American Literature (A)

‘They’re a rotten crowd,’ [Nick] shouted across the lawn. ‘You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.’ This was Nick’s last remark to Gatsby as he waved farewell, not knowing it was the last time. It has always been clear to readers and to the narrator himself that he was rather fond of Gatsby, but how fond he is can be further analyzed. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a theme of ambiguity appear continuously throughout the whole novel. There was ambiguity in the uses of colors and the character’s background within the story, however, one of the most intriguing yet least noticed mysteries is Nick’s sexuality. Many would argue that Nick is utterly in love with Jordan and his mere affection towards Gatsby was anchored in admiration and hope. There is evidence that points to the theory that Nick’s feelings towards Gatsby might be more than platonic and how ultimately, these feelings might alter the interpretation of this novel.

At a side glance, Nick Carraway was thought to have been in love with Jordan Baker, a sporty golfer who was friends with Daisy, but whether he was actually enchanted by her or not is arguable. Nick had had many pondering moments when “[he] thought [he] loved her. But [he is] slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on [his] desires” (Fitzgerald 39). He was so indecisive when expressing feelings about Jordan, there was always a bit of hesitance and denial. The hints of his queerness are sprinkled across the novel like the ‘interior rules’ which could be referred to the social oppression of homosexuality that ‘acts as brakes’ on his real desires. What he wanted was not Jordan, Nick wanted someone who could fill the void that he is unable to satisfy. And when he is unable to achieve his desire, he seeked comfort within reaching distance and Jordan was there: “Unlike Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, [Nick] had no girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs, and so [he] drew up the girl beside me, tightening [his] arms” (52) Nick had no girl not because he could not have Jordan. He had no girl because he did not want a girl! This quote misdirects readers to the false conclusion that Nick loved Jordan, but reading it at another angle changes the meaning completely.

After the death of Gatsby, it was as if Nick had given up completely to the ‘interior rules’ that he had built morally. When he met Jordan for the last time, she remarked that she thought he was an honest person, that it was his ‘secret pride’. He replied with: “I’m thirty. I’m five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor” and eventually he ran away “angry, half in love with her, and tremendously sorry” (113). Nick has reached the point where it was no point in hiding it anymore, the years of restraining his feelings have finally wore the man out. ‘Tremendously sorry’ because he led a girl who was in love with him on, and making her think that he was in love with her too. He was too honest for his own good that the feeling of guilt crept itself in him. In the end, the affair between Nick and Jordan just did not work out. Jordan was a disguise that Nick used to conceal and disapprove of his true feelings for men, more specifically Gatsby.

More than the ambiguity between Nick and Jordan’s relationship, Nick’s words and actions directed to Gatsby, or men in general, are more than platonic. It was fairly obvious that the scene after the fight between Myrtle and Tom, Nick had a sexual interaction with Mr. McKee when “[Nick] was standing beside his bed and [McKee] was sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hand.” (26) Then the person whom many would claim that he was attracted to, Jordan Baker, was described as “almost any exhibition of complete self-sufficiency draws a stunned tribute from [Nick]” (8) with her “hard, jaunty body” (38). Jordan Baker has been introduced as a rather conventionally masculine character, with her sporty attributes and a strong personality. Nick was drawn to her, and she was the most masculine women in the novel there was.

The way he observes and describes Gatsby, his main spectacle, is not how friends describe one another. It is essential to keep in mind that The Great Gatsby was written in Nick Carraway’s perspective. So when Nick caught the glimpse of “[Gatsby] tanned skin was drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it were trimmed everyday” (33) or “his brown, hardening body lived naturally through the half-fierce, half-lazy work of the bracing days” (63), he was not looking at Gatsby as a platonic friend. Also let’s not forget the smile that captured Nick immediately. “It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hope to convey” (32). All of Nick’s life, he has been surrounded by people who used him as a cauldron to pour confidences in, but coming across Gatsby, it was as if someone had finally understood him as he wanted to be understood. The scrutiny in his description of Gatsby was too transparent that it is hard to miss out on. Afterall, Gatsby is the man who “gives his name to this book” and when the narrator is clearly in love with him, it changes the whole perspective of the novel.

If Nick was in love with Gatsby, then how one interpret this novel would alter in a variety of different angles. Many would be quick to assume that Nick was meddling into a situation where he could have prevented what had happened, but that downright is unfair. Nick is an outsider hence everyone expect him to be the wise and objective tiebreaker in this novel. Nevertheless, Nick Carraway is at heart just a man trying to figure his way through life, like any other human being. He is not there to be the cupid matchmaker for the insiders, nor is he the problem solver when something goes wrong. Thomas Foster commented on Nick in his essay about The Great Gatsby that “a hundred times [Nick] could stop the proceedings with a word but does not”. It does not matter that Nick could have prevented everything, anyone could have prevented anything if they were wise enough. But they were not. Gatsby was full of lust for love, Daisy and Tom for money. So was Nick. He was in love with someone he could not be with, and dealing with those feelings have been hard enough. To be a queer man at this period was confusing. It was not something one could figure overnight and it might have been something Nick is still struggling even after Gatsby’s death. Moreover, Nick being in love with Gatsby truly, honestly, and secretly means that he wants to see him happy, even if it means being with Daisy. By forcing the “hero” label on Nick is to disregard his perspective and hardship and to disregard the beauty of literature interpretation.

