Lending a Helping Shoulder:

An Essay on a Novel and Poem about Helping Others

Jordan Crawford

English 9

Pine Point School

January 19 2012

           In life you have to take care of yourself, making sure that you keep on going straight in your journey.While keeping yourself on track is important you should never forget to help others along the path your journey takes you. In A Tale of Two Cities, two cities, London and Paris, don’t help each other out as neighboring countries should. “Shoulders” by Naomi Shihab Nye, is a poem about a man who is crossing the street with his son, it is pouring rain out but the man crosses for his son. This is a good example of how we all must help each other out and the consequences of not doing so.
           “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” those words are famously known from Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities, a book on how a city failed to help its people so they helped each other. Overall, the residents of the town had it rough but it didn’t stop them from enjoying the times they loved. When a wine cask breaks on the street everyone is happy and celebrates the good fortune as they drink from the broken husk of the cask. The babies amongst the crowd, whom cannot collect a drink for themselves, are given a drink from cloths that the woman had, so everyone could enjoy the wine.Some people in life change to helping people, such as Mr. Lorry did in a five year span of time when he began to care more about people as friends not customers.The Manette’s were separated for a remarkable 18 years and the stoic business man that Mr. Lorry used to be re-unites them and in the process discovers he has grown fond of them. Mr.Lorry was a man characterized by his trademark line, “Business, Business,” but at the end of the chapter he  had “moisture that was not of business, shining on his cheek,” showing that he was discovering it emotional to watch such a happy sight. On the whole, this historical novel revolves around giving people a shoulder to lean on.
            It is a nice thing, helping others, a simple thing that often elevates people; like in the poem “Shoulders” a man is carrying his son on his shoulder so he doesn’t have to touch the muddy ground. On a similar note ,the poem by Naomi Shihab Nye is very detailed and puts a vivid picture in my head of a man determined to get his son safely and dryly onto the other sidewalk. In life when you are helping someone, they are not marked with a sign, “Fragile handle with care,” you are expected to know when a person needs a boost so you automatically help them. This happened to me one day when my moms friend was talking with my mom and her two year old daughter wanted to go outside, but couldn’t leave the house without and older person; I glanced around the room and everyone else was busy so I decided that I could take the time to go outside with her, not a big feat but it was something that made the toddler happy. More than often, I see fathers carrying their children around a store like a mall and the men are strong but they carry the baby with care and gentleness reserved for children and fluffy animals, I always stop in wonder as the child is carried away on the mans broad shoulders.
           Anyone can change for the better, be it a stiff business men, or everyday people. When I help someone else, carry their burden on my shoulders for a while, I begin to see the world from their eyes, be it kneeling at a two and a half foot tall kitchen outside, or helping babies drink from a rag. The world is based off of helping people, be it for common ground or out of heart, it is how humans are. The poem states that, “We’re not going to be able to live in this world if we’re not willing to do what he is doing with one another.” That quote captures one of the meanings of life in one simple but beautiful sentence.

                        The Sacrifices of Life:

An Essay on the Sacrifices I Make in My Life

Jordan Crawford

January 5, 2012

English 9

           When I think of sacrifices the first thing that comes to my mind is an action movie with a

guy that stays back in the dangerous area to fend of monsters to ensure his friends and family

make it out alive. When I think this over I realize that there is actually a significant amount of

sacrifices that don’t involve dying. Sacrificing can be as simples as changing your plans so

someone else is rewarded. In this essay I will explain how I once sacrificed something for a

