Relevance of attachment theory

Relevance of attachment theory As there have been many studies carried out in child development this essay will breakdown its content into the history of attachment theory and the basics of how it works. Mary Ainsworth was well known for her Strange Situations study and this essay will give a brief description of the experiment and its outcome and will be critically explored. As social deprivation is still a common factor in todays society this essay will define what is meant by social deprivation and then will investigate the consequences this has on children that have been reared in that environment. It will then show a study of children raised in orphanages and institutions and demonstrate how the effects of having no attachment to caregivers can have a negative result on their development. Many studies relating to attachment throughout the lifespan and attachment in adulthood have been carried out and this essay will break down these studies and determine whether the outcomes are conclusive or not. Finally a c onclusion will be given on the relevance of attachment theory and how individuals have formed and developed throughout the life course. Attachment theory is the work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Bowlby devised the basic system of the theory which was to reform our understanding about a childs connection to the mother, and the disturbance caused through separation, deprivation and bereavement. Ainsworths techniques made it possible to expand the theory and has contributed towards some of the new direction that it has taken up to date. Ainsworth gave the idea of the attachment figure as a secure base from which an infant can investigate the world; she developed the concept of maternal sensitivity to the infant signals and its role in the development of infant mother attachment patterns. Bowlby summarised that for a child to grow up mentally healthy, it needs to experience a warm, intimate and stable relationship with its mother. He accentuates on the primary carer as being female, claiming that he did not agree that dependency is established with a secondary supporter. (Bretherton, 1992). The three characteristi cs of attachment theory are secure attachment, ambivalent attachment and avoidant attachment. Securely attached children show the slightest distress when parted from their caregiver; this is because they feel secure and are able to depend on their caregivers, the children feel at ease in seeking out their caregiver when frightened. When a parent or caregiver leaves an ambivalently attached child, they will become very distressed. This is the outcome of poor maternal connection as the child can not depend on the caregiver when in need. Children with avoidant attachment are likely to avoid caregivers. They show no difference of emotion between a caregiver and a complete stranger. Research shows that this is the result of abusive or neglectful acts by the caregivers. (Wagner, 2009). Mary Ainsworth constructed an assessment technique called the Strange Situation Classification. (SSC). She investigated the security of attachment in one-to-two-year-olds in the strange situation study to f igure out the nature and types of attachment. Ainsworth created an experimental procedure observing the various attachment forms demonstrated between caregivers and infants. The infants were between 12 and 18 months old and were placed in a small room with a one way glass window so that they could be observed. Over the space of 21 minutes, managed in 3 minute sessions the following episodes were conducted; mother and infant were left alone, a stranger joins the mother and infant, mother leaves infant and stranger alone, mother returns and stranger leaves, mother leaves so infant is totally alone, stranger returns and then lastly the mother returns and the stranger leaves. Ainsworths findings during this study were that the child suffered separation anxiety-the child was distressed when the mother left, stranger anxiety- avoided the stranger but was friendly when the mother was present and finally the child displayed a reaction when reunited with their mother. (McLeod, 2007). The str engths of SSC are that it is a reliable study. It delivers dependable results and has become accepted worldwide as a method for measuring levels of attachment. Although the study has positive outcomes it can be criticised that the attachment is only focused on that between the mother and child. There is no mention of the other parent or grandparents to whom children can have an attachment bond with. (Lamb, 1978) Other research has found that the same child may display different attachment behaviour on different occasions. When a childs circumstances change their attachment may also alter, if family circumstances were to become different. (McLeod, 2007) Social deprivation can be defined as being denied suitable and responsive interaction with others, whether the denial occurred from limitations positioned on a physical ability to be in the company of others or by limitations on an emotional access to others. There are two related elements to this type of deprivation which are