Essays
Timed Writing 2 (Choice) Odyssey
The timed writing that I did was about the Odyssey and another movie called O Brother Where Art Thou... My prompt was to find the similarities and differences between these two movies. My thesis was that the similarities in these two movies are that both main characters have too much pride in themselves and that both of them have a good sense of leadership. In this essay I received a 2 because I didn't follow the terms of a paragraph correctly. For instance, in a body paragraph you must have a topic sentence, concrete detail, commentary, commentary, (repeat), and a closer. I didn't follow this so I got a 2. I also wrote a lot in past tense when I needed to write in present tense. I need to improve on following the terms and writing a specific way. My goals are definitely to get a higher grade such as a 3 or maybe even above. Also to just improve on it in general.
Timed writing 3 (CHOIce) A LONG WAY GONE
The prompt I chose for this book was how did the main character change? My thesis was Ismael changed from an innocent boy to a blood thirsty killer, then a killer to an innocent young man. The grade I received on this essay was a 2. I got this grade because I really wasn't use to the structure of the essay. I used a lot of past tense and personal pronouns, which I wasn't supposed to use. But for the strengths on this essay I didn't really have a problem with grammar and spelling. I obviously still need help not using a lot of past tense and personal pronouns. Next timed writing I want to get a higher realistic grade like a 3 or 4 and to get to use to the structure more.
FORmal ESSAY #2 -Into The Wild Reflection
Our prompt for this essay was what people could learn from this book. My thesis was that Chris and other people around him change through positive and negative experiences. For this essay I got a 3. I still had a lot of problems with past tense and personal pronouns but not as much as I had before. I still need to work on that to stop using it fully and to make my commentary make more sense. I want to get a 3+ or a 4 and to follow the structure.
ITW ESSAy
A Change For the Better and For the Worst
Sometimes it’s not about reaching a destination on a journey, but the actual journey itself and experiences you have when getting there. In Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild, a young adventurous man named Chris McCandless goes on a journey to Alaska. Even though he is well educated and very intelligent, he changes his name and chooses the life of a tramp and travels all over the U.S. Along the journey, he experiences life changing moments and things he only sees once in a lifetime. Chris McCandless’ story teaches readers that when doing what he loves, he has both positive and negative experiences that change him and even the people around him.
Chris has positive experiences that change him and others for the better. For example, Chris leaves his regular life and experiences the wild and he notes, “Malnutrition and the road have taken a toll on his body. Over 25 pounds lost, but his spirit is soaring.” (Pg 37) This shows that changing his life and leaving his family, school, and other pressures makes him even happier than he was before. This also shows that by living off the land, he becomes more open minded. In addition, Chris gives
Ronald Franz his output on life, “Don’t settle down, and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon. You are still going to live a long time.” (Pg 57) Ronald has been missing out on his life and he doesn't even realize it until he meets Chris. Chris believes that if Ronald is willing to do different things he will eventually find something he loves. Chris teaches readers that people change through good experiences.
On Chris’ journey, there are negative experiences in which he changes. For example, Chris almost dies on his canoe and writes in his journal, “The oar breaks. Alex has one spare oar. He calms himself, if loses oar is dead. This incident led Alexander to decide to abandon canoe and return north.” (Pg 36) This shows that Chris stays away from always trying to do things on the spot and being very stubborn. This also shows that he knew what his limit was when in a situation of extreme danger and being very close to death. In addition, Chris figures out his father is having an affair with his mother and Krakauer writes, “After Chris unearthed the particulars of Walt’s divorce, two years passed before his anger to leak to the surface, but leak eventually it did. The boy could not pardon the mistakes his father made.” (Pg 122) This shows that his anger had building up for a long time and that he could no longer forgive or trust his father. This also shows that just being with his father kept on pushing him to leave his home and forget all his pressures. These negative experiences change Chris.
