I

NSTI
TUTEFOREXCELLENCEI
N
HIGHEREDUCATION
(
2017-
2018)

DI
PLOMAINCOUNSELLI
NG
PSYCHOLOGY

TOPI
C:SUNSETLI
MITED

Submi
tt
edTo: Submi
tt
edBy
:
Mr
.ATHARVASHUKLA HAAJRAHASAN
(
Psy
chol
ogyDept
.) (
B.AI
IEngl
i
shLi
t.
)
316122
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Iwouldl
iketoexpr
essmyspeci
algrat
it
udet oMr.
At
harvaShukl
awhogav emethi
sopportuni
tytodo
thi
spsychoanal
ysi
sonthemovie-“
TheSunset
Li
mit
ed”
Thi
sal
sohel
pedmei
ndoi
ngsomer
esear
chwor
k
Iwoul
dal
sol
i
ket othankmyfr
iendsandpar
ent
sfor
theirhel
pandsupport
.
 CERTI
FICATE

Thi
sistocer
ti
fythatHaajr
aHasanstudentof
Di
plomaInCounsel
lingPsychol
ogyhascomplet
ed
t
hisassi
gnmentundertheguidanceofMr.At
har
va
Shukl
a
Iti
sanori
ginal
workdonebyherin2017-
2018and
submi
tt
edtothepsychol
ogydepar
tmentof
I
NSTITUTEFOREXCELLENCEI NHIGHEREDUCATION
BHOPAL.
 Q1.
Whatwast
hemov
ieabout
?
“TheSunsetLimit
ed”isthemovieaboutli
feanddeat h,basi
cal
l
yt hi
sisthemov i
e
abouttheperspecti
veandbeli
efsoft wocharacter
sent i
rel
ydiff
erentfr
om each
other
.Inthi
smov i
etherear
etwochar act
ers,oneisWhi tewhodoesn’thaveany
beli
efsandwantstodie,ont
heotherhandisBlackwhohasmanybel i
efsaboutl
i
fe
andgod.

Thesunsetl imitedwaspubl i
shedbyCor macMcCar thyin2006,t
hemov i
et akes
stri
kinglysimplepr emise-
aconversati
onbetweentwomen. Astheplayopens, Whi
te
hasj ustbeensav edf r
om cert
aindeathbyBlackandthetwomenhav er
eturnedto
black’sapartment.BlackandWhi teconver
seaboutWhi t
e'sat
temptedsuicide.Whi
te
feelsast houghev eryt
hingendsupi ndeat
h,andthathi
slif
eisminuscul
ei nthe
throesoft i
me.

From Whi te'

spointofv iew,
nomat t
erhowgreatsomeoneorsomethingis,
allt
hatis
creat
edev entual
lyf adesaway .ThisistheoppositeofwhatBl ackbeli
eves.He
beli
evest hatther
ei saGodandt hatweal
lmustgot hr
oughthet
roublesofli
fetoget
topar adise(Heav en).Byhi sownaccount ,hisstor
yisthatofamanwhohas
commi ttedmur derandwasf arawayfr
om God,buthasnowchanged.

Blackthi
nksthathecansavewhi t
efrom commi t
ti
ngsuici
de.Accordi
ngt
ohimitis
alldesti
nyandgodhassenthi mtosav eWhi t
emanandev er
ythi
nghassome
reasons.Thi
smov i
eisastrongphil
osophicalt
erri
tor
yaboutli
feanddeath.Bl
ack
beli
evesinhappinessandwant sWhitet
of ocusonhappinesswher eWhi
tethi
nks
onecan’tbehappyifhehaspain.

Theyquickl
ygetint
or el
igi
ouster
ri
toryaft
erWhi teasksBlacki fhethi
nksJesusis
presentint
heroom.Thisexpandst othediscussionwhet herBibl
eisthegreat
est
bookofallt
imeornot.Theytal
kmor eaboutWhite’
ssuicideattemptsandwhyWhite
fi
ndslif
emeaningl
ess.Theytal
kaboutallt
hethi
ngsr el
atedt ol
ife.

Black’sanoptimi
st.Hetr
iestoconvinceWhitethatt
hekeytohappinessisl
oving
y
ourf ell
owhumansandsur render
ingtohigherpower.ButWhi
tedoesn’tbel
i
evein
t
hecent ral
import
anceofotherpeople.Hebeli
evesreasonandint
ell
ectarethemost
i
mpor tantt
hingst
hatneedtobef oll
owed.

