Pain Leads to Growth Essay Example for Free

Pain Leads to Growth Essay (Thesis Statement) In the Olive Ann Burns novel Cold Sassy Tree, Will Tweedy grows from a somewhat thoughtless fourteen-year-old boy to a more mature and compassionate person. (SO 1) Initially, Will acts in a capricious manner, often hurting people without really understanding the effect of his actions. (SO 2) However, when Will encounters some hurtful experiences and grows from them, he starts to see situations from a new perspective. (SO 3) Subsequently, Will evolves into someone who cares for others and learns to think for himself. (Concluding or Transitional Sentence) Much growth occurs in Will because he realizes that there will be less hurt if people are more accepting of each other. (Transition + TS 1/SO 1) Early in his life, Will is somewhat of a prankster, not taking into consideration the feelings of the people he might be hurting. (Trans. + MS 1) In order to release his anger, Will often uses revenge. (C+Q) Grandpa Tweedy provokes such revenge when he does not allow Will to take the fish he catches off of the hook because it is Sunday. In retaliation, Will plans to give his Grandpa a hornet chase. Will recalls Giving him just long enough to get settled good, [he] let[s] fly a rock and it hit that tin roof like a gunshot. Grandpa burst out of there in a cloud of hornet [ ¦] He know Id done it (107). (Analysis) Will probably does not even care that his Grandpa Tweedy could get stung. Because he does not like him, his welfare does not matter. Therefore, Will just evens things out. (Trans. + MS 2) Read more: No Pain No Gain Meaning Furthermore, Will does not have a problem making up lies about others in order to get out of an uncomfortable situation. When Will goes on a camping trip with his friends, he feels as if he has to change the subject away from the controversial relationship between his Grandpa Blakeslee and his new young wife, Miss Love. Will chooses his Aunt Loma, a rival of his, to humiliate: I wasnt too worried about Aunt Loma. Those were whacking good stories, if I do say so myself [ ¦] Anyhow, it would be worth a whipping to see Aunt Lomas face after she heard (184). Will not only praises his great ability to lie, but thinks that his punishment will be worth the pleasure he will get from seeing his aunt upset. He does not take into account how he would feel in her place or the  embarrassment he may cause. Moreover, Will does not always seem to respect authority. For example, Will gets into a fight at school with a mill boy, Hosie Roach, and his punishment is to chop wood for Mr. Billy Whisnant, a man ailing from rheumatism. Will takes this opportunity to defy authority and to show disrespect for Mr. Whisnant: What wed done, haw, and like I say it was my idea we had cut every stick exactly four inches too long for the Whisnants kitchen stove (267). Will does not take into account that Mr. Whisnant cannot chop wood for himself. Helping him would have been a kind and charitable thing to do. Instead, he feels that he is acting smart by finding a way to defy his punishment. Will does not try to be cruel; he does not realize the impact that his actions can have on others. When he plays a joke on someone, makes up stories, or acts defiantly, he never looks at the situation from the other persons perspective.

The Scopes Monkey Trial Essay -- Clarence Darrow, teaching evolution

Ever since science began to explain the previously unexplainable, it has caused conflicts with religion. The Scopes â€Å"Monkey† Trial of Dayton, Tennessee was one of the most talked about trials in history because it was one of the first and most publicized times that this conflict occurred. The trial showed the schism between the faithful fundamentalists and the newly formed group of evolutionists. Although the jury was reminded that they only had to decide if Scopes had broken the law, the verdict was seen as much more than that. For one of the first times in history, it seemed as if the jury had to choose either religion or evolution. For the time being, there could not be both. The Scopes â€Å"Monkey† Trial revealed the ongoing conflict with faith and science and set a precedent for decades of conflict to come. The â€Å"Roaring Twenties† was a time period known for its innovation. Skirts got shorter, teens got bolder, and Prohibition was in full swing. These changes also gave way to a time period full of religious conflict. â€Å"In [religious] minds, Prohibition had always been about more than alcohol. It represented an effort to defend traditional American values against the growing influence of an urban, cosmopolitan culture† (Gillon 152). Charles Darwin had published his book, The Evolution of Species, in 1859 and The Descent of Man in 1871, detailing the evolution of man from ape-like creatures. When A Civic Biology, a biology textbook containing information on evolution, was published in 1914, teachers around the country began using it in their courses. By the twenties, these books had sparked all sorts of new ideas regarding the origin of man as well as opposition due to the creature from which he claimed we evolved and to the disagr... ...: Remembering the Scopes Monkey Trial : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 20 May 2010. . France, Mary. ""A Year of Monkey War": The Anti-Evolution Campaign and the Florida Legislature." The Florida Historical Quarterly 54.2 (1975): 156-77. JSTOR. Web. 19 May 2010. Gillon, Steven M. "Scopes: The Battle Over America's Soul." Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America. New York: Three Rivers, 2006. Print. Scopes, John. "Reflections on the Scopes Trial by John Thomas Scopes." UMKC School of Law. Web. 19 May 2010. . "The Scopes Trial: Clarence Darrow." UMKC School of Law. Web. 20 May 2010. .

