Writing

2015-2016

Argumentative Essay (W.9-10.1, RL.9-10.1, RL.9-10.3)

Modesty Elicits Change

“This world of ours… must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect” (Dwight D. Eisenhower). Respecting others and acting humble at appropriate times is a powerful incentive for those looking for change. Many people wish to change aspects of lives and the world, and alterations can occur through these actions. When control is taken advantage of and corruption is commonplace, deference aids in the process of gaining equality. In The House of The Spirits by Isabel Allende, change that improves the lives of people is engendered through respect and humility with Pedro Tercero’s fight for equality, Esteban Trueba’s attitude toward life, and the absence of change without these aspects.

Pedro Tercero’s respectful defiance insured the change of inequality for himself and all others. In Pedro’s youth, his grandfather told him a story about “The hens who joined forces to confront a fox… ‘that fox escaped with his tail between his legs, with all the hens chasing after him,’ … perhaps that was the night the boy began to become a man” (Allende 141). Growing up with the fascination of civil resistance, Pedro gained a knowledge that enabled his growth into a man. This knowledge along with his growth turned into a passion to help liberate other people. In the beginning of his journey through music, “Pedro Tercero lovingly picked up his guitar, rested his foot on a chair, and began to strum… ‘I like this, patron. In union there is strength, as Father Jose Dulce Maria says. If the hens can overcome the fox, what about human beings?’” (Allende 154). Using the tactic of civil disobedience, Pedro defied the unfair landowner peacefully instead of using physical violence, which is more convincing and suggestive. Without inciting incredible rage, Pedro chose the harder route of striking change through language, which proved to be successful later in the novel. With his civil rebellion and respect, Pedro delivered change to his people and himself.

Humility altered the formerly enraged and unsatisfied Esteban Trueba into a content and satiated person when he was forced to swallow his pride. During a vicious war, Esteban was begged to help Pedro Tercero, his estranged son-in-law, to which he “Was paralyzed with bewilderment, recognizing how worn out he was, when he tried to summon up his fury and his hatred and was unable to find them” (Allende 392). Esteban had previously banned and attempted to murder Pedro Tercero, so his outrage was fiery and ferocious. Fury is attributed to pride, so to ascend beyond it and accept and help others, it took a humble mindset and actions to adjust. Shortly after Pedro’s rescue, Esteban begged a friend to rescue his granddaughter, and he “Opened the floodgates of my soul and told her everything; I didn’t hold back anything and didn’t stop for a second from beginning to end” (Allende 418). In his past of rage, he felt that part of being superior was not opening up to others and asking for help. In this act of humility, a part of his soul opened, and there was a tremendous leap of change of personality that ameliorated the lives of his close family and helped in their savior. Starting to accept and express humility changed Esteban into an entirely opposite person that ultimately affected other people as well.

During a time of revolt, the “underdogs” failed to act respectfully and modestly which resulted in their suffering and defeat. When the peasants of Esteban’s property decided to rebel, “He was convinced that a period of dictatorship was necessary to bring the country back...Tres Marias was returned to him in ruins...he left for the countryside with half a dozen hired thugs to avenge himself to his heart’s content against the peasants who had dared to defy him and rob him of his property” (Allende 385-386). The peasants let the land go into “ruins,’ but if they used more civilized tactics to enforce their message of the lack of freedom, they would have been more successful. By using force and neglect, they fed their landowner’s anger, receiving the opposite of what they had hoped for. During the political revolution of the nation, a coup was created, but “the military had seized power to keep it for themselves and not to hand the country over to the politicians of the right who had made the coup possible” (Allende 389). The people of societal minority revolted with violent marches and sit-ins because “the violence of the system needed to be answered with the violence of revolution.” If the people had protested peacefully and respectfully, their cries might not have gone unnoticed, and the revolution would have ended successfully. The lack of respect and humility toward a higher power demonstrated the failure of a rebellion.

Humans are engineered for freedom, and the most powerful weapons to bring about change for liberation are respect and humility. Pedro's deferential fight for equality, Esteban's change into a humble state, and the lack of reverence resulting in failure to emancipate rebels all illustrate the triumph of being modest and courteous. Demonstrating diffidence gains mutual trust and respect, which in turn gains way to newfound justice, equality, and liberation. It is imperative that all people of any society possess these morals to insure their rights to be free and equal.