Thismov i
etalksabouthappi
ness, i
njustice,i
sol
ati
on,compassi onandforgiv
eness,
death,
li
fe,consci
ousness,mortali
ty,
r ace,rel
igi
onandsuf fer
ing.Whi
tethi
nksl i
fei
s
j
ustahowl i
ngv oi
dandhej ustwantsdeat h,hej
ustwant stodieformini
mi si
nghis
pai
nwher eBlackhasstrongbelief
saboutl i
feandbrotherhood.

AttheendBl ackwasnotablet opersuadeWhi t

efrom sui
cideandWhi t
eleaves
apartmentandaskingGodwhyheput shiminasituat
iontosaveman’ sli
feandwhy
youhavenotgi venmewordsj ustli
key ougavetohim.Sotherefor
e,itfol
l
owsahigh
stakesphi
losophical
debat
et hatledtot heshat
ter
ingconclusi
on.Fi
rstandlast
scenesarever
yimpor
tant
.Al
so,
itconnect
stot
het
it
lei
tsel
f,wi
thi
tssy
mbol
i
sm of
mortal
it
y. 

Frequentlyinli
fe,experi
encesendi nconf usion,leavingt hoseinv ol
vedtodi scov er
forthemsel vesjusthowt ointerprettheev ent.Often, t
her eisindeednoexact
i
nterpretati
on,andt heansweri snev erdeci dedorunder stood.Howev er,these
experiencescanbet hemostl if
echangi ngbecauset heyf orceani ndi
v i
dual totruly
museandmedi tateandanal y
zet hesi t
uation.Theendi ngof  TheSunsetLi mi ted i
s
anexampl eofthisinsecuri
tyoft hereasoni ngbehi ndanev ent.Thenov el/ play
concludeswi thadoubl ewhammy ,withabsol utelynocl osure;howev er,this
perpetuatesdeept hought,accompl i
shingthegoal theaut horintended: t
of orcet he
readerintoast ateofbrutalhonest yandchal lenget heirownper sonalviewsand
beli
efs.
 Q2.Expl
aint
heper
sonal
i
tyofeachchar
act
er?
Char
act
er1-
TheBl
ackMan
•Blackisar eallygoodman.Hel i
vesinat enementinapoorAf r
ican-
Amer i
canarea
ofNewYor k, helpingdrugaddictsandot herpeoplewhoar eont heskids, and
believesstronglyi nlovi
ngy ourneighbourasyourself
.Althoughhe'shadar ough
l
ife—he' sbeeni npr i
sonf ormurder,beenanear -
alcohol
icatonepoi nt
, andsuffered
thedeat hsofhi schi l
dren—he'ssti
llcapableofoptimism.AsaChr i
sti
an, hebeli
eves
i
na" li
feeverlasting"thatcanbeginnowbyl ovi
nghumani ty,andina"mostexcel lent
wor ld"exi
stingaf terdeath.

•Bl
ack'
stheprot
agoni
stbecausehe'
stheonetr
yingtoatt
ainsomet
hing,
namel
y
savi
ngWhite.Hehast
ouseal lofhi
sbesti
nsi
ghtstotr
ytoaccompli
shthi
s.

•Black,anex- conbutnowchangedi ntoadeeplyreli

giousperson.Heevenlivesin
near-povert
ywi thneartonopossessionsinhishousej ustsohecanhavedr ug
addictscrashonhi scouchandnodoubthav econv ersationsaboutgodandt he
valueoflif
ewi ththem t
oo.Henotonl yseesthevalueofl if
ebutfeel
spersonall
y
responsibl
ef orbri
ngingthatgoodnewst oother
s.

•Bl
acki
sal
ovi
ngmanandi
tspr
oofi
sthathecal
l
sWhi
te“
brot
her
”

•
He’sabitofanarmchairphil
osopher
.Wher
easWhi
teuseshismindtoarguef
orthe
f
uti
l
ityofever
ythi
ng,
Bl ack'
sengagedint
hehar
dwor
koft r
yingt
ofindsomesensein
t
hevastmuddleofexistence.