social and emotional neglect. Social neglect includes situations where a child is left without a caregiver or when the caregiver can not attend to the child but is present. Emotional neglect is where the caregiver denies affectionate physical and emotional contact. They ignore all signals of distress from the child and do not give any reassurance, encouragement, comfort and stimulation. (Provence and Lipton, 1962) Researchers have attempted to establish the effects of childrearing in socially deprived environments on child development. Studies have been carried out on the development of children from institutions and orphanages who appeared to have few social and emotional interactions compared to home-reared, securely attached children. During these studies it was found that children reared in socially deprived institutions developed differently to the home- reared children. Barbara Tizard and Anne Joseph conducted a study on orphans that lived in a clean three-storey building which looked like an institution as opposed to a house. The orphans complied with the caregivers demands and rules resulting in the orphanage being quiet and orderly. Beds were separated from each other by glass cubicles. There was shared eating; toileting and play facilities were within a large group of children. The infants and younger children spent up to 20 hours per day in their cubicle-like cribs, which restricted their movement and resulted in solitary confinement. Even during duties such as nappy changing and bathing, social interactions were kept to a minimum. (Tizard and Joseph, 1970). As the orphans were socially deprived they had less opportunity to witness models of appropriate behaviour. They were not engaged in the usual maternal process that secure home-reared children are given. Provence and Lipton (1962) observed the poor quality of peer interaction between institutionally reared children. Their report indicated that the infants showed little interest in one another even though they had been placed closed to one another in their cribs. This therefore prevented them from developing friendships. When compared to home-reared children, the children from the orphanages and institutions appeared to show different behaviours varying from aggression to irregular friendly behaviours. As a result of being reared in a socially deprived environment the children develop feelings of low self-e steem and a degenerated feeling of self worth, where as home-reared children, who are securely attached respond to feelings of self worth as they learn that their needs are important. Children aged 9-11 years old who had suffered severe and emotional neglect had displayed health problems. They became aggressive and developed anti-social behaviours. They were found to have poor quality peer relationships and show characteristics such as worry, fear, depression and hyperactivity. Attachment theory would conclude that lower cognitive ability and motor function would be the result for children reared in social deprivation. (Provence and Lipton, 1962) A study carried out by Stevens concluded that children reared in an orphanage that had many caregivers over time yet had high levels of attention and interactions from the caregivers, developed normal attachment relationships. (Stevens, 1971) During the 1970s English childcare authorities reconstructed their residential institutions so that they resembled more of a homely environment. The number of staff was increased to care for smaller mixed-age groups in an attempt to encourage the attachment of staff members to the groups of children. (Tizard and Joseph, 1970) Bowlby believed that the attachment characteristics were carried throughout the life span right through to death. (Fraley, 2004). According to researchers Hazan and Shaver, the emotional connection that develops between adult romantic partners is similar to that of the attachment traits. They noted that the bonds between infants and caregivers and romantic adult partners share the same features such as both feeling safe when they other is nearby, they both share explorations together and they both feel insecure when the other is unattainable. Some adults could be anxious-resistant and worry that they would not be loved leading them to be easily disheartened and angered when their attachment needs are not met. Other adults could be avoidant, seeming not to care much about other people and not having to depend on others and allowing others to depend on them. Whether an adult is secure or insecure in their adult relationships this could be an impression made from their own attachment ex periences as a child. (Fraley, 2004). As infants learn social behaviours through secure attachment bonds, the trust and praise endorsed through these bonds are believed to be the basis for the relationships that individuals build as they move from childhood to adulthood. (Bowlby, 1969). Researchers have argued that the connection between infant attachment and adult romantic attachments are only slightly related yet Fraley and Shaver (2000) state that the theory continues to influence behaviour, thoughts and feelings in adulthood and this hypothesis