Narrative Writing (W.9-10.3)

Eli sat with his grandmother who was still sipping her tea. He alienated himself from most people at this family gathering, yet he had always been drawn to her, almost like the wind blew him her way. "Eli, are you not enjoying yourself?"
"All of these people just enjoy temporal things, they never enjoy anything that I do, Elisi." Everyone who revered his grandmother, which was almost anyone who met this young spirit, referred to her as Elisi, or grandmother. She had an esoteric energy, yet everyone was drawn into her deep, sagacious, and audacious eyes. Her seemingly golden orbs told of tales long ago, when her elders still ruled the pure, uninhabited land.
"Come, I know what always cheers you up." She slowly pushed herself out of her chair, as her age was beginning to weaken her body and all the while strengthen her mind. "Let me tell you the story of the spirit of the white wolf," she said, waving her hand into her room filled with healing herbs, chimes, and artwork depicting her Native American heritage. Her sanctuary was anything but immaculate, yet it felt like the safest place on the planet. They sat, equivalent on the floor, while she began the story in her deep, wise voice...
"Long ago, before the people corrupted our land, there was a boy, about your age, maybe 15 or 16. Searching for okahue, the final revelation of true legends, he took on any task, growing in wisdom and strength. Soon, every accomplishment was insufficient, never aiding in his spiritual journey. He became lost, losing faith in not only himself but everyone around him as well. He shouted and ran, frustrated. The wind blew his long hair, lifting his soul and spirit with it. Okahue was irrelevant at that point, when he realized his path. He needn't impress his people or himself, his determination was enough. He became the omnipotent spirit of the white wolf, blowing wind into those who need guidance. Whenever you lose sight of your path, the white wolf will show you the way."
"But Elisi, what really is okahue?" queried Eli.
The wind then blew in through the open window, sounding the ringing chimes. As her hair blew around her, she said "you will find out some day."

2014-2015

Argumentative Essay

Death Penalty: Are Capital Offenses Worth Death?

“The astronomical costs associated with putting a person on death row – including criminal investigations, lengthy trials and appeals – are leading many states to re-evaluate and re-consider having this flawed and unjust system on the books” (Amnesty International). The death penalty is commonly known for its extremities in punishments towards any charged inmate, and has sparked powerful debate and controversy. These legal punishments illustrate inhumanity, and are alone a hurdle between modern people and morality. Capital Punishment should be abolished because of the violation of human rights, injustice to its victims, and its abhorrent executions of a punishment.

Capital punishment denies a convicted person their rights as human beings. “Since 1973, 140 people have been released from death rows throughout the country due to wrongful conviction” (Amnesty International). Basic human rights declare that every human being has a right to live and speak freely if living an innocent life. The 140 people that were released due to their innocence displays that a large amount of people don’t have a voice or say, and were sentenced to a death they didn’t deserve. However, people who support the death penalty believe that the punishment allows the human right of safety to the common people. Although the death of the charged person seems to keep crime off of the streets, it is an illusion of false safety. According to a survey involving academic criminological societies, 88 percent of the experts “rejected the notion that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder” (“Facts About the Death Penalty”). The argument that the death penalty provides safety to citizens is invalid, because it does not suppress other crimes caused by other people. Human rights are obviously not considered when the death penalty is executed.

The death penalty is unjust and unfair to the victims and their families. In Louisiana, a man who faced capital punishment “for 30 years was exonerated and set free” (CNN). Being held for 30 years awaiting death is inhumane, especially because he was also awaiting his innocence to be proven. The killing of human beings by other humans contradicts the idea of “justice” in the justice system. However, supporters of the death penalty oppose this notion by reiterating the definition of justice, which states that it is a fair and just administering of a consequence or reward. Although it is the literal definition of the word, “No exceptional circumstances whatsoever can be invoked to justify torture. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment can never be justified. They are never legal. Even in a state of emergency, there can be no exemption from this obligation” (Hawkins). The termination of a human is not justified or fair because the administrators allow torture, and then subsequently deny responsibility. There comes a point when “justice” becomes unjust and unfair.

The death penalty allows torture that is a crime in itself. Three men from the United States were executed in 2011 by lethal injection and “All three inmates reportedly kept their eyes open long after the sodium thiopental was administered, which indicates the drug was ineffective in sedating them. The inmates would then have experienced excruciating pain, but would have been unable to express it” (Death Penalty Focus). Inmates are supposed to be sedated and unconscious during the administering of the lethal drugs, but that is not always the case. With what is considered as the worst type of demise, the inmate undergoes a painfully slow death that is described to the extreme, which proves its horrendousness. Although this method is painful and slow, some believe that it is a more humane method of execution because it has a less gore and disturbing images. Lethal injection causes “chemical burns and convulsions” (“Death Penalty Facts”) which does indeed have very disturbing images, and causes an exuberant amount of pain. These images are inhumane due to the cruelty inflicted on a living human. Lethal injection and a number of other harsh punishments are extreme and cruel.