•Black'sr
eli
giousv
iewsar en'tent
ir
elyorthodox.Headmi tshe'
sasli
ght"hereti
c,
"but
onlyasmuchassomeoneshoul dbe,inhisview.Everydayhetal
kstoJesus,who,he
explains,
"isi
nmyhead, "afterWhiteaskshimi fJesusmi ghtj
ustbethewor kof
Black'sbrai
n.Hebeli
evesGodaddr esseshim dir
ectly
,from wi
thi
n.

•
There'
sevenavaguehi ntatthebeginni
ngthatBlackmightbesomehowinvol
ved
wi
ththesuper
natur
al whenWhi tei
nsistshedidn'
tseeanyonearoundhi
m whenhe
wenttocommitsui
cide,havingcheckedtheareav er
ythor
oughl
y.

•Black'
ssenseofhumori spret
tydisti
ncti
ve,t
oo.AlthoughWhiteisalit
tle
emot i
onal
lysubdued,gi
venthathewant stodie,Bl
ackjokesaroundalot,kiddi
ng
WhiteaboutwhetherBlackpeopleareall
owedi nhisapart
ment,andclutchinghi
s
chestacti
ngli
keWhi t
e'ssmarty-
pantsrebutt
alsaregivi
nghim cardi
acarrest.

•Hebeli
evesyoucanhaveever
last
ingli
fe—defi
nednotonl
yasli
fe-
aft
er-
death,
buta
newwayofbei ngt
hatcanstar
tnow, i
nthisl
if
e,i
fyoulety
ourbrot
herof
fthehook,
andstopjudgi
ngevery
one.Youneedtomakemer cyyourmainmodeofbeingin
ordert
oexperi
encethi
s,t
hough,whichisn'
twhatWhit
ewantstodo.

Ther
efor
eBl
ackmani
samanwhoi
srel
i
giousl
yindependent
.Hav
eav
ery
di
stur
bingpastbutev
ent
ual
l
yhechangedt
hewayofhi
sli
feandhassur
render
ed
hi
mselftoGod.

 Char
act
er2-
TheWhi
teMan
•
Thever
yfi
rstthi
ngweknowaboutWhi te(
norealnamegi v
en)ist
hatmanwho
want
stoki
llhi
mself
.Weal soknowthatthedaytheplayissetoni
salsohi
sbi
rt
hday
,
whi
chhe'
stri
edtocelebr
atewithabotchedsui
cideat
t empt.

•Alt
houghWhi te'
ssur v
ivali
scentraltotheplay,he'sreall
ymor eofanant agonist
sinceheexiststof r
ustr
ateBlack'
sat t
empt satsav i
nghi m.Hisstubbor nnessandhis
grudgingwill
i
ngnesst ostayforawhi l
epr opel
Bl ack'
sef f
orts—itseemshemi ghtbe
getti
ngsomewher e—butWhiterefusestomov e, sothet r
ansformationBl ackis
seekingjustwon'toccur.Whitedefeatshim si
mpl ybyf ai
li
ngtoseeBl ack' s
perspecti
veonl i
feandf ai
th,t
henhepr aisesdeat handwal ksoutofBl ack's
apartment.

•Asacharacter,theouterdetail
saboutWhi te'
sli
fear emur ki
erandmor ediff
icul
tto
discer
nthani nBlack'
scase.He' sapr ofessor,
her eadsal otofbooks(abouta
hundreday ear)
,hedi dn'
tgot othedeat hbedofhisgov ernmentlawyerfather,he
doesn'twanttoseehi smot heri
nt heaf ter
li
fe,
andhehasonef ri
end(notacl ose
fri
end)athisjob.Alltheotherprofessors"loat
he"him andhel oathesthem.Whi tei
s
suchahat erwheni tcomest opeopl e,andclearl
ypr eferstohangoutwi t
hhi shead
thanhisheart.

•Themosti mpor tantthingweknowaboutWhi te,t

hough, i
sthathe'
sconv i
nced
himself,
intel
lectuall
y,thatt
here'
snopoi ntinl
ivi
ng: Deathi sbet
terbecauseit
minimizespai n.Weal soknowt hathe'sa"cul
turejunkie,"buthi
sfait
hincultur
ehas
beenunder cutbyhumanbr utal
ity.Event
sli
kethe Hol ocaust 
havemadehi m seear
t
andlit
eratureasdev oidofsustainingval
uesandt r
ut hs.