has remained firm for more than over a decade regardless of the different types of intimate relationships. Attachment theory from the 70s, compared to present day has been criticized for neglecting the internal world. It has been stated that attachment theory should pay more attention to regular distortions of the childs outlook of the external world and that the internal working models can conflict with each other. It seems that attachment theory and psychoanalysis overlap the limits of human knowledge. Both theories assume that the first years of life are the most important for the personality to develop: that the maternal feelings are a common factor in establishing the attributes of object relationships and therefore physic development. Furthermore in both theories, early relationships implement the conditions within which certain critical psychological functions are obtained and developed. Both focus on mental and personality development and emotional disorder. (Zepf, 2006) Attachment theory is now recognized and accepted as a lifespan developmental theory which is important in clinical practice for understanding how early bonding experiences influence psychical and emotional well-being. There is still quite a constricted understanding of what it means to be attached during adulthood. There has been no general agreement on what kind of relationships are acknowledged as adult attachments. As Bowlby (1969) based his child attachment behaviour targets on older figures that are stronger and wiser, this can appear to be deceiving when applied to the changeable attachment behaviour and the sexual nature of some adult attachments. Neither Bowlby nor Ainsworth wrote much about adults and attachment and focused most of their studies on the mother-child relationship, as they believed it had a greater influence on their development. As a result, the information foundation of adult attachment is still developing and not yet final. Early attachment experiences are c arried forward and contribute towards the adult personality. Although the bond may not be as extensive, research has proven that family members, friends and even pets provide elements of attachment. (Sable, 2008). Hazen and Shaver (1987) conducted a study of adult attachment to explore the influence of attachment quality on romantic love. In their report they found that secure attachment was related to happy, loving relationships of adults who received a caring and attentive childhood. Another study carried out by Main and colleagues (George et al, 1996) based on Ainsworths attachment patterns is the Adult Attachment interview. This study was aimed to explore the reasons why adults behave with regards to their childhood experiences. The individuals were asked to relay their relationships with their childhood attachment figures and to bring to mind occurrences which had remained in their memories, for example, separation, loss or rejection. A description was then asked for how their parents behaviour may have influenced their adult personality. Their security was determined by the individuals capability to reflect on their happenings and to be able to describe them in an open and rational manner. The study resulted in finding that there is an attachment behavioural system that stays active throughout life. Although adults do not require the regular physical company of an attachment figure, as they do when an infant, they do need to know that they have trustworthy and reliable sources around when they are feeling scared, ill or just need reassurance. (Sable, 2008) Finally, to conclude this essay, it is clear that attachment is a positive theory and the main negatives are from the studies created relating to adult attachment as they appear to be inconclusive. As attachment focuses on the importance of the amount of affection given in relationships, it seems to be the basis of all underlying problems that are surrounded in mental and emotional reactions emitted by both adults and infants. Social deprivation does appear to create an adverse reaction to children being reared in that environment and thus emphasises and confirms why attachment bonds play an important role in children developing mentally healthily and secure and able to lead a strong and grounded life as an adult. Bowlby, J. (1969) Attachment and Loss, Volume 1: Attachment. New York: Basic Books. Bretherton, I. (1992) The Origins of Attachment Theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Developmental Psychology. 28.759-775. Fraley, C. (2004) A Brief Overview of Adult Attachment Theory and Research. [Online] Available From: http://www.psych.uiuc.edu/~rcfraley/attachment.htm [Accessed 05/01/10] George, C.Kaplan, N. and Main, M. (1996) Adult Attachment Interview Protocol. (3rd Edition) Unpublished Manuscript. Berkley: University of California Hazan, C. and Shaver, P. (1987) Romantic Love Conceptualized as an Attachment Process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 52. 511-524 Lamb, M.E. (1978) Qualitative Aspects of Mother-Infant and Father-Infant Attachments in the Second Year of Life. Infant Behaviour and Development. 1. 