...... That doesn't sound very calm.TitanAtlas said:me.. one of the calmest people...
I punch the door, break it
Sure i'm a 20 year old giant but i'm calm...
...... That doesn't sound very calm.TitanAtlas said:me.. one of the calmest people...
I punch the door, break it
Sure i'm a 20 year old giant but i'm calm...
You're wrong about everything ever, sorryTitanAtlas said:. I'm a growned man
Oh. Sorry. When joining an online discussion i consider age/sex/nationality less important than avatar or nickname and usually don't pay much attention to such details... And that's where my question came from - i was sure i saw this avatar somewhere.cerealnmuffin said:I'm a girl and yes I attempted when I was a teen over ten years ago.Refresh my memory please. Aren't you that guy who tried to comitee suicide ?
Also this.Chairman Miaow said:...... That doesn't sound very calm.TitanAtlas said:me.. one of the calmest people...
I punch the door, break it
Sure i'm a 20 year old giant but i'm calm...
I'm going to treat this post as a story. The conclusions drawn are not reliable; they are merely ones that I would see were this from the point of view of a character in a story. There's literature afoot.TitanAtlas said:*Snip*
Unless youknow, its the kind of people who could drive Ghandi to mass murder.Phasmal said:I think everybody's family acts like assholes at some point.
Usually around the holiday.
Also this.Chairman Miaow said:...... That doesn't sound very calm.TitanAtlas said:me.. one of the calmest people...
I punch the door, break it
Sure i'm a 20 year old giant but i'm calm...
Punching objects is not a sign of a calm person.
Every person has a breaking point.Chairman Miaow said:...... That doesn't sound very calm.TitanAtlas said:me.. one of the calmest people...
I punch the door, break it
Sure i'm a 20 year old giant but i'm calm...
Clap.AquaAscension said:I'm going to treat this post as a story. The conclusions drawn are not reliable; they are merely ones that I would see were this from the point of view of a character in a story. There's literature afoot.TitanAtlas said:*Snip*
This is one side of the story. And it's an interestingly told story at that. There are multiple grammar and spelling mistakes, so I'm wondering if English is the character's first language. Additionally, I wonder where this is taking place. Since The Escapist doesn't cater solely to a United States audience, I can't rule out the fact that he is not a native in an English speaking country (please no jokes about how America isn't an English speaking country, thank you). I don't particularly know the sentiments of European nations, but from an American perspective, I'd say that your story is missing many, many key details, and it makes me question the trustworthiness of the narrator.
In literature, there is such a thing as just that: an untrustworthy narrator; a character who tells it as he/she sees it rather than how it really is. The character claim to be calm yet punches a door and breaks said door (and possibly his wrist). That's not a calm at all times act. That's a rather violent one.
The character's father is only mentioned briefly and comes off sounding more like a caricature than a real person. I don't trust how the narrator painted him. No one is that one sided. Of course, presenting a two sided view of any family can be difficult, and you aren't writing a novel, just representing life through this character's point of view.
However, there is no mention of work in your story. There is no mention of goals. There is no mention of dreams. Other than to be alone. But that pursuit has no practical steps behind it. This character would be a very hard sell in terms of a protagonist. He seems to have no goals, his education seems to be subpar (no college, dropped out of high school perhaps), and seems to have possible instability or undiagnosed mental disorders. Has the character even applied for jobs? I get the feeling he says he's calm, but that's hiding a deep anger or guilt. Possibly frustration. Probably trying to prove himself; trying to prove he's not inadequate is his life's goal. Yes, he says he'd like to be alone, but this is actually just a great desire to avoid pain. Humans, after all, will do far more to avoid pain than they will to seek pleasure.
This character does have some interesting points to him though. In fact, I find I can relate to him a bit. The desire to be alone, to get away from family is a desire I have felt before, but not to the extreme that he does. I also find it interesting that there is a lot of the story left untold essentially. There are a lot of emotions left out. We get the sense (as readers) that the character is depressed, angry, and possibly desperate, but the character himself is unwilling to admit anything of the sort. Instead (Possibly in spite of in fact), he continues to say that he is calm. As though nothing bothers him. But it does. And we see that when a possible truth (though it still could be hyperbole) comes out that he may have broken a door and/or his wrist in a fit of rage. Also, the idea that the character just "wants to be left alone" to me implies that he feels guilty or inadequate (which makes sense given how much his father berates him). I get the sense that this character very rarely looks people in the eye and lacks confidence, feels antsy, wants to leave, doesn't particularly care where "there" is, but wants to get to it. However, he lacks the drive to do so. For now.
Thing is, stories have endings. All things will get told with time. Truth will one day be discovered. So what is the end to this character's story? Does he move out? Does he continue to endure like a honey badger and insist that this is his lot in life to have a crappy family and no way out? Or does he change? Will he turn the page, start anew, flex his fist and strike out into the new, the unknown? There will be obstacles, but when are there not? The truth is that this life only opens to those who've got the willingness to take what they can despite what they think is otherwise planned. This doesn't mean losing your soul or sacrificing your calm, because if one does that then he won't last long. But it does mean taking the chance. This story isn't over.
You're the writer for your character. How does the rest of his story go?
I live in Portugal, a European country that's suffering through a somewhat economical crisis.AquaAscension said:*snip number 2*TitanAtlas said:*Snip*
If someone yelled with you over and over again, constantly day and night over stupid things, and even if you were the calmest person on the face of the earth, wouldn't you reach a limit? Get angry for once in your life? Everyone has a limit, it doesn't matter how calm they are.Phasmal said:I think everybody's family acts like assholes at some point.
Usually around the holiday.
Also this.Chairman Miaow said:...... That doesn't sound very calm.TitanAtlas said:me.. one of the calmest people...
I punch the door, break it
Sure i'm a 20 year old giant but i'm calm...
Punching objects is not a sign of a calm person.
The reason you should care about yourself is that no one else does, as you say. I didn't say that I doubted your story. My feeling is that it's left a lot of things unsaid. A lot of things your character desperately wants to say, but can't. This is not abnormal. Everyone feels like this at some point or another. It is natural, it is human; this is why I related to your story. I have felt like this before too. It gets better not only with time. This is a mistake that most people make. But don't take my word for it. Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" but you'll only hear him repeat what I'm about to say here: The only way for things to get better is if we put effort into them. Granted, you don't seem to have much of a support network. This needs to change. Open up to your friends. Crying alone is sad. Crying in front of others is strength. You, with your tears, are sending a crystal clear message that you aren't afraid and that you trust those other people enough to seek their assistance. As a different great poet has said, "Water rends cracks in granite and rusts steel down to nothingness; your tears are stronger than muscle; it's a fact." However, crying isn't the only thing you should do. Get out of that house. Whatever you like doing, go do that. Find people who know of job openings. Do something. You've vented; the pressure is less; the iron is hot; the time to strike, to reforge your life; that time to strike is now. Or... as I wrote in a poem way, way long ago: "The time is right to reignite your life; let the spark catch; let the fire spread; fan the flames with each and every breath*..."TitanAtlas said:*Snip the Third*AquaAscension said:*snip number 2*TitanAtlas said:*Snip*
Hell, he would probably be abused less.MadarseLizard said:You could join the army? Boot camp would get you away from your family plus your dad would probably like it.