The death penalty is an extremely harsh and clear example of any cruel and unusual punishment. It demonstrates a breach of human rights, corruption of justice, and abhorrent methods of assassination. The debate on capital punishment should soon conclude because enough evidence has shown that the penalty is simply cruel and unusual. Capital punishment is extremely transgressional and should be abolished.

Informative Essay

The Joy and Luck in a Mother-Daughter Relationship

“This is how a daughter honors her mother...the pain of the flesh is nothing...you must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother before her. Until there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh” (Tan 41). A mother’s relationship with her daughter is complex, and not in any way easy to be a part of or understand. The relationship starts in the generations before, the lessons and experiences passed on to share wisdom and strength. There is pain and suffering, but that never competes with the joy and luck shared in honoring a beautiful relationship. In the film version of Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club, elements of the author’s original intent are either absent, altered, or emphasized in the film version as shown by the lack of powerful Chinese metaphors, the death of Ying-Ying’s son, and the power of the mothers’ presence.

The Chinese culture enforces many strong metaphors to explain life, most of which failed to make an appearance in the film. At the beginning of the novel, when June Woo talks about her mother’s death, her father states, “‘she had a new idea inside her head… but before it could come out of her mouth, the thought grew too big and burst.’...her friends at the Joy Luck Club said she died like a rabbit: quickly and with unfinished business left behind” (Tan 5). In the film version, it was mentioned that Suyuan died of a cerebral aneurysm, but the metaphors of thought and of a rabbit were not present, which takes away the knowledge of Suyuan’s intelligence and of her importance in future events, like bringing her daughters together. Without the powerful hidden messages of the death, the film did not set the pace for more metaphors in the plot and the viewer did not feel an emotional shock that would leave them to ponder important ideas and symbols like in the novel. Another example of an absence of powerful metaphors occurred during Rose’s chapter, when she relates a story about her brother’s death and states “over and over again, it disappeared, emerged, glistening black, faithfully reporting it had seen Bing and was going back to try to pluck him from the cave...when it came out, it was torn and lifeless...my mother had a look on her face...it was one of complete despair and horror...for being so foolish as to think she could use faith to change fate” (Tan 139). This powerful metaphor was not portrayed in the film, and Bing’s death was not at all mentioned, leaving a gap in the plot. Because of this absence, the viewer does not sense all of the sorrow regarding An Mei’s past that could have potentially given another big lesson to Rose, and a part of her past sorrow is lost as well. In abandoning many of the old Chinese metaphors, the film loses influential parts of the plot and truthful depiction of the novel.

Ying-Ying was married and impregnated at an early age, and her first child’s death was demonstrated in different ways in the film and in the novel. After being abused, she bathed her child, and accidentally drowned him, which led her to say “my spirit had also gone” (Wang, The Joy Luck Club). Her abusive husband robbed  Ying-Ying of her vigor, and what little she had left was installed in her child. Because his death took all of her remaining spirit, she became  a lost soul, and that tragic event would soon influence parts of the plot in the future like teaching her daughter to be strong. In the novel, Ying-Ying decides to have an abortion after separating herself from her husband and states “I took this baby from my womb before it could be born...my body flowed with terrible revenge as the juices of this man’s firstborn son poured from me...my daughter thinks I do not know what it means to not want a baby” (Tan 281). Contrary to the film, Ying-Ying does not mention anything about spirit, but she shows hate for the baby, which changes viewer perspective. The film shows a lost and sorrowful side of Ying-Ying while the novel illustrates a dark and rotting side of her, which can confuse the viewer about Ying-Ying’s past and how it would affect her and her close ones in the future. The different representations of Ying-Ying and her child’s death alter the view of her character and her role in the plot.

All of the mothers in the story have powerful influences on their daughters, both in the novel and in the film. In the movie, Waverly tells her mother “you don’t know the power you have over me, because nothing I ever do can please you” (Wang, The Joy Luck Club). During Waverly’s childhood, she constantly focused on pleasing her mother, which revealed the intensity of expectations and sharp disappointment with Waverly always working to please her mother and being let down. The viewer gets a sense of the power Lindo has in the relationship both in the novel and in the film, and how that power transfers onto her daughter and affects her to make certain decisions that influence the plot. In the novel, Lena’s broken relationship with her husband strikes her mother, which led her to break a vase  in the house, saying “‘fallen down,’ she says simply. She doesn’t apologize. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ I say, and I start to pick up the broken glass shards. ‘I knew it would happen.’ ‘Then why you don’t stop it?’ asks my mother. And it’s such a simple question” (Tan 181). Ying-Ying could see that her daughter’s relationship was already broken, so she took a step forward to show her how broken it already was, using her power to force Lena to contemplate her life decisions thus far. Her simple phrase packed a powerful punch, which was also emphasized in the film, and left Lena to ponder decisions and ultimately choose one with her mother’s influence. All of the daughters experienced a strong presence from their mothers that influenced them to make certain decisions that needed to be made.