The Great Gatsby is a layered story. There is not just one simple explanation for it, and it broadens one’s mind to dive in and explore what is hidden underneath. Nick Carraway would not have dedicated a novel for a casual friend whom he had known for several months. This is not a writing about Gatsby only, it is also about Nick and his feelings. What readers see from Nick’s narration is what he sees. What he sees are forbidden loves that could never be reached and a sexual ambiguity that lingers forever in his heart. If readers were to only interpret The Great Gatsby as a story about a man named Jay Gatsby trying to reach for his unfulfilled American Dream, Daisy, they would never be able to see the story about Nick Carraway and the dreams that couldn’t be dreamed.

Hello my name is Dan, and right now the current year is 6968. For over the past 150 years there has been World Peace throughout the entire human race. But before we get to that let’s go back to 150 years before 6968. In 6818 the biggest change in all humankind occurred and luckily I was alive during it. In 6818 the human race had to evacuate planet Earth because it was being invaded by aliens, and we moved to a planet that we now call Earth 2.0. We evacuated the original Earth after 5 years of fighting the aliens. We worked hard side by side each other, to try and fend off the aliens, but sadly to no success. So we packed our things and moved out. Now you may be wondering how I am living now and was living 150 years ago, well it’s because I am immortal, now since that’s cleared up back to the story. After we found Earth 2.0 everyone who was still living made a pact to stand as on strong nation and never fight against each other. Instead of fighting each other we decided to work together, and become stronger just incase the aliens try to invade Earth 2.0 which happens to be an exact replica of the Original Earth. Now back to the year 6968. For the last 150 years, there has been no fighting among the human race, but instead stretching and working together as one nation to prepare for another alien invasion which we are positive is going to happen. As a world preparing to be attacked by powerful aliens, we appointed one leader, and that leader is me. I was appointed leader because of my intelligence, courage and fearlessness. I told my people to put up a forcefield around the world, in order to keep the aliens out, but to also give us time to prepare to fight against them incase they do break the forcefield. Now fast forwarding to 5 days subsequently after I wrote my last Diary input. The aliens are now attacking the forcefield. We are currently a little panicked as one nation, but I am trying to calm everyone down. But this time we are prepared to fight them, as they are trying to get through the forcefield, we are now aiming all our weapons and resources at where they are breaking in from. They have no idea what is about to hit them. We have weapons that they have never seen before, weapons like the strongest rail gun there is, which can take out one of their ships in one shot. Which last time we fought them, we were not prepared, and had no real weaponarry. Hopefully this time it is different and we come out on top, because currently they are very close to breaking the forcefield. Wish us luck in our fight against the aliens. The next day since the last time I wrote. The aliens are still currently trying to break the forcefield, one thing I have noticed how since we had world peace between the humans, everyone is working well and we are full prepared to fight against the aliens, but the aliens are still working on breaking down the wall. Also at the same time we are trying to get a hold of the aliens, and we have heard one response by them and it was a simple “This is our planet” and since then we have heard nothing, but we are still trying.

                   Scarlet Letter Critical Essay

Morality is defined as the principles of concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good or bad behavior. Morality is what keeps the world in balance, and keeps humans sane. One can observe many struggles with morality in everyday life, with instances like going to war or deciding whether or not to launch an attack on another country. During the course of the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many exhibits of Puritan morality are shown. The Puritans were harsh and cruel in their punishments, and their sense of morals can be seen as strict and skewed, as shown by their actions. Our morality since then though, has changed. Our sense of morality is stronger than it was in Puritan times because of the more intense sense of what is right and wrong, a more equal and fair justice system, and the acceptance of human flaws instead of the shaming of them.

Since Puritanism ruled the land, the sense of what is right and what is wrong has changed to become clearer and more straightforward. In the introduction to The Crucible, those who were affected by the trials were described as “a decent grandmother grown too hard of hearing to understand a crucial question from the jurors, a rakish, pipe-smoking female tramp, a plain farmer who thought only to save his wife from molestation, a lame old man whose toothless gums did not deny expression to a very salty vocabulary” (Bigsby 3). The Puritans sense of  right and wrong is clearly more skewed than the sense of right and wrong now because the people they were accusing of witchcraft had done absolutely nothing wrong, yet all of these people were sentenced to death. If the Puritans had a stronger sense of what was morally the right choice, then these innocent people would not have ended up dead. Also, if they had realized what the right choice was, the Puritans would have realized that all these accusations were completely baseless. This would have never happened in today’s society because the sense of bogus accusations and the ridiculousness of the situation would have been halted at the beginning because of the keen awareness of what is right, and what upholds justice. The Puritans really did not have a sense of fair justice.

