The Control of Choices

Authors note: I had a lot of trouble writing this essay. Switching between three different prompts, the biggest problem I had was having what I wanted to say make sense.

Light and dark, good and evil; these are opposites that need each other as support for existence. Our world is filled with opposites, choices, and paradoxes; they surround us and are part of our daily routine. Imagine a world where everything got along, where we didn't have to make choices because there weren't any to make. In the novel Life of Pi, Yann Martel explains to us through his main character how we as humans need our choices for control. Life depends on the gift of choice and contradiction; it is a way for human beings to feel the control they want.

Alone on an island of beauty with food and luxury; an island that is carnivorous. "And then it came to light, an unspeakable pearl at the heart of a green oyster." Pi says this after he just found what was inside the "fruit". The island is similar to the Garden of Eden from the old testament in the bible. Both islands are a beauty representing God's gift of life yet evil lurks where you would least expect it; the Garden of Eden hides Satan within it's depths while the island hides it's evil in it's leaves of fruit. The difference between the good and evil on the islands gives Pi his choice of control -- to stay on the island or not to stay.

Having left the luxury of the island, Pi finally lands in Mexico. In the hospital, Pi relates his story but is scoffed at. They want a different story. Everybody is life wants something different -- it is part of our human nature to feel need for a paradox to their life for their own control. Yann Martel shows us the human nature of needing change through the world's view of Pi's story.

As humans, our nature is to want control and safety in our lives. As Americans, we find this control in our freedom to choose our President; we find this control in our choice of our lifestyle. Our life though is a paradox of those in Africa or the Middle East who's control in their life is finding small things they can control in their structured life. Our choice in life is our freedom and our escape to our own paradox.

Peace Like a River

This book was about a boy with asthma whose brother commits murder to protect the family. After he escapes from jail Reuben and his family follow wherever God takes them and hope He leads them towards their brother Davy. Most of the characters in the story represent bible characters.

It all started with two murders long ago that changed my perspective. The miracles I have witnessed are engraved in my mind and everyday they shout to me the glory of God. These miracles my father has done by the name of God are witnessed by only three people -- me, my younger sister, and my father’s wife. Only we have had this blessing yet only I have ignored it.

Anger and annoyance rose from within me as I took a step out of my house. My father and mother watch each move as a threat of a life without me. Another step from the house and I am sprinting away to nowhere in particular. I only know that I am done with living in this house under their rules. A left at Oak Creek Dr. and a right at Limestone Ave. following the path often taken by my parents on our way home from our cabin up north. Soon realizing my feet are guiding my home I take a shortcut through a forest nearby. Winding in and out of the trees as the sun sets behind me I find myself at an opening.

Looking around I realized there was no place left to go. The sky above me was too tall and the cliff below me was too deep -- too deep for any human being to survive a fall. I was trapped in a large world with no place left to go; there was no place for me to go except on my knees. Looking up the sky I speak slowly and surely.

"Dear Lord, I know my father often speaks with you as if your were an old friend but that is not the case for me. I have not known you very long and speaking to you is foreign to me. Lord if you hear me right now, if you can look down from your throne in heaven to look at a mere mortal such as myself, then I ask you to forgive me. Forgive me for running away from my parents and home to find myself. Forgive me for ignoring you and for telling my father that you were a figment of his imagination. I've heard my father enough to know that Jesus died on the cross so that we could be forgiven. Please my God, let this be the case for me."

I can barely finish this sentence from the ache in my throat. The tears in my eyes overflow and roll down my cheeks. I start to have an asthma attack and am kneeling on the ground wheezing hard. A hand on my shoulder causes me to jerk my head around and my sight is blurred from being dizzy and from the tears. I see my father standing there strong and proud. He bends down and looks me straight in the eye.

"My dear daughter, you have repented your sins and I have died. You shall be forgiven. You are healed my daughter. Remember always that God loves you and he shall never forget you. I will never forget you. I love you."

My wheezing vanishes as suddenly as my father. I was forgiven but at what cost. He was died so my weaknesses and sins could be forgiven. My father is my Jesus Christ. He is my savior.

