Spring Break
Author's Note: This spring break I did a number of things I found peaceful. I examined my family's activities and realized that none of us considered the same things peaceful. I did some further research, and had enough information for an essay. Look for my use of ellipses and syntactical patterns.
Author's Note: This spring break I did a number of things I found peaceful. I examined my family's activities and realized that none of us considered the same things peaceful. I did some further research, and had enough information for an essay. Look for my use of ellipses and syntactical patterns.
While sitting in a chaise lounge chair on a white sand beach, you feel something deep inside of you. Whether it’s the ocean breeze or the gorgeous view of a sunrise over the waves, you cannot decide. Could it be that you feel relieved from stress, or possibly that nothing could disturb you at this moment? After a passive nap and sip of raspberry lemonade you figure out what mystery has taken over your body: peace.
What defines peace? Some think rest is classified as peace, while others find peace deep in the midst of challenges. Whatever it may be, peace is important. So important, that all around the world it is used for greetings of all sorts. I've made it my journey to figure out just what peace is, and if it can be defined at all.
While cracking my case, I've found that the most common model of peace is scenery. Being in forests filled with Evergreens or mountains covered in snow tend to relax peoples' minds. Nature, and its tranquility makes people want to reside in the same state. Being around nature, undisturbed, makes people relax but for a reason I just can't grasp.
Other people find peace in numbers. Just like some of us can get lost in a book, others find pleasure in solving math problems. The thrill of answering one correctly drives some into bliss. I remember when I was younger, teachers would test our math by giving us a hundred problems to answer in under a minute. While some kids struggled to finish half, a select few would devour the problems like a plate of cookies. These few people consider the excitement problem solving brings them to be peaceful, giving us yet another puzzling example of peace.
Doings unrelated to stress are peaceful to adults. After working five days 40 to 50 hours, the stress of everyday life builds up in their brains. It piles higher and higher until…BAM! The adults explode in short, uncontrollable outbursts. Because of this, spending time away from children, spouses and work is automatically categorized as peaceful.
Peace is found in so many different situations, so unexplainable each time, so different for each person. Whether you enjoy sleeping, camping, or taking a dip in the ocean, this feeling is always warmly welcomed. Although some might think they know exactly what peace is, there's truly no definition; peace cannot be defined.
To Answer Your Question...
Author's Note: Here is my To Kill A Mockingbird essay that was written on Boo Radley's Mental disorder and why Harper Lee diagnosed him with it. Look for my use of dash construction and syntactical patterns.
After coming home from a hard day at work, you set down your brief case and open the door. Heading to change out of your stiff formal attire, you subtly greet your son who sits on the floor cutting up newspaper. In a quick flash, he opens the scissor and jabs his hand out, positioning the blade deep in your upper thigh. As blood gushes rapidly to the floor your wife runs out screaming into the street that her son is a killer. If you had any doubt in your mind, it was now overruled; there is definitely something wrong with your son.
Harper Lee wrote the character Boo Radley as a grown man who only comes out at night to steal chickens and terrorize children. She writes that "When people's azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them" (9). He lives with his father as a middle-aged man; his mother is deceased. He also happens to live down the street from main characters, Scout and Jem. Rumor has it that he was locked up in the courthouse basement as a young adult to avoid his chances of being sent away to industrial school. Such a frightening event occurring at such a young age could have easily inspired numerous mental disorders or diseases. One aforesaid disorder that screams "Boo Radley" all over it, is Schizoid Personality Disorder.
Schizoid personality disorder is diagnosed to people who have few close friendships or relationships, and prefer being alone. I have found every one of these traits in Boo Radley. Although Scout, Jem and Dill tried interacting with Boo many times, he rarely responded. Another symptom that relates to this ghostly man is to come across as dull or cold--which also refers to his look-- or playing a role of a follower versus a leader, like how he lives alone with Mr. Nathan. In my research I have also found that people with Schizoid's generally have nothing to say, and are sometimes just not in touch with the world. Maybe Boo Radley wasn't antisocial; he just never had an opinion to share. Schizoid personality disorder can be genetic, but I doubt the disorder was Mr. Nathan's fault. In some cases it may be caused by a traumatic childhood experience, and from reading the rumors about Boo being locked in a courthouse until he was inches from death, I can confirm the diagnosis.