In today’s world, the stronger sense of morality has lead to a more fair and balanced justice system when compared to the times of Puritans. In an article written about the Salem Witch Trials, it was shown that the Puritans were very quick to move to conclusions when “the doctor found no physical ailments and concluded they [Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams] were bewitched – that ‘the evil hand’ was upon them. Word about the ‘bewitched’ girls spread like wildfire” (Gormley). Quickly after that, “By the autumn of 1692, dozens of people had been accused and imprisoned. Mostly women, they were defenseless against accusations of witchcraft” (Gormley). The Puritans lived in a society in which the morality of the people led to a guilty until proven innocent justice system. This was a completely unfair system that lead to the persecution of the masses. Now the justice system has changed. A situation akin to the guilty until proven innocent system was brought before the Supreme Court. This situation [Nelson v. Colorado] was “a Colorado law that forced people to go to court to affirmatively prove their own innocence in order to recover funds paid as a result of a criminal conviction, after the conviction was reversed on appeal” (Wilson) . Although the result was recognized to be  “unconstitutional because requiring people to prove their own innocence disregards the presumption of innocence” (Wilson). The changing face of our morality has also helped change the justice system so that if situations alike to the Nelson v. Colorado case come forth, morally the people will make the right decision rather than presuming guilt and making the people pay whatever debts they may owe, like the Puritans did. The stronger morals appeal to a better justice system. This more equal and fair justice system surrounding a more equal and fair society also led to more acceptance of human mistakes within the American community.

   The feeling of the strong sense of morality has led to more acceptance of human flaws and mistakes, and has allowed humans to perform under less scrutiny than in Puritan times. In today’s times it is more widely acknowledged that human beings are not morally perfect, and they will make mistakes, but overall, it does not mean that they automatically become horrible. It is how they make up for mistakes made and how they try to fix their wrongs that counts in the eyes of society, not that they be punished for being human.  In The Scarlet Letter, the reader is introduced to Hester Prynne, who was the main protagonist of the story. It is revealed that she committed the sin of adultery, and her community made her wear “on the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A” (Hawthorne 4). She also had to stand on the scaffolding in front of the town for judgement from her community. This is harsher than what would happen today, but that is due to the fact that our morals have changed since this time, and we have become more tolerant of behavior like Hester’s. Society today is more accepting of the situation than the Puritans would be. Though, today, society will still harshly judge someone for this “crime”, and the person who was guilty of the sin would feel shame about it. The key difference between now and Puritan times would be the lesser of public shaming, and the more acceptance and moving on from the situation. Now, there would be more acknowledgement of the wrongdoing, but one would be able to learn from their mistakes with the help of a open and accepting community.

Morality is a multitude of concepts put together to help society figure the differences between the good and the bad. The morality of America has changed greatly since Puritan times in the ways that there is a clear line between the good choices and the bad choices we make, created better change in the systems that uphold the justice within our country to create a fair and equal society, and created a more accepting community, but not one without judgement. The morality of this nation is an essential piece to holding the country together. It is also a way to show the progression as a country that we are making towards a bigger, better, and brighter future. Without our morality, there would be no humanity. So, whenever you are sitting and thinking, ask yourself, what does your morality mean to you?

       Works Cited

Gormley, Myra Vanderpool. “The Salem Witch Trials.” Colonial Homes, Nov. 1997, p. 22.            General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A19926765/GPS?u=heb76203&sid=GPS&xid=21dd0c9b. Accessed 5 Nov. 2018.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. American Renaissance, Sam Torode, 2009.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Penguin Group, 2003.

Wilson, Justin J. “Supreme Court Upholds Principle Of ‘Innocent Until Proven Guilty.’”          Supreme Court Upholds Principle of ‘Innocent Until Proven Guilty’, Institute for Justice, 19 Apr. 2017, ij.org/press-release/supreme-court-upholds-principle-innocent-proven-guilty/.

Going to war is unimaginable. The only way to know what happens, and what soldiers go through is to either be a soldier, or hear about it through their point of view. That us exactly what Tim O’Brien does in The Things They Carried.  Soldiers like the soldiers in The Things They Carried carry around many things, like a gun helmet and other materialistic necessities. The most important things they carried around everyday during the war, as well as after the war is their feelings, such as regret, sadness, and also guilt. Normal people who have not fought wars get these feeling, and now how the feel, but soldiers get those feeling amplified, because of the memories that cause them to feel these emotions.

Regret is one of the most difficult things to carry around. For soldiers they feel regret from things that are not actually there fault. They put all the blame of one of their platoon members dying on themselves. Originally when it happens they soldiers try to brush it off and not think about it, but after the war, the soldiers remember these events, and they put blame on themselves, which is one of the heaviest things they carry. For O’Brien the main thing he regrets is not letting one of his friends die, but rather going to war he explains this by telling us that his “conscience told me to run, but some irrational and powerful force was resisting, like a weight pushing me toward the war. What it came down to, stupidly, was a sense of shame” (O’Brien pg. 52). This shows his regret not of allowing someone to die, but rather regret of actually fighting for something he did no believe in. He said it multiple times throughout the novel that he regretted fighting in the war because he did not believe in it. Another reason he regretted fighting in the war was because the war left him to carry around sadness for the rest of his life.

