Ceilie's Exam Essay

Ceilie Moore
Mr. Salsich
English 9
June 4th, 2009

Riding the Unexpected Wave:

An Essay on a Poem and Two Characters from Two Stories

We have our schedules, our calendars, clocks and alarms. We use these tools to plan for things, to alert us when it is time to continue on to our next activity and to tell us when something is about to happen. But there are those things, good and bad, that we just can’t jot down on a calendar square or plug into our planner. In William Stafford’s poem, “Yes,” he explains the pros and cons of these unexpected events, while characters in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party,” experience them for themselves.

In Dickens’, “A Christmas Carol,” the main character Ebenezer Scrooge doesn’t understand the value of life and all of what comes with it. He lives holed up in his house full of anger and vacant of joy (Antithesis), dwelling on the past. Stafford speaks in his poem of the unexpected disasters that “could happen any time,” and Scrooge was a victim of an unplanned catastrophe when his only friend lost his life. For a series of nights, ghosts took Scrooge to see his unfortunate past, pitiful present and the future result of his uncivil behavior. (Purposeful Repetition of an adjective and a noun) After seeing his ill-fated future, Scrooge awoke and suddenly appreciated every ounce of goodness he had been ignoring. He had come to the conclusion that bad things “could happen any time,” but good ones, such as “sunshine, love [and] salvation” could too. Scrooge had lived a majority of his life cursing the world for the unexpected passing of his dear friend, but in the end he realized that the finer things in life can be as much of a surprise as the terrible ones.

In Mansfield’s short story, “The Garden Party,” Laura, a young, compassionate girl, is immune to the unexpected arrival of a good thing, but shaken by the abrupt entrance of a bad one. Laura is planning her first garden party, which is an honor and rite of passage in the world she lives in. On the day of the party, it is brought to her attention that a man, one she had never met, died on the street near her house. Growing up in such an affluent environment, Laura had barely been exposed to something as austere (FAST) as death. She had never understood the power of such an unexpected event, because while others lived with “no guarantee in […] life,” Laura lived with nothing but what was to be predicted. Even when something unplanned did occur, the suddenness of it was masked with luxury and lavishness (FAST). This death not only taught Laura about the unfortunate, unanticipated occurrences in life, but the precious ones as well. Throughout this traumatic experience, Laura came out with the appreciation for the “bonuses” that come with her life, such as “morning, […] noon, […] evening,” and money and security and shelter (Polysyndeton). Although Laura had to learn the hard way about the difficulties of an unexpected situation, she emerged from it all with the newfound value for all the “bonuses” and “guarantees” she has.

The unexpectedness of death, “tornado[es],” war and “earthquake[s]” can make the devastating situation, that much more wretched. The surprise of “love,” friendship and “salvation,” can make the joyous occurrence that much more pleasurable. And sometimes, it’s just the added “bonus” of “sunshine” on a day that was supposed to be cloudy, that just makes you appreciate the little things in life. Learn a lesson from Stafford, Scrooge and Laura and remember things don’t always go according to plan, but with another surprise, it can all be turned around.

Lydia's Exxam Essay

Lydia Schulz
Mr. H. Salsich
9 English
June 4, 2009

Finding a Place:
An Essay on a Poem, a Poet, and Sonny

What do you have to do to find your place in the world? Do you have to overcome obstacles, or is your fate right in front of you, waiting for you to see it? Either way, finding your calling is not an easy task. In his poem “The Real Work,” Wendell Berry describes the fact that you may have to make an effort to find your place, a lesson that both Rainer Maria Rilke and Sonny are aware of.

“The Real Work,” by Wendell Berry only consists of six lines, but within this short poem, you can find many life lessons. The first half of this poem talks about finding your calling. When you are always looking for answers, you may dismiss something you have had all along. If we put aside this search, “we no longer know what to do,” and with this blessed ignorance, “we have come to our real work.” The last two lines of this poem, in which Berry states “the mind that is not baffled is not employed. / The impeded streams is the one that sings,” remind me of a Native American proverb I have seen in Mr. Williams’ classroom. The proverb says that “the soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears,” meaning that to become a better person, you must overcome adversity (Loose Sentence). You may suffer in this process, but you will come out a stronger and wiser person than you were before. Occasionally, all you need to do to improve your life is to take stock of what you have and fight for what you deserve (purposeful repetition).