Chris teaches readers that while doing what he loves, positive and negative experiences change him and other people around him. Through Chris’ journey there are positive experiences that happen to him and others. Chris forgets life’s pressures and his friend Ronald Franz learns the true meaning of life. There are also negative experiences during Chris’ journey where people around him and even himself change drastically. Chris becomes more cautious after a close call with death and looks at his father as if he is betraying him. Sometimes you have an experience where you come close to death, see something so beautiful and pure, or something simple like being with friends. Whether it’s an amazing or dreadful experience, it’s these experiences that can change a person’s perspective on life and even the way that person lives.
Sometimes it’s not about reaching a destination on a journey, but the actual journey itself and experiences you have when getting there. In Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild, a young adventurous man named Chris McCandless goes on a journey to Alaska. Even though he is well educated and very intelligent, he changes his name and chooses the life of a tramp and travels all over the U.S. Along the journey, he experiences life changing moments and things he only sees once in a lifetime. Chris McCandless’ story teaches readers that when doing what he loves, he has both positive and negative experiences that change him and even the people around him.
Chris has positive experiences that change him and others for the better. For example, Chris leaves his regular life and experiences the wild and he notes, “Malnutrition and the road have taken a toll on his body. Over 25 pounds lost, but his spirit is soaring.” (Pg 37) This shows that changing his life and leaving his family, school, and other pressures makes him even happier than he was before. This also shows that by living off the land, he becomes more open minded. In addition, Chris gives
Ronald Franz his output on life, “Don’t settle down, and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon. You are still going to live a long time.” (Pg 57) Ronald has been missing out on his life and he doesn't even realize it until he meets Chris. Chris believes that if Ronald is willing to do different things he will eventually find something he loves. Chris teaches readers that people change through good experiences.
On Chris’ journey, there are negative experiences in which he changes. For example, Chris almost dies on his canoe and writes in his journal, “The oar breaks. Alex has one spare oar. He calms himself, if loses oar is dead. This incident led Alexander to decide to abandon canoe and return north.” (Pg 36) This shows that Chris stays away from always trying to do things on the spot and being very stubborn. This also shows that he knew what his limit was when in a situation of extreme danger and being very close to death. In addition, Chris figures out his father is having an affair with his mother and Krakauer writes, “After Chris unearthed the particulars of Walt’s divorce, two years passed before his anger to leak to the surface, but leak eventually it did. The boy could not pardon the mistakes his father made.” (Pg 122) This shows that his anger had building up for a long time and that he could no longer forgive or trust his father. This also shows that just being with his father kept on pushing him to leave his home and forget all his pressures. These negative experiences change Chris.
Chris teaches readers that while doing what he loves, positive and negative experiences change him and other people around him. Through Chris’ journey there are positive experiences that happen to him and others. Chris forgets life’s pressures and his friend Ronald Franz learns the true meaning of life. There are also negative experiences during Chris’ journey where people around him and even himself change drastically. Chris becomes more cautious after a close call with death and looks at his father as if he is betraying him. Sometimes you have an experience where you come close to death, see something so beautiful and pure, or something simple like being with friends. Whether it’s an amazing or dreadful experience, it’s these experiences that can change a person’s perspective on life and even the way that person lives.
SOcial justice issue -Reflection
Before we wrote this research paper, our teacher said it had to be four pages or more. At first I thought it was going to be really hard and I thought that I wouldn't be able to finish it. When we were actually writing the essay, there were times where it was really hard and really easy. The parts that were really hard was when I realized that the information I found couldn't help me and I didn't get good information. There were also times when I couldn't even think of anything to write. The easy parts were when I actually had good information and I could use it. The essays that I wrote before this were almost the same. They had the same structure and this is what also made it easy. This prepared me for the essay. For the essay our prompt was: "Using the research you have gathered over the past several weeks, write a 4 page research paper explaining the causes, effects, and potential solutions of the social justice issue you have determined to be of high priority." My thesis was, "In order to get rid of this problem, we must speak out and take action." For 10th grade, my goal is to be able to write more professionally and correctly.