265-275 McLeod, S.A. (2007) Simply Psychology: Individual Differences In Attachment. [Online] Available from: http://www.simplypsychology.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mary-ainsworth.html [Accessed 06/01/10] Provence, S. and Lipton, R. (1962) Infants In Institutions. New York: International Universities Press Reder, P. Duncan, S and Gray, M. (1993) Beyond Blame. Child Abuse Tragedies Revisited. Routledge: East Sussex Sable, P. (2008) What is Adult Attachment? Clinical Social Work Journal.36. 21-30 Stevens, A.G. (1971) Attachment Behaviour, Separation Anxiety and Stranger Anxiety in Polymatrically Reared Infants. In Schaffer, H(Ed) The Origins of Human Social Relations. New York: Academic Press Tizard, B. and Joseph, A. (1970) The Cognitive Development of Young Children in Residential Care: A Study of Children Aged 24 months. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 11. 177-186 Wagner, K, (2009) Background and Key Concepts of Piagets Theory. [Online] Available From: http://psychology.about.com/od/piagetstheory/a/keyconcepts.htm [Accessed 30/12/09] Wagner, K. (2009) Attachment Theory. [Online] Available From: http://psychology.about.com/od/loveandattraction/a/attachment01.htm [Accessed 30/12/09] Zepf, S. (2006) Attachment Theory and Psychoanalysis. International Journal of psychoanalysis. 87. 1529

Intelligent Minds :: essays research papers

I am a twenty something male. most whom live in this town have no idea that i exist or am aware that i am even here. I have lived here for little less than four years. my name is tanner l. beltran. that is as far as i know of who i am.a label a person gave to me upon birth. a struggle of finding myself, knowing my identity as a person and my place in this life, are completely unkown to me. day to day i seek for this answer, finding it nill. to be quite frank, i have not graduated high school. I attempted going back to finish my ''much needed to survive this candy-land extistence'' education which was quite minimal in gaining for i had only 3 credits needed to obtain a peice of glorified paper that states i completed requirements to become proficient in facing the real world. Without any idea of who you are and what you are supposed to do in life, it may seem coping with this so called 'reality' is harsh.For me it is. struggling for identity and self acceptance from others, facing inner compications that only add to my horror that i may never figure out my own life. to quote Grace Hansen ''Dont be a fraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin.'' this is something that i am deathly afraid of; afraid i will i fail the one person who cherishes who i am to her. But in all I feel I am failing my self. And that takes away all my hope to ever succeed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You see the prominent people never believed in me or had faith in my abilities. At least not the ones that should have. They faltered in early judgement of me at quite an early age. I feel it has been that inflicted inhibition that makes me fear failure more than being alive. that judgement makes finding myself brutally agonizing. In additon to this loss of mistaken identity of who I think I am, finding what I am supposed to do in my existent as a person of this nation falling to all hell, I need a piece of paper that states I meet requisetes to pursue any given career. Why do I need that piece of paper? What is its nominal meaning? What does it represent?

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 10

10. Unlikely Knights THE EMPEROR They called it Wine Country. What it was, in fact, was an area south of Market Street, adjacent to the Tenderloin, where liquor stores sold a high volume, yet small variety, of fortified wines like Thunderbird, Richard's Wild Irish Rose, and MD 20-20 (known in the wine world as Mad Dog, for the propensity of its drinkers to urinate publicly and turn around three times before passing out on the sidewalk). While Wine Country was technically the SOMA, or the â€Å"fashionable† South of Market Street neighborhood, it had yet to draw the young professional crowd that sprayed everything with a shiny coat of latte and money, as had its waterfront neighbor. No, Wine Country consisted mainly of run-down apartments, sleazy residence hotels, deeply skeezy porn theaters, and old industrial buildings, which now housed mini-storage units. Oh, and a huge Federal Building that looked like it was being molested by a giant steel pterodactyl, but evidently that was just the government trying to get away from their standard bomb shelter architecture to something more aesthetically appealing, especially if you liked Godzilla porn. It was in the shadow of that architectural abomination that the Emperor had taken his search for the alpha vampire cat. He and the men didn't spend much time in Wine Country, as he had lost a decade in a bottle somewhere and had since forsworn the grape. But it was his city, and he knew it like the cat-scratch scars on Bummer's muzzle. â€Å"Steadfast, gents, steadfast,† said the Emperor, throwing his shoulder against a Dumpster behind a hundred-year-old brick building. Bummer and Lazarus had commenced low, rumbling growls