O’Brien feels sadness just as any human does, physical sadness, and mental sadness. What he carries around with him day in and day out after the war is mental sadness. He is carrying around this emotion because he lost one of his friends. O’Brien probably a ton of people who he considered friends during the war, due to gun fights and other war related accidents, but not Kiowa. Kiowa drowned in the muck of a sewer area, which was shallow. This caused extreme sadness for O’Brien because this caught him off guard, because he died to a non war or violent reason ,also he describes Kiowa as one of the kindest and most genuine people he has ever met. In the novel he says “That night when Kiowa got wasted, I sort of sank down into the sewage with him” (O’Brien pg. 156), this shows the sadness O’Brien is feeling because of Kiowa’s death. The amount of sadness O’brien is filled with after this event is sad enough to him, to the point where he feels as if he lost part of himself to the pain of sadness he felt because of Kiowa’s death. Kiowa’s death also leads to O’Brien feeling guilty.

Guilt is tough to carry around, especially when the guilt you are carrying around is from a long time ago. O’Brien ends the novel by remembering all the way back to his childhood, it shows that him as a soldiers feels guilt sadness, and regret from other things than just war. He uses the example of when he was in school, by saying “I should’ve stepped in; fourth grade is no excuse. Besides, it doesn’t get easier with time, and twelve years later, when Vietnam presented much harder choices, some practice at being brave might’ve helped” (O’Brien pg. 234). This shows that he feels guilt that every normal human feels, that him and other soldiers feel the guilt of a normal person, along with guilt of war, and seeing and killing people. This quote magnifies the fact that soldiers guilt is magnified that of a civilian American.The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien explains the guilt, regret, and sadness felt by soldiers who have fought in war. The entire novel shows that the emotions they carry around are heavier than that of a normal American. He uses examples to show that, like Kiowa’s death. O’Brien also shows the fact that added onto death of their friends and watching them die, they also have the emotions that everyone has, like the story of his 4th grade year. O’Brien uses these examples to show that the emotions of a soldier after war are heavier to carry than a normal human being should have to carry.

Throughout my eighteen years of life objects have come and gone. But one thing I have noticed is that throughout my life one major part of it was always there, and never left. In fact this thing I always knew was going to be part of my life. The thing I am referring to is the sense of security. The sense of security that my family gives me. In my family I have my mother Patti, my father Will, and my older brother Chris. All three of them have been there since my birth. I would be lying if I said that my life was perfect, and I never had any down moments, but in those down moments my family has always been there to pick me up, help me out.

Throughout my childhood my brother and I use to fight day in and day out for the smallest things imaginable. Some of these arguments at the time were very heated, and led us  at the time to hate each other. As we got older, these fights started diminishing, and we now rarely have arguments. Since I am older now I look back on the arguments we had and, I am happy that my brother and I are still as close as we are. He, as well as my parents, are my family, and they give me a sense of security and confidence to be myself, as well as help, and give me the opportunities to succeed.

Some people at a young age are extremely unfortunate, some do not have the resources I had growing up, such as the love and care from both my parents, my brother who was always there to help me with anything, and also the financial aspect of life. By no means am I saying that my family is wealthy, but rather than that I am saying that my parents would always spend some money to help me out if needed. A major example of this is Hebron Academy. Before this year I went to public school, and for those of you who do not know, public school in the United States is free to attend. After my first junior year at public school, I received an opportunity to attend Hebron Academy and have a better opportunity to grow as a student, person, and athlete. Going from a public school to a private boarding school was a big change for me, and my parents were by my side every step of the way. My parents always told me “it is your decision we understand if you want to graduate with your friends, but we do think that you should go”. That right there told me that attending Hebron was going to beneficial to me, because usually if my parents say I should do something it is in my best interest. Except if they tell me that I should take out the garbage. They Then  supported me and actually encouraged me to apply to Hebron Academy. I knew that by my parents sending me to Hebron it meant money was going to be tighter than it was before. By knowing this and the fact that they encouraged me to attend Hebron showed how much they love me and would do anything to help me succeed even if it meant their lives would be a little tougher, and that is the reason why my parents give me a sense of security.

My brother, Chris, has also always been there for me. He helps me with literally anything I ask him for. An example of this is anytime of day I can text him and say I do not understand this math problem, can you help me out with it. Everytime without a doubt he answers back with “Yeah, send me the problem.  I’ll teach you how to do it”, math isn’t the only thing he is willing to help me with. During break Chris came home, and without me asking brought home his baseball stuff, so he could help get ready for my baseball season. That little thing and many others he does, is why he gives me the sense of security. Him being there without me asking him ,and always willing to help me is gives Chris the sense of security for me.

Throughout my eighteen years of life, I have been lucky enough to have been give an opportunity to succeed in my life. The people who have given me this opportunity is my family, and I am extremely thankful to have them in my life. They have been there since the beginning, and I know will always be there. They will be there to support me, when I’m feeling down or when I need help in anything. This is why my mother, Patti, father, Will, and brother, Chris give me a sense of security, and I gladly carry that around with me everyday of my life.

