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.