Jeanette Walls Analysis
Motivation is the reason one acts or behaves. Motivation is what moves humanity both in an individual and general sense. The power of motivation is undeniable. If harnessed correctly one can achieve great and terrible things. To better understand motivation many people have attempted to explain motivation in a general sense that would apply in any situation. One such person was Abraham Maslow. He created the hierarchy of needs. However, the hierarchy fails to properly explain motivation. This becomes obviously when set aside the life of an individual. I will use the story of Jeanette Walls to disprove Maslow’s hierarchy. Abraham Maslow attempted to explain human motivation by creating a hierarchy of needs. Basic physiological needs such
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She is in an undeniably poor situation. She is constantly hungry, cold, and insulted. However, Jeanette is a tough girl. Her situation is distraught, but she knows a better life is possible. She has tasted higher knowledge, and desire to advance from her position. She was raised to exceed expectations. She is more intelligent, mature, and aware than most children her age. In the past, the schools placed Jeanette in advanced classes and were wowed by her brilliance. Jeanette and her siblings would help her mother write books and run a classroom when she worked as a teacher. Jeanette even obtained a job at age thirteen. She raises above Maslow’s hierarchy of needs because Jeanette has complex needs due to her unnatural thirst for self-improvement and desire to aspire to ascend above her parent’s situation.
Alexander Hamilton states, “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature” (qtd. in Morse 3). Human nature is how we should be considering choices and needs. We cannot simply attribute the complexity of the human nature into a simple hierarchy. Humans are far more intricate and desire special attention to determine each individual human. Maslow and his idea of a hierarchy of needs simply fall short of reality and is nothing more than a very rough outline of human
She is in an undeniably poor situation. She is constantly hungry, cold, and insulted. However, Jeanette is a tough girl. Her situation is distraught, but she knows a better life is possible. She has tasted higher knowledge, and desire to advance from her position. She was raised to exceed expectations. She is more intelligent, mature, and aware than most children her age. In the past, the schools placed Jeanette in advanced classes and were wowed by her brilliance. Jeanette and her siblings would help her mother write books and run a classroom when she worked as a teacher. Jeanette even obtained a job at age thirteen. She raises above Maslow’s hierarchy of needs because Jeanette has complex needs due to her unnatural thirst for self-improvement and desire to aspire to ascend above her parent’s situation.
Alexander Hamilton states, “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature” (qtd. in Morse 3). Human nature is how we should be considering choices and needs. We cannot simply attribute the complexity of the human nature into a simple hierarchy. Humans are far more intricate and desire special attention to determine each individual human. Maslow and his idea of a hierarchy of needs simply fall short of reality and is nothing more than a very rough outline of human