essay #9 Carton

Cooper Feltes

English 9

Mr. Salsich

November 30, 2010

Emotionally Cornered:

The Path the Emotionally Fearful Must Take

          What opportunities do people have when they hide in their emotional corners, not allowing themselves to live their life to their full potential? These people are destined to live limited lives, not becoming what they want because of this emotional fear. This same emotional fear feeds itself, in many cases becomes the chains that slow and stop people from becoming acceptable citizens of society(alliteration). Many of these people, unfortunately, never find the right path in life, and in Tale of Two Cities, this person is Sydney Carton. 


          Sydney Carton is one of those people who you have to spend a lot of time with to understand. More often Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
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an not, he wants to spend time by himself, and begs the world to leave him alone. He "care[s] for no man, and no man cares for [him]", which shouts that he has spent much time of his life sad, and alone, and away from other people(polysindeton). All he wants is to be "taken no notice of" and to drift past the lives of others, just as he has allowed others drift pass him like a man sitting on the bench of a mall, waiting for someone to ask him what is wrong. Carton has lived most of his life sad, and separated, and languished(FAST), and lonely, but he occasionally makes an attempt to be sympathetic. In chapter thirteen of the book, he tells Lucie that he is "undeserving" and "weak", definitely displaying (alliteration)sorrowful attributes in order to make Lucie feel bad for him. Spending most of his life without much emotional strength, he resorts to making others sympathize(FAST) for his loneliness, which, in his case, probably was not the best approach. Carton does, however, show promising signs of emotional growth. Trying to win Lucie was a hopeful sign that is trying to start a significant life-- a life full of meaning and purpose(appositive). He seems to be taking advice from his colleague and comrade(alliteration), Stryver, one step further, finding somebody to love, instead of finding someone to "take care of [him]." Carton is, on the whole, a misunderstood and growing person.


            To help Mr. Carton, all he needs is some quality advice to guide him down a new path of life, away from his comfort zone. For most of his life, he has been as unnoticed as a "useless peace of furniture." Even Stryver suggested he move on from his habitual(FAST) attitude. Being more social, in contrast with his normal misanthropic mindset, will give him a positive point of view towards his life. I would also suggest Carton get a new job. Although he is good at what he does, it seems to be a depressing occupation for him, and is dragging his life down, holding him like a steel chain holds the yearning prisoner from breaking out of the metal bars that keep him in(Coordinate cumulative with simile). If he had "used his talents better", he might not be in such a sorrowful situation(alliteration). Carton likes to remind people how sorry of a situation he is in, but he needs to find a different way to grab attention. His trip to the manette's house to win Lucie's love, making her aware of all his weaknesses, is testimony(FAST) to the need of a different change of pace in his way of thinking. Hopefully he will, at some point, learn that his way of thinking does not work for him. Carton needs to be social, and strong, and, most of all, smart(polysindeton/alliteration).


          Carton seems to have many good qualities, but, on the whole, needs some improvement. He acts and talks as if he knows he needs help, but doesn't act upon it, he looks and lives(alliteration) as if he hasn't had one hour of fun in his life, and he grabs his love as if he was a desperate man in need of repair. He is, in fact, in need of a repair that will take years, not only to reverse his sorrowful life of being a "lifeless drudge," but to create out of him a proper and acceptable man. The "useless piece of furniture" he hopes to be is not working for him and to find his path in life, he must let go of this idea completely.


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Self Assessment:


I do not like this essay, although I worked hard on it. Since I began to write essays, I knew that I have had trouble writing about text, and I think that shows in this essay. Writing about text, to me, is boring, dissecting a book or examining a sentence, both are miniaturized by my love for writing about feelings and happenings that I can relate to. In this individual essay, I see that I skillfully kept similes and quotes popping up throughout the essay, to keep it stitched together.
Personal grade: A-

Essay #8

Cooper Feltes

English 9

Mr. Salsich

November 16, 2010

Eye in the Sky:

What Are “Sublimer Intelligences” Able to See?

             Ever since humans first started to walk the Earth, the horizon has restricted us from easily seeing what lies beyond its barrier. Because of this, we imagined. We imagined what those points of light were in the night sky, and found out; we imagined skyscrapers, and built them; we imagined technology, and made it real. Now, we look upon what we have done and wonder what others, any sort of being that can have an opinion, maybe a “sublimer intelligence(Dickens,183)”, might have to say about it.

             To gain a sense of what is happening around us, humans rely on some sort of “eye in the sky”. Our vision only allows us to see what is around us, and, unless placed at a high vantage point, is limited by the barrier of the horizon. The only things we can know are restricted to the “rays of light [we] analyze(Dickens,183)”. The universe is bursting(FAST) with striking, explosive, vivid(FAST), and colorful figures, yet to be unseen by the human eye. The “eye in the sky” is the only thing that we can rely on to tell us what these things—creations of the universe that wait and wait for something to notice them (appositive)—are. It is debatable whether the human race will ever be able to discover and understand all of these happenings, however many thousands or millions of years it may take to survey the vast distances of the universe. Maybe the "eye in the sky" limits our  view on purpose, barring us from the amazing spectacles that occur outside of our area of concern, or maybe the people who are able to see the colors among and beyond the stars are too ignorant to realize that they aren't the only thing in the universe that matters.

