Comparative Essay

“Richard Cory” and “The Unknown Citizen” both takes into account what society views as successful and good. Robinson’s poem tells of a man who appears to have a blissful life due to his outward appearance of wealth. However, his outward appearance is deceiving because he actually has become a social outcast due to people distancing themselves from him. Auden’s poem shows how a complete stranger views an unknown citizen who was a “perfect” member of society. Both poems address societies cliche and meaningless perspective of outward appearance, as well as ironic outcomes and the inability of self assertion.

Both poets give examples of members of society who are perceived as good and well off people based on their outward appearance. In “Richard Cory” the “people on the pavement looked at him”  in awe and envy as they witnessed what they believe to be the epitome of a perfect man. These people are described as being on the pavement because they weren’t “clean favored, and imperially slim” like the idolized Richard Cory who was viewed to be like a demigod who walked on clouds above the “regular” and “average” people. As the story continues, it is told through the eyes of the people admiring htim therefore the reader only sees the physical appearance of Richard, how he is “clean favored, and imperially slim” as well as being “quietly arrayed”. This shallow opinion of him causes his  inner feelings to be disregarded and discarded. Due to the distance that everyone puts between themselves and Richard, he becomes unable to relate to anyone. This causes Richard to develop an emptiness. Despite this image that has been created of this “perfect man”, Richard never did anything to actually set himself apart from anyone. The same is true for the unknown citizen. The unknown citizen lacks a defining moment in his life that makes him more than a robotic drone that is honored by the government. “When there was peace, he was for peace:  when there was war, he went”, depicts how he was a “balloon” that moved where the “wind” pushed him. Both poems show how outward appearance is valued more by society than being a unique person.

Also, both poems address Richard Cory’s and the unknown citizen’s inability to assert themselves as unique members of society. In “Richard Cory” the citizens view Richard as “more worthy” and therefore decide to distance themselves from him. Even though “he was always human when he talked” everyone distanced themselves too much causing Richard to become a detached member of society. Also due to his inability to assert himself he becomes unable to connect with anyone on a personal level. This emptiness and lack of social interaction is ultimately the cause of Richard’s death. The same conflict is present in “The Unknown Citizen”, however, the outcome was different and less tragic. The unknown citizen wasn’t unable to assert himself among people. In fact, he “was popular with his mates” and “normal in every way”. While he seemed to have a good life, like Richard, the unknown citizen never asserted himself as a unique individual. In fact, the “researchers into Public Opinion are content that he held the proper opinions for the time of year”. He never did anything, or even THOUGHT anything different than the State therefore, he was a “perfect citizen”. However, while he may be a so-called “perfect citizen”, he is also an unknown citizen who has lost his identity. Now, instead of a name, he is “known” by JS/07/M/378. This code is used to signify his mediocre existence because no deed in his life was definitive or worth mentioning. He was so “perfect” that he lost his individuality and defining characteristics.  Both characters in each poem lack the inability to assert themselves, therefore causing physical death and the death of individuality.

Both poems have ironic outcomes for the main characters involved. In “Richard Cory”, the townspeople “on the pavement” look up to Richard because he seems to have reached the pinnacle of success. They see all of Richard’s worldly possessions and assume that he’s got life “in the bag”. However, they are blinded by their envy of his possessions into thinking that he has a perfect life when, in fact, the very thing that makes them think his life is great, alienates him from society. Ironically, in the end Richard Cory ends his life because he was alone in the world due to the townspeople’s unintentional alienation of him. The ending of “Richard Cory” is also ironic because as the townspeople “waited for the light” unaware of what they had unintentionally done to Richard, he ”went home and put a bullet through his head”.  “The Unknown Citizen” also has an ironic ending due to the citizen being “respected” for being the “perfect” citizen. This is ironic because the unknown citizen did nothing in his life that was out of the ordinary or particularly great. He especially did not do anything to be put on a pedestal as the “perfect” citizen.

Both “Richard Cory” and “The Unknown Citizen” address how society has warped views on outward appearance, as well as including ironic endings for both men involved and the characters inability to assert themselves.

