Ceilie's Essay #21

Ceilie Moore

Mr. Salsich 

English 9

May 28th, 2009

 Remembering the Place That Shaped Us:

My Last Essay On a Poem and My Life

Remember that special place that you spent years of your life, growing, learning and becoming the person you are today? Remember how one day, you just stopped going there for one reason or another, and then watched as it became covered in dust and vines of ivy started growing up the sides? Go back there, go back to that special place and relive every second you had there, reminding yourself why you loved it and had to leave it. That’s what William Wordsworth did with “Tintern Abbey” and that is what I hope to do years from now with Pine Point.

TS In William Wordsworth’s, “Tintern Abbey” a major theme of remembering a past life through familiar surroundings. SD It has been “five years” since Wordsworth has been to Tintern Abbey, and once he arrives, the recognizable environment is the key that unlocks the memories he made there. CM In the first stanza, he is noticing all of the details of the earth around him and remembering them from years before as he says, “Once again .../ do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs […] Once again I see …/ of sportive wood run wild.” CM The way the “landscape” looked seemed to be the same as it was “five years” before, triggering his memory as he began to remember more than just the lay of the land. SD With this familiar setting bringing back letting Wordsworth reminisce about the time he once spent there, he also remembers how much the place meant to him. CM In the last stanza, Wordsworth states, “That after many wanderings, many years …/ of absence, these steep woods and lofty cliffs …/ and this green pastoral landscape, were to me …/ more dear, both for themselves and for thy sake.” CM By this he means that the “woods” the “cliffs” and “pastoral land” all signified how much this place of tranquility and passiveness benefited his life, and at the same time, he meant just as much to the land as it did to him. CS Surroundings did more than just jog Wordsworths’ memory, reminding him of the time he spent at “Tintern Abbey,” but also prompted how much the place meant to him that long “five years” before.

TS My reaction to entering the halls of Pine Point after five years would be very similar to Wordsworth’s reaction to seeing Tintern Abbey. SD I would recognize all the characteristics of the school, which would then welcome memories of the ten years I spent here to reenter my mind. CM Opening the double doors and stepping into the carpeted hallway would remind me of all the mornings I had been early to school and decided to kill time by dawdling at my locker and taking forever to unpack my book bag. CM My memories would sprout from more than just the vast, obvious features of Pine Point, but also from the things I have grown to notice over the past ten years. CM3 The “First-day-of-school-smell,” the small crevice (FAST) of space between the tall lockers, the mirror in the girls’ bathroom that distorts any body that stares into it and the breeze of warmth that overcomes the student who enters the English room in the wintertime, would all remind me of single, seemingly unimportant moments that have occurred due to each of those places. (Parallelism; Tetracolon Climax) SD Like Wordsworth, the sudden rush of reliving my past would also help me realize how much this school meant to me at the time, and still means to me now. CM In five years, I may have forgotten about all the lessons I learned, pertaining to both academics and life itself. CM Although I may have lost how much I value Pine Point in the shuffle of new textbooks, even longer essays and making new friends, turning back the clock and walking down these halls will awake the sleeping appreciation I have for Pine Point. (Personification) TS Much like Wordsworth, when I venture back to Pine Point in five years, I will be overwhelmed and overjoyed by all that I remember in each step I take down the hallway.

Imagine stepping back in time and returning to that favorite place of yours. What do you see? What do you hear, smell, even taste? Is it the same as you remembered, or so different it is unrecognizable? Either way, embrace the place, love it, remember it, and promise it you’ll never forget it.

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Self-Assessment

What Issues Am I Working On?

I am working on using required tools correctly and enhancing my writing with them. I am also working on eliminating unnecessary words and using a variation of short and long sentences. 

What Do I Like Best About This Essay?

I like my use of descriptives. From explaining the theme of "Tintern Abbey" to describing how I will feel in the future when I return to Pine Point after five years, I think I did a good job of giving good imagery while not overusing the adjectives. 

What Is a Possible Weakness I See In This Essay?

I didn't use as many quotes as I would have hoped to, which might make my writing come off as a bit vague.