Explanation:

In the novel Peace Like a River, Davy has decided that the will of God to commit murder. His mistakes affect the whole family in a way that changes their lives forever. They drive in a camper wherever God leads them -- whether or not it is towards Davy. The father, Jeremiah, finds a wife while his children Rueben, who has a problem with his lungs, and Swede learn what it is like to follow God unconditionally.

The story eventually leads to where both Rueben and the father are shot. They go together to another "country" but only the father is allowed to continue into Heaven while Rueben must live the rest of his life. Jeremiah died to save Davy. He died so that Davy could be forgiven and so Rueben could breathe. His death was the death of Jesus Christ as was the rest of his life leading up to this point; Jeremiah Land was Jesus Christ all along.

"At the end of the book, after Jeremiah had died, Dr. Nokes spoke to a cured Rueben. "Your father shouldn't have died, Rueben. Did you know that?" Rueben should have died from his wound from the bullet and from his asthma, but his father was not injured enough to die. This shows how Jeremiah died like Jesus to save his family.

Hope

This essay was written to the novel, Fahrenheit 451. It talks about the hope in life, and how hope can be seen in the smallest of things, and the largest things. Hope is everywhere, some people just have to look harder for it.

Without hope in the world, life would be just another chore to complete -- cleaning joy from the world one day at a time. Hope is needed for love and learning; it is the power behind life. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag hopes for a world of love and knowledge, a place where there is a reason for living. The need for hope drives the world; it is a need to look towards the next day and see something better; a need to see a new world in the future.

Hope can be seen in so many small places during life -- a gift from a friend, or the knowledge that you are alive. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, it says that the firemen are "custodians of our peace of mind." The people in the city are convinced that the firemen keep them safe; they are bias against the people in love with knowledge and books, and this shows no hope for the people who want this safe feeling. Yet a man of knowledge, Faber, says "I sit here and know I am alive," a reference to Des Cartes "I think therefore I am." This shows hope that some people want to learn; people who want to have knowledge are still alive and working towards a better world.

As hope is seen in the small places in life, there can also be moments of hope that change your life and perspective on life. Clarisse, a seventeen year old girl who Montag just met, asked him as they were walking home, "Are you happy?” His response to himself was a gut reaction, quick and thoughtless, "Of course I'm happy! What does she think? I'm not?" Our whole life can go from having no hope in the world to seeing the opportunity we are given with life; we question ourselves and suddenly we have a goal -- a goal to succeed, to improve, to change. Montag begins to question whether or not he is happy and his perspective of life changes into something that has hope for the future.

Hope can be seen in many people, young or old. Montag's seventeen year old friend, Clarisse, often walks him to and from work while they talk about life, love, or anything that pops in their head. Once when he saw her alone walking in the rain; Montag asks her what she is up to now and she simply says, "I'm still crazy. The rain feels good. I love to walk in it." He replies saying that didn't think he would like it. Rain, or water, represents life; by saying that she loves to walk in it, Clarisse is saying that she loves life and it feels good to live in it. At the time, Montag's mind has barely begun to look at life as something that has hope, so him saying that he doesn't think he would like walking in life shows that he doesn't have hope for his life yet.

A phoenix represents life and how we are born and reborn again to another life; the hope of a new world and life. In John 3, Jesus says to a Pharisee, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." Montag's life is like the phoenix or the people of God, they both have hope for a new world and life; they want a clean slate to start over, to create a new. As Montag and his friends walk towards the city with the hope of starting over, they are creating a new life; they are hoping for a new world.

Fear & Pain

This is a response to the novel Fahrenheit 451, a story about a distopic world that revolves around fear. I wrote a response to the quote "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger" relates to Montag in this story. This is how I thought it related to him.

