American Literature (A)

The establishment of the death penalty in the United States has raised controversy about the nature of the criminal punishment in terms of its ethical merit and inhumanity. What’s really more of a consequence? A sentence of lonely nights locked away in a monotonous, violent jail; or capital punishment: a sentence often deemed immoral, barbaric, and excessively cruel? Is the death sentence truly inhumane, or does it simply puts an end to that relentless misery that forms on behalf of your fear? In The Road By Cormac McCarthy, the man, the main character and victim of an apocalypse, made the courageous decision to choose living, in hopes of saving his sons life. The man does so in spite of his feelings of fear towards the violence and pain he inherently knew would be afflicted upon him and his son, because for the man, living life in an apocalyptic society was similar to jail. As well as despite his wife and sons mother committing suicide. The man struggles to survive through the violence and chaos of the apocalypse in order to maintain his sons innocence and the possibility of giving him a normal childhood, the more courageous and morale decision to live instead of die.

Everyday the man had to deal with the agony of living, knowing that death was within close proximity. The man is in a constant state of stress when McCarty describes that, “he’d been ready to die and he knew he wasnt going to and he had to think about that” (McCarthy 144). The man’s stress of his nearing death was constantly holding him down amidst his journey to some sort of security from the apocalypse. In stating that the man has to ponder the fact that he hadn’t just chosen to die shows his self doubt. The man didn’t know if he could handle all the pain him and his son were experiencing in the apocalypse. Throughout the novel, the man stays realistic about the possible future of him and his sons daring endeavours to live. When the man and his son discover a shed fully stocked with food and supplies that they had been lacking for so long McCarthy writes that, “some part of him wished they’d never found this refuge. Some part of him wished it to be over” (McCarthy 154). The man wishes they’d never discovered this shelter of safety to convey his knowledge that good things don’t last long during the apocalypse. He knew that pain and death were always in the foreseeable future, exposing the doubt he had over whether or not to continue living.

In The Road, the man had become so adjusted to the pain and fear that he became accustomed to numbing himself from his emotions and the possibility that he and his son could die at any point. Despite this, the boy’s life and safety were always his most urgent priority. Throughout their journey to seek safety, the man faces a sign that serves as a metaphor for his current way of living, “by the roadside stood another sign that warned of death, the letters faded with years. He almost smiled” (McCarthy 31). The man viewed the warning sign of death as darkly humorous because it’s irony; the sign was warning of death, and it was fading just like he was. As the novel continues, it becomes more and more apparent that the man is losing hope in the continuity of he and his sons life. The man begins to lose his will to fight for life when he says “people were always getting ready for tomorrow. I didnt believe in that. Tomorrow wasnt getting ready for them. It didnt even know they were there” (McCarthy 168). The man was able to comprehend that him or his son could tragically and horrifically die at any moment. Even with the knowledge of the hard reality that death was nearing close, the man still bravely pursues his journey to continue living for his son.

While understanding that a catastrophic event or encounter could ensue at any time, the father and son had an unbreakable bond. In a New York Times article called “Left Behind” by William Kennedy, Kennedy describes that both characters are, “brave and loving and good but tongue-tied on what else they are becoming” (Kennedy 2006). This article contradicts the claim that the man made the right and courageous decision to stay alive, by saying that what they are becoming is not worth the pain, when they are developing features to mold to survive in this inhumane, dystopian and apocalyptic society. Features that force the man to kill and go against his morals for the sake of his son. On the contrary, the man and his son are making their way down this abominable road out of the abundance of love they have for each other, making the choice to live and carry on with a positive perspective on society.

The novel is filled with a magnitude of scenes that suggest the man’s passionate and tenacious love for his son. The man is perpetually reassuring the boy when he says to the boy, “This is what the good guys do. They keep trying. They dont give up” (McCarthy 137). The man is consoling his son by telling him that they’re the “good guys” and they’ve made the right decision to not give up, to keep living. The man undoubtedly loves his don to a degree that is boundless; by the end of the road, this straining journey, all the man wants is his sons happiness and well being. During the frequent hardships among their travels along the road, the man says to his son, “Dont lose heart, he said. We’ll be alright” (McCarthy 177). Highlighting the common stylistic occurence of the apostrophe over “we will be alright”, but not “Do not lose heart” alluding to the theme of the father yearning to keep his sons life as ordinary as possible. We will get through this.

To officially answer the question at hand; Did the man in The Road by Cormac McCarthy make the more courageous choice to live or to die? The actuality concludes that The Road could be interpreted as a love story, meaning thar everything the man did on the road was for his son, and therefore, living was the more courageous choice. The man repeatedly emphasizes that they will not give up, they only will do. The true meaning of this novel explicates the trying and dire situations that were all encased with the love the man feels for his son. The Road By Cormac McCarthy proves itself to be love story about a man who made the decision to save his sons innocence and protect his livelihood, rather than choosing to be a weak and selfish man who would rather die than face the struggles that come with living.

Sources:

Kennedy, William. “Left Behind.” The New York Times, 8 Oct. 2006.

McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. Picador, 2019.

Home Essay

Something that I have always know to be true is that home is not just a place to live, sleep, eat, and repeat. Home is where love fills the air just as much as laughter does. It’s the sound of the younger kids playing, the older kids cracking jokes and bickering lovingly, and the uncles and aunts reminiscing about times gone by. It’s the smell of the food that has been prepping all day, and it’s the smell of a fire burning in the pit for us to gather around. Home is where my family is.

My family is my everything. The sense of love and affection runs deep within us all, and it oozes out and combines together to create a truly wonderful feeling. The love is shown through the small sarcastic comments or teasing and poking fun at each other, the “OH MY GOD, YOU’RE SO BEAUTIFUL!” stated so loud that everyone within the state could hear it, the giant, breathtaking, bone crushing, bear hugs given by my uncles who still, after all these years don’t realize how strong they actually are or the smothering kisses given by aunts and my mémé. The love is shown through being the loudest supporters at my games, even if I’m not actively playing, and just a bench warmer at that moment. At the end of the day though, when everything is coming to a close those three words are always, always, always spoken out loud. I love you. It’s the sense of unconditional love, that no matter what happens, spoken or unspoken, that is always there.

On the other side of the family though, we don’t show our love in an outwardly and open way. It’s within my grandfather’s “behave yourself, and drive safe”, or when they drive me home without me asking when the weather is bad, the constant support shown at big events like sports games, concerts, and any other things we do, or the fact, that even though I am a fully grown sixteen year old, they still call me my nicknames of Bugs, Buggy, and Buggins given to me at birth because of the giant eyes I was born with. It’s shown with the huge hugs given to me by my Marmie and the “Great job Buggy! I’m so proud of you!”, and then the grunt of agreement from my Poppie after games. Or, when Marmie and I bake together and end up making a giant mess, but just laugh about it and work together to clean it up. It could also be when Poppie tells me his jokes, that he and I both know are terrible dad jokes, but we still both laugh like it’s the best joke we’ve ever heard, or it’s the constant willingness to help me on my path to becoming the best version of myself. It shows that no matter what the reaction, or however anything is said, there is always, again, that same feeling of absolute unconditional love, unbudging, and always there, but never really having to be said out loud.

Even though there are good times, every home can be slightly dysfunctional. There are fights and arguments, and sometimes things are said that were better off being unspoken. There’s snarky remarks, and digs at each other, and sometimes there can be tears shed about situations that arise. Everyone is human, and humans make mistakes. Even though sometimes we aren’t on the best of terms, or we are deeply engaged in an argument, no matter what, my family always makes a point of the fact that we love each other, no matter what, and there is always a home within everyone

Maybe I’m biased, but my family is one of the best out there. There is nothing in the world that we wouldn’t do for each other. Like I said before, the feeling of home never exactly came from a place, it came from the sense of family, and the love that they exude. People have always said that home is where the heart is, and that totally rings to be true. I wouldn’t trade the world for these people, even if sometimes they can annoy me. The underlying unconditional love runs so strong, and it is what keeps my family tight and together. My heart and my love is all with my family, and they are what embody home to me. So, welcome to my family, my heart, and my home.

Do children make their parents lives better or worse? In the novel the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Pearl has a huge impact on her mother Hester. From when she was born till the end of the novel Pearl changed the way Hester lived her life. Even though some people see Pearl as a negative impact in Hester’s life, Pearl is actually a positive impact in her mother’s’ life because Hester makes better decisions, Hester is happier with Pearl, and Pearl has been a constant in Hester’s life.

Since Pearl has been alive, Hester has made better decisions with her life. At one point in the novel Pearl is almost taken away from Hester for two reasons. One reason Pearl is almost taken is because people believe she is a child sent by the devil to ruin the lives of Hester and everyone else in the Puritan town. While the other reason is because since Hester is a sinner, she should be seen as unfit to parent a child. After Hester and others plead their case on why or why not Hester should keep Pearl, they come to a conclusion. This being that Hester should indeed be allowed to keep Pearl. While Hester is walking out Mistress Hibbins asks hester to go to a witching. Hester then answers with “I would if Pearl was taken away”(Hawthorne 95). This is evidence that Hester is making better choices for one reason. If Pearl was taken away from Hester, Hester indirectly says that if she did get Pearl taken away from her, she would have, in fact, went with the witches even though she knows that it is bad. Another example of how Hester is making better choices because she has Pearl , is how Hester is now doing charity work. If Pearl was never born, and Hester was never casted away from society, Hester would have never helped with charity. No one knows where she would have been, maybe sinning with other men, but since Pearl has entered her life, Hester has tried to be a good example to Pearl. With all of this being said, this is a prime example of how in Hester’s life Pearl is a positive impact on her life.