•Accor
dingt
oWhi
te,
thewor
stt
hingofhi
sli
fewaswhenaBl
acksav
edhi
mfr
om
dyi
ng.

•Whiteathisamazi
ngleap,Whit
eclearl
yremarksthatBl
ackbeli
evesinangels
whereashedoesnot.I
nsteadofangelshebeli
evesincul
tural
thi
ngs-booksand
music.Booksandmusic,accor
dingtoWhite,
arefoundat
ionsofciv
il
izat
ion,
ther
efore,
thesehav
evaluetohim.

•Whit
e'sl
edapr ofoundl
ylonel
yli
fe,
byallappear
ances.Despi
tehavi
ngbeeningr
oup
ther
apywithotherdepressedpeopl
e,he'
sneverfel
tanyki
nshipwit
hthem.The
Prof
essor(asBlackcall
shim)despiseshumanit
y,andsaysheseeshisown
si
ckeni
ngi
mager
efl
ect
edi
nthepeopl
ear
oundhi
m,whom heof
tencur
sesunderhi
s
br
eath.

•He'sanatheist,butmoreimpor tantl
y,he'
sanihi
li
st:Hebelievesthatnot
hingness,
a.k.
a.tot
al andabsolutedeath,ispref
erablet
oanykindofl i
fe.Somuchso, infact,
thatWhitesay shecouldonlyfindapoi nti
nareli
gionthatpreparedyouforreal
annihi
lat
ion.Happinessisani l
l
usion,inhisvi
ew,andheonl ywant stoendhis
own—pr i
mar il
yment al
—sufferi
ng.Hesay s:
"Thetruthi
sthatthef
ormsIseehavebeenslowlyempt
iedout
.Theynolongerhaveany
content.Atr
ain,
awall,
awor l
d.Oraman.At hi
ngdangl
i
nginsensel
essart
icul
ati
onina
howlingvoi
d.Nomeani ngt
oitsli
fe.I
tswor
ds."
 

•Whi
tehasbeenf
oll
owi
ngt
hroughouthi
sli
fet
hepr
evai
l
ingsoci
alor
derandcul
tur
e
butwit
houtpayi
ngheedtoanyrel
igi
on.Heseemsunawareofhi
sproblem.Asfaras
rel
i
gionorGodisconcer
nedheclearl
ysay
sthathedoesnotwanttobelovedbyGod.
Nowev encul
tur
ecannotconsol
ehissoul
.Hedoesnotwanttoseethepeopleagai
n
whom hehasknowninhisli
fe.

•Whitewantsperfectjust
ice.Hecan'
tunderstandwhyChr istwouldtryt
osave
peopleaswar pedanddepr avedasthepeoplewhoexi stonear t
h.
HeseesBl ack'svi
sionofmer cyandlov
ingyourbr ot
herjustasawayofsl oshing
aroundina" communal misery,
"whereever
yonef eel
sev eryoneelse'
spai
n.It
'snot
real
lyakeytohappi nessorawayout .

•Whitereal
lywantstodi e.Hetal
ksaboutdeat
hwi t
hgenuineenthusi
asm,andpret
ty
muchal lothersubj
ectspr ov
okehimtoannouncethatheneedsbounce.Andhegets
real
lyril
edupwhenadv ocati
ngdeath.Whi
teri
singtogodeclar
eshimselft
obea
professorofdarknessinday ’
scl
othi
ng.Al
soWhi t
egetsverypoeti
cwhenpay i
ng
tri
butetodeath:
"Iknowwhati soutt
hereandwhoi soutther
e.Irushtonuzzl
ehi
sbonycheek.No
doubthe'
llbesurpri
sedtofi
ndhimselfsocheri
shed.AndasIcli
ngt
ohisneckIwil
l
whisperi
nt hatdr
yandancientear
:HereIam.Her eIam.Nowopenthedoor."
 