It could possibly be argued that Boo Radley does not have Schizoid's, but another mental disorder. Boo was not checked for Autism, Aspergers, or Schizophrenia, as these too may be possible conditions of the children's neighbor. Also, most people with Schizoid's disorder take medication to make them feel pleasure, such a feeling was not recognized by the children in Boo's presence. The last reason that the disreputable Boo Radley may not have this disorder is the way he helped the children escape Mr. Ewell. The last scene of the book puzzled people with my same theory, because Schizoids aren't usually motivated to do anything that does not benefit themselves. By helping the children Harper Lee showed us a new side of Boo that both contradicts and confirms many suggested conjectures.
Although Harper Lee tried to explain him to us, a simple character Mr. Radley is not. Whether he lived with Schizoids personality disorder is strongly influenced by opinion. Even with facts and examples from the book and real life, there's no true way find out what Harper Lee was trying to portray him as. Can we diagnose Boo with Schizoid's? Or, more importantly, could Boo Radley merely be misunderstood?
restate introduction ideas
Tragic Memories
Author's Note: This is my speak essay, although it was supposed to be a conflict/resolution piece, it turned out to be a theme essay. My conflict/resolution will be posted shortly.
After overcoming any obstacle, big or small, mild or life-changing, our first regret as humans is having to go through it in the first place. Forgetting a loss or troubled past is a hard feat to undertake, but what if it had never happened at all? We're always dreaming up other possible options and ways we could've avoided our past. Sometimes, we shape our whole lives around forgetting one mistake, but what if there was a way we could've prevented it from transpiring in the first place?
In the novel, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino has a past that affects each aspect of her life. She is done trying to forget it, so she lingers in her memories and wakes up each morning feeling bad for herself. Her troubles began after going to a party and drinking no more than a half cup of alcohol. After this terrible incident, all of her friends leave and her life takes a downfall. She mentions her regret constantly in writing, but does that really help her? What if she hadn't gone to the party? What if she had opted for a water instead of a beer? Would her life be different?
I've found another example of regret in a close friend of mine. She was never too confident and one day her anxiety problems got the best of her. She stopped coming to school, refused to see family and friends, and eventually inflicted self harm upon herself. My friend was placed in a mental hospital for an entire week, cut off from society outside its concrete walls completely. Ever since this tragic experience she has been reminding herself of it constantly. This poor girl can't go a day without thinking about it, and she finds a way to relate it to every situation, and every conversation. Being as close with her as I am, I have heard constant "why"s. Why did I take the knife? Why did she call the hospital? Why was I so afraid? Although it gets annoying, I take pity on how it scarred her for life, and how she simply cannot stop wondering what would have happened.
In the Twilight series, Bella tries to escape her boring and miserable past by moving from sunny Florida to murky green Oregon to live with her father. After encountering bloodthirsty vampires and sharp toothed werewolves, she begins to question her move in the first place. Although her love lives in Oregon, the thrill of his life is just to much for her. What if she had stayed in Florida? She definitely would've been safer, but would her life ever have been as lively?
With examples from Speak, Twilight, and real life, I have come to a conclusion that dwelling in your past can only lead you to more agony. Melinda was miserable through most of her freshman year about something she couldn't change. My friend tears herself apart trying to forget her terrible experience. If we were to look at these situations from ten years ahead of today, we could establish that the way either of them handled their sadness didn't help them at all. The best possible solution for tough situations is to simply forget. Staying as far away as you can get from the subject is safer than dwelling on its bad parts. It may be hard, but as long as you know that no good can come from remembrance, you're sure to feel better, I guarantee.
Ignorant Minds and Moronic Societies
Author's Note: This is my comparison essay between main characters Harrison from Harrison Bergeron and Guy Fahrenheit 451. Look for my use of standard organization and Compare/Contrast Skills.
Trapped with the burden of babysitting a pesky six year old and trying to finish a geometry assignment is not an easy task. However, there's one solution to this problem that permits you to kill two birds with one stone. You could ask the child to help you! If you simply explain the problem they would surely be able to solve it, right? What Guy Montag and Harrison Bergeron had to illustrate to their societies was just as difficult as teaching a six year old honors geometry.
Harrison and Guy had much in common. First of all they both live in a society filled with Ignorant minds. They both see outside the barriers the government put up. Harrison is forced to wear handicaps to make him dumber, weaker, and uglier. Guy is forced to burn books and promote the evils of intelligence. Because of the restrictions placed upon their societies by the government, they both decide to rebel.