Throughout the time Pearl has been born Hester may not look as happy as she was on the outside, but on the inside she is happier than she was before Pearl was born. Hester, on the outside does not looks as happy, but for good reason. If Hester is seen to be happy, people, such as other women, will now be doing other things, such as adultery. This is due to the fact that  Hester did it and has no real punishment, and looks happy then other women will look and see that by doing that your life will just be happier. The letter A is suppose to be a punishment, but Hester turns the meaning from Adultery to able. Now on to Pearl, the reason that Hester is happier is when Hester is talking about Pearl she says. She is my happiness(Hawthorne 101). The fact that Hester is stepping up and not only saying that Pearl makes her happy, she is also standing up for Pearl in order to keep her. This is a important part of the novel because if Hester did not truly care about Pearl she might have not argued to keep Pearl, she might have just let her go. Another reason we know that Pearl keeps Hester happy is because, Hester for the most part, does everything with Pearl. If Pearl physically working on it wither her, she is right near her either playing by herself outside, or doing something inside with her mother. Hester being happy was not Pearl’s focus at all, but just her presence in her mothers life is what made Hester a happier person.

Within Hester’s life, many things have been taken away from here, but one thing that has is Pearl. Overall many things have been taken away from Hester. Her dignity, and pride were taken away from her because she now has to whear the letter A for adultery on her chest. Hester was also publicly shamed and verbally assaulted in the streets, by pretty much everyone. Before Pearl became a real “person”(not a baby that can not talk or do anything)Hester also had all of her hope taken away from her life. Right as Pearl became a real person, she brought hope back into Hester’s life. The way Pearl brought hope back into Hester’s life is how; now Hester came up with the idea to go back to Europe and get away from all of the chaos and restart their lives, because she feel it is better for everyone.

Do children make their parents lives better or worse? Hope, happiness, and making good decisions is just some ways Pearl has brought positivity into Hester’s life. Even though many people see Pearl as a negative influence in Hester’s life, Pearl has actually been a great influence in Hester’s life, which has turned her into a happier, more confident person.

Hello, I do not know why I am writing this, but it is probably just something that will make me feel better. I hope that something magical will happen and save us, humans. I have considered all possibilities and the only one that has made any sense is to write for the future generation. Not all of it of course, but this one person. The special one.

Anyway, let me explain the situation. Currently, the year is 3050 A.D. Through the past centuries, people have always progressed. We have seen the complete prosses of evolution; however, something happened. It seems as if we pushed the borders of our abilities too much. We began to believe that the human is something special, something that is way more than the rest of nature. But, again and again, we were proven the exact opposite, as mother nature has put us in our deserved place for the last time. We reached the vertex of our ability to develop, and just like English students were taught in the past, after the vertex follows the denouement, but in our case, instead of a slowly declining action, we freefell to our end.

The problem is that people began to rely on technology too much. We have robots for everything. And I am serious when I say that, absolutely anything. We have a robot who stimulates your brain to feel love, just so that people are not required to get out of their bed and socialize. Everything you need is right next to your bed. As soon as you wake up, a robot comes to your room and serves you breakfast. Wait, wait, wait, before I continue, I have to say that the picture that came to your mind when you thought of a breakfast served in the bed is exactly the opposite of the reality. Instead, people came up with the absolutely genius idea to create pills that include all of the nutrients you need per day. From what I have seen in the past, the food people had seemed incredibly appetizing. Everywhere I looked, I saw this Bulgarian dish called “Banitsa” that made people do everything they can, just so they can have some of it. I wish I had the ability to enjoy having a normal meal and truly appreciating different meals, but most importantly, I wish that I could have tried Banitsa!

So after you have taken your pill, you do the most physically demanding action of your life. You reach above your head in order to grab you Apple VR Glasses 7000. They are pretty much what summarizes the future. The Apple glasses work by creating a virtual universe, where people create their own character exactly the way they want it. People nowadays do not have to worry about the way they look as they decide how to. Or should I say that people nowadays do not enjoy the ability to be truly themselves and be something special, just like people in the past did? The Apple glasses are what destroyed humanity, but even the geniuses of our time, which is me, cannot find a way to save us. What am I supposed to tell people? Let’s say that I want to tell them about the motivation you feel after working out. Why would they ever want to work out in real life, when they can do it in their VR glasses? How can I describe a pain so sweet as the one that people have after an exhausting workout? Maybe there is a way, but since I have never experienced it, but only read about it, I cannot effectively describe it.

Also, even if I try to tell people about what technology is doing to us, I will never be able to. People are illiterate. For the past 50 years, nobody has learned anything. Why should I learn this when I will never need it is what people keep repeating. I read in an article that students in the far past, in 2019, kept repeating the same statement. I have mixed feeling about this, as I know that at least one thing has never changed, our ignorance. But unlike in the past, people nowadays are not motivated even a little bit. They grew up with everything they needed right in front of them. As a result, they have become so undeveloped and blinded by themselves, that I can argue that Neanderthal people would be smarter than today’s human, the Homo Sapiens Sapiens Sapiens.  