Aft
ersayingthi
s,Whit
ewalksoutoft
heapartment,headedtowardwhatmi ghtv
ery
wellbehisdeat
h—barri
ngsomelastsecondchangeofheartorBlack'
sreappear
ance
att
het r
ainstat
ion.Hel
eavesBl
ackbehindtore-
commi ttohisf
aith.
3.Di
dyoufi
ndanycounsel
l
ingtechni
ques,
ski
ll
s,
communicat
ionpat
ter
ninthemov i
e?I
fsowhat?
Inthi
smovie“TheSunsetLi
mit
ed”Ihav
efoundcert
ainski
l
lsandt
echni
quesoft
he
counsel
l
ingusedbyBlackwhowantedtoper
suadetheWhite.
SKI
LLSANDTECHNI
QUES

•
Act
ivel
i
steni
ng-
Int
hewhol
edr
ama,
Blackpat
ient
lyl
i
stenal
lthewor
dsusedby
Whi
te.Hel
i
stenst
ohi
m wi
thhi
shear
t,ear
sandey
es.

•
Ver
bal
li
steni
ng-
Heusedv
erbal
li
steni
ng,
bysay
ing“
goahead”andr
epeat
inghi
s
words.
White:
IfIam di
ffer
enti
tdoesn’
tmeanIam cr
azy
.
Bl
ack:Diff
erent
?

•
Aski
ngquest
ions-
Blackhasusedmost
lyopenquest
ionst
ohi
m andev
ery
questi
onwast her
apeut
ic.
Forexample:
-
Black:
whatisityoubel
iev
ei n?
Black:
whatdoy outhi
nkiswr ongwi
thy
out
hathasf
inal
l
ynar
rowedal
lyourchoi
ces
downt o“
TheSunsetLimited”?

•
Closedquest
ions-
Black:
Isyouonanyki ndofmedit
ati
on?
Doyougetanyf r
iend?
Thereisal
sor ef
lect
ionusedint
hismovi
etoshowWhi
te’
sstateofmi
nd.Ther
eis
refl
ect
ionoffeel
ingsinthemovi
eandaffi
rmat
ioni
sal
sother
e.

•
Empat
hy–Empat
hyi
stheabi
l
ityt
oputy
our
sel
finsomeoneel
se’
sshoes.I
tis
muchmorethansy
mpat
hy.AttheendwhenWhit
etel
l
shim aboutal
ltheagonyof
hi
sli
fe,
heaskedhi
mver
ysoftl
y“fr
om howlongy
ouaref
eel
ingthis?
”

•
Ref
rami
ng-
Ref
rami
ngi
stheal
ter
nat
iveper
spect
iveofwhathassai
d.
Whit
e:Doy outhi
nkwehav et obel
iev
eever
ythingint
heBibl
egivent
obesav
ed?
Bl
ack:No!Idon’t
.Idon’
tthinkevenyouhav
et oreadi
t.Ev
eryt
hingwrot
eont
heBibl
e
i
salsowrit
teninyourhearttoo.

•
Paraphrasi
ngwasalsother
eint
hemovieusedbyBl
ack.
•
Clar
ifi
cati
on-I
nthi
s,ther
api
stpr
ovi
desasummaryofwhatt
hecl
i
entsay
s,
f
ocusi
ngonandcl
ari
fyi
ngi
tsmeani
ng.
4.Whatwasthephi
l
osophi
cal
per
spect
iveofeach
char
acteri
nthemovie?
TheSunsetLi mi tedbyCor macMcCar thyisani nt elli
gentdebat eofphi losophi cal
natur eaboutf ait hinGodandt hepur poseofl ifeononehandandat heism and
meani nglessnessofl i
f eont heother .Thechoi ceofnamesf orchar act ers,Blackand
Whi te,makescl eart hedi chotomyt obepr esent edby.
Al l
oft heev entsi nthef il
mt akepl acei nasi ngler oom inat enementbui l
dingdev oid
ofnear l
yallper sonal i
ty,thewal l
paperpeel ing, hol esi nthef urniture.Ther ear ealso
veryf ewpossessi onsi nit,
asBl ackadmi t
s, owi ngt othef actt hathel etsdr ugs
addict ssleeponhi ssof aandt heyusual l
yr unof fwi t
hhi sstuf f
.Theef fectofhav i
ng
thef il
mt akepl acei nsuchanuni nter esti
ngorunpl easantr oom ser vest wof unctions.
Itaddst othechar acterofBl ack,ast heappear anceoft her oom i sduet othe
decisionshehasmadet ohel ptheki ndofpeopl et hatwoul dr obhi m.Howev er,it
alsohast heef fectofmaki ngusf ocusont hemai nwayt hef ilm deliversi tsplot:the
dial
ogue.TheSunsetLi mi t
edi saf i
lmt hatdel iversi tsphi l
osophi cal messagesi nt he
mostdi rectwaypossi ble,t
hrought hewor dsofandi nteractionbet weent he
char actersasopposedt othet echni quesandr esour cesoft hef i
lm,whi chseem t o
mai nlyser vethepur poseofhi ghlight ingthedi alogueandt heact i
ng.Thesoundt rack
tooi sv erysimpl e, al
lofi ti
sinstrument alsot her ear enowor dsthatar esungt o
distracty ouf r
om whati sgoingoni nt heconv ersat i
onbet weent hechar acters.The
musi ci sonlyt her etoaddat mospher eort oaccent uateandbr ingat tent i
ont o
speci fi
ct hi
ngst hechar actersaresay i
ngtoeachot her.

