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.