Anyway, even though I am the only smart person in the world currently, I am far from a superhuman. I share the same genes and the same lifestyle as my generation, but the only difference is that I have a special ancestor, I think he was called Einstein or something like that, which is why I am smarter than the average human. As I said, I am writing this to the special person, to the smart person in the future. Although, when I think about it, there may not be one. Oh, my brain hurts, it is probably because I have used too much of it just to perform a simple action such as writing. If I do not hurry up, my brain will shut off and I will become just another member of the illiterate society. I have to tell the real problem quickly. It hurts so much! People are dying! Nobody has a life outside of the VR glasses, and as a result, people shifted from social to antisocial animals. People do not communicate outside of the VR glasses, and as a result, they do not love each other. Humans do not reproduce anymore. There are only 10 million people left. Please save us! Stop the technology. What am I doing here? What is that sheet in front of me? I need the Apple VR glasses! They are my life! I need to sign in Apple VR and sign out of the real world.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day out, the perfect day to play field hockey. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping.The air was perfect, not too cool, but still not too hot. I had to wake up early that morning, a little earlier than I had wanted to. I was leaving to go to Massachusetts from my home. There was a feeling of excitement in the air, or at least for me there was. Even at that early hour, I was tingling with nervousness and anxiousness. It wasn’t a bad feeling, I was actually quite happy. In fact I was so happy that I practically danced out to the car. This was a big tournament. There was going to be a large amount of college scouts there to watch and recruit players.

I was feeling lucky that day, which is abnormal for me. I felt like I was on cloud nine walking through the gates leading up to the field, as if no one or nothing could touch me. I thought to myself that nothing could get in the way of my goals. I was calm, cool, and confident. This day was different for some reason.

I was the first one on my team to arrive at UMASS Lowell. My parents had already gone up into the stands to find other parents from our club to sit with. There was a little garden that had a bench surrounding it where I sat until my coach arrived. Not too long after my coach got there, my team started to come in after her. Everyone around us could feel the eagerness and anticipation radiating off the team. We had been practicing all winter and spring for this tournament, and there was nothing holding us back.

Our coach briefly went over our game plan, and then we were off to warm up for our first game. Coach had assigned me to defense, which was and still is my absolute favorite. The first game went over like a blur. We lost, but we played amazingly. Even after losing, we held onto that confidence we had when we first walked in. We were fully capable of winning our next game if we kept up our momentum, and our coach made us aware of that. We had around two hours before our next game, so I decided to take a nap and rest and recharge during our break.

I woke up from my nap about thirty minutes before our game started so I could stretch and wake up for the game that was coming next. We had watched the team that we were playing next earlier in the day, so we had a slight idea of how they played. They were good, but they weren’t any better than us. We could definitely take them. But nothing in the world could prepare me for what was coming next.

Again, I was playing defense this game. We took the field and set up in our formation. We were definitely a bit nervous, this team was intimidating. The first ten minutes went well; we were fighting hard. The defense was holding up well. Suddenly, there was a loose ball, and I took off. Full speed to get it and clear it out. Then it happened.

At first I felt her shoulder, then came the impact of the rest of her. At first; It didn’t hurt. She was lying unconscious next to me, and I was sitting on the ground, oblivious to the horrors that awaited me. I hopped up, grabbed my stick and went back into play. I looked around, and then it came pouring down my face, covering me head to toe. My jersey, once black and white, was now red and black. I was disoriented. All I could hear were the screams all around me. The coach from the other team directed me to lie down, while my coach ran onto the field, laid me down, and started to put pressure on my head. My vision started to get blurry, and I started to turn a gray color. I heard a flurry of voices, my coach, the refs, my parents. I heard the team crying, and I was still not sure what had happened. It was chaos all around me, but I was so calm, telling everyone that I was “fine”, confirming with a “thumbs up.” I was almost too calm. Then I heard the sirens. I was loaded into the ambulance, trying to stay awake, so that my mother didn’t freak out. We were rushed to the hospital, and at that moment, I knew it was something much more serious.

Pop… Strike one Pop…Strike two Pop…Strike three you’re out. The game is over, it is our teams first game in the playoffs in 6 years. Not only was it our first playoff game, the game ended in a win against our rivals ,East Bridgwater. Standing on the mound, batter box, or in the outfield waiting to either strike someone out, hit a homerun, or make a diving play is what makes me feel alive while playing baseball.

Baseball, America’s pastime, to many is “boring” or “to slow”, but to me it is what makes me feel alive. Baseball is mainly three steps, step one being fielding. I am usually in the outfield. The anticipation pitch after pitch wondering and waiting to see if a ball will ever get hit to me. Then it comes, the pitcher winds up, lifts his leg, lunges towards the plate, then throws the ball. Then crack! The ball came flying high in my direction. Immediately I noticed that it was hit further to the left than I originally thought. I sprinted after it, looking straight to make sure I was not going to run into the wall, and looking up to see where the ball is. After a while of sprinting, there it is, the ball coming down right next to me. Still running as hard as I could to get to where the ball is going to land I realized that. the ball is going to just be out of my reach. “Crap there is only one option”, I thought to myself. That one option is to dive for the ball. Full extension, eyes open watching the ball fly right into my glove.   Iheared the umpire say “catch” signifying that it was a good catch and the batter is out, ending an inning running in everyone patting me on the back telling me how nice of a catch I made. After making the catch I could not get ahead of myself I had to reel it back in and get ready to bat.