May 7, 2015

Name Poem

 

Lucas

I was born with the name Lucas

I never thought

that I would be called anything

Different

It was all I new

simplistic

average

satisfying

Lucas

my name was simple

it was the chain that defined me as a person

I never wanted anything more

for it was all I knew

but one day

everything changed

the chain was shattered

and replaced with something

Unique

Uncommon

Rare

Yahnis

A Mysterious name

born in the swirling depths of a juniors mind

Unusual

Out-of-the-Norm

Yahnis

difficult to accept at first

the name was

but as it was repeated like a broken record

it became integrated

a new chain

by which my existence is known

Yahnis

a name had never heard of

or thought of

but somehow

I look like a

Yahnis

April 24, 2015

Critical Movie Review

When I started the book, I expected it to be moderately mundane just like every other book we’ve read in english class. However, the book ended up being really interesting and the movie was almost as good. While the movie strays from the original storyline that follows Mr. Utterson, it still succeeds in portraying the uncontrollable evil of Mr. Hyde.

 

Negatives:

• Due to old technology, the movie fails to portray how Hyde was detestable just by his appearance. Mr. Hyde, in the movie, simply looks like his eyebrows and jaw grew in size. In the book Mr. Hyde supposedly had a hunched back and a myriad of warts on his face, but the movie fails to portray this level of evil in Hyde.
• In addition to a less effective portrayal of Hyde, the movie, because it was made so long ago, is not allowed to show any actual violence on screen. This caused me much confusion because I wasn’t sure what had happened when Hyde strangled Ivy. I wouldn’t have understood it if Mrs. Wiersig hadn’t have informed the class that we were supposed to assume that the woman was dead. Also, this “ethical censorship” takes away some of the tensity of the scene and causes it to be less dramatic.
• The movie does not show Dr. Jekyll’s inner struggle with his evil half as well as the book does. While the movie does show Jekyll’s unwillingness to become Hyde, it does not show Jekyll’s conversations with himself.
• The movie follows Hyde’s story directly, which takes away the suspense and mystery that the book possessed by having Mr. Utterson investigate the suspicious happenings within the city.

 

Positives:

• The movie may not follow the written story exactly, but it still tells the story in a unique way. Instead of following Mr. Utterson as he tries to find out the truth behind Mr. Hyde, the movie follows Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde directly. This form of storytelling removes a large portion of confusion that the book contained.
• The movie has an advantage over the book because cinematic movies are often more interesting than books. The movie is more captivating because it moves more quickly through the storyline than the book, while the book draws out the story with immense amounts of unnecessary dialogue.

 

Overall:

• I would rate this movie a 4/10. I choose this rating because it strays from the original story-line and is also very passive. To be an accurate representation of this horrifying story, it would have to be made in modern times with better graphics, less censorship, and color.

April 23, 2015

 

Expository Essay – How Extracurricular Activities Benefit Students

 

In the movie Coach Carter, Ken Carter takes a job as a basketball coach at his old high school in Richmond, California. Upon taking this job, Coach Carter decides to help these underachieving students not only achieve heightened basketball skills, but academic skills as well. While the students are resistant at first, they eventually cooperate with their coach in order to preserve their only escape from stress. While not all students are involved in basketball, most students participate in extracurricular activities. These activities help students improve themselves by providing them with an escape from life and its complications, helping them focus better in class, and by increasing work ethic when they are passionate about something.

Extracurricular activities help students improve their focus in class by providing them with a break from their hectic daily schedule. To illustrate, imagine a freshman named Yahnis who wakes up at 5:00am every morning so he can balance his time between his many activities such as seminary, academics, and athletics. Throughout his day many things cause him stress, confusion, and anger, especially his intense English class that contains a massive workload. After school, Yahnis goes to the tennis courts, the only place besides his home he actually feels comfort, and every time his racket connects with the ball the wild mixture of emotions within him is released with the force of a nuclear explosion into the bright yellow tennis ball. Because Yahnis is able to release these emotions instead of having to store them up within himself, the raging river of confusion that resides in his mind evaporates, allowing him to think clearly. Students experience this form of relief in their chosen extracurricular events whether they have chosen FFA, band, or even debate, because through any activity that is chosen students can replace their turbulent sea of stress with a peaceful meadow that provides clarity to their thoughts and additional focus in the classroom.

