When I Woke Up Friday

The world can be viewed as an intricate and complex place, which contains different groups of people who have distinct views and behaviors. The pressure that is exerted on these individuals due to contrasting views and behaviors leads an individual to either dissociate or split. Martha Stout, the author of “When I Woke Up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday” discusses how her patients, Seth and Julia, were affected by trauma and dissociation. Dissociation and splitting, whether conscious or unconscious, influences an individual to a large extent by enabling them to detach from reality and change his or her worldview. Through her discussions and interviews with Julia and Seth, Stout depicts how much dissociation can affect an individual, which ultimately …show more content…
Trauma victims did not have to worry about dealing with trauma in the real world, and the cadets do not have to worry about finding a job and other responsibilities in the real world, when dissociating from it at The Citadel. While Seth unconsciously dissociates, the cadets were pressured to dissociate due to their atmosphere and both unlock a secret world. In one of Seth’s sessions with Stout, he describes his experience of dissociation by describing how, “floating in the middle of the ocean was really the best place, even though I guess that sounds strange. Also, being there takes care of the physical pain; there’s no more pain when I’m there. It’s just that now…sometimes it makes me wish I could maybe be there instead” (435). Seth’s description of his experience with dissociation indicates why he would prefer to be in his secret world. This secret world, which was really his new mindset, allowed him to live his life in his mind without any worries. In addition, Seth was also able to live his life without worries because his secret mental space was solitary due to the fact it was formed because of his trauma. Hence, Seth was allotted all the freedom because he was the only one presented in his world. Dissociation led to the creation of his secret mental world because if Seth did not dissociate he would not have been able to find a place …show more content…
Limited freedom prevents an individual from gaining a true understanding of his or her desires, which ultimately leads to a split life. While the cadets were given false freedom, Bell’s patients were given limited freedom, which eventually led them to live a split life. Bell describes the paradox of freedom as “With relationship, women hear that they ought to use their twenties to “live it up” and not necessarily be serious about relationships…At the same time, they are enjoined to remember that partnership and marriage are just around the corner, when they turn thirty, so the dating and experimentation of their twenties must result in a relationship and must come to an end” (27). The paradox of sexual freedom indicates why women choose to live a split life because they were encouraged to go out and experiment with their sexual identities, while keeping their age in mind, which makes them confused about how to live their lives. The freedom awarded to the women is paradoxical, but it helps to better understand why the cadets split at The Citadel. Similar to the women Bell examines, they were awarded some freedom, but were given strict rules, which limits their freedom. The cadets were essentially given false freedom because they are given the opportunity to act like a human being at The Citadel, but in fact were pressured to act masculine. According to

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