             Today, many people wonder about what "sublimer intelligences" might think about us, or what they are able to see that we can't. When they study the human race, do they see the population of a prospering, flourishing(FAST), and expanding society, or do they see a dull, dwindling, and dying society? Down here from the surface of our home, the answer is debatable, but up there in the heavens of the universe, the answer might be obvious.  We all hope for the best, namely that we are doing the right thing; the "eye in the sky", though, might be trying to tell us different. The superior beings that dwell in the stars may, in the eyes of some, be trying to push us towards a perfect society-- no crime, no hate, no pain or suffering in sight(coordinate cumulative sentence). This effort is futile. The  utopian(FAST) society that "sublimer intelligences" may be trying to steer us towards is reliant on envisioning the outcome of every decision , and making the choice that will benefit the world, but we can't see the future, so the ideal society that the world and the "eye in the sky" dream of will, in the near future, remain a dream. In due time, the superior beings among the stars will achieve their dream. Maybe( purposeful sentence fragment).

          

               For centuries, people have been relying on an “eye in the sky” to see things beyond their view. That same idea has, over time, enlarged itself to influence the lives of its slaves. Not only can that superior being let us see beyond our vision, but we now depend on it to tell us right from wrong. The “sublimer intelligences” that live among the stars may look upon us in joy or dismay(FAST), and in subtle, almost unnoticeable ways, let us know.

Self Assessment

             This essay, I hope, will be the best I have written. Although making sentences clear and understandable was a challenge for me, especially while writing about such a complicated topic, I think that, since I read over the essay multiple times, I tackled this confusing, ongoing problem. I think that I masterfully exhibited my points in this essay, especially in the second paragraph.

Personal Grade: A+

Essay #7

Cooper Feltes

English 9

Mr. Salsich

November 4, 2010

Peace:

The Contrast Between Creation and Destruction

Peace and war are not the same thing. Though unable to coexist without the other, they tend to destroy each other with an endless process or destruction and creation. The creation part though, is, usually, the most difficult part, forcing many to resort to the opposite. Not a good thing. Ideally, everyone would be building and forming, but in the real world, there are many more people who tear things down than build things up, for the sole reason that decimating things is easier than forming them. This unbalance leads to downfall, which in its path, the long and winding road, devoid of life and movement, drags creation behind it like an army of tiny ants hauling a relatively giant leaf across the forest floor (cumulative simile). In the real world, many people think of themselves as having peaceful personalities. It is debatable whether or not they actually do, for they are not forced into situations with people they hate. Countries, who insist on either really liking each other or being repulsed by each other are forced to live together, can’t really vacate the earth, much like the general population evacuates a room whenever they see someone they don’t like. Thus, it could be said that war’s roots stem from the incapacity for countries to retreat. Creation would be abundant if the political organizations of the world could swallow their pride and back away--leave all they have worked for(verb appositive)-- when another country pressured them. Unfortunately, this is the real world, and political borders don’t shift around. And so, this real world hosts all the war and the occasional creation that the human race has to offer, and while the population dreams of peace, harmony, and silence, groups, organizations, towns, cities, states, and countries fight on, and only dream of the luxury of not having to worry when the next "bomb" will drop. 


The love that Mr. Carton and Charles Darnay share for Lucie is causing unrest in the plot of Tale of Two Cities. The peace of the Manette family has been unsettled temporarily, as all peace is every now and then. If not for Mr. Carton, Darnay and Lucie would live happily ever after, but unfortunately, the world doesn’t allow for “easy love”. Fighting for the ones you love takes up so much of your time, but if you have won the fight, you know it was worth it. If the rage of war was too much for you and you pulled out of the race, you will wish you had never started, and wallow in the joy of your former competitor. Darnay and Carton are twisted in this scheme and will fight-- level everything in their path(verb appositive)-- for the love of the same person, and after the climax of the war, one will be victorious, will be peaceful. The other, not so much. The loser of the battle starts a civil war in his mind, a war that consumes him, destroys him, and ravages him, like a clumsy animal parading around a minefield; one sensitive nerve touched, and the landscape starts to dissolve around him, taking him with it(cumulative simile). 


The poem we have been reading, A Rainy Morning by Ted Kooser, offers the same type of peace as well, only this time with two different examples. The woman in the wheel chair is struggling with herself. Now, it is a battle between her mental strength and the wheelchair. Whichever gives out first will be conquered by the one that doesn't. If the woman's emotional power prevails, she will guide the wheelchair and tell it what it will do and will live a peaceful life. If the wheelchair turns out victorious, she limits her life, letting the strain of the chair pull her life down in an unstoppable spiral, so much so that she constantly regrets her past actions, whatever they may be.
The peace in oneself is a reflection of their minds, not their bodies.

Self Assessment--------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking at this essay, I realize that I need to say what I mean. Just speaking I have trouble with this, but in writing, it seems, contrast to what it should be, harder than it needs to be. In this particular essay, I loved the "clumsy animal in a minefield" sentence. I think, with this simile, I nailed the jackpot of my writing creativity. The last paragraph however, really was a little bland and could use a little more work and more "zing" and "pep".


Personal Grade: A-