Essay 13

Cooper Feltes
English 9
Mr. Salsich
February 3, 2011

Integrity:

Be True to Yourself

Integrity is an aspect of human nature that adds the touch of wholeness, respectability truth to a persons life. Integrity, if a person knows how to follow its rules, keeps their personality consistent and moderately predictable. It is a quality that insists that people be true to themselves, stay down a path that is somewhat comfortable for them, and not waste time with unnecessary things. Integrity is a value that can be seen often in Tale of Two Cities, but may be even more noticeable in my life.

The unfathomable integrity in Tale of Two Cities is an aspect of many of the characters that is hard to ignore. We see many cases of honesty and integrity in Mr. Lorry. He is an honest person teeming with integrity, yet his personality has changed over the course of the story. In earlier chapters, he was nothing but "man of business," yet now, he is the protector and leader of the Manette family, a personality change at its most apparent state, yet he is still, on the whole, a truthful person that has just learned a few new things about life. Mr. Carton is a character that has turned into a respectable man over many years. At the beginning of the book, he was nothing but an unhappy person, drifting through time like "a useless piece of furniture", unconcerned with the unfortunate happenings of others. Now, he has turned into an honest man, respectable not only for his new-found dignity, but for his ultimate self-sacrifice to save Lucie's dearest husband. Dr. Manette is known by the reader to have a weird sort of integrity. He has a static(FAST) personality-- a personality of leadership and honesty-- yet is quite unpredictable. When he is in a state of shock or despair, maybe in "need [of his] bench", he has a personality as if his soul had just fallen into a pit, to which there is no escape. His personality is teeming(FAST) with integrity and is respectable when he is upbeat, but as a person, he is not true to himself, letting his feelings get the best of him. Many of the characters can be trusted and respected, and in my life, this is the case as well.

 Integrity is a virtue(FAST) that I see in my life all the time. I myself know that I consistently have a similar personality in all situations I am in. I have been told that I am positive and enthusiastic person. I don't show different sides of my emotions in different environment. I also try to be true to myself, and stay honest with what I do. Not only am I honest, a requirement for being a person of integrity, but I keep promises, and don't kid myself when thinking about the future. I do what I know I can do, and what I know is right, and let that basis(FAST) guide me. I believe that my emotional strength makes me a respectable person. I have never, thankfully, been able to let things get to me; if someone start telling me how dumb I am or how stupid I look, not only does that lessen their image in my mind, but I tend to respect their opinion, though it may be said out of hate. If they were really testing my integrity, they would physically hurt me, instead of throwing words at me. I know that to live an honest and respectable life, integrity is a necessity.

The measurement of integrity in your soul allows people to see who you really are, and appreciate who you really are. To be able to care for yourself, while caring for others shows that you know what your goals are, and will not change your personality to achieve those goals. Stay true to yourself, know what your limitations are, though always try to breach them, and know who you are, and never let someone tell you different. This integrity builds trust with you and your community for the growth and development of your human frame.

Self Assessment:
In this particular writing of mine, I enjoy the heart-felt comments about being yourself and being true to yourself. Yet, after explaining that, I think it is easy to point out in my writing that I struggled to describe integrity beyond that point. I have trouble, in this essay especially, explaining myself properly, choosing the right words carefully, and painting a picture inside the reader's head.
Self grade: B