The Naked Citadel Analysis

Adaptation’s Versatile Influence on Perception When one adapts to a new environment or lifestyle, one gains a new perspective, thus leaving the old one behind. In Susan Faludi’s text, “The Naked Citadel,” soldiers willingly adapting to a sexist and violent way of living. These soldiers are trained to act and think a certain way, as a result leaving their old perspective behind. The idea that adaptation leads to a loss of perspective, can be related to Oliver Sack’s text, “The Mind’s Eye”, when he speaks of how a person who adapts to blindness must willingly let go of their old way of living for a more limiting perspective on life. Departing from a previous perspective can be troubling because it results in a one-sided point of view that may
Under those circumstances, a person’s desire to cling to their biased perspective can conquer the ability to face a burdening reality. Faludi speaks of the military men who rely on their view of The Citadel to ensure they succeed in life. Faludi speaks of the dependence to their biased perspective of The Citadel, when a teacher at The Citadel exclaims, “the one thing these young men felt they could count on was that when things got hard they could always go into the military”(80). In this quote, the teacher makes a point to note that the soldiers have adapted to the idea that The Citadel will save them if life does not go their way. By saying “they could always go to the military,” implies that the soldiers rely on their perspective of The Citadel to guide them. This is burdensome because their dependency prevents them from accepting a reality that may scare them. They believe that if they depend on The Citadel that they will be safe from the burdens of reality, but clinging to their perspective blinds them from seeing the truth, thus making it difficult for them to accept any other perspective. Sacks, similarly, displays a case where a person clings to their biased perspective through Zoltan Torey, who struggles with adapting to blindness. Zoltan Torey has, “the passionate desire to hold on to light and sight, to maintain, if only in memory and imagination, a vivid and living visual world”(333). Torey struggles with adaptation because he was used to his old ways and had troubles adapting to blindness. Torey struggled with seeing any other perspective because he was so accustomed to his old way. Torey desired to “hold on” and cling to his previous lifestyle stems from his fear of facing looming troubles that may arise from blindness. Torey does not know that accepting his disability might be more beneficial to him