family member.
           Some time ago, spending my summer time in Barbados, an island that has an all year summer and crystal clear water, I was invited by my aunt and uncle to go see a Rihanna concert. After this news was delivered I was informed by my mom and dad that my nine year old sister, Erica, was not old enough to attend to the show. My sister would spend the night with my grandparents while the rest of the family and my cousins went out to the concert, and she often has vivid nightmares, and relies on her family to comfort her.Her best friend in Barbados,who is also nine, was going to go to the concert with us and her family.Overall the concert sounded phenomenal but the thought of my little sister sitting alone was troubling. I was given time to decide if I would like to go to the concert were we would stay in air-conditioned skybox lounges along with other singers. I was stumped for a very long time, because two of my friend Vita and Julie would be there, and I wouldn’t see them for a long time after that.By the end of the week, Though I had decoded my feelings and was ready to give my answer.I decided to stay with my sister and watch Tangled while my friends and family were at the party. I sometimes wish that I had gone to that concert, but I don’t regret watching staying back to watch my sister. Compared to some sacrifices mine was petite, but it was the thought that counts.
           Overall sacrifices are never easy for you to complete; if they were they wouldn’t be sacrifices. Look back on your life and I guarantee that you don’t have to die in order to sacrifice something for a greater cause. In the beginning you will feel upset and miserable but by the end you will feel heroic and feel as if epic tales should be written about you. All people need time to themselves, a time to unwind, but helping someone else doesn’t take time, just a heart.

The Blinding, Comforting Light:

An Essay on Light’s Place in My Life and in A tale of Two Cities

Jordan Crawford

9th Grade English

November 30, 2011

    When you walk into a dark room your first thought is probably, “where is a light switch”. Well have you ever stopped to consider the significance that the small light has or what it could symbolize; and the most common answer would probably be no.I personally don’t stop very often to think about small environmental details like that. But, if you ever do take the time to stop and consider the significances of lights or other small items, you may be amazed at the many things lights can be related to.  
    My first example would be books, those sheets of paper that make up something remarkable, such as A Tale of Two Cities. One of the chapters in this book revolves around Mr. Manette and how he was locked for, an extended time period, in a dark room. In one instance the light starved man even sounds scared of the light after being in the dark for so long. When one of the characters wants to open the blinds in the room Mr. Manette lives in, he asks the nervous man if he can handle more light and Mr. Manette responds, “I must bear it, if you let it in.” and this was said to be said with words that were tainted with stress. Outside this room the poor people of France are following their moods that, in some ways, follow the climate. When the weather was bright and sunny on a winter day a cask of wine broke and this caused a huge crowd filled with happiness. When all the wine was drunk a cloud passed over and the moods went back to the way they were before the wine incident. In another part of France there is a dark, ugly, overall unpleasant, little bank with cheese people. At Telson’s Bank the new employees are kept out of sight until they have spent all there wake hours at the bank so they don't see the light until they are a regular Telson’s Bank employees. Cheese is kept in the dark of stores also until it develops the familiar and standard blue look of Blue cheese and is ready to be seen by costumers. Charles Dickens may have had many confusing passages, but almost all can be related to something familiar to you, the reader.
    Charles Dickens often used light to show the frailty of the townsfolk of France, but in my life light is always welcomed with open hands. Firstly, every morning during the winter the light of the sun shines brightly and usually warmly. Unlike the warm sun in the summers, the winter sun rises into the sky early therefore starting to warm Connecticut earlier than usual. On exceptionally cold days the sun’s early rises mean that I am happier,brighter, more awake, early in the day. On a likewise note, the afternoon sunset can be just as great as the morning sunrise. For me the sunset symbols another day overcome for the school year. It is comforting to know that no matter how hard the day was it is over and an easier one awaits and this thought makes sleeping easier. Overall the winter light is comforting, but light can symbol things more than accomplishment and can be comforting. During the cold winters we make fires, warm waves of heat that roll around spreading warmth. On the other hand, the weather at school decides sports games and practices, if it is dark and rainy we don’t play our outside sports. Overall, light can symbol, or mean many things for many different people.

Light is a broad subject, but when broken down ray by ray you can find the small things it does that you appreciate immensely. This goes to show that no matter if a connection is symbolic or simple it can still be meaningful. For Mr. Manette light was an alien subject that he was worried about. On the other hand, for me light is comforting and loved every day.  