Batting is undoubtedly my favorite thing in baseball, well as long as i’m doing well. Luckily in this game I was hitting great and ended up going two for five. Making good contact is a start, hitting a single is great, double a little bit better, and of course hitting a triple is even better. Sprinting from base to base and knowing that it is going to be a close play seeing my coach telling me to slide not knowing whether I was going to be out or safe. Sliding head first into third, and hearing safe is an unbelievable feeling. One of my hits in the game where I went two for five was a homerun. That had to be the best feeling I have ever had in baseball. The pitch coming in, swinging feeling the baseball come off my bat, hearing the crack of the two object colliding, then watching the ball fly over the fence feel great. The best feeling of hitting the home run, which made me feel most alive was when rounding third and heading home everyone ,surrounding home plate waiting for me to touch home. Right as I touched home everyone jumped and tapedme on the head. We were up by one in the 10th inning standing on the mound only needing three outs to win the game.

Pitching to me is the most important position in baseball. Being involved on every play. Having the weight of the game on my shoulders. After my 8 warm up pitches I was ready to face there three best hitters. The first guy got one through a single. From the stretch, I lifted my leg up and lunged towards the plate and blew a fastball right by the guy. Strike one, second pitch same result Strike two, and strike three you’re out. One out with two to go only up by one, I could not make any mistakes or my team will lose the game. Next up was their best player. First pitch, he comes out swinging, luckily he fouled it off  because he hit it well. Next pitch, it happened. I threw a curveball he swung early, and rolling his hands he hits a ground ball to my shortstop. Easy flip to the second baseman, and a hard throw over to the first baseman three outs. Hearing all the cheering, everyone dogpiling, and realizing that we just won the game, is what makes me feel alive about baseball.

It is a warm sunny summer day, wind lightly blowing, no clouds in the sky, and the sun beating down on my neck. Pop… Strike one Pop…Strike two Pop…Strike three, you’re out. Hitting home runs, striking people out, and making diving plays are all a part of baseball, but that is what makes me feel alive. It is not only those three things about baseball that makes me enjoy playing it, but those three things are what makes me feel most alive while playing baseball.

How many times have you wished that you could be just like someone else? People always look for the things they do not have, as it comes natural to them. Humans enjoy what they do not posses, and as soon as they get something that they truly desire, it loses its importance for us, as it is not something that we have to dream of. Also, despite the fact that many people think that others live a better life, no one ever know what truly is going in someone’s life. People, just like turtles, tend to look extremely hard on the outside, pretending that everything is okay, and on the inside, are extremely sensible. The reason is that humans do not like being supported just out of pity. In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the author explores the theme of how people show their true self under the influence of one of the most dehumanizing events, the Vietnam War. The US soldiers send to Vietnam are mostly young people, who have led completely different lives up until they had received news that they are drafted. However, now that they have arrived in Asia, they are exposed to the reality of human brutality. Throughout The Things They Carried, all of the soldiers carry different “necessities” for themselves, that are described by O’Brien as weights, which not only further describe the characters but also change them.

With the arrival of the soldiers in Vietnam, their lives completely change, despite the fact that most of them do not realize it. Many of them do not understand the seriousness of the war until they see their first dead person, or until they kill somebody. Even though most of the US troops come from extremely diverse backgrounds, they share one common thing, which is the fact that all of them carry the weight of the war. It completely transforms the soldiers from normal citizens of the world to wild animals. They begin to act in a way that they would not be able to understand, but they cannot help it. Somehow they have to fight against the weight of the war and what it does to them. An example of “wild” behaviour is when Rat Kiley goes crazy and decides to shoot himself in the leg. Kiley is absolutely terrified of the thought that he has to continue not only being in Vietnam but seeing and killing people: “‘This whole war,’ he said. ‘You know what it is? Just one big banquet. Meat, man. You and me. Everybody. Meat for the bugs’” (O’Brien 212). The significance of those words lies behind the symbolism of the bugs, which Kiley sees as the whole concept of the Vietnam War. The weight of the conflict causes thousands of innocent people to die, who symbolize the meat. And those deaths, who are almost guaranteed for the troops, are followed by the arrival of the bugs, which symbolize true evil, as well as the fact that the people who are considered the bravest by their society, die in the worst way. The weight of the war causes Kiley to lose his mind, and as a result, the only thing he can see is death, and the only way he can escape it is by hurting himself. However, the important thing about the comrades of Kiley is that they completely understand him: “Nobody blamed him, Sanders said” (O’Brien 212). As stated previously, the soldiers are extremely different, but all of them are affected by the weight of the war, and as a result, they are able to realize what Rat Kiley is going through. The US soldiers understand that no matter what they do, they will always be affected by the brutality of the Vietnam war, which they are already accustomed to, and because of that, they accept the fact that Kiley shot himself as something normal.

