Hello,
I am Yifei (Johnny) Lang, a student in American Literature class with Ms. Waterman. I am very quiet in class although Ms. Waterman desperately pushes me to speak. The only time I spoke more than two sentences is when I became the “crying baby” complaining the amount of homework.
I love the books I have read this year, but I love more about the discussions in class. Throughout the year, I have tried different types of writing and improved gradually.
Dear scholars,
First of all, please remember my Chinese name, Guangyuan Xue, even though it is really hard for you to spell and pronounce. After you read my papers, you will never forget that name. Frankly speaking, I am a science student. However, thinking in a scientific way in literature helps me develop the reasonings in papers. In my writing pieces, you can see clear logics and structures. I love digging details in books and connecting clues. My simple language will also help you understand my thoughts. I look forward to receiving your comments. Thank you.
In the air
The lights in the cabin were dimmed out; I leaned back in the seat, staring at the outside and waiting for landing. The flight had been in the air for fourteen hours; nothing except the pure darkness had accompanied the plane since it took off. When the vague clusters of glitters at the far horizon turned brighter and more vivid, I knew I would return to the inexhaustible variety of life soon. Landing used to bring me anxiety and excitement; however, overlooking the light approaching, I perceived a strange feeling this time. Was it relief or serenity? I could not tell. While I was tangled with my thoughts, the plane touched the ground. The engines rumbled; the frame trembled; after taxing for a moment, the plane stopped at the apron. Glancing at the night sky through the windows, I wish I could stay in the air forever.
I love the feeling of being in the air. Flying on a cloudy day, I enjoy the time going through the clouds, being surrounded by whiteness, and quietly appreciating the time passing. I am also amazed by the other side of the clouds; they look more charming from above. Flying on a sunny day, I can look far into distance; the fusion of colors at the horizon cannot be seen in any paintings in the world. During a night flight, I am able to observe the vast universe and taste the darkness. Flying back and forth, I am enchanted by everything I see and feel. Before this flight taking off, somehow, I looked up into the sky and wondered curiously: “When I am in the air, overlooking everything in the world and the nature, am I within or without them? If I can choose, which one do I want to be?
It was at the sun set when the plane was taking off. After being in the air for several minutes, an innocent and surprising voice came from the back cabin: “Mom! Look! Cloud!” I looked outside the window, there was a small piece of cloud floating by itself. On the dark blue background of the sky, the golden and crimson color of the setting sun was reflecting from its exterior. Its unique rectangular shape and pure-white interior were attractive; being an outlier also made it memorable. Even though that piece was separated from the clusters, it was still floating peacefully and calmly. I appreciated that piece of cloud. Suddenly, I found the answer to my question. When I was in the air, I was without everything. I would like to be isolated, like that lonely cloud in the sky.
I chose to fly in the air without the world interrupting me. For the first time, I travelled without internet on this long-distance flight. There was neither messages nor news, but only a circle ceaselessly spinning on the white phone screen. Feeling helpless, bored, and agitated, I started to play games. My thumb repetitively moved up and down, without purpose or meaning; before long, I gave up. Living in the normal world was liking playing mobile games; no matter how good a player I was, I could never escape the control and restrictions of programs. Nevertheless, being in the air kept me away from the games and programs. I got a chance to focus on reading and thinking. Hawking’s book about the origin of the universe gave me a god view of the world; within the book, I could overlook the time and go through the history. Being isolated in the air preserved my independence as well; I could think objectively without any outside influence. Staying without the world, I also observed something that I had never realized when being within.
After sitting in the seat for several hours, I stood up to exercise my muscles. Walking to the back along the aisle, I noticed a mother and a child. The child seemed to be asleep with only a t-shirt. His mother unfolded the blanket and tried to cover his body. To my surprise, the boy threw it on the floor immediately and told his mom: “I am hot. I don’t need your care.” What he said sounded familiar; I could not remember how many times I had said this to my parents before. However, after travelling in the air without my parents’ care countless times, I understood that boy now. I could never see the whole when I was within it; similarly, I had never realized the love from my parents when I was within their love. When I was talking back to my seat, I heard that boy sneezing. I smiled. I was sure he would discover something when he was alone in the air next time.