Social Justice Issue Essay
Racism: A Virus Being Spread
For as long as people could remember racism has been one of the biggest issues in the United States. It has spread into almost everything in people’s everyday lives, from the public education, the jobs system, and even more. Some people go as far to create violence and harm others through racist acts. They will often find a person of different color or ethnicity and cause harm towards them just because of their color or race. Racism is prominent between Blacks and Whites but every color and race within the United States is affected by it. For instance in the job system, white people are twice as likely to get a job than a
person who is of different color. This also includes getting a job interview, colored people are less likely to get a job interview just by their color and sometimes even what their name sounds like. For example, if a person has a stereotypical Black or Indian name such as Jamal or Muhammad, they are less likely to get the job interview compared to other people. (news.bbc.co.uk) This is the same for public or private education, people will often say the white students are more likely to graduate than colored students. (www.eraseracismny.org) Racism has even spread into the law enforcement. Many police officers will pull over and question a black man because he looks “suspicious.” (Egan, 1998) Even the TSA in airports will pull in Middle Eastern looking people for questioning because they have the same features as a terrorist. (Shah, 2010) Racism has spread into almost everything in the United States. In order to get rid of this problem once and for all we must speak out and take action.
Racism is a huge problem today but many people do not even know how it started. There are multiple reasons, but one main reason is that it is passed down generation through generation, either by parents, history, etcetera. For instance, after the terrorist attacks on the U.S in 2001, security concerns increased within airports. (Anup, 2010) This may sound like a positive thing but the people that were being targeted were Muslims or any Middle Eastern looking person. Basically any person who had a turban, beard, and dark colored skin. It is clear that not only did the security concerns grow within airports, racial profiling and discrimination grew as well. People immediately felt hostility towards “terrorist” looking people. Racism was a huge issue even before the terrorist attack in 9/11. For example, during the years of 1880 through 1940, according to
black theologians Charlie Cone, an estimated number of 5,000 black men and women were lynched. (Blake, 2012) These lynching parties were considered to be “festive affairs” to white people. White women and children would cut off the ears of the lynched black men and women and keep them as souvenirs for themselves. This shows that many white families encouraged racism. The parents would pass it down to their children encouraging and teaching them that it was okay to be racist. Once a child or children knows that being racist is okay, they will keep on doing racist things. They will eventually pass it down to their own children and it will keep on going generation through generation, like a domino effect. Racism today is definitely not as harsh and cruel as it was in the past, but we still see a lot of violence and crimes today that are related to racism. It was a huge problem back then and it still is a huge problem now in the present.
Racism is a big issue and many people are affected by it. Each person has a different reaction when they experience racism. It doesn't matter if they experience it personally or if they see it happening to someone else, there is one thing they all share in common. They are tired of it and want it stop. On March 22, 2012, three white men murdered an African-American man. (www.fbi.gov) According to Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, “Hate crimes have a devastating impact on families and communities, and every sector of our community has a role to play in helping to ensure that no person is targeted for violence because of who they are, what they look or what they believe.” It is clear that not only the family of the murdered man is feeling grief, so is the whole community and neighborhood. In addition, Thomas E. Perez also says ,“We need to ensure that no person is targeted for violence,” he is indicating that not only black people are targeted for racist violence, but every color and race is being targeted as well. Racism can spread anywhere, but it has even permeated the branch of the government that is supposed to protect the people: the law enforcement.
There are many examples of how the law enforcement is influenced or motivated by racism. For example, in a wealthy community called Mercer Island, Washington, black people living there are more likely to get pulled over by the cops (Egan, 1998). As this started happening more often, more and more complaints emerged. This illustrates that Mercer Island’s law enforcement sees black people as being suspicious or a threat just because of their color. It is important to note that the law enforcement in this community is dominantly white. The population of Mercer Island is mostly white, so black people there are considered as a “threat.” Racial profiling, as in this example, is not a problem that is isolated to Mercer Island. The practice of racial profiling is a problem not only in the United States, but nationwide. Recent examples, such as the case of
Trayvon Martin, demonstrate how much of a problem judging people based on their skin color still is. Since racism is such a big issue in this country, it is important that more is done to address it.