Wear enotmadeawar eoft hecharacter’

snamesatal lduri
ngt hecour seofthef i
lm,
butinthecr edit
swear eshownt heyaredenot ed‘
Black’ and‘Whi te’.Thecoloursdo
notseem t omat cht heperspectivesthemenputf orwar d,t
hepr ofessor ,whocal l
ed
himselfapr ofessorofdar knessandspout edaparti
cul arl
ydar kbr andofpessi mism,
i
sWhi te,andt heex- conforJesuswhospendsmor ethanal i
ttl
etimet al
kingabout
l
ight,i
sBl ack.Thenamesseem t heretosuggestmer elythatthet womet aphysical
posit
ionst hechar acter
sadoptar eopposite,ori
ncompat i
ble,butmor eimportantlyt
y
canber eadasaf ai
rlyobviousreferencetothewel l
-knownsay ingwhi ch
encapsulateswhatIt aketobeoneoft hemostimpor tantmessagesoft hef i
l
m: t
hat
nothi
ngi sev erblackorwhi te.

InTheSunsetLi mited,Whit
estandsf orreasonandBl ackstandsf orevangeli
cal
Christi
anit
y.Whitehasbeenf ol
lowingthroughouthislif
et heprevail
ingsocialor
der
andcul t
urebutwithoutpayingheedt oanyr el
i
gion.Heseemsunawar eofhi s
problem.Asf arasreli
gionorGodi sconcernedhecl earl
ysayst hathedoesnotwant
tobel ovedbyGod.Nowev enculturecannotconsolehi ssoul
.Hedoesnotwantt o
seet hepeopl
eagai nwhom hehasknowni nhisli
fe.Withoutanyhopeofr enewalhe
feel
scommi t
tedtosuicideasonlyv i
atoendhi sexistence.Ont hecontrar
y ,f
rom t
he
dayBl ackhasr ecei vedhi scal lhehasembr acedChr istiansi mpl i
cityandwhat ev er
divi
neknowl edgehehas, hasbeenr eceiveddi rectl
yf rom t heBi ble.Whi tehasbeen
sodeepl ydisi
llusionedi nternall
yt hathet hinkst hatinsear chofmeani ngt ot he
existenceofman, hehasspenthi swhol elifefut i
l
ely.ButBl ack
hasgi venmeani ngt ohi slifewithpur poseofser vi
nghi sf ellowbei ngs, therefor ehe
feelscomf ort
abl ewi thhi sf ai
th.Whi te,abook- l
ov i
ngi ntell
ect ualisthor oughl ytilted
towar ddeat ht hroughsui cide,wher easBl ack, apeopl e-lovingex- con, f
indsl ife
meani ngf uland wor th-liv
ing( havingfaithinGod)notonl yforhimsel fbutf or
othersaswel l.IfWhi tei sanepi t
omeofcy nicism thenBl acki sanepi tomeof
optimism.I fWhi teisar chet ype
ofreasont henBl acki sarchet ypeoff aith.IfWhi teisanembodi mentofdespai rthen
Blacki sanembodi mentofhope.Bot hoft hem hav eopposi ngt emper ament s.
Accor dingt oWhi te, t
hewor stthi
ngofhi slifewaswhenaBl acksav edhi mf r
om
dying.IfMcCar thyshowsr hetori
cal superiorit
yofWhi teinTheSunsetLi mitedt hen
heshowst heext raor dinaryabi l
it
yofBl ackt omakeWhi teut tercertai
nf actsabout
him becauseofhi squest ioninglikeapsy chiatrist.

