Music of lost souls Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music of lost souls - Essay Example In this way, music becomes a parallel narrative that generally reinforces the primary visual-verbal narrative and supplements it. In the opening instructions to the first scene of the play itself, Williams has described the presence of music from a near-by bar room, which he says should correspond the â€Å"air† of â€Å"lyricism† and â€Å"decay† expressed in the physicality of the scene (1). He has specifically mentioned the music to be used in the play as, â€Å"Blue piano† (1). This general mood-creating function of music continues up to the last scene. Music of New Orleans lower-middle class The music is not classy but coming out of a â€Å"tinny† piano, which indicates the socio-economic lowliness of the people that inhabit the play excluding Blanche (Williams, 1). It is particularly noticeable that from the very beginning of the play, music is just like any other background noise for the characters. This is why nobody in the first scene seems to even be aware of the piano playing. By bringing in the music, from the very beginning of the play, Williams has been able to treat music just like a stage property-like an umbrella or a table seen on stage. Thus music looses its aura and becomes just like the garbage on the street, or a discarded plastic bottle on the pavement. Music of change The social setting of the play is another aspect, which gets enhanced by music. The play happens in a period when, the typical social characteristics of the South are undergoing a transformation by the arrival of immigrant settlers, like Kowalski (who is the son of a Polish immigrant). The gaudiness reflected in the piano music represents the superficial and temporary nature of the changing culture, brought about by the influx of immigrants- which is why the music is described as â€Å"honky-tonk† and â€Å"sleazy†, meaning working class and shabby (Williams, 115). This ambience connotes the culture of the immigrants, who nat urally constitute the working class because they are mostly unskilled laborers employed in menial jobs. The music is constantly oozing with melancholy, which shows the resigned yet conflicting aspect of life in this synergy of cultures- a hesitant bonding with the mixing and marriages of rich and the poor. Music of survival All the same, the music some how compensates for the poverty and difficulties of the people in the play. Williams has instructed that the piano music in the play â€Å"expresses the spirit of the life† (1). It can be seen that just like the oddity represented by the presence of music in such an ambience of decay, the people around also seem to be not bothered by the poverty that surrounds them. They are used to it, conditioned to accept the realities of life, get along with their routine life, joking laughing and poking fun at each other. To start with and end with music The author has used music in the beginning of every scene to give the reader or specta tor, an inkling of what is about to come. In this way, the music anchors each scene and gives it a fresh beginning. In the first scene the music gets louder when Blanche tells Stella that her home estate, Belle Reve, has been lost (Williams, 13). Here, the music heightens the drama and indicates the enormous dimension of the loss: BLANCHE: (Slowly) The loss-the loss†¦ STELLA: Belle Reve? Lost, is it? No! BLANCHE: Yes, Stella. (They stare at each other across the yellow- checked linoleum of the table. BLANCHE slowly nods her head and STELLA looks slowly down at her hands folded on the table. The music of the â€Å"blue piano† grows louder) (Williams, 13). In this part of the play, it is as if telling there is more than what is verbally told, to the story. It is also suggestive that the characters and events of the play have a

Nursing - care plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Nursing - care plan - Essay Example 230). Impaired mobility is related to a variety of factors, including activity intolerance, perceptual or cognitive impairment, musculoskeletal impairment, neuromuscular impairment, medical restrictions, prolonged bed rest, limited strength, pain or discomfort and depression or severe anxiety (Gulanick & Meyers 2003, p. 107). When the patient has impaired mobility, there is also risks which are associated with a lack of physical exercise – circulatory and respiratory problems and poor physical condition (Sparks & Taylor, 2005, p. 29). II. Why the patient needs to be at the centre - Stroke is a medical issue which is multifaceted. Cowman et al. (2010, p. 1) states that 50% of stroke victims will make a full recovery, 30% will make an incomplete recovery with no need for assistance with any functions, and 20% will make an incomplete recovery with a need for assistance with some functions. Horgan et al. (2011, p. 4) states that, despite the statistics which show that a good perce ntage of stroke patients have some disability upon being discharged from the hospital, follow up care is often lacking. According to Miller et al. (2010, p. 2403), care for a stroke patient should consider three factors: pathophysiological factors, the impact on the individual, and the individual's environmental and personal resources. Hartigan et al. (2011, p. ... 2011 p. 23). Moreover, there is ample indication that strokes do not just affect the patient, but the caregivers as well. Lutz & Young (2010, p. 152) state that caregivers of stroke patients suffer depression, isolation, a sense of being burdened, a decline in physical and mental health and decreased quality of life. However, Khan et al. (2012, p. 1) indicates that caregivers may not always be given the proper support. It is therefore crucial that the patient participate in his or her own recovery, in that it will alleviate the burden on the caregiver as well as give the patient a better outcome. That said, it is important that the perceived nursing behavior be conducive to this. The patient's perception of the nurse's behavior influences how active the patient will be in participating in his or her own recovery process (Larsson et al. 2011, p. 1). All of these factors must be considered in planning a nursing care program for a stroke survivor, because one of the goals must be to pre vent readmission to the hospital, because hospital readmission results in higher mortality rates, greater disability levels and increased costs (Licthman et al. 2010, p. 2526). Therefore, it is important that Mr. Brown and his caregiver, his wife, be at the centre. Both need to understand what will be involved in Mr. Brown's recovery, and both need to understand the steps that will be needed to take. Because of the evidence that the burden on the caregiver is acute, and that the stroke patients' hope for recovery hinges partially upon social and environmental needs, and, additionally, the evidence suggests that patients must participate in their own care, the most important goal is to increase the mobility of the patient. This will ultimately not only be beneficial to the patient,