Since the beginning of humanity, people have always searched for comfort inside of society. Humans are social animals, and because of that, they prefer living in groups, rather than on their own. However, even though there is a clear pattern that illustrates the benefits of actively participating in a society, everyone still needs a place to call home. Home is where you can truly be yourself, and be open about what you are and what you desire to be. There is no constant pressure that requires people to stick to the moral norms that someone else has created, and as time passed on, they have been accepted as guidelines. Most importantly, home is something that we always keep in our heart, and is the place where people can take the much-desired break from the pressure of society. I call home my apartment in Sofia, Bulgaria, and I am extremely proud to have been blessed with finding a true home, where I can achieve all of the things listed above.

When I was born, my home was way different. Not only did we live in a different place, but I also could not understand anything. To be honest, I do not remember anything from my early childhood. I suggest that I was just a typical baby, that would cry and smile for no apparent reason. Then comes a turning point for my young self in my memories. We moved into a new apartment, and I instantly fell in love with it. My new home was in the suburbs of Sofia, which is located in the lower base of Vitosha, a mountain that surrounds the capital. Those details meant that I could see a huge part of the city from my balcony. It is one of the prettiest views that I have ever seen, as it is extremely complex. All the way from my home, I could see the members of my society hurrying and never failing to surround themselves with their thoughts. They were so lost in the constant struggle of fighting stress, which provoked them to live a fast-paced life and hurry to escape from society. However, I did not understand where they were hurrying for. What were they trying to reach? From my balcony, I could hardly see people, but when I did, they looked like ants. The only difference was that I seemed not to realize the purpose of the chaos that they were creating by their fast-paced lives, which pushed them to isolate themselves from the people around them. Unlike ants who have a clear purpose and work as a group, people simply take society for granted and rarely help each other out.

When I grew up, I realized that all of my observations from my balcony had a really simple answer. People were hurrying because they wanted to go home. With my arrival in the USA, and being here for approximately 5 months, I consider myself to know the desire to go home. I actually believe that my desire is way bigger than people I have been observing, as they have not been separated from their home for such a long period of time. People desire to go home as they are looking forward to see the people they love, the place they cherish, and the comfort they need.

So far, I have presented only the benefits and privileges of home. However, there is a slight border that differentiates a home from being an obstacle in people’s lives, and it was a huge challenge for me to clearly see it. In case people do not follow that guideline, they will spend too much time in their home, and this will prevent them from a couple of extremely important parts of life. Firstly, they would not be able to easily develop, as there is no competition between them and other people, and this would prevent them from coming up with new ideas. I understand that it could be achieved through the use of the internet, but there is a part in people’s brain that responds to stimuli more when you directly talk to people, rather than chatting with them. Personally, I love talking to people, as I just learn a lot of information, simply by staying in front of them. Secondly, they would not be able to enjoy the benefits of society. Examples of those are the beautiful cities, which people usually tend to ignore, as they are staring at their brand new phone, and have put earphones on, in order to prevent any contact with society. Also, there are a lot of other social advantages, that require people to be an active participant in the society in order to acquire them. Last but not least, it prevents people from exploring. Just like turtles, people tend to hide in their homes, and just watch their life fly by. Instead, people can say yes to discomfort, by facing up to the unknown.

This will provide them with a whole new perception of society and the world we currently live in. My advice would be for people to stop looking for the easiest way, which frequently involves people being in their home a lot, and actually starting to explore the wonders of the Earth. This mentality stimulated me to do the same, and I honestly could not be any happier. Home is one of the most wonderful things people have, as it is so adaptable, and people can feel and be home anywhere. This is why I currently believe that my home is always with me, which not only provides me with all the strength I need, but it also pushes me to start exploring, and most importantly, enjoying the time I am given on the planet Earth.

Everywhere you go, everywhere you look, and every person you meet has a home. To each person their home will be different than yours. For me home is where someplace where I feel warm, safe, and confident to be myself all the time. Not only is home a place where I can be myself, and live carefree, but it happens to also be where my family is, and before this year the only place I have slept. This place is Rockland Massachusetts.

Everyday since I have been out of the hospital, Rockland has been considered my home. For some people, they do not see why I love living in Rockland. To be honest it is not the nicest town, it does not have a good reputation for anything. It is seen to be a poor, rundown, bad town where the academics are seen to be not as good as surrounding towns, and it is the same for athletics. Up to this year, Rockland is all I have ever known, it has been the only place I have ever lived. Since I have been at Hebron, people who have heard of Rockland, and realize I am from there, give me a weird look and one even asked me do you like living in a ghetto. I answer with of I am proud to be from Rockland  and then they ask why, because they have heard the rumors of how bad everything is. I know Rockland is not the ideal place to grow up, we do not have yachts, and can buy anything we want whenever we want, but when people make fun of it I stand up for Rockland. Not because I feel I should, but because I see Rockland as my home, and want to protect it. Just because it is all I have ever known is not the only reason I see it as my home.