InthebeginningitisBl
ackwhol eadsthedialoguewithhopeofl i
feandl i
ghtbutin
theendi ti
sWhi tewhomakest heplaytakeadar kerturnwi t
hhisfri
ghteni
ngdespair.
Theinit
iall
yplausibl
edialogueturnsintoapocalypti
cneart heend.InTheSunset
Limit
ed, CormacMcCar thymast erf
ullyrev
ealstheimpor t
anceofr het
oricandorator
y
byprovingwor dstobet heonlymedi um ofmeani ng,words-whi
chononesi dehav e
somuchdar knesswiththem todr i
veonet owardsdeathandont heotherside,
make
anothertoholdacompl ainingexchangeoft alkwithGod.
5.Doy outhi
nkhi
ghlev
elofeducat
ionand
i
ntell
igencemakesapersonpessi
mist
icaboutt
he
futur
e?
Pessi mi st sof tenf eel nosenseofcont rol ov ert heirl ives.I ftheybel i
ev edt heyhad
cont rol ,theywoul dn’ tbepessi mi sts,becauset hatwoul dmeant hat
they  choose  negat iveout comes.Qui t
eof ten, pessi mi st sbaset heirgl oomy
expect at ionsonpr iorexper iences.Theyf ai ltounder st andt heconceptof2nd, 3rd,
and33r dchances.
Student s’ causal at tri
but ionsar enotonl yf undament al mot i
v ational v ariabl esbutar e
alsocr itical mot i
vator soft hei rper sistencei nl earni ng.Opt imi sm, pessi mi sm, and
achi ev ementi neducat i
onswer emeasur edi nasampl eofpr imar yandl ower
secondar yst udent sont wooccasi ons.Al thoughachi ev ementi neducat i
onwasmost
strongl yr elat edt opr iorachi ev ementandgr adel ev el, opt imi sm andpessi mi sm wer e
signi fi
cantf act ors.I npar ticul ar ,student swi thamor egener allypessi mi sticout l
ook
onl ifehadal owerl ev el ofachi ev ementi neducat ionov ert ime.
Itisapecul iarempi rical phenomenont hatwhi l
epeopl et endt obeopt i
mi st icabout
theirownf ut ur e,theycanatt hesamet i
mebedeepl ypessi mi sticaboutt hef utureof
theirnat ionort hewor l
d.Tal i Shar ot,associ at epr of essorofpsy chologyatUCL, has
popul arisedt hei deaofani nnat eopt i
mi sm bi asbui l
ti nt ot hehumanbr ain.1Thati s,
wet endt obeopt i
mi st i
cr at hert hanr ealist icwhenconsi der ingouri ndiv i
dual future.
Ifyouwer et oasknewl y wedcoupl est oest imat et hepr obabi li
tyt heywi lldi vorcein
thef ut ur e, theywoul dl ikel yr ejectt hepossi bilit
yout right .Yett odayr oughl y40%of
mar ri
agesi nt heUKendi ndi v orce.Anot herexampl ei saski ngsmoker st oest imate
theirchancesofget ti
ngcancerandagai n, mostwoul dunder est i
mat et heirr isk.This
optimi sm per sistsev enwhenpeopl ear epr esent edwi tht her el evantst atist i
cs.Paul
Dol an, pr of essorofbehav iour al scienceatLSE, bel i
ev espeopl er espond
pessi mi st i
cal l
yt oquest ionsaboutnat ional ori nter nat ional per for mancef ort hree
reasons:
Indiv i
dual sr ar elythi nkaboutgr andi ssuessuchast hest ateoft henat i
onorwor ld,
andsor espondwi than' on- the- spot 'answert hatmaynotbewel lconsi der edorev en
at r
uer eflect ionoft hei rbel i
ef s.Thef rami ngcani nf luencet hei ndi v
idual 'sr esponse.
Mor eov er , thequest i
oni tsel fmaybi asr esponses; 'whowoul dbot hert oaski f
ever ythi ngwer eokay ?‘ Responsest oquest i
onssuchast hese( andmor egener al
quest i
onsabouthappi nessorl ifesat isfact ion)ar eheav i
lyi nfluencedbyephemer al
recentev ent s.I npsy chol ogyt hisi sref erredt oast he' av ai l
abi li
tybi as' .
Thisexpl anat ionsuggest st her ei sapr obl em ofi nf or mat ion.I fwedonotpay
attent iont ohumandev elopment ,t
henourj udgementmaysuf ferf r
om abi asr elated
tot ransi entev ent sorf rami ng.
"Stat i
st ical fact sdon’ tcomet opeopl enat ur ally.Qui tet heopposi te.Mostpeopl e
under standt hewor ldbygener al izi
ngper sonal exper ienceswhi char ev erybi ased.I n
themedi at he“ news- wor thy ”ev ent sexagger atetheunusual andputt hef ocuson
swi
ftchanges.Slowandsteadychangesi
nmajortr
endsdon’tgetmuchatt
enti
on.
Uni
ntent
ionall
y,peopl
eend-upcar
ryi
ngaroundasackofoutdat
edfactst
hatyougot
i
nschool (
incl
udingknowl
edgethatoft
enwasoutdatedwhenacquir
edinschool
).
"