After getting off the plane, I texted my parents and assured them that I would be safe. I checked the information board and knew that my flight to Portland would be delayed for five hours. However, I was calm without any impatience or rage, because the flight had brought me an uninterruptable mind. It would stay in the air, being “without” since then.
To be moral is to be concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness and badness of human character. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller the lack of morality is shown through the lack of discipline in society and helplessness of women in that time period. Although morality lacked in the previous time period, it is much worse now. To some people society has become more moral over time; however, evidence shows that society, in fact, has decreased its level of morality. The society in America in the twenty-first century is less moral than the society in the 1600s in relation to racism, women’s rights, and religion.
Throughout the history of the United States, the community of people has seen how racism has been an issue in the society since slavery first began. In the two texts mentioned above there is racism; however it is not whites against blacks. In The Crucible Parris is pleading with the judge when he says, “Judge Hathorne–it were another sort that hanged till now. Rebecca Nurse is no Bridget that lived three year with Bishop before she married him. John Proctor is not Isaac Ward that drank his family to ruin. I would to God it were not so, Excellency, but these people have great weight yet in the town…” (Miller 127). This quote is an example of racism in the 1600s because Parris is explaining to the judge that the people who had been executed so far weren’t important in society because of their backgrounds compared to John Proctor who was known as an honorable man.
In present day the public eye sees this kind of discrimination between white people and black people. Nine times out of ten if a black citizen is killed there won’t be a thorough investigation to find the cause of their death; however if a white citizen is killed it is always the top story in the news. In a recent article in The New York Times, reporters found out that black people get discriminated when it comes to getting an uber driver. “In Seattle, the researchers found, African-American users had to wait as much as thirty-five percent longer for some Uber rides, while in Boston, people with African-sounding names were more than twice as likely to have their Uber rides canceled compared with people with white-sounding names” (Scott 2). This article that was published on October 31st, 2016 reiterates how racism in the American society is still a common and heartbreaking way of life. Along with racism still being a common theme in today’s society, women are also still fighting for equal rights.
During the evolution of the United States the role of women has changed dramatically. Although the women have gained many rights over time, their gender is still thought of as “unequal” to men. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne the men believe that Hester has lost her sense of being a women and remark, “She who has once been a woman, and ceased to be so, might at any moment become a women again, if there were only the magic touch to effect the transformation” (Hawthorne 92). In this scene from the book the narrator describes Hester without the qualities of a woman until she gets the ‘magic touch’ from a man for her to become a woman once again. This is an example of how the women in the time period had no power and people in the society did not believe that women could do anything or be anything without having a man by their side. Although since this point in history women have risen up in society and have become much more independent, this gender still deals with criticism on the daily. In a recent article about Donald Trump the citizens of the United States read about what he thinks of women and how he treats them. One example of these insults was after the first Republican primary debate where he said that the Fox journalist who was one of the debate moderators, Megyn Kelly, had questioned him so forcefully because she was menstruating. Trump said, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.” Here citizens see that although women have more rights than they did in previous centuries, they are still treated as property with the same amount of disrespect.
Lastly, society has become less moral with the religions and religious rights and beliefs in the world. Back in the days of the Puritans, religion was very strict and people were not accepted into communities if they were not part of the strict Puritan religion. In The Crucible the people accused of witchcraft were asked to recite the ten commandments to prove their innocence and loyalty to God. This is another example of craziness because if the person couldn’t remember the last one, they were suspected of worshipping the devil. Nowadays religion has become more diverse and free in the United States of America. However, citizens still discriminate against other religions that are not theirs which causes hate crimes in the country. Most recently one of the candidates for the next president of the United States bashed the Catholic religion and their beliefs. This shows the public eye how religion still deals with discrimination on a daily basis.