Frederick Nietzsche once said "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger." This is what happens in so many lives with people who have pain that forces them to go forward. They spend their entire life trying to lose this pain that is inside of them -- a pain that is making them stronger without them realizing it. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 Montag, the main character, learns to open his eyes causing him an unbearable pain of knowledge -- a heavy weight set upon his shoulders to save people from living their life of not knowing. This causes him to keep going forward, to be stronger; have a purpose. Strength can come from fear and pain; these are what keep us going and give us purpose.

Fear is a weapon, a strength, a weakness; it is a force that drives many and a weakness that kills many. The country Montag lives in is based on fear -- a simple force that the government uses to control millions of people. This weapon causes people to do things they wouldn't do in their right mind. "He glanced at his hands to see what new thing they had done." This is what Montag did right before he killed Beatty and it was all from the fear of being arrested and taken to jail; he couldn't believe that he going to kill a person because he was afraid.

Strength comes from fear yet is also comes from a pain that is not strong enough to kill but is strong enough to hurt. After Montag kills Beatty the mechanical hound stabs him with the needle that injects a poison into his legs; he described it as thousand of needles stabbing his leg. With pain the strength comes from being able to look past the pain and keep moving forward with a purpose.

When the quote "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger" was thought up there had to have been many things to consider. First would be the task of finding something that doesn't kill you yet still makes you stronger -- this might lead to fear and pain. These are things that people have to get through to keep going -- they make a person stronger. Without these people wouldn't have to try hard to keep going; without these people wouldn't have strength. Sometimes people need an extra push to get them through the pain and fear -- sometimes people need a purpose.

Patriots for Life

This essay was written to the prompt, "Does patriotism still matter." I decided that patriotism does matter, people just don't choose to show their patriotism. I talked about ways that it can be shown, and ways that it is shown.

Watching fireworks explode in the sky, the beauty of the American flag, seeing the people who fight for our country marching through the crowds -- these proud moments represent our country; they represent how we live; they represent why we are free. These are times we can show our patriotism, but they don’t come every day. We should let our patriotism ring like a bell on the top of a church, let it be heard by all who listen, telling them that we are America, the United States.

So many things can be done to show patriotism, whether it is being a soldier, fighting for our country, or following the Constitution and voting. These acts of patriotism can be spontaneous, just like Rick Monday, a baseball player, did on April 25, 1976. As two people ran on to the field to burn the American flag that was soaked in kerosene, Rick Monday ran past and grabbed the flag, earning a standing ovation from the people in the stands. These moments are what stay in history, but being a patriot doesn’t mean you are known in history, it means so much more.

While some people may not show patriotism from spontaneous acts, it doesn’t mean that their acts have less value. Courage, respect, honesty: these are the acts that represent us, represent our country. Many people each day do these small acts that may not be known by everyone, but are seen by some. These acts could be as significant as joining the armed forces. When other countries look at us, I hope they not only see the land of the free, but I hope they see patriots, people who love their country.

Patriotism, it is one word, yet it means so much more than just that. To love something means you will do anything for it; there are people in our country who do this, they lay down their lives for their country. That is patriotism. Saving the American flag from being burned. That is patriotism. Voting and following the Constitution. That is patriotism. We are America, we are patriots.

Power in its Darkest Hour

Being in charge isn't always easy, it requires a lot of dedication, patience, and knowledge. My personal opinion is that people aren't fit to rule over other people with complete control. This also goes for animals.

Having complete control can drive on to do things many would not do in their right mind. People were not meant to have power over others due to our inability to remain sane. This is also in the case of the animals the novel Animal Farm who attempt to run a farm by their own. Their attempt to drive out humans is a success, but their idea that all animals are equal fails due to those put in charge. Power over few is a challenging job for humans, power over all is an impossible job for anyone with a mind of their own.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. This means that any country with one person in complete control, will undoubtedly fail. No one person can handle the responsibility of ruling over a country without help, or someone to share the power. Still, even if more than one people are sharing the power, there is always the possibility of jealousy and selfishness arising between the companions.