This poem reminds me of two people we studied at the very beginning of the year: Sonny, from James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues,” and Rainer Maria Rilke. In our first essay assignment, we wrote about a passage by Rilke, which told readers not to “search for the answers” you already have. Like Wendell Berry, Rilke is encouraging readers to let the answers come to them instead of spending all their time looking for them. If you are always searching for the answers, you may miss the ones that were sitting in front of you the entire time. A significant connection this poem has with “Sonny’s Blues” is the last line: “the impeded stream is the one that sings.” Sonny had a rough patch in life, dealing with drugs and life as a musician (participle), which culminated in his incarceration (FAST). When Sonny finally got clean, he was able to use all of what he went through in his music, contributing such raw emotion to his performances. Sonny did some terrible things, but when he stopped looking for a way to fit in, he found his place.

Nothing in life is free, but this doesn’t mean that we should spend our lives searching for answers we will never find. Life may throw obstacles at us, but it is up to us to rise above it all and change for the better. Yes, life can be tough, but this is no reason to give up our right to live. Keep fighting, and always remember to acknowledge what you already have.

Timmy's Exam Essay

Timmy O’Brien

Mr. Salsich

English 9

4 June 2009

 

The Luck of the Draw:

A Poem’s Relation to Two Fictional Lives

 

         In life, there is nothing but chances. You do not know your future, and you make decisions based on what you hope and expect to see there. Both Dexter Green and Ebenezer Scrooge had chances, and they took them differently. The choices they made have a connection to the poem “Yes” by William Stafford.

         In the short story “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dexter Green had many chances to take. He started out as a caddy at a local country club, and meets the love of his life, or so he thinks. He falls in love with Judy, and she is his “sunshine, love, [and] salvation.” Then it all falls apart. He experiences the “tornado, earthquake, [and] Armageddon” that Stafford says can “happen any time.” Judy leaves him, and Green is plunged [FAST] into a dark time of despair and hopelessness. Even as he builds himself more and more wealth, he feels as though something is missing from his life. Throughout his existence, he experiences “love” and “Armageddon” and finally learns that there are “no guarentees in [his] life.”

         On the contrary, Ebenezer Scrooge – a character in Charles Dickens’ “The Christmas Carol” – reflects this poem in a more positive light [appositive]. In his adult life, the assiduous [SAT word] Scrooge has known nothing but “tornado[es]” and other destructive forces. His entire working life has been spent sheltered in his dreary shop, with nothing to brighten the mood, not even an extra coal on the fire. He is totally, utterly, hopelessly depressed, and there is no way out for him [tricolon], or so it seems. One night, a mysterious ghost comes to him and tells him about the Christmas’ of his past. The next night, another ghost makes him see his present Christmas’, and the night after, he is shown his Christmas’ to come by a final ghost. The sad times behind and ahead of him are somewhat inspiring, so he breaks out of his shell an helps a child in need. In this book, Scrooge starts out as lonely person, but by sharing his wealth and happiness, he emerges and experiences the “bonuses” of “morning,” “noon,” and “evening,” by saving a life that would have been be otherwise lost – Tiny Tim.

         When Green gained Judy and lost her soon after, it was all chance. When Scrooge made the decision to help the boy, it was based on chance. Both of their lives were made around the process of not knowing what was to come. All they were able to do was keep thier mind, eyes, ears, and heart [tetracolon climax] open and hope for the best.

Sarahs Second Post =]

Lydia's idea of listing memories with everyone in the class, was a very brilliant idea, so I think I will try to do the same.

Hannah- All of our fond Jonas Brother moments, and seeing Miley Cyrus in concert

Kyle- ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH MOMENTS and you dressing up as Paris Hilton (haha)

Teddy- Three words * voice over command *

Lydia- Dancing to Usher at Ceilie's house, me waking up in the morning to a face full of drawings thanks to you, Scarlet and Ceilie

Scarlet- sipping red bull, making awesome videos and dancing in the rain

Anna- "Who stole my wig, whoever did shall pay"

Parker- Going to six flags, making you go on Superman

Gabe- wrestling with Shian and Amber, and our "awkward" times with Sofia at your house

Rashad- "pop champagne" and 

Julie- shampoo bottles...hehe=] and shopping with the frenchies

Kate- chhhhheeeetahliscious!

Caroline- we've had way too many memories hun, but the one that first came to mind was snowboarding in Vermont (well attempting to) 

Zack- TRICK-OR-TREATING

Eleanor- KIDZ BOP!

Tristan and Timmy-  This goes for you both because our play we made (along with Hannah) was so unbelievably awesome I almost died

Kimo- arguments... many many arguments 

Olivia- halloween parties, feeling 

Ty- nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom....and so on.

Wendell- Getting sugar high in downtown Westerly off of ice cream, soda and pizza