepting responsibility which involves accepting that one is responsible for certain problems or behaviors that created a problems. This usually occurs because people try to avoid painful consequences. This can lead to placing responsibility to other people instead solving the problems ourselves. The other concept is dedication to truth. This involves being truth to ourselves about the nature of our problems. According to Peck, it is usually difficult to solve an issue if we do not know the nature of the problem. Many people lie to themselves because they fear challenges. This concept also involves being true to others and not just ourselves. Peck’s discipline concept also requires prioritizing. This involves trading off other things against others. This is usually difficult because many people find it hard to give up some things. However, Peck believes that it is a positive thing (Peck, 2012). Peck’s concept can effectively be used to analyze the characters in the film High Noon by Fred Zinnemann.
In the film High Noon, Will Kane one of the main characters in the film was successful in killing Miller was seeking revenge because he applied Peck’ “discipline” concepts (Zinnemann, 2012). For instance, he delayed gratitude by choosing to remain behind which was uncomfortable instead of departing for a new life with his wife. Remaining behind to deal with miller was just a temporary discomfort that Kane chose to face in order to enjoy his life later. If Kane had chosen to run away from his problem, he would face it later especially if Miller had succeeded in hunting him down. Kane also accepted responsibility before he decided to face his problem. He accepted the fact that he was responsible for sending Miller to jail. As such, he knew that he was the one to address the problem and not anyone else. Kane was also dedicated to the truth because he did not want to lie to himself by fleeing to other places to order to enjoy life. He told himself the truth that he would still be found. This motivated him to deal with the issue instead of postponing it. Kane’s success was also caused by his ability to apply the balancing tool which is part of the “Discipline” concept. For example, he decided to trade off moving to another town against remaining behind to address his problems. He knew that addressing his problem first would lead to a happier life later.
The other character that can be analyzed using Peck’s discipline is Miller. Miller failed because he did not apply Peck’s concept when solving his problem. For instance, he failed to apply the concept of “accepting responsibility.” He thought that Kane is the cause of his problem. However, he caused the problem for himself by engaging in criminal behaviors. He blamed Kane for causing him to go to jail which as not true. If Miller had accepted the fact that his criminal behavior had taken him to jail and not just Kane, he would have dealt with the real issue which was changing his criminal behaviors. The other discipline concept that he failed to apply was “dedication to the truth.” Miller lied to himself that he was not responsible for his going to jail (Zinnemann, 2012). He lied to himself that if he revenged and killed Kane, his problem would go away. However, this is not true because killing Kane would not solve his problem. This is because he would still engage in the same criminal behaviors that he was jailed for. As a result, he would still be sent to jail by another Sherriff.
Amy Fowler was in conflict with her husband because he did not effectively apply Peck’s “discipline” concept of delaying gratification. For example, she thought that running away from the city would solve her husband’s problems. However, her husband thought that running away would make his sense of duty and honor weak, which would make him enjoy now and suffer later. This made them have a disagreement on whether or not to leave the town. She also failed to apply the balancing concept by telling his husband to leave the town so that they enjoy now. However, her husband thought that in order to restore their balance, he needed to stay in town and address the problem now so that they enjoy later (Zinnemann, 2012).
The other character that failed because of not applying Peck’s discipline is townspeople. Townspeople wanted Kane to run away on a horseback with Percy. Percy fled on a horseback because he feared that he would be killed by Miller because he had sentenced him to jail. Instead of staying back and taking responsibility while delaying gratitude, he chose to run away. The judge was not willing to tolerate the discomfort that would come when dealing with Miller. He also wanted Kane to run away with him.
The characters in the film are told to grow up. Growing up in the film means to mature up. The characters in the film are told to grow up in order to abandon behaviors that show their immaturity. Growing up based on Peck’s concepts means taking responsibility. Miller needed to grow up by taking responsibility and accepting the fact that he needed to correct his criminal behaviors in order to avoid being sent to jail in future. Growing up also requires one to be patient. Characters like townspeople and Amy Fowler were not patient enough to support Kane from the beginning. They wanted him to run away from his problems which is considered immature based on Peck’s ideas. Being patient enables to tolerate discomfort in order to enjoy later after solving a problem permanently.
Conclusively, Peck has recommended the used of four concepts of “discipline” when solving life problems (Peck, 2012). Some characters were successful because they effectively applied Peck’s ideas in their life while others failed because they could not apply the concepts. Kane effectively applied the four concepts of discipline when he was facing his killer Miller. Miller and other characters like the coward townspeople failed because they wanted Kane to escape his problems failing to apply Peck’s concepts such as delaying gratitude, which would require Kane to stay in town and address his problem. Peck’s discipline concept advocates for patience which requires people to suffer or experience discomforts now in order to enjoy greater satisfaction later. Most of the characters experienced problems because they were not patient enough to wait for a better future.
References
Peck, S. (2012). The road to less traveled. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Zinnemann, F. (2012). High Noon.