Overall humanity in the United States of America is not looked at at a high quality because of the discrimination throughout the country. Even though the Salem Witch Trials was an all time low in the history of America, society since then has not gotten any better. Although many people now know what is right and wrong and many follow those ideas there are still those people out there who think they are the best race, gender, or religion out there. Those people are the dangerous ones and they are the reason that the American society is less moral than it was in the 1600s. The golden rule that I have been taught since infancy is “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” Everyone in the world should follow this saying and once that happens society in America and in the world will be filled with respect and morality.
In a materialistic world where people are judged based on their belongings and social status we as Americans must have hope. Hope for the current way of thinking to change. Hope for the current way of seeing to diversify. We as Americans have the power to use our hope to make our country a place where a person is not judged based on the brand they’re wearing, the car they’re driving, the way they look. Immigrants arriving in this country enter with hope; hope of achieving the American Dream. However, they fail to realize that the American Dream is highly materialistic and has become more so as the years have gone by. External beauty is what is seen, internal beauty is forever ignored. The people with the fanciest cars and the extravagant houses are considered to be beautiful, the perfect image of the American Dream. Why? Why is this considered beautiful? Why are we as citizens who have less considered imperfect? Failures to mankind. These “failures” are the face of hope for our country. Through the eyes of these people we are able to see what truly matters. The internal beauty. The prospect that has been forgotten like dead flowers. Not important, unwanted. However, these thoughts of materialism are slowly transforming, showing people that the physical objects are not what are important. Because objects can’t make you happy, objects can’t make you truly beautiful. Yes, a new car is exciting and yes, makeup makes someone look pretty, but those objects are masking the true beauty found within. An individual does not need a fancy car to be impressive or makeup to be beautiful. An individual who is strong and full of hope knows that being impressive is using your brain and makeup only enhances the natural beauty that already exists. But how? How do we as citizens make people believe that this is true? That true beauty lies in the hope and courage of an individual. It won’t be easy, and it won’t happen in the blink of an eye, but it is possible for our country to change. It is possible for the materialistic American Dream to become something that cherishes the inner beauty that is starting to explode into the outside world for people to see. It starts with hope; hope for the country to be something more. And then courage makes the change possible. And then the belief that this is the true beauty of the world helps the country completely transform into a nonconforming society. But all of these things will take time, time that most people do not have available to them. However, if they genuinely believe that the materialistic American Dream can change then it will happen. In time the change will occur, and when it does people will wonder why we were ever a materialistic society to begin with. And then they will realize that it was because people were greedy, people are greedy, and people will forever be greedy. But, every little piece of change that is made for the internal beauty to escape the inside is a piece of change worth transforming because it helps our world. It helps our society. It helps the people realize what inner beauty precisely is. Inner beauty is not a person’s appearance or a person’s wealth; it is a good person, a person who has depth and character, a person who isn’t scared to fight for what they believe in. And I, I believe that inner beauty will find its path and push its way through the materialistic beliefs to better the world, one day at a time.
“In this country, American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.” Toni Morrison is an influential author best known for her novels that spoke about the role of African Americans in the world before they received freedom and rights as individuals. Two of her most famous novels The Bluest Eye and Beloved both show and tell experiences that African Americans had back when they weren’t considered humans. Although these two novels follow two separate and different paths there are several moments in the texts where their paths cross and readers see first hand the dehumanization and overall loss of identity that takes place.
In the two novels mentioned above there are characters that have similar characteristics and pasts that explain their actions. Halle is an African American who is enslaved with his family and he eventually goes crazy after he sees two white boys stealing milk from his wife. Halle is similar to Cholly Breedlove who is a character in The Bluest Eye. Cholly ends up going crazy in the beginning of the novel, but we learn later that it was because of what happened to him when he was younger. After the trauma that both Halle and Cholly go through neither of them can function like humans anymore; Cholly burns his family’s house down and rapes his daughter while Halle leaves his family and slathers himself in butter. These actions performed by these men are a prime example of the insanity that took place in African Americans mind during this time period in American history.