However, while learning how to maintain respect for the government so neither of them are killed on the spot, they each discover their tragic flaw. Both Harrison and Guy share a weak point: their hands. Sometimes, when put into situations filled with stress or danger, their hands act as if they have minds of their own. Whether it's pulling the trigger of a flame thrower, or ripping off their own prison chains, Harrison and Guy have hands that ache for destruction.
While Harrison and Guy share a tragic flaw and lived through similar situations in similar societies, they took much different action steps throughout their rebellion. Harrison Bergeron broke out of his chains and tore off his mask on live television. He demanded that the musicians played uncensored music and he and ballerinas danced to the ceiling. Within seconds Harrison and his dancer were shot. Guy Montag lived to preach revolution, but unfortunately he's responsible for turning his flamethrower on his fire chief. Guy ran from his problems, and his society whereas Harrison just faced his.
If you were placed in a situation filled with moronic citizens living in a world that is simply an illusion of the government, would you be a Guy or a Harrison? By looking into the evolution of their societies we have a very good change of ending up in their unfortunate situation. If you weren't sucked into the brainwashing and peer pressure of the government, how would you rebel? Would you face your fears like Harrison -- even if that meant death -- or would take after Guy and burn them and run?
Protect, Defend, Forget
Author's Note: Here is my Character Analysis for Ender's Game by Orson Card. I am looking for a 10 for analysis and 10 for Idea Development and Content.
In the beginning of the novel Ender's Game, Ender possesses a loyal attitude toward his leaders. He follows their orders and believes in their stories of world peace and freedom from the buggers. Once he begins to gain power and pass up his fellow commanders however, he builds up a sense of confidence and starts to rebel. He throws tantrums and tries to escape. He kills a boy with his own bare hands. Sure, he cries from time to time, but he wants nothing else but to be free. Not of the buggers, but of his jailers, the ones who keep him in space against his will. Although he knows he will grow up to do great things, he has no say in how these things will happen.
I'm convinced that Ender's responsibility makes him act as strange as he does. He is convinced that if he lets his guard down, or depends on anyone else but himself, then the world is put in danger. It really isn't his fault though, because every commander, every colonel, every general and citizen is dedicated to making him believe this. High-ranking soldiers in wars being fought today use this same technique. They assign important tasks to their troops and always keep them busy so that there is no time to remember family, friends, and memories. By isolating their soldiers they keep them focused on fighting, and only fighting. However, below the space station on Earth, citizens have no idea what Ender is really up to. Ender is only a symbol of faith. Whether he does anything or not, he represents what the country's military is and what they can do, what the citizens are too scared to do themselves.
Ender reminds me of Peter from The Highest Tower. Peter has to become prince to save his kingdom. Both Ender and Peter have no choice, but have a massive motivation. Peter tries to save his kingdom, and Ender tries to save Earth. They both struggle to hold on to personal values and morals with so many people trying to change them. Ender is molded into the perfect commander to lead a fleet into the bugger realm, while Peter is taught to be a proper young man with strong leadership abilities. They would give anything to protect, and defend their nations, but in their journeys to do so, they must let go of what is really important to them.
During Ender's experience in the military, he lost sense of his inner child. He was transformed into a robot, killing off his own soldiers in order to gain victory. Ender protected and defended his own country, but while doing so he forgot to protect and defend his personality. He changed into a strong and vicious leader. After the war was over, he had the difficult part of forgetting . The author never stated if Ender really did forget the torture death and isolation he suffered through, leaving us to hoping he someday might.
Putting Out Stars and Extinguishing the Sun
When we are faced with difficult problems, we have two choices in order to overcome them. We can either solve them, by admitting our defeat and approaching our fears. Or we can burn them, by running from our problems and refusing to tackle them. From what I have learned from books like Fahrenheit 451 and Catching Fire, I believe taking a torch to a crisis doesn't bring you any closer to solving it.
Guy Montag from Fahrenheit 451 was faced with an interesting dilemma. Because of his government, he is forbidden to read books, instead he must burn them. He has no problem with this, in fact, he refers to the fiery pages burning in wondrous blossoms that curl in petals of yellow blue and orange. One day, when it seemed just too intriguing to resist, he took one home. Unfortunately after this one incident, he was hooked. Illegal books began to pile up in his home. When he was finally caught, Guy Montag had the same two choices we are all familiar with; to face his problem, or to burn it.
