Adversity In The Life Of Phineas Gage

550 Words3 Pages

“Someone said adversity builds character, but someone else said adversity reveals character. I'm pleasantly surprised with my resilience. I persevere, and not just blindly. I take the best, get rid of the rest, and move on, realizing that you can make a choice to take the good” (Brooke Shields). Phineas Gage is one of the earliest medical miracle. He was a railroad foreman that got a tamping iron shot through his head, but managed to squeeze eleven more years out of his life. Through all this adversity, he made many contributions to theories about brain science. Douglas Mawson was a expeditionist that traveled hundreds of miles alone, in below freezing temperatures with what seemed to be endless snowfall. He had barely any supplies, but he miraculously survived through all his adversity. He made many contributions to the scientific results of the AAE. Both Phineas and Mawson went through adversity, but Phineas Gage endured more adversity in the course of making his contribution in light of Social isolation and psychiatric issues. …show more content…

Phineas attitude had driven away friends and family. All he had left was his job, then that was taken. In the text Phineas Gage it states, “...The new Phineas is unreliable and, at times downright nasty. He insults old workmates and friends. He spouts vulgar language in the presents of woman… The railroad contractors let him go” (20). This showing that he had truly been isolated from the rest of the world after losing his jobs and friends. Another way social isolation took part in Phineas’s adversity is how he was admitted in the freak show. This truly made him a freak of society. Being in the freak show isolated him even more from normal people. This shows that he was isolated from everyone else, he was a