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.