Dehumanization was an important theme in both texts based on how individuals were stripped of their human qualities physically and emotionally. Readers see this occur in Beloved when Sethe overhears the schoolteacher talking to his students and he says, “No, no. That’s not the way. I told you to put her human characteristics on the left; her animal ones on the right” (Morrison 228). After hearing this Sethe goes to her master to find out what “characteristics” means and later realizes what the men were doing that afternoon. By the schoolteacher telling the boys to write down the ‘characteristics’ of Sethe and the other slaves he is taking away the last bit of humanization that the slaves had. They were considered objects instead of people. Dehumanization is seen also in The Bluest Eye in relation to one of Cholly’s experiences with white people. While Cholly is experiencing a sexual moment with a young girl, Darlene, two white men stumble upon them and force Cholly to continue what he is doing in front of them. They urge him on by saying, “Come on, coon. Faster” (Morrison 148). This shows the dehumanization of Cholly because they refer to him as ‘coon’ which is an animal, making Cholly realize that he was worth nothing.
Another common theme that is found within both of Morrison’s novels is identity or the lack thereof. The lack of identity is present in not only Sethe, but also Cholly, Pauline, and Pecola. This occurs because of their pasts and their time throughout life where they were unable to find their identity. For each individual it is hard for them to find their identity for several different reasons. For example, Cholly can’t find his identity because his father abandoned him before he was born and his mother abandoned him a few days after birth so he didn’t have a sense of family and ancestral background. On the other hand Sethe can’t find her identity because she lost it completely after the boys stole her milk which to her was thel only thing that proved her motherhood. Since they stole that one thing, her identity was lost for good. As both novels continue on the readers see how each character’s identity is taken over different periods of time. The overall effect that not having an identity has on them is seen in their actions and in the way they lose their minds in the end.
Pecola is a peculiar character in The Bluest Eye who is found to be without a home after her father burns it down. She is similar to Denver in how she spends her whole life trying to earn her mother’s love. Pecola is so broken because of her experiences throughout her life, yet her soul purpose in the end is to earn her mother’s love. She believes that if she had blue eyes her mother would love her because during that time period society thought you were perfect if you had blue eyes. Denver tries to earn her mother’s love by always making sure that Beloved is happy because if Beloved is happy then her mother is happy as well. Although both spend their life trying to earn their mother’s love they do it differently. One believes that her mother would love her if she looked different while the other believes that if she keeps her dead sister happy her mother will love her. These two characters help to show how these two novels are similar yet different all at once.
The Bluest Eye and Beloved both depict what life was like in the past for African Americans. Experiences that are written about make people realize how revolting society was. These novels also show the common eye how because of such traumatic events it led family members to hurting their own family for example Sethe trying to kill her children and Cholly raping his own daughter, Pecola. Although these texts are written by the same author they both have their own message for the reader while touching upon something similar. The overall message to readers is to not let anyone dehumanize or take away your identity, instead stick up for yourself. Also these books teach people to go against what society believes to be the “perfect” image. No one is perfect and the people that are the least perfect are the most beautiful of them all.
To be a feminist is to be a human being who supports feminism which is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne certain aspects lead readers to believe that the romance novel supports the beliefs of feminism. Although these aspects are shown, the overall novel is not written as a pro-feminist story. Based on evidence in the text, the novel is not pro-feminist, however Hester serves as an early advocate for women’s rights in her actions and strength.