Rockland is my home because my family is there. My brother Chris, my mother, and my father all live in Rockland. To me family is pretty much everything. For them I would do anything, to be honest I would take a bullet for them. to my family, my brother, Chris pushed me hard everyday of my life. We had many minor fights, and no matter how mad we were at the time we always made up. My parents, they also pushed me to do my best, but they also molded me into the person I am today. They fed me gave me a roof over my head, helped me with homework, and most importantly believed in me. Somes reaction to this may be weird, but what I am most thankful for, in which my parents chose, is that they chose to raise me in Rockland.

Not only does my family make me feel at home , but so do my friends. Since I was little I have gone to school, grown up and chilled with the same group friends. Even though I left Rockland, and they are still there everytime I go home, it is like I never left, we do the same thing we did before I left, and they also supported me, and my choice to leave Rockland. Up till now I never realized how much my friends and family meant to me. Since I saw them everyday, could talk with them and could physically see them everyday I realized I took that for granted. Last year if you asked me this question I would have given the cliche answer of my house, but now it is something more than that for me, it is my entire town. Rockland is a tight knit community, where everyone knows everyone. It makes me feel at home. No matter what happened if for example in Hockley we won or lost by twenty, the reactions were the same, by my family friends and the rest of the town, they supported us. It goes the same for school, teachers, and other students supported one another, and tried to push everyone to be their best them.

Rockland is where my family is, my friends are, and where I grew up. But that is not why I see it as my home. I see it as my home, because that’s where all my memories are, it is where I can be myself. I got pushed, and supported, helped which led  me to the man I am today. Home is where I can be who I want to be, and the place I was molded into the man I am today, and I will always be thankful and stick up for the “Crappy Town of Rockland Massachusetts”

An old saying says, people are born with sins. In other words, mistakes are inevitable in our daily life. Even though we don’t recognize our mistakes at first, later we might regret the decisions we have made before. There is always one thing that I keep regretting, which is drowsiness, the ability of staying in bed permanently. I always remind myself by an anecdote I have done before.

At that time, I was a 13 years old, eighth-grade, normal middle school student, and it was the first day of our new semester. I was lying on the couch, watching my favourite TV show, sharing our excitement for the brand new year. Dad came into the living room and asked: “Did you get your school stuff ready?”  “Of course” I responded, watching the TV without hesitation. “Ok, don’t stay up too late” words dissipated with the sound of shutting the door. Then, I kept indulging into the TV show. It was a normal talk show, normal presenter, normal advertisements, old topics. The topic was dull, which debates that whether students should spend time in social media. Of course it was about reminding students because it was the regular school season. However, the guests are hilarious, they are the Xiangsheng comedians. Xiangsheng is a traditional comic performance involving one, two or more performers who engage in rapid, bantering talk, imitation, song and satire. Usually there are two performers, one who makes the jokes, and the other who acts as a foil in order to heighten the comic effect. Their stories about their school lives really attracted me. Therefore, without noticing the tik tok, the show ended and the clock pointed to 11. Quickly brushing my teeth and confirming the school stuffs, I went to bed.

That night, I dreamed that I was the main protagonist of comedians’ story. I was enjoying the life they have depicted, really relaxed. But suddenly, a girl screamed because she attacked by a hornet. The scream woke me up, and I realized that was the alarm of my pikachu. It was 6:30 in the morning. Turning off the pikachu screaming, I lied back to my cozy bed. Without a second, I came back to the amusement park. The girl was still crying, but all of us comforted her. After bandaging the wounds, she joined the party again. Suddenly, a solemn rang in my ear, “Why were you still here.” Instantly, I woke up. A grave face appearing in my sight, I was in a cold sweat when I realized that was my father’s voice. I checked the time instantly, 8:30, an hour later than the first class of the school, at the first day. What a shame!

That day, while I walking into the class at 9, I could feel the teasing gazes from the class, which includes the teacher. During the first month, my classmates always amused me at the tardy for the first day. Through this awkward accident, I realized drowsiness is a really bad habit. It not only disturbs our planning schedule, but also brings you unpredictable embarrassment. From then on, as soon as my alarm goes off, I will immediately get rid of my cozy quilt and wake myself up. I have to commit, getting up on time really help you to schedule your daily life and prepare you for your day. Therefore, the importance of time management really strikes into my heart.

Though I must commit another thing, staying in the cozy bed is the coziest event ever.

Looking back at history, people can hardly find an explanation for different events that had occurred and often wonder what kind of a person you have to be in order to perform those acts. One of the most noticeable events that symbolize an action that cannot be fully explained is the Salem Witch Trials.

Many people have tried to explain what drove people to perform such dehumanizing acts; however, their arguments can be easily opposed, and because of that people do not believe in them. On the contrary, Nathaniel Hawthrone’s novel The Scarlet Letter and Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible provide enough background information about the Puritan society. This enables them to present arguments, which are backed up by the development of different characters, in order to show their interpretation of how Puritan morality is extremely different than the one in today’s society. Even though Puritans are the ancestors of Americans and there is a strong connection between them, humanity has developed in all spheres in society since Puritan times, and as a result, people have become more moral.