Personal Analysis on “the Step Not Taken” by Paul D’Angelo

An essay that I will be examining through the framework of a monomyth archetype is â€Å"The Step Not Taken† by Paul D'Angelo in which he recollects his thoughts and emotions after a Toronto-based event in which he is faced with a young man in an elevator who suddenly and without provocation breaks down in tears, thus putting the author's public persona that he carries for strangers at odds with his inner ego and sense of social self-worth. The questions that the author has explored in the essay were â€Å"Why has the man started crying? , â€Å"What should or could have the narrator done to help? † and â€Å"What might the man's reaction have been if the narrator have done anything differently? †. In this essay, I will assign the author a role of a classic archetypical hero and explore his inner journey that began due to broken social behavioural norms through the grander prism of a monomyth – first paragraph will shine a light on author's separation fro m the ordinary, the sudden actions of a stranger that have unwittingly propelled the hero to partake an deep inner journey and re-examine his inner values.In the second paragraph I will examine author's inner struggle that is present throughout the entire essay and lastly, Next, I will overview author's return and self-balancing reintegration during which he has time to reflect and ponder what could have gone differently in the aforementioned encounter. The closing paragraph will deal with more personal aspects of the essay and examine author's thoughts and epiphany when viewed through a humane and empathetical social position rather than a tale of an archetypical grandiose hero on a spiritual and emotional journey. Also read The Story of an Eyewitness Essay AnalysisThe initial story begins with a quite an ordinary event that is common to all city-dwellers – an elevator ride with a stranger. The author at first assumes a role of a neutral observer in ordinary realm, perhaps maybe with a gist of Sherlock Holmes-like ability to notice finer details on strangers. After a description of the fellow elevator rider, we are introduced to the event that thrusts the narrator in the realm of adventure or uncertainty.While it would be rather rude to perceive a sad and emotional non-fictional encounter in which a grown man suddenly breaks down into tears as a call for an adventure, the narrator has positioned himself as a hero of the story who is faced with a certain emotional obstacle that he must overcome. We, as impartial readers, may assume that as soon as the hero has in any way, shape or form internally accepted the event that has thrust him out of his ordinary environment into the realm of new experiential learning, a quest to return home with some sort of new knowledge or experience has begun.As soon as the hero has accepted his quest, we can fully affirm that the monomythical act of separation has occurred and the hero has began his experiential journey. In Paul D'Angelo's essay, his initial â€Å"benevolent guide† that has placed him on his journey, and the one that he chose to call upon when faced with an unusual circumstance, is surprisingly enough, a set of ephemeral rules and regulations that he called â€Å"typical Toronto elevator etiquette†. These guidelines, if personified, would perfectly fill the niche of a magical goddess being or a guide that many classic heroes would rely upon in their decision making process.After the initial unspoken interaction between two strangers in the elevator, the narrator has been tasked with accepting his quest of something I would call a â€Å"reactionary†, as in, the person who reacts to an irritant, if I were to use a scientific lingo. At this point, whether the narrator liked it or not, he has fully accepted his quest of deciding which social role he would play – a good Samaritan who expresses some sort of empathy to a fellow human being in distress or an actor who chooses to pretend that nothing unusual is happening and carries on with his â€Å"act† that he has planned beforehand – leaving the elevator car at floor ten.That is, in many ways, his first and final test on his very short journey from floor one to floor ten. In the timespan of seconds, the hero had to decide whether or not he will give in his â€Å"shadow† and will play it safe by ignoring the troubled man or whether he will become an empathetical being who would share the pain of a stranger. Lastly, we are presented with myriad of questions that the author has posed to himself throughout and after the entire ordeal. It would seem to me that it is at this stage the author has entered his â €Å"inner sanctum† where he could reflect on his social quest.Halfway through the essay the narrator states that â€Å"the few people I have told about the incident all say I did the proper thing† which suddenly shifts the entire story away from the elevator scene and somewhere safe where our hero had time to think and reflect on his experience. This is the end point of his journey, as he has returned home where he he had assumed a position of a more experienced individual who has acquired new social wisdom and has shared his knowledge to others, a final part of the monomythical cycle.This entire journey and reflective questions has reminded me of a inner journey undertaken by Jack London's White Fang, where the story follows a wolf pup who explores his surroundings and when taken into care by humans, tries to learn the humans ways and similar to our elevator hero, tries to figure out whether to show empathy to another being's suffering or stay safe and at home. While there is no question that a emotional journey did take place, it is hard to say whether the protagonist has actually completed his social quest or not.Sure, there were many questions that he has raised to himself, but they were never fully answered. To me, numerous questions without clear answers show that the narrator has not fully integrated the experience that has caused him to raise the concerns about himself or the weeping stranger. Author's final epiphany regarding doing the â€Å"right thing† and not the â€Å"big-city thing† reflects back to the idea of taking the â€Å"elevator etiquette† as his guide at the time of need.Sure, there are time where one needs to play the ignorance card, but thinking that feeling unempathic towards your fellow commuter is something that big cities are abundant with is a very wrong stance to take, in my opinion. Perhaps, it is a â€Å"men don't cry† stereotype that was at play here and it is very much debatable wheth er one should keep up the image or try to break down such notions.While such stereotype is still relevant to today's world, I disagree with the author that there is a clear cut answer as to what he should have done in his encounter, but the fact that he did write his essay shows to me one important thing – he did want to show some sort of support to the stranger in need. It is just that in modern day and age, we more often than not have too little time and disposition to thoughtfully and timely react to an event that might be only several seconds long, but may haunt us for a lifetime.