In the film version of the novel, key aspects were missing, changed, or highlighted like the old Chinese analogies, Ying-Ying’s son’s tragic fate, and the powerful impacts of the mothers. The novel and the film both illustrated the relationships of four mother-daughter duos in differing and similar ways. Although some aspects were altered, and others stressed, both mediums brought the joy and luck of relationships to life. All mothers and their daughters experience pain and happiness together, and ultimately pass on the legacy of the relationships of the past.

Works Cited

Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Ballantine Books, 1989. Print

The Joy Luck Club. Dir. Wayne Wang. Perf. Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Kieu Chinh. Buena

Vista Pictures, 1993. DVD.

Narrative Writing

The Jailhouse Scene In the Perspective of Tom Robinson (To Kill A Mockingbird)

I couldn't keep my eyes open. My lids, slowly closing, felt heavy and forceful. I hadn't slept for days nor talked for hours, and the loneliness was almost as dreadful as my fear. My mind, as foggy and unkempt as it was, wandered into possible scenarios of my death. I sighed and flipped over, the harsh surface on which I slept gave me a hostile feeling. The dingy air only added to the intolerable heavy sweat I was producing, and the heat, of which I was usually accustomed to, gave way to my increasing restlessness. Lying there, in the jail cell, I could taste the lack of water and food. I could feel the insatiable itchiness of my severely empty stomach and throat, as if the two were one. I couldn't see through the steamy darkness of my cell, but I suddenly heard the engine of a car, and immediately my eyes pried open from their previous dance between closed and halfway there. They gon get me, they gon get me. Fear shocked me into momentary paralyzation, and all I could do was listen and wait.

I didn't know what was worse, listening for the rough voices of my attackers, or waiting for the moment of the attack. At that point, I didn't care, I just wanted to be done, done with everything. Finally, hearing the anticipated footsteps, I sucked in my breath. My only source of defense was silence. Instantly, my fears were assuaged, seeing Atticus, my defender. He turned on the dull light, and my eyes, which had adapted to the seemingly ominous darkness, were scorched with the light. Atticus sat down without saying a word, but I could sense that he knew I was awake. He picked up his newspaper and I noticed that his eyes only scanned the words, he wasn’t really reading. I immediately knew there was gon be trouble.

Soon after Atticus arrived, I heard the roaring engines of the demanding multiple cars, and my relief at Atticus's arrival had vacated. They here Atticus, they here! What we gon do? I didn't dare move a muscle, let alone breathe. This was not the time to reveal myself. I distinguished multiple pairs of shadows and my heart sank. What we gon do, oh lord. My fear was almost as intense as the burning stuffiness of the air, and the men approached. "He in there, Mr. Finch?" someone said.

"He is, and he's asleep. Don't wake him up," answered Atticus. I just about fainted. In an attempt to make my breathing silent, I took short and quiet breaths. As the men began to whisper my sense of hearing faded, and my sight began to blur. The dingy air accumulated in my cell, and the lack of everything I deserved, food, water and freedom, made me nauseous and angry. Suddenly a stir amongst the group of men woke me up from my delirious state. Three children, two of whom I recalled as Atticus's, stumbled in.

"H-ey Atticus!" said the girl. Atticus hesitated and then told the children to go home. After a short argument amongst what I could see as the kids and Atticus, a man grabbed at one of the boys. The girl then yelled "Don't you touch him!" and kicked the man. The short brawl ended when the pleading of Atticus coincided with the pleading of the children. What in the world a they doin here? I wondered what these young kids were doing in the late hours of the night, and why they came here. I then began to wonder what the girl's intentions were when she started to converse with a man she called Mr. Cunningham. I just then realized that my sleep deprived mind had raced too hard, and a growing migraine seemed apparent in the near future. Like before, all I could do was listen and wait.

The girl, Jean Louise as she called herself, had broken up the crowd, with her innocent ignorance. Thank God I thought. The group of men that were the source of my worries were gone. It almost seemed too good to be true. "Mr. Finch?" I asked. "They gone?"

"They've gone," Atticus reassured me. "Get some sleep, Tom. They won't bother you any more." I wanted to cry. Never in my life had I ever been that grateful to a white man. My only hope was that I could be grateful to him for a little while longer.