In order to be considered a feminist or just someone who supports feminism, it’s important to believe that women deserve the same respect and the same opportunities as men. The Scarlet Letter is based in Boston in a Puritan society full of strict rules and unforgiving people. Towards the middle of the novel the narrator starts to describe how Hester has changed since she was punished for committing adultery. The narrator says, “She who has once been a woman, and ceased to be so, might at any moment become a woman again, if there were only the magic touch to effect the transformation” (Hawthorne 92). This language suggests to the readers that in order for Hester to become a woman once again she needs to be touched by the ‘magic touch’ also known as being touched by a man. The narrator says that Hester has ‘ceased’ to be a woman since she has not experienced love with a man in a long period of time. These words are enraging to a woman who reads them because they are technically saying that in order for a woman to be a woman and to be happy she needs a man in her life. Although the tone of the book goes against the perception of Hester as an early feminist, the narrator is on Hester’s side and throughout the novel there are specific moments where Hester’s actions related to feminism shine through the anti-feminist voice of the book.
Though The Scarlet Letter is based in a Puritan society where the women are described as manly and chubby, the author is able to make Hester look beautiful and strong willed through the narrator’s voice which is where we see the role of feminism in Hester come out. When Hester is being brought out onto the scaffolding by a guard the narrator explains, “Stretching forth the official staff in his left hand, he laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward, until, on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air as if by her own free will” (Hawthorne 31). Hester shows her qualities of strength and independence in this language in the way she ‘repells’ the guard who was holding her arm leading her outside. She does not want to be led out by the guard, but instead she wants to walk out by herself with her head held high. These actions show Hester being an advocate for women’s rights by being independent and strong without a man by her side.
Although most of the book is written more towards an anti-feminist view based on the society and time period, Hester is still able to act like an advocate for women with her strength and attitude. She is alone without a man, yet she is fine on her own. This shows how women don’t need a man in order to experience love and happiness in their life. Like Elizabeth Stanton said, “The best protection any woman can have is courage,” and Hester has this protection as her courage is shown and admired throughout the novel.
Anyone can be an angel sent from God. It could be a homeless person on the side of the street or a murderer. It could be your own sister. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne we see Hester’s daughter, Pearl, change from being helpful to her mother to being a danger to her mother throughout the story. Although most would say that Pearl was sent to Hester as a punishment for her sin, evidence shows that she was sent to her mother to help redeem her in the future.
In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl has certain moments where she is seen as a demon sent from the ‘Black Man’ also known as Satan. Many lean towards the argument that Pearl is a demon because of several occasions in the book where she puts her mother in a worse position than she is already in. For example, when the townspeople are trying to decide whether or not to take Pearl away from Hester, Pearl decides to cause mischief. The narrator explains, “But Pearl, who was a dauntless child, after frowning, stamping her foot, and shaking her little hand with a variety of threatening gestures, suddenly made a rush at the knot of her enemies, and put them all to flight. She resembled, in her fierce pursuit of them, an infant pestilence-the scarlet fever, or some half-fledged angel of judgment-whose mission was to punish the sins of the rising generation” (Hawthorne 58). We see how Pearl stands up for herself and her mother, which would normally be a good thing, but in this case it wasn’t smart because it made Hester look like she couldn’t control the wild child. This suggests that Pearl could be seen as a demon because she made her mother look bad, which almost caused her to lose Pearl for good.
As the story progresses there are other times where Pearl seems to make her mother’s situation even worse. When Pearl is asked what she was made from at the mansion of Governor Bellingham, she disobeys her mother by responding with an answer that they had not rehearsed before. Unfortunately Pearl, “After putting her finger in her mouth, with many ungracious refusals to answer good Mr. Wilson’s question, the child finally announced that she had not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door” (Hawthorne 63). When Pearl says that she was ‘plucked’ off a bush of roses we see her blatantly disobey her mother, who had taught her for years that she was made from God. Pearl putting her fingers in her mother shows immaturity in her which is related to why she is so mischievous. This is dangerous for Hester because it is another example where Pearl is acting like a demon child which makes readers dislike Pearl even more.