Anotherexplanati
onputf orwardbyMar ti
nSeligman, prof
essorofpsychologyatthe
Universit
yofPennsy l
vani
a,suggest sal i
nkbetweencont r
olandoptimism.Ifwefeel
mor eincontrolofourli
ves,wet endt obehappi er,heal
thi
erandmor eoptimist
ic
aboutt hefut
ure.Thiscouldalsohelpt oexplai
nt hegapbet weenindiv
idualand
societalopti
mism: si
ncewear ei ndirectcontr
ol ofourownl i
vesbutnotthedestiny
ofthenat i
onwef eelmoreopt imisti
caboutour selves.Thepsychologi
cal
considerati
onsbeforesuggestt hatthelackofi nformati
onandeducat i
onisthekey
tounder st
andingwhywear elargel
ybi asedtothinknegativel
yaboutsocietyand
howt hingsarechanging.
Out
come
Aft
eradeepst udyi thasbeenf oundoutt hatTheSunsetLi mitedbyCor mac
McCar thyisast udywhi chf ocusesont woway soft hinkingaboutl i
fe, onepr esented
byaneducat edmanbel ongi ngt oci vil
izedwor ldandhav i
ngv arietyofv ocabul aryto
i
nterprethi sv iewsandf orwhom l ifehasbecomeanempt yshel lwhi chi snowv oid
ofinterestandhaspushedhi mt ot hev ergeofsui cide.Theot heri spr esent edbyan
uneducat edmanbel ongingt othewor l
dofuneducat edj unkies,hav ingav iolentpast ,
whoaf t
erapr ison- fightinahal f-deadst atehashear dthev oi
ceofGodandbecause
ofitcher i
shesnotonl yforhi mselft hewar ml i
ghtofl if
ebutal sowant st ot hrowits
ray
sonhi sfellowbei ngswi thoutdi st i
nct i
on.Thi sresear chr efl
ect st hatlov eofGod
andf ir
mnessoff aithcanconv ertaconv i
cti ntoaski ll
fulandpr ofoundpr eacherof
Christi
anity.Thi sr esearchpr ovest hei mpor tanceofl anguage,especi all
yt heuseof
wordst oexpr essi deologyi nanef fect ivewaywhi ledeal ingwi thser iousmat tersli
ke
rel
i
gi on,despai r
, existenceandf aith.Hence, promot i
ngt heideaofhav i
ngf irm beli
ef
i
npoweroff ai t
h.Thi sst udyal sol eav est hedoor sopenf orfut urer esear cherson
onehandt oent eri ntoanewr ealmt opr omot etheideaofsi mpl eandki ndpr eaching
wit
hf orcefulr het oricalar gument ationi nsteadofpuni shmentandhat redt owards
cri
mi nalcl assi nsoci ety,and ont heot herhand t oi ntroduceopt imism ( which
McCar thycal ls“ l
ight ”)eveni nt hewor stci rcumstancesatev eryl evel,inor derto
savet hesoul sofext remel ydepressedpeopl ewhich
i
stheneedoft hehour .