Timmy's Essay 17

Timmy O’Brien
Mr. Salsich
English 9
20 April 20009

Sentiment or Lack Thereof:

An Essay Relating Two Poems and a Short Story to Sentimentality

1 Sentiment is found naturally in life. 2 You can see it in a person volunteering to help the community, a simple donation to a just cause, or a person crying over a loved one’s death, but what would happen if it all disappeared? 3 Things could change drastically, but it would bring about a new meaning to everything we do. 4 In “The Traveling Onion” by Naomi Shihab Nye, there is much sentiment to be found, whereas “I’m Nobody” by Emily Dickinson has a distinct lack of sentiment and “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield has a strange mix of the two.

TS The whole of Nye’s poem is based on sentiment. SD Nye uses her emotion to think about the life of the onion that is about to “enter [her] stew today.” CM She knows not how far the onion has traveled, so she idealizes the fact and considers the unknown distance to be a very large one. CM She then uses her excess of emotion to feel compassion [SAT word] for the lonely onion she is about to eat. SD Furthermore, Nye pities the onion because it does not get its proper recognition. CM She sits at a table and “comment[s] on the texture of meat or herbal aroma, but never on the” onion’s great deeds. CM She sympathizes with the small vegetable and says “it is right that tears fall for something small and forgotten.” CS Ultimately, Nye feels bad for the anonymous [SAT word] glory that is an onion.

TS In Dickinson’s poem, there is more of a lack of sentiment. SD Dickinson, along with Nye, recognizes ignorance, but she sees a different side of it. CM Nye looks upon the onion’s lack of recognition with pity, but Dickinson wants to remain a “nobody.” CM She tells us not to “tell” because “they’d advertise – you know,” making it seems like she would rather stay hidden [participle phrase]. SD Also, one definition of sentimental is “having an excess of sentiment of sensibility,” but Dickinson seems to go in the exact opposite direction of that. CM She seems to spit out “how dreary” it would be to “be somebody.” CM Instead of sympathizing, she likens somebodies to “frogs” and tells how “public” it would be – public is regarded as a negative aspect of life [appositive]. CS Instead of trying to be sentimental towards people who are “somebody”, she would make fun of them in the shadows and remain a “nobody.”

TS Mansfield’s short story seems to be a mix of the two poems by and Nye and Dickinson respectively. SD When Laura hears about the man’s death, she feels compassion for his family. CM Contrarily, Jose thinks it should be let go and they should continue on with their party. CM This contrast of too much sentimentality and too little sentimentality rival throughout most of the book, but eventually Laura – the person with too much sentimentality – comes out on top [appositive]. SD She travels to the poor part of the village to pay her respects to the dead man. CM This little act of kindness lets her live happily for the time being. CM It even grants her a new look on life, which she can’t quite describe. CS This short story shows that even if you are overrun with sentiment, if it is all let out, you can be happy again.

1 Sentiment, or lack thereof, can be a powerful tool. 2 It can bring out a feeling of strange contentment or a dissimilar feeling of utter defiance. 3 Either way, it can have a huge impact on the lives of you and others, making feeling a powerful source [participle phrase]. 4 Sentimental people are sometimes ridiculed, but, in the end, are we not all emotional at some point or another?