Additionally, by going to the Vietnam War, US soldiers have to carry the weight of the atmosphere. They have to put up with a completely different environment, and despite the fact that they feel completely out of place, they are asked to be their strongest version of themselves in order to kill: “They carried the land itself—Vietnam, the place, the soil—a powdery orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatigues and faces. They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity” (O’Brien 14). The use of symbolism by O’Brien describes how heavy the weight of the Vietnam War was, and even though in the beginning they were able to carry it, they were bound to eventually break down. What the USA asked of their soldiers was impossible, simply because they did not understand what the troops will have to go through, and how that will affect them and their future.

Furthermore, with the weight of the war, comes the weight of the guilt of their actions. Most of the US troops did not want to fight against innocent people; however, they did not have a choice. They could not escape the draft because the rest of the society would see them as cowards. They were put in a dead end. Tim O’Brien writes, “I was a coward. I went to the war”, as he understands that he did not stand up for what he believed in (O’Brien 58). However, what he does not understand is that he did not have a choice. No matter what O’Brien decided to do, he would have always regretted it because his mind would not settle without knowing whether he made the right decision, which is impossible to know. Additionally, other troops felt the weight of guilt as a result of their actions during the war. Similarly to O’Brien, they do not understand that they did not have a choice, as they were on the battlefield, where they either have to kill or they will be killed. After a soldier has killed someone, they cannot simply forget about it, as it was not their decision in the first place: “We kept the dead alive with stories“ (O’Brien 226). The troops wanted to turn back time and avoid murder; however, it was impossible. Consequently, they came up with telling stories as a way to relief some of the guilt. They imagined that the people who have died are still alive, just so they can not think of how they have taken somebody’s future from them. Many troops, just like O’Brien, were forced to live with the weight of the guilt of decisions, which were not entirely theirs.

Last but not least, all of the soldiers carry the weight of love. What they love varies from soldier to soldier; however, what stays the same is that with each day in Vietnam, they further themselves from their hopes. The soldiers carry the love of their past with them, and that makes them continue to fight during the worst parts of their day. However, sometimes, their home feels so distant, that the weight of the love turns from positive to negative. They begin to realize that the chances of them successfully escaping the war are minimal. Additionally, the troops carry a deep love for each other, as they are in the war together. What happens to someone happens to everyone. This allows them to create relationships that are stronger than any other: “In late August they made a pact that if one of them should ever get totally rucked up—a wheelchair wound—the other guy would automatically find a way to end it” (O’Brien 62). Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk rely on each other and their connection to cope with the war. They know that they would not want to be alive if they had a “wheelchair wound” so they trust each other in order to end their life. However, the love between those people is much more than that of friends. It is a connection of brothers who have been sent to hell together. As a result, Jensen was not able to perform his promise, which meant for him that he failed his brother, and as a result, he had to carry the devastating effects of love.Throughout The Things They Carried, the characters of the novel are forced to carry different weights with themselves. The weight of the war itself, the weight of the atmosphere, the weight of guilt, and the weight of love, all further destroy the soldiers, both physically and mentally, by making the war worse than it already is. Also, the most horrible truth about the Vietnam war is what soldiers either die doing or what they come back home to think about. All of the different themes stated above are examples of something that soldiers not only have to live with during the war but of something that they take back with themselves, in case they survive. This is what makes the weights soldiers carry so dehumanizing, as nobody could ever escape from them unless they die.

There was not much time left on clock, and if the buzzer sounded that would mean the game was over. After their goal the score was one to one the score was tied, our team was desperate to score a goal to win the game, considering there was only one minute left. As the puck was about to be dropped at the center face off circle, the people on the bench started to clap their sticks against the boards, which was indicating that we were fired up and ready to go score a goal to net the equalizer. After our center won the draw back to my D partner he passed the puck hard and deliberately right to the tape of my stick. And as I received the pass to my stick I picked my head up, started to scan the ice, at first I saw nothing so I started to move my feet and skate towards the opponents end of the ice.

Every step I take I continue to look for someone to pass to, while simultaneously moving my feet and skating hard. Every stride I take I feel more confident and prepared to carry the puck, into their zone.

At least when I took the puck through the middle of the ice, their team did not pressure me, and gave me a free lane into their zone. When I enter their zone, still no one pressured me, so I took the puck wide, past the faceoff circle on the right side of their defensive zone. Behind the net their defenseman tried to close off my angle, and attempted to hit me, luckily he missed the hit so I continued to have control of the puck.

By the time I have shaken off the hit I picked my head up, and saw an open man in the middle of the ice standing. I had started to make the pass, when I saw their defenseman moving their stick into the passing lane, or so I thought, but instead he actually was going to lock up with my teammate in front of the net. As I saw that I decided that it was definitely the right time to pass the puck hard to my team standing in the slot alone, waiting to get an opportunity to score.

The pass I made to the guy in the slot was a nice pass, but he was wide open in the slot ready to shoot. He collected nicely the pass, and started to shoot. The shot came off of his stick very pristine and hit the tyne in the back of the net.