Compared to today’s society, people in the 17th century lived extremely differently, and as a result, they were used to different customs and thought differently. As technology advanced, it changed people’s way of living, and respectively, their beliefs. During Puritan times, the morality of people was strictly guided by their religion, since they came to North America looking for the “perfect society.” However, in today’s society, morality is not dependent on religion, as it is the study that seeks to answer what is good and wrong behavior. This means that people do not have to be religious in order to understand moral norms and act according to them. This is a huge benefit because religion not only unites people, but it also creates a huge division between differently believing people, and as a result, morality suffers: “As religiosity increases, each country suffers from more and more conflicts with human rights, more problems with tolerance of minorities and religious freedom, and problems with gender equality” (Crabtree, Vexen). The diagram clearly represents a pattern that is continuous and provides information which shows that when a society is basing their moral norms on religion, often times it is unable to prosper, as religion is not a moral guidance for people, but more a source that unites them. In today’s society, as science is pushing people further and further away from religion, people can clearly see the benefits of acting morally according to their own beliefs, instead of following moral norms that are imposed by religion. This results in a better understanding of the general idea of moral behavior and enables people to form their own beliefs about what is accepted as good. As the moral guides imposed on today’s society have been extremely well-thought and crafted carefully throughout the past centuries, most of the times, people’s own perception of right behavior matches the one in the moral guidelines, and as a result, people have become more moral.

Another distinction is the way people perceived and responded to sin. As stated previously, today’s society is not as religious as it used to be. During Puritan times, every sin was seen as something that should be punishable by death. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester is punished by public humiliation for her sin of committing adultery because she already had given birth to Pearl and Puritans did not want to leave the infant without a mother. Even though her punishment ensured that she will suffer a lot, people in the society still wanted her dead and therefore attacked her: “They were stern enough to look upon her death, had that been the sentence, without a murmur at its severity” (Hawthorne 50). Although Puritan societies were considered highly moral, people acted with hatred towards sinners, and even wished death upon them, which is exceptionally immoral. In nowadays society, unless a person has committed a terrific act that is against all moral norms, people are rarely punished by death. This is because people understand how precious life is and that pushes them to strive to make people understand their mistake and change it, instead of punishing them with death for their deeds. The change between Puritan societies morality and today’s morality can clearly be distinguished based on how people perceived sinners and how they believed that they should be punished.

Other distinctions between morality in American-Puritan society and modern society is the way people acted while they were trying to gain influence and power. One thing that has not changed since the 17th century is that money gives people all sorts of opportunities, such as being extremely dominant in society. However, in the past, people used to disregard their moral norms in order to accomplish their goal of earning money. A perfect example of those actions can be seen in The Crucible: “If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property – that’s law! And there is none but Putman with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land” (Miller 96). Putnam is a perfect example of a person who is able to do absolutely everything without feeling any sense of immorality to become wealthy. He is falsely accusing people so that they could be hanged, and he would gain their land. In Puritan society, people did not completely understand how important morality is, and because of that, a lot of people disregarded it. In modern society, even though there are a lot of false accusations, people refuse to believe them without proof. They feel that it is extremely immoral to label people just because of what others said. One of the many examples is the case of Gregory Counts and VanDyke Perry who were falsely accused of rape. Although they were found guilty, they never lost hope in making people see the truth. As technology advanced, it enabled DNA testing, which found the two men innocent and prevented them from spending their life in prison. This case supports the idea that some people may be fooled in the beginning by false accusations; however, as long as people never give up on showing the truth, it will eventually be discovered. Additionally, in today’s communities, people prefer to work hard for their accomplishments instead of abusing other people in order to achieve them. The progress from the 17th century to the 21st-century moral guidelines is clearly illustrated when the different actions people are willing to do in order to improve their social situations are compared.

Last but not least, people in the past were not as connected as people nowadays. They did not have the means necessary in order to communicate with each other if they lived in different places. This meant that people cared the most for themselves and they did not support other communities as much. Individuality was promoted, and Puritans allowed it to spread in their societies. Also, the social position determined how people would treat others. This explains why any of the other members of the society did not support in any way Hester or the poor people who were hung during the Salem Witch Trials. Nowadays, as technology has reached its peak, it has also encouraged people to become more moral because it has made them aware of different problems that exist in different societies. For example, there are many different charitable organizations that seek to reduce the amount of starvation throughout the continent of Africa. Many people, led by their beliefs that everyone should live equally and that no one should be dying of preventable actions, are helping other people with whatever they can: “For instance, philosopher Peter Singer famously argued that everyone ought to give away significant portions of his/her income/wealth in order to eliminate hunger in places such as Bangladesh, where famine has threatened a huge portion of the population” (Singer). People have understood that the role of society is not only to connect people but to ensure that everyone receives help when they need it. They rely on their moral principles to guide them, and more often than not, that stimulates them to help others, and because of that, morality has become such a vital part of modern society.