since they'd come into the alley, as if there were tiny semi-trucks idling in their chests. They were close. The Dumpster rolled aside on rusty wheels, revealing a basement window with a sheet of plywood loosely fitted into it. The building had once housed a brewery, but had long since been refitted for storage, except for the basement, half of which had been bricked off from the inside. But this window had been forgotten, and it led to an underground chamber completely unknown to the police, where William, and other people who succumbed to the Wine Country's charms, would seek shelter from the rain or the cold. Of course, you had to be drunk to think it was a good place to stay. Except for the spot by the window, the basement was completely dark, as well as damp, rat infested, and reeking of urine. As he pulled away the plywood, the Emperor heard a high sizzling sound, and the smell of burning hair came streaming out the window. Bummer barked. The Emperor turned away and coughed, fanned the smoke away from his face, and then peered into the basement. All over the visible parts of the floor, cat cadavers were smoldering, burning, and reducing to ash as the sun hit them. There were scores of them, and those were just the ones the Emperor could see from the window light. â€Å"This appears to be the place, gents,† he said, patting Lazarus's side. Bummer snorted, tossed his head, and ruffed three times fast, which translated to, â€Å"I thought I would enjoy the smell of burning cats more, but strangely, no.† The Emperor got on his hands and knees, then backed through the window. His overcoat caught on the window sill and actually helped him in lowering his great bulk to the floor. Lazarus stuck his head in the window and whimpered, which translated to, â€Å"I'm a little uneasy about you being in there by yourself.† He measured the distance from the window to the basement floor and pranced, preparing himself to leap into the abyss. â€Å"No, you stay, good Lazarus,† said the Emperor. â€Å"I fear I wouldn't be able to lift you out once you are down here.† With the ashes of burned cats crunching under his shoes the Emperor made his way across the room until he reached the end of the direct light that lay across the floor like a dingy gray carpet. To move farther he'd have to step on the bodies of the sleeping-well, dead-cats, as even in the shadows, he could see that the floor was covered with feline corpses. The Emperor shuddered and fought the urge to bolt to the window. He was not a particularly brave man, but had an overly developed sense of duty to his city, and putting himself in harm's way to protect her was something he was compelled to do, despite the acute case of the willies that was crawling up his spine like an enormous centipede. â€Å"There must be another entrance,† the Emperor said, more to calm himself than to actually impart information. â€Å"Perhaps not large enough for a man, or I would have known.† He tentatively nudged a dead cat aside with his toe, cringing as he did it. The vision of the vampire cats engulfing the samurai swordsman filled his head and he had to shake it off before taking another step. â€Å"A flashlight might have been a good idea,† he said. He didn't have a flashlight, however. What he had were five books of matches and a cheap, serrated-edged chef's knife that he'd found in a trash can. This would be the weapon he'd use to dispatch the vampire cat, Chet. In his younger, naà ¯ve days, last month, he'd carried a wooden sword, thinking to stake the vampires in the heart, movie style, but he'd seen the old vampire nearly torn apart by explosions, gunfire, and spear guns by the Animals when they'd destroyed his yacht, and none of it seemed as effective as had the little swordsman he'd seen in the SOMA. Still, a flashlight would have been nice. He lit a match and held it before him as he moved into the dark, working his foot between cat bodies with each step. When the match burned his fingers, he lit another. Bummer barked, the sharp report echoed through the basement. The Emperor turned and realized that he'd somehow made his way around a corner and the window was no longer visible. He reached inside his great overcoat and felt for the handle of the chef's knife, which was stuck in his belt at the small of his back. He pushed on, moving into another room, a large one as far as he could tell, but still, to the edge of the match light, the bodies of cats littered the floor, most of them lying on their sides as if they'd just dropped over, or in awkward piles, as if they'd been in the middle playing, or fighting, or mating when something suddenly switched them off like a light switch. Another distant bark from Bummer, then a deeper one from Lazarus. â€Å"I'm fine, men, I'll be finished with this and back out in no time.† Well into his third book of matches, the Emperor saw a steel door, partly ajar. He made his way to it; the dead cats thinned out and then there was a bit of a clearing in the carnage, although only for a foot or two, as if a path had been cleared, but a narrow one. He stood and caught his breath. He heard men's voices, but coming from back by the window, amid them more barking and now snarling from the men. â€Å"I'm in here!