Suddenly the crowd stood up and roared excitedly, the crowd was loud, and proud like a mother after you achieve your goal. As the crowd was cheering, out team jumped off the bench, we all skated as fast as we could to jump on the goalie, we looked like ants on and ant hill.

“The path of development is a journey of discovery that is clear only in retrospect, and it’s rarely a straight line.” – Kennedy-Moore, Eileen. While Eileen’s comments about the mental growth of children were published in 2011, those same ideas can be traced back hundreds of years ago. The perfect example of Kennedy-Moore’s idea is the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne which describes the life of a woman, Hester, who is accused of adultery in a Puritan colony. Also, the story describes Hester’s relationship with her daughter, Pearl, which is extremely complex and is developed throughout the whole book. Although there are many scenarios in which Pearl tortures and humiliates Hester, Pearl brings true joy to Hester and makes her feel delighted.

Pearl is an extremely important person in Hester’s life because she makes her mother feel truly happy and manages to successfully distract Hester from all the hate that surrounds her. Hester knows that with the birth of Pearl, everything would change. The narrator explains: “It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and inclosing her in a sphere by herself” (Hawthorne 48), which represents the role of the scarlet letter that Hester had to attach to her clothes. She knows that the society will not accept her because of the sin that she has committed. However, this does not stop her from giving birth to Pearl, who was born from true passion and love: “ But she named the infant “Pearl,” as being of great price,—purchased with all she had,—her mother’s only treasure!” (Hawthorne 80) Hester is ready to face up to public disapproval and be treated horribly by other people in order to have Pearl. She fears the birth of Pearl because her child will become the living embodiment of her sin and will constantly remind her about her wrongdoing. In fact, she tries to hide her scarlet letter, which represents her sin, with Pearl. She quickly understood that a shameful action cannot cover up another, and lifted up her infant, so that the other people could clearly see the letter. As she performs those actions, the narrator describes Hester’s face as: “…with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours” (Hawthorne 48). This quote presents the fact that Hester refuses to be ashamed of her sin because she knows that true love hides behind it. The name “Pearl” signifies that she is extremely precious to her mother, and she could even be referred to as Hester’s treasure.

Another important reason why Hester decides to have Pearl is that she has true feelings towards Dimmesdale. Even though it would be significantly better in terms of her happiness not to be in love with the minister, she cannot help herself, and she decides that she want to suffer alone: “And would that I might endure his agony, as well as mine”’ (Hawthorne 61). Hester is ready to sacrifice her reputation in the name of love. Therefore, Pearl serves as a bridge that connects the love between Dimmesdale and Hester and keeps it alive, although it is strictly forbidden. Similarly, Pearl serves as a source of joy to Hester because she is the only one she can talk to. They live isolated from the rest of the Puritan society, which means that they do not have anyone, but each other. Hester is relieved by the fact that she can talk to Pearl, which helps her not feel alone in a world that despises her. The narrator describes, “God gave me the child!… He gave her in requital of all things else, which she had taken from me.  She is my happiness!―she is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin? Ye shall not take her! I will die first” (Hawthorne 101), which further strengthens the argument that Hester is extremely dependent on Pearl in order to be happy. After all, there is a special mother-daughter connection between them, and like every mother, Hester adores her child. She does not allow anybody to take her away from her because if she loses Pearl, she will lose a part of herself. Without Pearl, she will live a life that is full of hate, loneliness, and regret. Pearl brings true happiness in Hester’s life because she is the reason why Hester feels alive and allows her to find the light in a world that is full of darkness.

Some believe that Pearl is a destructive force in Hester’s life because she is the living embodiment of her sin and distances her even further from the Puritan society, but that is not true. First of all, Hester knew that she will lose everything in order to have Pearl, but she still did it. Therefore, she knew that it will be worth it because she will bring more happiness than punishments. Secondly, Pearl asks Hester a lot of questions about her letter. That is not because she wants to hurt her, but because she is curious as every other child. She also wants to know the truth, and because Hester always refuses to explain to Pearl why she has the letter, she continues asking her. The narrator writes, “‘Mother,’ said little Pearl, ‘the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. Now, see! There it is, playing, a good way off. Stand you here, and let me run and catch it. I am but a child. It will not flee from me; for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!’” (Hawthorne 167), which explains that Pearl actually understands that there is something oddly peculiar with the letter that distinguishes Hester from the other adults. However, this does not stop her from loving her mother, even though she is different, which in a way, strengthens the mother-daughter relationship between them.

Most significantly, Pearl prevents Hester from making the mistake of running away from her own past. It is vital for Hester to be able to face up to the actions that she had done in the past, in order to accomplish happiness. Dimmesdale represents what would happen to her if she decides to pretend that the past does not exist: “All the dread of public exposure, that had so long been the anguish of his life, had returned upon him” (Hawthorne 138). The fact that Dimmesdale’s fate of him hiding his sin is presented by describing him extremely ill and weak, further prove that running away from the past will result in a guilty heart. Also, if she just pretends that she has never committed adultery, she will manage to make other people believe that, but not herself.  Hester will always know that she has run away from the consequences of her actions, which will always prevent her from being truly happy. Pearl is a force that encourages Hester to do the right decisions, such as telling the truth, and not running away from the consequences of her actions.