To conclude, as society has changed a lot from the 17th century; people’s mentality has shifted a lot, too. People nowadays perceive actions in a distinct way, mainly because different factors influence them. As people began to think differently, their opinion about morality changed, as they viewed it as a guide that will enrich and improve their lives, instead of just a set of norms that they have to act according to. This shift in the way people perceive the science of morality has changed its role in society and has encouraged a lot of people to act morally. Therefore, Americans have become more moral since Puritan times.

Throughout the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy, the boy is seen as an innocent god like figure. The reader learns this because the boys father refers to him as a god like figure, multiple times the maine one being how he carries the fire but as we get towards the end of the novel we start seeing signs of the boy losing his innocence. After reading the entire book the bot is portrayed to the reader that he has lost his innocence, because he is growing older, as well as having significant pressure put on him at a young age, as well as seeing some graphic images no one should ever have to endure never mind a ten year old child.

At the beginning of the novel the boy is shown to have his innocence in multiple different ways. A couple of the little ways the boy is shown as innocent is by playing the flute. During this time in the world, playing music out loud for anyone to hear is risky. But the boy does not realize this because since he is innocent he cannot comprehend how if people in bloodcults catch him and his dad they will eat them. Not only does he have no worry in the world he is also trying to make the best out of every moment. Playing the flute is an example of this because by playing the flute, the boy get joy out of it, which the majority of people in this world get no joy out of anything, nevermind getting joy from a flute. The boy has a nightmare about a penguin is another example of the boys innocence in the novel. This is because by this time in his life he has seen people killed, dead bodies stacked up, and ran away from people trying to kill him, but instead he had a dream about a toy. Now those or near the beginning of the novel, where he still had his innocence, but as the novel goes on he loses his innocence, but keeps his god like figure.

Multiple times throughout the novel the boy is given high standards of life that he should try to live up to. Some of these standards, are almost unobtainable. The main standard the boy is told he has to live up to, and this one is the largest, and most brought up standard throughout the novel. This quote is said by the man and is  “Carry the fire”(McCarthy pg 84) At the beginning of the book the fire signifies that he is kind of like a god like figure, but as we read on it more puts pressure on the boy. Pressure of how he could save the world, or the fire which he is carrying puts a mass amount of stress on a kid, which would cause the boy to have to grow up quicker. Ultimately leading to boy to lose his innocence. As the boy gets older he not only feels the pressure that is put on him, but also realizes what is really going on around him.

Throughout his life the boy has seen people be killed, or just dead bodies. At the beginning of the novel he is innocent and does not realize what is happening, but as he gets older the boy truly realizes the danger he is living in every day. This is shown when the boy simply asks the man if “the bad guys saw it?”(McCarthy 272).This quote is important because it shows how the kid is always scared. This corresponds to also when the kid goes in the houses he is very skeptical because he is scared. It also adds on the fact the first bunker they went into they say people hiding in their scared for their lives and hungry. Then the second bunker he did not want to go into because he did not want to repeat seeing that. These are just a couple of examples of how the boy is always scared, after realizing what kind of world he truly lives in by growing up and losing his innocence. Another reason the boy is always scared is because of his father. Not that his father might kill him, but rather his father could give away their hiding position from coughing, of how is father could dies because of how sick he is. They keep walking, the man coughing blood, dying, envying the dead. They are starving, stalked by the unseen, by armed thugs who travel by truck, and in terror they see an army of “marchers” who appear on the road four abreast and epitomize what the apocalypse has wrought: “All wearing red scarves at their necks.(nytimes.com). The people who are referred to above with the scarves and the people the boy is afraid that the dad is going to attract by coughing are the bloodcults. The bloodcults are the people who kill the other people not in their cult, and eat them. This is a very gruesome thing, and is obvious why the boy is always scared, but violent examples are not the only examples of how the boy lost all his innocence.

The boy throughout the novel slowly lost hope in humanity, he never lost all of his hope in humanity, but did lose the majority of it. This is shown multiple times throughout the novel. At the beginning the boy wanted to help everyone, and wanted to be friends with everyone. As the book goes on he slowly stops wanting to help everyone, or at least voicing his opinion on it. He did this because as he got older and lost all of his innocence he realized that he can not trust anyone, even if he feels like he should help me knows it could risk his life. An example of the boy slowly losing his hope for humanity and innocence is when the man and the boy run into a man who stole their stuff and this occured. Finally he piled the man’s shoes and clothes in the road. He put a rock on top of them. We have to go, he said. We have to go(McCarthy 270).

This quote is mainly about the man, but at the time the boy said nothing, and that is important part. At the beginning of the novel he would have fought for the guy showing his innocence, but now he said nothing until after. He voiced that it was wrong but not until after. This shows that he has now figured out that what they have to do if fend for themselves not other which is the loss of innocence. He still cares about others, but now cares about himself more than others. Which is one way that the boy has lost his innocence. Watching your father die right in front of you, seeing dead people, being chased by people who want to kill you to anyone would cause them to lose their innocence, but not for the boy. For the boy there was more needed than just that for him to lose all of his innocence. The other reason besides the ones above that cause him to lose his innocence is just by growing up, and realizing what kind of world he truly lived in which is a harsh environment where it is like the hunger games everyman for themselves.