† the Emperor called. â€Å"I'm in here. The men are with me!† Then a distant voice. â€Å"Mo-fuckas need to cover this up. The City see it they brick this bitch up, then where we go when it rain?† There was a thump, then a grating noise, a rusty creaking, and the Emperor realized it was the sound of the plywood being fit back into the window and the heavy Dumpster pushed into place before it. â€Å"Block them wheels,† said the voice. â€Å"I'm here! I'm here!† called the Emperor. He gritted his teeth, preparing to run across the deep carpet of cat corpses to the window, but he hesitated, the match burned his fingers, and darkness fell upon him. THE ANIMALS â€Å"I'm pretty sure it's the Apocalypse,† said Clint, not even looking up from his red-letter King James Bible. The Animals were spread out in various positions around the basketball court, playing HORSE. Clint, Troy Lee, and Drew sat with their backs to the chain-link fence. Troy Lee was trying to read over Clint's shoulder, Drew was packing pot into the bowl of a purple carbon-fiber sports bong. Cavuto and Rivera made their way around the outside of the court. â€Å"What's up my niggas!† came a scratchy, wizened voice-totally out of place for the surroundings-like someone smacking a fiery fart out of a tiny dragon with a badminton racket. Rivera stopped and turned toward a small figure who stood at the foul line dressed in enormous sneakers and an Oakland Raiders hoody big enough for a pro offensive tackle. Except for the cat-rim glasses, it looked like Gangsta Yoda, only not so green. â€Å"That's Troy Lee's grandma,† said the tall kid, Jeff. â€Å"You have to give her a pound or she's going to keep saying it.† Indeed, she had a fist in the air, waiting for a pound. â€Å"You go ahead,† said Cavuto. â€Å"You're ethnic.† Rivera made his way to the tiny woman and despite feeling completely embarrassed about it, bumped fists with her. â€Å"Troot,† said Grandma. â€Å"Truth,† said Rivera. He looked to Lash, who had been the ad hoc leader of the Animals after Tommy Flood was turned vampire. â€Å"You okay with this?† Lash shrugged. â€Å"What are you gonna do? Besides, it's prolly the Apocalypse. No time to roll all politically correct up in this bitch when the world is ending.† â€Å"It's not the Apocalypse,† said Cavuto. â€Å"It's definitely not the Apocalypse.† â€Å"I'm pretty sure it is,† said Troy Lee, looking over Clint's shoulder at Revelation. They all gathered around the seated Animals. Rivera took out his notebook, then shrugged and put it back in his pocket. This wasn't going to be in any report. Drew sparked up the bong, bubbled a long hit, then handed it to Barry, the balding scuba diver, who inhaled the extra off the top. â€Å"We're cops, you know?† said Cavuto, not sounding that sure of it himself. Drew shrugged and exhaled a skunky blast. â€Å"S'okay, it's medical.† â€Å"What medical? You have a card? What's your condition?† Drew produced a blue card from his shirt pocket and held it up. â€Å"I'm anxious.† â€Å"That's not a condition,† said Cavuto, snapping the card out of Drew's hand. â€Å"And this is a library card.† † Reading makes him anxious,† said Lash. â€Å"It's a condition,† said Jeff, trying to look somber. â€Å"It's for arthritis,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"He doesn't have arthritis. It's not a thing.† Cavuto was pulling handcuffs out of the pouch on his belt. â€Å"She does,† said Troy Lee, pointing to his grandmother. The old woman grinned, held up her card, flashed an arthritic â€Å"West Coast† gang sign, and said, â€Å"What's up, my nigga?† â€Å"I'm not giving her a pound,† said Cavuto. â€Å"She's like ninety. You must. It is our way,† said Troy Lee in his mysterious ancient Chinese secret voice. From his sitting position, he bowed a little at the end for effect. Cavuto had to bend down to give the old woman a pound. â€Å"You know you'll never escape the killer cats in those giant shoes,† he said. â€Å"She doesn't understand,† said Barry. â€Å"No comprende English,† said Gustavo. â€Å"Cats?† said Rivera. â€Å"Your message.† â€Å"Yeah, you said to call if anything weird happened,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"Actually, we said not to call us,† said Cavuto. â€Å"Really? Whatever. Anyway, the Emperor came banging on the store windows last night all freaked out about vampire cats.† â€Å"Did you see them?† â€Å"Yeah, there were shitloads. And I don't know how you're going to take them down. That's why it's pretty obvious that it's the Apocalypse.† Clint, the born-again, now looked up. â€Å"I figure that the number of the beast is a number of how many. So, there were like six hundred sixty-six at least.† â€Å"Although it was hard to count,† said Drew. â€Å"They were in a cloud.† Rivera looked to Troy Lee for explanation. â€Å"It was like they'd all gone to vapor, like we saw the old vampire trying to do that night we blew up his yacht. Except they were all merged into one, big-ass vampire cloud.† â€Å"Yeah, it started coming into the store, even with the door locked,† said Jeff, now at the foul line, sinking his fourth swish in a row. â€Å"How'd you stop it?