Although Pearl has many moments in the book where she is seen as a danger to Hester, there are also several times where we see her play an important positive role in her mother’s life. No one can be considered an actual angel because everyone has faults in his or her life. For Pearl, there are many experiences in her life where her actions help Hester by redeeming her along with protecting her. We see this occur when Hester and Pearl are in the graveyard and Chillingworth is staring at them from inside his house. Pearl says, “Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old Black Man will catch you! He hath got hold of the minister already. Come away, mother, or he will catch you! But he cannot catch little Pearl” (Hawthorne 76). This is a prime example where Pearl senses that Chillingworth is bad, and she warns her mother of him. She refers to him as the ‘black man’ or Satan because he has control over Dimmesdale and she wants to protect her mother from him. In this moment we see Pearl as more of a sweet child than a devil.
Another time we see Pearl working in Hester’s favor is when she, Hester, and Dimmesdale are all on the scaffolding together. Pearl decides to call Dimmesdale out for mistakes which shows her strength and loyalty to her mother because she wants Dimmesdale to be accountable for his actions: “‘What wouldst thou say, child?’ asked Mr. Dimmesdale. ‘Wilt thou stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noontide?’ inquired Pearl. ‘Nay; not so, my little Pearl,’ answered the minister…‘not so, my child. I shall, indeed, stand with thy mother and thee one other day, but not tomorrow.’ Pearl laughed and attempted to pull away her hand. But the minister held it fast” (Hawthorne 86). Pearl tries to pull her hand away from Dimmesdale because she is not happy with his answer, but he holds tight to her hand and won’t let it go. She doesn’t understand why he will hold their hands now, but wouldn’t do it in public the next day, which prompts her to ask him repeatedly why he won’t. Because Pearl is a child, she is not afraid nor cares about what she says; therefore, she asks the questions that Hester cannot. By pulling away she is defying Dimmesdale and being loyal to her mother, which in turn strengthens her mother.
One final example of how Pearl is Hester’s saving grace is when Mistress Hibbins invites Hester into the forest. Hester replies, “ ‘I must tarry at home, and keep watch over my little Pearl. Had they taken her from me, I would willingly have gone with thee into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man’s book too, and that with mine own blood!’”(Hawthorne 66). Hester doesn’t go into the woods and join the devil because now she has Pearl to look after. The little child everyone calls a devil actually, in fact, saved her mother from joining Mistress Hibbins in the forest and becoming a witch associated with the devil.
Throughout The Scarlet Letter Pearl, is constantly changing from being the devil to being an angel. This is like every other child as they are growing up. Although Pearl has many moments where she portrays herself as the devil, we see deep down how she has a heart that is willing to protect her mother at all costs. Not only does she stick up for her mother when they are made fun of, but she also asks questions that her mother cannot to make other people responsible for their actions. Based on the evidence given, readers are able to see that overall Pearl is a more positive influence on her mother rather than negative; because, she saves Hester from letting her life fall completely into shambles.
“A mother is a person who by themselves does the work of twenty. For free.” In This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff and The Color of Water by James McBride we see a relationship between each man and his mother. Throughout each story the mothers switch from being strong to being weak, from being positive to being negative. In both This Boy’s Life and The Color of Water we see their mothers influence their lives in positive ways, negative ways, and by reflecting off of their own individual past.
Toby and James both had rough childhoods growing up that resulted in their life not always being the best, but by learning from their mothers they were able to have positive parts in their life. For example, in This Boy’s Life Tobias’s mother, Rosemary, teaches him to be kind and strong. As a mother she believes in him and never gives up on him even when he has messed up. This made a positive impact on Tobias’s life because he learned that he could be anything he wanted if he truly tried. In The Color of Water, Ruth is a white mother with twelve black children. Back in those days that was considered wrong and disturbing. This made a positive impact on James because he learned that there was nothing wrong with being different. His mother was strong and she took care of all her children without letting the gossip bother her. This showed James that he should be proud of the person he is and not let people change that. Although both mothers had positive impacts on their child’s lives there were also negative moments that made an impact on the boys’ lives as well.