In addition to increased focus and an escape from everyday life, extracurricular activities also help students better themselves by improving work ethic. For example, world renowned inventor Thomas Edison was passionate about science so he would often spend time after school as a child reading about energy and electricity. As he read he thought of new and creative ways to more efficiently accomplish everyday activities. This extracurricular activity instilled a strong work ethic within Edison which led to his many great inventions such as the light bulb, which took Edison more than 1,000 attempts to finish correctly. Now, Edison’s invention is used throughout the world. Without strong work ethic Edison would have never had the perseverance to see the project through. Similarly, modern day extracurricular activities help students develop work ethic by providing them with complicated problems that require perseverance to solve. Little by little their work ethic is strengthened, eventually reaching a point where they are undaunted by any task. Goals then become more easily attainable and the success rate is increased tenfold due to the increased amount of persistence put into attaining the goal.

Just like basketball benefitted the academically challenged boys in the movie Coach Carter, extracurricular activities help benefit students by providing them with an escape from the worries of life so they can be more focused in class and by improving work ethic.

April 10, 2015

Jake’s grandpa rested on his soon-to-be death bed as he told his 16 year old grandson stories of mistakes he had made during his prime years. “Don’t make the same mistakes as me Jake. Learn from my mistakes and strive to do better and have more purpose in life than I had.” Jake listened intently as his grandfather’s voice grew weaker and weaker. With tears in his eyes, Jake’s grandfather gave his final lesson to Jake. “Carpe diem.” Youth can benefit from working with the elderly to “rage against the dying of the light” by learning from life experiences that the elderly have to share, and by helping the elderly do things that they aren’t able to do by themselves. By doing these things the youth can be given guidance and direction, and also be filled with charity as they learn to love helping the elderly “fight against the dying of the light”.

“Back when I was a boy…”, Grandpa began. “Not again Grandpa!”, complained Billy,”you’re always telling us what it was like when you were a kid! We just want to play!” Billy and his fellow cousins mumbled amongst themselves. “My stories might help you one day in life…”, replied Grandpa. Most everyone has listened to stories like this from grandparents about what it was like when they were children, places they’ve traveled, and most importantly mistakes they’ve made. While many of today’s youth take this special privilege for granted, many great life lessons that would benefit the youth when they came upon similar situations. Youth, through shared mistakes in life made by elderly people, can learn which choices are right. To further illustrate, in Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury an elderly woman named Helen Loomis shares experiences of places she has travelled with a young gentlemen. While Helen did not share a mistake, the stories she shares with Bill Forester benefit him because he gets to have experiences that he would never have been able to experience for himself. Youth can have similar benefits to Bill Forester by working with elderly to fight against death.

In addition to being able to make educated decisions, youth can also benefit from working together with the elderly by assisting them. In Mosiah 2:17 of The Book of Mormon, King Benjamin addresses his subjects in the land of Zarahemla saying, “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” Youth have many opportunities to help the elderly and if they were to choose to help they would inherently be serving God. What greater benefit is there than serving God? The answer is none. By helping the elderly the youth would take some of life’s burdens of the backs of these elderly people which could, in time, add months or even years to their life. Whether it be a simple act of kindness, such as helping the elderly person cross the street or giving them a loving hand to hold through hard times, serving them benefits the youth by giving them an opportunity to serve God and to learn the importance of being selfless.

Jake took Grandpa’s words and stories to heart. From now on he would make better choices. From now on he would strive to live life to the fullest potential. He would make live worth living. Just like Jake benefitted from Grandpa’s inspiring stories, youth can also benefit from working with the elderly to “rage against the dying of the light” by learning from elderly people’s experiences and by being selfless in giving service to them.

February 10, 2015

Career Choice Comparative Essay

As I have progressed in school I have found that my skillset leans towards mathematics. My interests have also included topics that include extensive use of computers and technology. That is why I have chosen to consider careers as a Physicist, Architectural Engineer, and Computer Hardware Engineer, all of which include math and computer skills.