Although racism is still trying to be stopped, there is still more that needs be done to stop it. For instance, the Southern Poverty Law Center tracked 18 racist and hate groups and were able to shut those groups down. (www.utsandiego.com). This
demonstrates, that there are organizations that work on stopping racist groups. This also shows that more than one organization can help in the battle against racism. The Southern Poverty Law Center was able to stop 18 racist groups, with
more than one organization helping out, even more than 18 racist groups can be stopped. While there are multiple things being done to stop violent racist groups, there is also more being done to stop racism in the school system. For example, the organization ERASE RACISM is creating a system in which the public high schools in Long Island are racially and ethnically diverse. A system in where there are multiple races in one classroom. (www.eraseracismny.org) This portrays that even kids can be influenced by racism and it is important to note that they do not get influenced by it. In addition, kids of multiple ethnicity can engage with each other and there will be a greater chance of having less racism. If they are against racism,they can spread the word and influence others to be less racist. Once this happens racism can finally end. Even though racism is such a big problem, it happens everywhere everyday. Since racism is a big issue, it is important that people continue stopping it.
People need to speak out and take action in order to stop racism once and for all. Racism has been such a big problem in history with so much racist acts and violence that it even influences what happens in the United States and the rest of the world today. Not everyone may be a victim of racism personally but everyone is affected by it. It affects communities, neighborhoods, and families, but sometimes it even affects the law enforcement. The law enforcement is meant to protect the people against anything but sometimes they are influenced by racism and use it either physically or verbally against people. Even though there is racism almost everywhere, there are many people and organizations that are against racism and are trying to end it. The more open minded and informed people are about racism, they will know how negative it is and will be more motivated to stop it.
For as long as people could remember racism has been one of the biggest issues in the United States. It has spread into almost everything in people’s everyday lives, from the public education, the jobs system, and even more. Some people go as far to create violence and harm others through racist acts. They will often find a person of different color or ethnicity and cause harm towards them just because of their color or race. Racism is prominent between Blacks and Whites but every color and race within the United States is affected by it. For instance in the job system, white people are twice as likely to get a job than a
person who is of different color. This also includes getting a job interview, colored people are less likely to get a job interview just by their color and sometimes even what their name sounds like. For example, if a person has a stereotypical Black or Indian name such as Jamal or Muhammad, they are less likely to get the job interview compared to other people. (news.bbc.co.uk) This is the same for public or private education, people will often say the white students are more likely to graduate than colored students. (www.eraseracismny.org) Racism has even spread into the law enforcement. Many police officers will pull over and question a black man because he looks “suspicious.” (Egan, 1998) Even the TSA in airports will pull in Middle Eastern looking people for questioning because they have the same features as a terrorist. (Shah, 2010) Racism has spread into almost everything in the United States. In order to get rid of this problem once and for all we must speak out and take action.
Racism is a huge problem today but many people do not even know how it started. There are multiple reasons, but one main reason is that it is passed down generation through generation, either by parents, history, etcetera. For instance, after the terrorist attacks on the U.S in 2001, security concerns increased within airports. (Anup, 2010) This may sound like a positive thing but the people that were being targeted were Muslims or any Middle Eastern looking person. Basically any person who had a turban, beard, and dark colored skin. It is clear that not only did the security concerns grow within airports, racial profiling and discrimination grew as well. People immediately felt hostility towards “terrorist” looking people. Racism was a huge issue even before the terrorist attack in 9/11. For example, during the years of 1880 through 1940, according to
black theologians Charlie Cone, an estimated number of 5,000 black men and women were lynched. (Blake, 2012) These lynching parties were considered to be “festive affairs” to white people. White women and children would cut off the ears of the lynched black men and women and keep them as souvenirs for themselves. This shows that many white families encouraged racism. The parents would pass it down to their children encouraging and teaching them that it was okay to be racist. Once a child or children knows that being racist is okay, they will keep on doing racist things. They will eventually pass it down to their own children and it will keep on going generation through generation, like a domino effect. Racism today is definitely not as harsh and cruel as it was in the past, but we still see a lot of violence and crimes today that are related to racism. It was a huge problem back then and it still is a huge problem now in the present.