To conclude, the relationship between Hester and Pearl is extremely complex, which allows many interpretations of how Pearl impacts her mother. One thing cannot be questioned, which is the fact that Pearl is one of the most important people in Hester’s life. With the birth of Pearl, many things changed in Hester’s life, such as the people’s’ attitude toward her, her perception of the society, and most importantly that she became extremely lonely because she had no one, expect the infant. As time passed on, Pearl became even more important in her mother’s life because she was the only person Hester could talk to, and that strengthened the bond between them. Like every other mother, Hester loves her daughter a lot and perceives her as her treasure. Pearl is the reason why Hester was able to continue being strong because she helped her mother be optimistic about the future, even though in the present they were surrounded by hate. By the end of the novel, Pearl is clearly established as a positive force in Hester’s life, even though, through the story, the children’s development is constantly being shifted, and cannot be compared to a straight line.

Every person in world has their own view of success. Not only do they have their own view of success, but they also have their own view on how to achieve it. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is an example of someone who worked hard for what they wanted, and achieved it. For some the American Dream is having a good family, and for some other people it is getting a significant amount of money. For Gatsby it was a bit different. His American Dream was not a family or money it was just one girl, this girl being Daisy Buchanan. In the novel the American Dream is symbolized by the color green, or more specifically a green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. Gatsby is chasing that green light, as hard as he possibly can to achieve his American Dream, but when he believes he achieves his dream, the green light at the end of the dock in his eyes diminishes. Gatsby’s American Dream to some may be viewed as different, but everyone wants different goals, and that is why Gatsby’s life speaks to the American Dream because we are a nation of individuals with the freedom to each pursue his or her American Dream.

Throughout the first half of the novel, Gatsby was a little mysterious. Nick was friends with him, but did not know much about about him;therefore, we as a reader did not know much about him. One of the first times we say Gatsby, Nick described the scene as “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock”(Fitzgerald 20 ). At this point in the novel we have no clue what he was reaching for. But as we try to learn the thing he was looking and reaching towards, was the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. The only thing Gatsby wants is Daisy. So why is he reaching his arms out towards a green light far away? Well, it is because him reaching towards signifies that he knows he is close to what he wants, which is Daisy, yet at the same time he is far away. He is close, because he worked his way up to being the man he think Daisy wants. This man is rich and confident, which is what Gatsby is seen to be according to Nick’s descriptions. The reason he is still far away from his dream is because Gatsby knows for his dream, getting rich and acting confident was the easy part. For him the hard part was getting Daisy to love him, and want to be with him.

The first time Daisy and Gatsby got together was at Nick’s house for tea. This scene shows why getting Daisy to love Gatsby was the hardest part, for him to achieve his American Dream. Gatsby is very awkward around Daisy, especially during this scene even Nick notices it when he describes the situation as how Gatsby “hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs” (Fitzgerald 112). This did not go like Gatsby probably planned his meeting to Daisy to go, but that’s how it went, and he got Daisy to go over to his house. Gatsby is working, and working hard to achieve his American Dream. To achieve your american Dream you are going to have to work hard just as hard as Gatsby did, maybe even harder. But hard work is not the only thing needed in order to achieve your  American Dream. The other thing need is realization.

The realization of what else is needed in order for you to achieve your goal is the most difficult part of achieving your American Dream. Everyone’s steps to achieve their American Dream are going to be different. For Gatsby his steps were getting rich, changing his name, buying a house across the lake from Daisy, then trying to convince her to love him, as well as many little steps and roadblocks along the way. One step that as the novel goes on is not easily noticed is how Gatsby tries to indirectly tell Daisy that she is all he wants. He does it by saying ‘”If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay,’ said Gatsby. ‘You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock”’ (Fitzgerald 92). By saying this it shows, that Gatsby is indirectly telling Daisy that every night he looks out and hopes that they will meet so he can finally achieve his American Dream. This also signifies that the green light burning at the end of the dock is the symbol to him that Daisy is still there, which means there is hope that he can achieve his American Dream.

The foundation of achieving you American Dream is based solely on two things. These things being hard work, but also realization of what steps you may have to overcome, and the path you are going to have to take in order to achieve your American Dream. Gatsby is a perfect example of this for multiple reasons. Gatsby worked his tail off get rich, in order to become the man he believed Daisy wanted. He also worked to set up a meeting with Daisy so he could try to win her over. This is an example of recognizing what he needs to do in order to achieve his goal. These reasons, are why Gatsby embodies the american Dream and why what he did is an example of achieving ones American Dream. He worked hard to set himself up for success, and recognized what he had to do. In the end he did not get what he wanted, which is fine because he still worked hard and recognized what he had to do to achieve his dream, which is why he embodies it. Nick realizes, at the end of the novel by telling us how Gatsby “believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter–to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning—–” (Fitzgerald 180).

CitationsFitzgerald, F.Scott. The Great Gatsby. Penguin Books, 1950.