Movie Review Jekyll Hyde The Musical - 1661 Words

Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts Summer 2014 High School Reading Drama Report Form: Alexandra Brinkley 12th Grade AP Literature Maddoux Play Title: Jekyll Hyde The Musical Author: The whole show is based on â€Å"Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde† by Robert Louis Stevenson. The musical lyrics were written by Frank Wildhorn, Leslie Bricusse, and Steven Cuden. The musical book was written by Leslie Bricusse. Category/Genre: Drama/Horror Where did you watch this play? I watched this show at Casa Maà ±ana Theatre in Fort Worth, TX. Setting: (time/place/historical context) The show is set in the late 19th century century in London, England. The show is mainly set in Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory, The Red Rat, and in the Carew household. Characters At least 3: name/physical description/role in the story line 1. Dr. Henry Jekyll: Dr. Henry Jekyll is the main character of the show. He is a doctor who has made his life goal to separate the good and evil within the human nature. He is Emma Carew’s fiancà ©, Utterson’s best friend, and a man just trying to do good in the world. He transforms into Edward Hyde after taking a formula that went very, very wrong. 2. Lucy Harris: Lucy Harris is a prostitute who works at â€Å"The Red Rat,† a bar for men. She is kind hearted, unlike many of her coworkers. She and Jekyll have chemistry and become friends after he visits the bar on the night of his bachelor party. Lucy falls in love with Jekyll after he shows compassion to her. She is a beautiful womanShow MoreRelatedThe Studio System Essay14396 Words   |  58 Pages1920, Adolph Zukor, head of Paramount Pictures, over the decade of the 1920s helped to fashion Hollywood into a vertically integrated system, a set of economic innovations which was firmly in place by 1930. For the next three decades, the movie industry in the United States and the rest of the world operated by according to these principles. Cultural, social and economic changes ensured the demise of this system after the Second World War. A new way to run Hollywood was Read MoreFrankenstein Study Guide14107 Words   |  57 Pagesand many movie stills and film clips. †¢ Frankenstein: The Art and Legends (Michael Callis) makes connections between art, literature, and scientific achievements of the period. Audiocassettes To support students’ reading skills, have them listen to a tape recording of each chapter before they read on their own. Occasionally, have them read as they listen. †¢ Frankenstein on eight cassettes (Books on Tape, 1984) Music Copyright  © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Both musical and literary