† Cavuto asked. â€Å"Wet towel under the door,† said Barry. â€Å"It's what you do when you're smoking weed in a hotel and you don't want everyone calling security. You're always supposed to have a towel. I read about it in a guide for hitchhiking through the galaxy.† â€Å"Skills,† said Drew, a little glassy-eyed now. â€Å"But, if not for the wet towel, it was the Apocalypse,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"Clint is looking in the book of Revelation for the part about the towel now.† â€Å"I hope it's like Thunder Dome Apocalypse,† said Jeff. â€Å"Not zombies trying to eat your brain Apocalypse.† â€Å"I'm pretty sure it's going to be, city-wiped-out-by-vampire-cats Apocalypse,† said Barry. â€Å"You know, just going on what we know.† â€Å"It's not the Apocalypse,† said Cavuto. â€Å"So, what happened?† Rivera asked. â€Å"The cloud just went away?† â€Å"Yeah, it sort of distilled to a big herd of cats and they went running every which way. But what do we do tonight if it comes back? The Emperor led it right to us.† â€Å"Where is the Emperor?† â€Å"He went off this morning with his dogs. Said he thought he knew where the prime vampire cat might be and that he and the men would dispatch it and save his city.† â€Å"And you let him?† â€Å"He's the Emperor, Inspector. You can't tell him shit.† Rivera looked at Cavuto. â€Å"Call dispatch to post a bulletin to call us if anyone sees the Emperor.† â€Å"We're not getting off work today, are we?† said Cavuto. â€Å"Take an Apocalypse day,† said Barry. â€Å"Woo-hoo! Apocalypse day!† Troy Lee's grandma fired off a barrage of Cantonese to her grandson, who replied with the same. The old woman shrugged and looked up at Cavuto and Rivera and spoke for about thirty seconds, then went and took the ball from Jeff, then shot a complete air ball, at which everyone cheered. â€Å"What? What?† said Cavuto. â€Å"She wanted to know what Barry was woo-hooing about, so I told her.† â€Å"What did she say?† â€Å"She said no big deal. They had vampire cats in Beijing when she was a girl. She said their shit is weak.† â€Å"She said that?† â€Å"The idiom is different, but basically, yeah.† â€Å"Oh good,† said Cavuto, â€Å"I feel better.† â€Å"We need to find the Emperor,† Rivera said. Cavuto pulled the car keys out of his jacket. â€Å"And pick up our Apocalypse jackets.† â€Å"What about us?† asked Lash. Rivera didn't even look back when he said, â€Å"You guys have more experience fighting vampires than anyone on the planet†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"We do, don't we?† said Troy Lee. â€Å"Oh, we are so fucked,† said Lash. â€Å"That's sad,† said Drew, repacking the bowl of the bong. â€Å"Really sad.† THE EMPEROR Darkness. He waited a moment, listening to his pulse beat in his ears before striking another match. â€Å"Courage,† he whispered to himself, a mantra, an affirmation, a sound to keep him from jumping out of his own skin at every creak or rustle in the dark. He lit the match, held it aloft. He pulled at the big steel door, throwing his weight, and it moved a few inches. Perhaps this was the other way out. It was clear that all these cats hadn't come in through the window, not with the plywood blocking it. He elbowed the door aside, feeling the resistance of a drift of dormant vampire cats piled up against it. When the opening was wide enough to squeeze through, he put his shoulder inside, then paused as the match went out from the movement. He was inside, and the floor seemed clear at his feet, although it felt as if he was standing on powder. As he lit the next match he hoped to see a stairway, a hallway, perhaps another boarded-up window, but in fact what he saw was that he was in a small storeroom fitted with wide metal shelves. The floor was indeed covered with a thick layer of dust, and among it, rumpled clothing. Ragged overcoats, jeans, and work boots, but also brightly colored satin garments, hot pants, and halter tops, tall platform shoes in fluorescent colors, dingy under the dust and darkness. These had been people. Homeless people and hookers. The fiends had actually dragged people down here and fed on them-sucked them to dust, as the little Goth girl had termed it. But how? No matter how strong or ravenous, the cats were still just housecats before they had turned. And they hadn't seemed cooperative. He couldn't imagine a pack of twenty vampire cats dragging a fully grown person down here. It didn't make sense. The match burned his finger and he tossed it aside, then pulled the knife from his belt before lighting the next. When the next match flared, he saw something on one of the high shelves at the far side of the room. Something quite a bit larger than a housecat. Perhaps it was one of their victims who had survived. He adjusted his grip on the knife and moved forward, trying not to cringe as the dusty clothing clung to his feet and ankles. No, not a cat. At least not a housecat. But it had fur. And a tail. But it was the size of an eight-year-old child, and it was snuggled up against something even larger. The Emperor raised the knife and stepped forward, then stopped. â€Å"Well, you don't see that every day,† he said. The cat thing was spooning the naked form of Tommy Flood.