In the beginning of the book, the idea of a revolution excites everyone, adrenaline runs through them. When the animals have overthrown Mr. Jones and his workers, they have no leader or anyone to follow. Put to power by themselves, the pigs make decisions convincing the less bright animals that it is for their own good. Each animal is bound to the seven commandments, meant to keep them from turning into what they had recently overthrown. A human. The seven commandments includes the idea that “two feet bad, four feet good” as the sheep constantly chant, wearing clothes, sleeping in a bed, and drinking alcohol is unacceptable. It also says that animals may not kill another animal, and that all animals are equal.

As the story continues, each rule is slowly and mysteriously changed to make seem as though the pigs are obeying every rule. The once worshipped commandments now represent exactly what was feared in a animal ruled farm. These animals slowly represent what was the one and only fear of the Animal Farm, not to become like the humans they had just driven out of power. Those animals not educated enough to understand the true meaning of what is going on, that their fearless leader has the mind of the propaganda, turn a blind eye to all deaths of their comrades and the truth they cannot look in the eye.

As a satire should, these characters represent the personalities and weaknesses of historical characters form the Russian Revolution. The three pigs who take control over Animal Farm represent Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky, these six share the weakness of power. Mr. Jones and his wife represent Czar Nicholas and Alexandria, who used to enjoy lives many luxuries while their people starved on the little food they could afford. Some characters represent a group of people that play a large part in the Revolution, yet not on person. For example, the sheep represent all of the peasants, fooled by the mask of glamour put up by the Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky.

In the novel Animal Farm, power is the true ruler, not Napoleon or Snowball, power controls their every rule and action. With the strength of power in control, Mr. Jones is overthrown and Animal Farm succeeds, yet they never truly won. With Mr. Jones out of the way, the true enemy is still in control, to win they must over throw power or Napoleon. The animals need to remember what their revolution really meant, their freedom, and know what Old Major meant by a revolution.

The Reign of Fear

an essay to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
Many people live with fear in their lives. They let their fear of something control them, for example, if they are afraid of spiders, it may be hard for them to do things that require contact with a spider.

Fear rules the lives of many, some young and scared others more mature yet still live with fear. As a young child, the thought of a monster under their bed is unbearable. It cannot be thought through enough to decide the unreasonable part of a monster living. After becoming a mature adult, actions are the cause of nightmares in their sleep, whether it was witnessed or done by their own hands. In the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom and Huck, such fear released the truth of what they saw. Without fear, most people in this world would learn nothing from their mistakes and actions.

The difference between fear and danger is that in danger, it is necessary to think quickly. In fear, it is hard not to be too scared to think; therefore most actions are not the best. There is a time, though, that when the need to protect a loved one from fear, overcomes the fear on the outside, and helps make the right decisions. When lost in the cave with the fearful Becky, the strength to keep on going was hard to come by. Between loss of food, and a shortage of sleep, a soft descent into death didn’t seem so bad for Tom, but the thought of Becky leaving the world so young was unbearable. The fear from this thought fueled Tom to find an exit from the cave to save their lives.

Fear can control the shadows of the night while you sleep, as much as the daytime. As a witness to a vicious murder, the fear of Huck and Tom is unbearable. The fear is strong enough to control their minds, their actions and words are no longer their own. With an inhuman murderer on the loose, the thought of him lurking in the shadows is punishment enough for sneaking out to the graveyard, the crime scene of the murder. Though the consequence of their actions was fear, it is a reward for the innocent witness who is still partially guilty. Their wrong mistake saved the life of a framed murderer, while taking the life of the guilty man. Most wrongs come with a consequence, something to help the person remember not to make the mistake again, yet some wrongs will also come with a reward.

Fear can toy with our minds, causing us the pain of death. It can cause us to go paranoid, forgetting the simple thoughts of reality. Yet even with all of this, if fear didn’t exist, we would never learn from those mistakes caused by fear controlled actions. It is hard to enjoy fear, as Tom learns in the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but it is needed in our world as a painful reminder of evil. This world, though, doesn’t need to be surrounded by fear, because the enemy of fear, love, is needed just as much. Within the world, a balance of good and evil is needed; otherwise one would have too much power over everything.