The Readiness is All: Here Am I. Send Me.

Authors

  • Janet Tipton Hindman West Texas A&M University WTAMU Box 60208 Canyon, Texas 79016-0001

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18533/journal.v5i6.952

Keywords:

Contextual biography, creativity, crushed L-1, the day of infamy, narrative, ontological lens, readiness, spinal injury, systems approach, Titanium rods.

Abstract

The article uses contextual biography to examine the psychological and existential dimensions of “an internal environment that interacts with the other contexts in which the [author] evolves (Vidal, F., 2003, p. 73). Through a network of enterprises (Gruber, 1980) as a key aspect of that internal environment, this contextual autobiography conceptualizes a slice of the author’s life through the integration of particular literary and life contexts and her position within these background experiences. By using a unique and creative narrative of personal experiences, the author posits the universal or ontological problem of understanding the “all” of readiness for one of Shakespeare’s central characters with the juxtaposition of her own life as undertaken through the literary contexts examined. A catastrophic spinal injury coupled with the loss of her beloved father serve as prime catalysts for extreme life changes for the author creating questions of self-doubt and self-awareness, and whether the readiness for her was indeed, all. The article purposively adds to our understanding of how the internal environment and network of enterprises within an individual’s life experiences juxtaposed with literary contexts may profoundly inspire others to live unique lives of action and readiness.  Findings of the study present the participant’s joyful journey of discovery and personal renewal with the most important lesson learned being that education is the ticket to a life of freedom and personal success.   

References

Battle of Antietam. (September 17, 1862). Accessed June 14, 2016 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-antietam.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997, 2013). Creativity: The psychology of discovery and invention. New York, NY:Harper Perennial edition, 1997. Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition, 2013.

Csikszenthmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York,NY: Basic Books.

Faulkner, W. (1936). Absalom, Absalom! New York, NY: Random House. Faulkner, William 1897-1962,“Absalom, Absalom! (1936),” The Ohio State University Libraries Exhibits, accessed June 14, 2016,

https://library.osu.edu/innovation-projects/omeka/items/show/51.

Frost, R., (1920). “The road not taken.” Mountain Interval. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Robert Frost (1874-1963), “The road not taken.” Accessed June 14, 2016, www.bartleby.com/119.1.html.

Gruber, H. E. (1980). Cognitive psychology, scientific creativity, and the case study method. In M.D. Grmek, R. S. Cohen, & G. Cimino (Eds.), On scientific discovery. Boston, MA: Reidel.

Hindman, J. T. (1983). Quentin Compson: A heart in conflict in Master’s Thesis for West Texas State University, Department of English. OCLC 11636395. Accession Number: WTCL. 166410. Accessed https://buffcat.tamu.edu/vwebv/search?searchType=7&searchId=24&maxResultsPerPage=50&recCount=50&recPointer=0&resultPointer=0&headingId=792010 on June 14, 2016.

Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund. (1997-2008). http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/JFMF#.V2Ac8maeU58. Accessed June 14, 2016.

McLeod, S.A. (2008). Case study method. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/case-study.html.

Montouri, A. (2011). Systems approach. In: Runco, M. A., and Pritzker, S. R. (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Creativity, Second Edition, Vol. 2, pp. 414-421. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. 2011 Elsevier Inc.

Accessed June 14, 2016 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123750389002120.

National Archives. Teaching with documents: “A date which will live in infamy.” Accessed June 14, 2016,http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/day-of-infamy/. The first typed draft of Franklin D.

Roosevelt’s war address.

Runco, M. A. (2011). Tactics and strategies for creativity. Encyclopedia of Creativity, Second Edition, Vol. 2. 423-426. Accessed http://ac.els-cdn.com/B9780123750389002132/3-s2.0-B9780123750389002132-main.pdf?_tid=06612432-323c-11e6-a965-00000aacb361&acdnat=1465914586_e492fe2a70b98c13af8baddc1618e8da on June 14, 2016.

Shakespeare, W. (1603, 2015). The tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The complete works of William Shakespeare. Barnes and Noble Collectible Editions Series.

Starobinski, J. (1966). The idea of nostalgia. Diogenes, 54, 81-103. Accessed June 14, 2016, http://dio.sagepub.com/content/14/54/81.full.pdf+html.

U.S.S. Antietam. America’s navy. USS Antietam. Accessed June 14, 2016 http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/cg54/Pages/default.aspx#.V2Aaf2aeU58.

Vidal, F. (2003). Contextual biography and the evolving systems approach to creativity. Creativity Research Journal. Vol. 15. No. 1, 73-82. Accessed June 14, 2016 https://www.academica.edu/19667277/Contextual_biography_and_the_evolving_systems_approach_to_creativity

Wallace, D. B. (1989). Studying the individual: The case study method and other genres. In H. E. Gruber & D. B. Wallace (Eds.). Creative people at work: Twelve cognitive case studies. New York, NY: Oxford

University Press.

Weber, R. (1996). Toward a language of invention and synthetic thinking. Creativity Research Journal 9:353-367.

Downloads

Published

2016-06-16

Issue

Section

Article

Similar Articles

1-10 of 326

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.