Short Story - 925 Words

â€Å"Volunteers had to go along with what?† Inez said, opening his cabin’s door and stepping out to properly greet Phillip and Cassidy after having heard them talking. â€Å"Everyone inside,† he then ushered. â€Å"No more talking about whatever it is you two been talking about out here. And, hats on.† Phillip and Cassidy complied and donned their silver headgear, but it didn’t take either of them long before picking back up where they’d left off in their conversation. â€Å"It was amazing, Inez, you should have seen it,† Cassidy said excitedly. â€Å"I threw a rock†¦,† she giggled and tried to get a hold of herself. â€Å"I just threw a rock right through the window of someone’s transport.† â€Å"No kidding,† responded Inez, â€Å"we’ll why would you do that?† â€Å"Because I†¦show more content†¦His mother had been busy with three classes that day and exhaustion could be seen on her face as she sat at the dinner table. The quality of dinner didn’t really matter, though. Phillip’s mind was a million miles away as he sat across from her. Thoughts on the upcoming Saturday absorbed everything, every impulse, every fiber of him as he stared blankly and hypnotically at his plate of untouched food. He may have stayed that way for hours if his mother hadn’t asked him, â€Å"How was your day, dear?† a question that garnered no immediate response and had not managed to break his reverie even after the second time around. Krista then repeated herself a third time receiving the same silent treatment from Phillip. It was only then when Cary had raised his voice that Phillip finally snapped out of his somnambulism. â€Å"Your mother asked you how your day was?† Cary said again for a second time as he looked at his son strangely. â€Å"Oh, um†¦ I-I—† Phillip stuttered. â€Å"The trigonometry help, dear,† Kris ta stated. â€Å"Did everything go alright? Did you get back on track in your class?† â€Å"Um, yes, I guess it all went alright,† answered Phillip, â€Å"but, I’m still going to need to stay after for probably the rest of the week to get completely caught up.† â€Å"You’re that far behind?† asked Krista. â€Å"Trigonometry is hard!† â€Å"Alright, alright,† Krista backpedaled a bit defensively. â€Å"You can take as long as you need so long as you’re getting the help. Lord knows your father and I can’t help. That typeShow MoreRelatedshort story1018 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Short Stories:  Ã‚  Characteristics †¢Short  - Can usually be read in one sitting. †¢Concise:  Ã‚  Information offered in the story is relevant to the tale being told.  Ã‚  This is unlike a novel, where the story can diverge from the main plot †¢Usually tries to leave behind a  single impression  or effect.  Ã‚  Usually, though not always built around one character, place, idea, or act. †¢Because they are concise, writers depend on the reader bringing  personal experiences  and  prior knowledge  to the story. Four MajorRead MoreThe Short Stories Ideas For Writing A Short Story Essay1097 Words   |  5 Pageswriting a short story. Many a time, writers run out of these short story ideas upon exhausting their sources of short story ideas. 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These themes areRead MoreShort Story and People1473 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Title: Story Of An Hour Author: Kate Chopin I. On The Elements / Literary Concepts The short story Story Of An Hour is all about the series of emotions that the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard showed to the readers. With the kind of plot of this short story, it actually refers to the moments that Mrs. Mallard knew that all this time, her husband was alive. For the symbol, I like the title of this short story because it actually symbolizes the time where Mrs. Mallard died with joy. And with thatRead MoreShort Story Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesA short story concentrates on creating a single dynamic effect and is limited in character and situation. It is a language of maximum yet economical effect. Every word must do a job, sometimes several jobs. Short stories are filled with numerous language and sound devices. 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Racism is so prevalentRead MoreThe Idol Short Story1728 Words   |  7 PagesThe short stories â€Å"The Idol† by Adolfo Bioy Casares and â€Å"Axolotl† by Julio Cortà ¡zar address the notion of obsession, and the resulting harm that can come from it. Like all addictions, obsession makes one feel overwhelmed, as a single thought comes to continuously intruding our mind, causing the individual to not be able to ignore these thoughts. In â€Å"Axolotl†, the narr ator is drawn upon the axolotls at the Jardin des Plantes aquarium and his fascination towards the axolotls becomes an obsession. InRead MoreGothic Short Story1447 Words   |  6 Pages The End. In the short story, â€Å"Emma Barrett,† the reader follows a search party group searching for a missing girl named Emma deep in a forest in Oregon. The story follows through first person narration by a group member named Holden. 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