A mother’s job is to protect her child from harm, but it is not always easy to keep a child’s life completely positive. In The Color of Water and This Boy’s Life we see their mothers fail at keeping their lives positive on multiple occasions. For example, Ruth, in The Color of Water is very strict with her kids which almost makes them afraid of her. Also her kids are often stared at when they are with her because of the color difference. Over time the kids start to move out because they can’t handle living with their mother anymore. Her past also leaves a negative impact on the kids because of how dark it is. Similarly in This Boy’s Life, Rosemary, leaves a negative impact on Tobias multiple times. At the beginning of the book we read about how she is trying to get away from a man by moving to a different state. “She thought it was good for me but beside the point for for herself, especially now that she was divorced and once again involved with Roy, the man she’d left Florida to get away from (Wolff 12).” This quote shows the negative impact Rosemary had on Tobias because of the fact that she went back to the man that she moved away from in the first place. This showed a sign of weakness which made Tobias feel helpless in a way that no one should. Rosemary continues to leave a negative impact on Tobias as the story goes on because of her choices of marrying Dwight, a nasty man, who was nasty to her son. She never stood up for him which resulted in Tobias acting out more and more as time went on.
Although both Ruth and Rosemary had positive and negative effects on their sons they also left impacts based on their own past. For example Rosemary went from being in a rich family to becoming dirt poor. However, she didn’t let this ruin her and in fact she used that to her advantage to show her kids that it wasn’t about the money but actually about the happiness. Similarly Ruth went from a good family to marrying a black man and being shunned by her whole family. However, just like Rosemary, Ruth, doesn’t let that ruin her life. The guidance that both Tobias and James received from their mothers shows us that being a mother is not always easy but as long as you show love and support your children will learn and become good people in the long run.
To be envious is to be jealous of someone else because they have something or look a certain way that you don’t. To most people, they don’t believe that envy is a sin; however, those people have never been more wrong. When I stepped onto campus for the first time my freshman year I knew that it wouldn’t be easy. I knew that the other kids here had more money than me; more stuff than I would ever have. As I started my freshman year I braced myself for these things in the hope that I wouldn’t get jealous of these other people. However, after a week of walking by all of the upper class men and seeing all the expensive shoes, clothes, and bags, I started to get the feeling that I didn’t belong at Hebron. I wanted the $300 dresses and the $100 shoes, but I knew that would never happen. I started to resent the other girls because they had nicer clothes and shoes than me.
I remember one day in particular when I walked into my order class confident for the first time because my mom had gotten me a new dress from Vineyard Vines. For once I had something on that was just as expensive as everyone else. However, a girl came up to me and said, “What are you wearing? That’s so ugly.” I looked down at the dress that my mom had bought special for me and the tears started to drip down my face. As I ran into the bathroom I could hear the snickering of the girls behind me. That night when I got home I ran into my mother’s arms and sobbed again. I was ready to leave the school because I believed that I didn’t belong there. Although I was ready to quit, my mother was able to change my mind and make me go back the next day. When I walked into class I kept my head high and did not pay attention to the people who had felt the need to hurt me. As I continued through my freshman year of high school I didn’t let that one moment hold me back. I learned that I shouldn’t be jealous or envious of the girls at school because underneath all their fancy clothes there’s insecurity and jealousy as well.
Envy is not always classified as a sin, but to me envy is the one of the biggest sins out there because of how it could ruin a person. Instead of being envious of someone for their looks or other features you should spend time making yourself the person you want to be. What I saw as a freshman was lots of people I thought I wanted to be because of what they had. However, what I learned is that even though people act like they have everything they really don’t. I may not have the nicest clothes or the nicest car, but at least I am a nice individual and I’m proud of the person I have become.
Happiness is found when you stop comparing yourself to other people. Learn to be you, and not be envy because it make you do ugly things as well as become ugly things. I still sin everyday because I am still envious of people every day, but I’m teaching myself to be happy in my own skin because it is the healthiest. You can’t stop sinning in just a day; it takes time and effort. Envy is a sin, and I’m learning to fight it head on.
