Abraham, Issac and Regan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abraham, Issac and Regan - Essay Example This brief vignette brings to mind the first line of Anna Karenina, â€Å"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.' Joan and Kate are both unwise 'in their own way.'Consider the case of Joan's wasted life. Early in her career Joan took a highly ethical stand on an issue central to academia, student grading. Specifically, she refused to grade students on the basis of anything other than the work they submitted and her assessment of it. Undeniably, this decision effected the arc of her entire career. However, this is no reason to remain embittered throughout her life. Many people at the age of fifty deeply regret decisions they made with little thought half a lifetime earlier. This does not condemn them to a live of regret. Joan's academic discipline is not specified but if it were anything other than cost intensive-scientific research (history, languages, writing) she might have continued with her research.She could easily have moved from the 'ath letic factory' she could not see eye-to-eye with into teaching at smaller, private universities without a deep commitment to athletics and admiration for her academic integrity. Joan is unwise to have abandoned her personal search for fulfillment because a significant, but single aspect – her career – was unexpectedly disrupted early on in her adult life.Kate, in a nutshell, is leading an unexamined life. She viewed her early unethical behavior as 'unfortunate'. However, nowhere does the case mention that she made use of her profile and success.