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

Essay 13

Cooper Feltes
January 31, 2011

TS Integrity keeps a person whole and true
CM ensures their personality in consistent
CM quality- makes them true to themselves
CS makes a keeps them in balance and a whole person


TS Integrity in To2C
SD Mr. Lorry
CM used to be a “man of buisness”, now, a protecter of the family
CM treats everyone the same, but changes his attitude to a more emotional one
SD Mr. Carton
CM keeps to his word, and does what he thinks is right
CM though pretty much killing himself, he is aware, and making a conscious decision, and keeping his word
SD Dr. Manette
CM wierd sort of integrity, same personality/unpredictable
CM does the right thing, but switches personalities
CS makes the characters “whole” and trusted


TS Integrity in my life
SD stay the same personality
CM positive and enthusiastic to every person I see (not selective)
CM no personality changes in different environments
SD True to myself
CM i keep promises, don't kid myself
CM I do what I think is right, and let that guide me
SD emotional strength
CM I keep my head up when I’m put down
CM don’t let other people get to me, they cant bring me down
CS i try to live a balances life with integrity being important


TS integrity lets people see who you really are and appreciate it
CM keeping true to your own needs, while catering to those of others
CM staying true to yourself and keeping your head up
CS builds trust with everyone

Essay #12

Cooper Feltes
English 9
Mr. Salsich
January 25, 2011

Circles:

The Connection of Old Memories to New Ones

          TS Life is one giant circle. CM At no point in the process of life does one thing start without ending, give without taking, or challenge without rewarding. CM The circle of life closes all doors that are opened and makes sure that it returns to all creatures what it took from them. CS In Tale of Two Cities and my life, the world curves itself to reconnect old memories to new ones and to make experiences whole.

          TS In Tale of Two Cities, many themes have been reoccurring to bring the story together. SD One of these themes is colors, namely the color red. CM The red wine or the blood that Dickens uses again and agian returns whenever something like La Guillotine, murderous and brutal, unrelenting and catastrophic, forceful and devilish, a killer and a butcher,  is mentioned or whenever it is in use (parallelism/cumulative sentence). CM The use of red throughout the book usually refers to death or pain, as people "turn to blood." SD The evil that people commit   keeps the reader reminded of the suffering of the French people. CM The torturous prosecution of innocent Charles shows the relentless(FAST) mindset of the revolutionaries. CM A little earlier in the book, we saw the unrelenting attitude of the Marqui as he ran over a small child, worrying more of his horses than of the little child. SD Another reoccurring theme is short, happy scenes. CM One of these happy moments includes Charles temporarily reuniting with Lucie. CM Only for a few hours was he able to be in her presence before three men came to capture him again, quickly ending the happy scene. CS Many of these themes repeat themselves again and again to reconnect memories of past chapters to make a circle in the book.

            TS Circles not only are prevalent in many books, but they also are common in my life. SD The tides of my life are in  constant motion, my spirits lifting and falling again, in an unending tidal movement. CM When I am feeling sad, my brain recollects moment in my past when I was feeling down to sow my memories into a circle. CM When I am feeling happy, similarly, my brain falls back on other times when I was happy in the past. SD Liveliness(FAST) also reoccurs often in my life. CM When I am upbeat and smiling, other people tend to feel the same way, and subsequently people they see later in the day feel similarly. CM When I am feeling down, the smile of another person, that may have originated from the smile I gave to someone earlier, creates a never-ending circle of smiles that ripples throughout the world. SD On the other hand, pain is something that digs up old memories of past struggles. CM Only when I am struggling in life do I recall these memories.CM When pain is halted, and comfortable living resumes, these memories, memories of misfortune, of mourning, of depression, and of distress (alliteration) are packed up again in my box of memories, only to be opened again when I am struggling and in need of them(parallelism/cumulative sentence). CS These repeating themes that recall memories in my past help me get through life.

             TS Circles in the world are everywhere. CM These circles sow together the stitches of memories, and tie together experiences. CM The connections we make with past experiences keep these memories alive, and let our past be remembered, where as otherwise, they would be forgotten. CS These ties keep the past alive, and help create a perfect circle connecting our past and our present.