 

	Physiology	Computer Hardware Engineering (CHE)	Architectural Engineering
Level of Education	Doctoral or PhD	Bachelor’s Degree	Bachelors Degree
Salary	Entry: $106,000 Potential: $150,000	Entry: $100,000 Potential: $130,000	Entry: $73,000 Potential: $120,000
Prospect	Employment rate to increase 10%by 2022	Employment rate to increase 7% by 2022	Employment to increase 17% by 2022
Workday Schedule	Makes own hours but requires extreme self discipline	Desk Job – Hours from about 7:00am – 6:00pm	Hours similar to CHE in the beginning but as you gain experience you get to make your own hours
Versatility	Alternate profession as an astronomer	Alternate profession as a Computer Designer	Alternate profession as a Concept Designer or Landscape Architect

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov 28 October, 2014

The first career that I have considered is physiology which has annual salary of $106,000. This job requires mathematical skills, curiosity, and most importantly, self discipline, due to the fact that the working hours of this profession are very vague, allowing me to make my own hours. The entry level education requirement is a doctoral degree or PhD, which means years of intensive college schooling. I myself am by nature curious and as I have progressed through school have shown an aptitude for mathematical courses, however I do not possess self discipline to an extensive degree. Also I am more well suited for a low education entry level job that would enable me to jump right into the career and then return for schooling when i see fit. The main aspect of this job that caused me to consider it is the fact that It is closely related to astronomy which I have had an interest in since I was given the opportunity to learn more about the profession on a field trip I took in sixth grade to the St. Louis planetarium. The employment rate of this job is to increase ten percent in the next few years which gives me a fair chance of getting into this field of work if I were to choose it.

Another career that have considered is that of a computer hardware engineer which, similar to Physiology, requires intense mathematics skills. However this job does not require strong self discipline. Instead it requires analytical and problem solving skills, which are developed through mathematics and as I stated earlier I am well versed in that field. This profession integrates electrical engineering and computer science has a starting salary of $100,000. I have not always been interested in this field, but over the past two years I have had more and more interaction with computers and I have grown fond of working with them and figuring out how they work and because it requires only a bachelor’s degree, I would be able to jump right into the job and then return for later schooling. The schedule of this job consists of working at a desk with set work hours, generally 7:00am to 7:00pm, which fits my personality due to my weaker self discipline. Overall, This job fits my personality fairly well and has substantial pay with minimal schooling which makes it a very logical choice for my future career.

Another career I have considered is the profession that I have been interested in the longest, which is an architectural engineer. Ever since I was able to speak I’ve talked about becoming an architectural engineer. For some reason I have always been fascinated by the idea of designing and constructing buildings.I recall one moment of my childhood when I would collect bottle caps saying ,”Mommy I’m collecting munnies so I can build you a house!” As I grew I have never faltered in my determination to become an architect and recently had the opportunity to attend an architectural engineering camp at the Texas A&M University where I learned about several different fields of work under this career. While at the camp We also got to put our creativity to the test through a series of projects and assignments. This experience strengthened my resolve to become an architectural engineer.

To become an architectural engineer I would have to have a bachelor’s degree, similar to the computer hardware engineer. This profession is the lowest paying of the three careers with a salary of $73,000, however a Chinese philosopher named Confucius said ,”Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. This job requires mathematical skills like the other jobs but for additional efficiency I would need to know multiple languages and have analytical skills. Due to the fact that the first available jobs are usually internships for less experienced architects, I would be able to earn my bachelor’s degree and become an intern to pay for future education, creating reduced financial stress, which would be helpful because of my family’s situation. As an intern I would have similar hours to the computer hardware engineer, but once I earned my master’s degree I would be able to create my own hours. This best fits my personality because as an intern I would develop self discipline, through my employers guidance, and then be prepared to make my own hours while still completing projects in the required time period. Even if I were to go to college and find that I do not enjoy the field, there would still be multiple fields I go could go into with my degree. The most prominent of these backup fields include concept design and landscape architecture. Both of these include high amounts of imagination, creativity, and problem solving which fits my interests exquisitely due to the fact that I am constantly doodling and solving riddles.

All of the careers I have considered and studied involve mathematics, analytical, and problem solving skills which are all attributes that I possess. However if I were to choose to devote a large proportion of my life to one of these careers it would most definitely be the architectural engineer due to the fact that it fits my personality best as a problem solver and has the least amount of financial stress. It has also been my passion since I was a small child and I believe that it would satisfying to fulfill a lifelong dream.

November 4, 2014