Montag chose to literally burn his problem. When the fire chief decided to punish Montag for his crimes, Montag grabbed his flame thrower-- muttering that they never burned right-- and set him ablaze. Acts like these have shown themselves many times in the history of the human race. For example, in the war of 1812, the British set fire to the white house to symbolize how having faith in our government was useless. Also, when the town of Salem had a problem with witches, pesky citizens were reduced to ash. Burning has always been a way of solving things, but does it really rid them from your life? Is destroying them same as fixing them?
I found a similar situation in the book, Catching Fire. The main character Katniss finds two escaped District 6 populants dressed as government workers. There had been chaos in their district, so they went on a journey to take refuge in District 13. Instead of making a stand or fighting back, they had simply ran away. The way they handled their problems wasn't going to help anyone but themselves, they did not escape their problems, they burned them. After looking at both literal and figurative versions of the word "burn" I'm not sure I find either of them practical.
I've come to a conclusion that facing your problems is more useful than burning them. Whether you run from or destroy your problems, eventually your guilt will catch up with you. We as humans only know how to run or burn. We don’t have the confidence, nor maturity to face them. Next time you're confronted with a difficult situation, I challenge you not to burn it, but to make the best of it. It may be hard, but once its over I can guarantee you'll be more satisfied than you would have, had you set your problem on fire.
The Will To Live
When trapped on a boat with a hungry Bengal Tiger, just what kind of actions are acceptable in order to live? Pi Patel struggles to battle insanity while sharing a 26 foot long lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific ocean. His clothes have disintegrated, his skin is burned, he has no weapons at hand, and he is weak; fighting is not an answer. Most teenaged boys would have given up by now, acknowledging their fate and letting death take them, but Pi has a strange will to live. In the long run he does fight--but not the tiger. He fights to live, and keep his furry enemy alive as well.
The manual Pi finds on the boat lets him know that an idle mind sinks. He interprets this that without entertainment, he will literally die of boredom. Pi creates a schedule for himself to follow everyday until his rescue arrives. It consists of fishing, praying, observing Richard Parker, and tending the lifeboat. Pi did not count days, he had no calendar, he survived on repetition and reminding himself that time was an illusion. He showed death that he was not an easy victim, even with a 450 pound tiger lying beneath him.
There wasn't a reason to keep the tiger alive, Pi simply figured he couldn't kill it, and it would serve as entertainment. A tiger symbolized confidence to his fellow Buddhists, and security in the Hindu world. Besides its claws teeth and prey drive it couldn't be too much of a problem. As the days danced by, Pi began a comparison of himself and the tiger. He had transformed from an avowed vegetarian to a merciless killer. When situations became rough and food was scarce, the tiger came first. Its importance was greater than Pi's and they both knew it. The tiger became a part of Pi, and in times of need Richard Parker, the tiger's name, came out from under the boat for Pi's needs. However, in times of peace and filled bellies, Pi found he could tame his tiger. Once the couple reached the island, where food, water, and shelter were all available, Richard Parker disappeared. He was no longer needed; Pi could survive on his own, and so could Parker. Eventually they knew society needed to once again be searched for. Pi packed up his tiger and returned to sea.
When Pi arrived at the safety of land and civilization Richard Parker ran into the jungle, hopefully never to be needed again. Pi then had the tough job of explaining what had happened in the last 227 days to men interested in the sinking of his original ship. They could care less about his story about a "tiger" aboard the lifeboat, nor did they believe it. Now, only Pi had survived the sinking ship. His mother, the chef, and an additional sailor had all killed each other on the journey, so there was no one to tell opposing stories. Pi could make up a world of lies and these men would have no choice but to trust him! Luckily for them, Pi spared their innocent ears from the gore and terror that he had experienced by making up a story about zoo animals. Whether he doubted their belief in the cruel acts humans are capable of, or he couldn't take the pain the real story brought him, we may never figure out. But in the end of the story Pi confirmed that Richard Parker was his alter ego, never having existed at all. The bengal tiger was merely Pi's animated survival mode.
Thinking back to his days on the boat, Pi realizes what Richard Parker did for him. His tiger saved him from many deaths--a death of boredom, insanity, carelessness, and even depression. We all have an inner tiger, just waiting to spring when our lives are jeopardized. I'm sure no one's ever been sad to see one go.