Racism is a big issue and many people are affected by it. Each person has a different reaction when they experience racism. It doesn't matter if they experience it personally or if they see it happening to someone else, there is one thing they all share in common. They are tired of it and want it stop. On March 22, 2012, three white men murdered an African-American man. (www.fbi.gov) According to Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, “Hate crimes have a devastating impact on families and communities, and every sector of our community has a role to play in helping to ensure that no person is targeted for violence because of who they are, what they look or what they believe.” It is clear that not only the family of the murdered man is feeling grief, so is the whole community and neighborhood. In addition, Thomas E. Perez also says ,“We need to ensure that no person is targeted for violence,” he is indicating that not only black people are targeted for racist violence, but every color and race is being targeted as well. Racism can spread anywhere, but it has even permeated the branch of the government that is supposed to protect the people: the law enforcement.
There are many examples of how the law enforcement is influenced or motivated by racism. For example, in a wealthy community called Mercer Island, Washington, black people living there are more likely to get pulled over by the cops (Egan, 1998). As this started happening more often, more and more complaints emerged. This illustrates that Mercer Island’s law enforcement sees black people as being suspicious or a threat just because of their color. It is important to note that the law enforcement in this community is dominantly white. The population of Mercer Island is mostly white, so black people there are considered as a “threat.” Racial profiling, as in this example, is not a problem that is isolated to Mercer Island. The practice of racial profiling is a problem not only in the United States, but nationwide. Recent examples, such as the case of
Trayvon Martin, demonstrate how much of a problem judging people based on their skin color still is. Since racism is such a big issue in this country, it is important that more is done to address it.
Although racism is still trying to be stopped, there is still more that needs be done to stop it. For instance, the Southern Poverty Law Center tracked 18 racist and hate groups and were able to shut those groups down. (www.utsandiego.com). This
demonstrates, that there are organizations that work on stopping racist groups. This also shows that more than one organization can help in the battle against racism. The Southern Poverty Law Center was able to stop 18 racist groups, with
more than one organization helping out, even more than 18 racist groups can be stopped. While there are multiple things being done to stop violent racist groups, there is also more being done to stop racism in the school system. For example, the organization ERASE RACISM is creating a system in which the public high schools in Long Island are racially and ethnically diverse. A system in where there are multiple races in one classroom. (www.eraseracismny.org) This portrays that even kids can be influenced by racism and it is important to note that they do not get influenced by it. In addition, kids of multiple ethnicity can engage with each other and there will be a greater chance of having less racism. If they are against racism,they can spread the word and influence others to be less racist. Once this happens racism can finally end. Even though racism is such a big problem, it happens everywhere everyday. Since racism is a big issue, it is important that people continue stopping it.
People need to speak out and take action in order to stop racism once and for all. Racism has been such a big problem in history with so much racist acts and violence that it even influences what happens in the United States and the rest of the world today. Not everyone may be a victim of racism personally but everyone is affected by it. It affects communities, neighborhoods, and families, but sometimes it even affects the law enforcement. The law enforcement is meant to protect the people against anything but sometimes they are influenced by racism and use it either physically or verbally against people. Even though there is racism almost everywhere, there are many people and organizations that are against racism and are trying to end it. The more open minded and informed people are about racism, they will know how negative it is and will be more motivated to stop it.