    Self Assessment
1. I am trying no to misspell words in my sentences.
2. I Think that I used many good transition for my sentences.
3. A weak point I see in my writing is the wrong usage of commas.
I would give myself a B.

Journeying Onwards:

An Essay on Walking on From the Good and Bad in Life

Jordan Crawford

Pine Point English 9

10/24/11

    In life there are many instances that require you to walk away from what you don’t like or from times that you do like. The main occurrences of journeying for me is doing work at school. “For Raisin in the Sun[‘s]” Beneatha, walking on was the idea of leaving to go to college, then Africa. Life may often throw obstacles at you that require you to stumble and ascend to a higher level, but it never tries to make you fall.
          (TS)In my life I’ve had to do a fair share of walking on, from, perhaps even to things that I’ve liked or disliked(asyn.), things that I liked almost as much as the Younger family from ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ did.(SD) School can often overwhelm a person, as Beneatha from ‘Raisin in the Sun’ and myself know from expiernce.(CM) There are times in my life when I have so much school work that I am overcome with frustration and received a poor grade, very much like how Beneatha becomes angry when she learned she couldn’t go to college, couldn’t go to Africa, and at first couldn’t go to the new house.(Anaphora) (CM)On another academic note, cross country requires me to ‘walk on’ quite literally as I have to overcome the objects in the path while am running a meet, a strategy that also works with life as well.(SD) Moving away from a bad grade can be good, but at times ‘walking on’ can be very saddening (antithesis). (CM)One example would be when I was moving to the house I am in now, because I also had to continue my journey in an unfamiliar place.(CM) This was a throat aching experience and was a particularly hard time to ‘walk on’ for me as I had to rebuild my knowledge of my house. (CS)So far in my short life I have done a lot of walking, and probably have a ton of mileage, but it has all helped shape who I am today.   
    (TS)Some people today have problems agreeing with their siblings, but Walter and Beneatha take this to a whole new level and won’t leave each other alone and grow past their childish rivalries.(SD)The song ,‘Walk On’, by U2 tells you to love people and never stop doing so, a goal Beneatha and Walter have trouble with.(CM) Near the end of ‘ A Raisin in the Sun’ Beneatha’s fragile ‘glass heart’ cracks and she wants to leave Walter because she can’t forgive him for stopping her dream.(CM) Mama tells her that she cannot ‘turn back’ and she must ‘walk on’ to forget, forgive, mainly love, her brother Walter(asyn.)(SD) In many ways Beneatha had a glass heart but not always. (CM)In many cases she shunned her brother and had a steel heart.(CM) In many scenarios she had to be reminded that she had to love her sibling no matter what.(Anaphora)(TS) Though the siblings fire instantaneously at each other in the end they chose to walk away from there troubles together.  
    On the whole moving forward can be a great, and though it may not seem like it at first it usually always helps you in the outcome. Forgetting homework or getting a poor grade helps me learn from my mistakes so I don’t make the same ones again. Beneatha doesn't ‘walk on’ to Africa but walks closer to her brother. Overall, real-time and literature can both focus on the same thing, and in this case, that is ‘walk[ing] on’.
    Self Assessment
1. I am continuing to work on placement of commas.
2. I think my asyndetons are strong and well written.
3. I think that one of my weak points would be my antithesis because I have trouble putting them in a sentence.
4. I would give myself a B
.
   

Journeying Onwards:

An Essay on Walking on From the Good and Bad in Life

Jordan Crawford

Pine Point English 9

10/24/11

    In life there are many instances that require you to walk away from what you don’t like or from times that you do like. The main occurrences of journeying for me is doing work at school. “For Raisin in the Sun[‘s]” Beneatha, walking on was the idea of leaving to go to college, then Africa. Life may often throw obstacles at you that require you to stumble and ascend to a higher level, but it never tries to make you fall.
          (TS)In my life I’ve had to do a fair share of walking on, from, perhaps even to things that I’ve liked or disliked(asyn.), things that I liked almost as much as the Younger family from ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ did.(SD) School can often overwhelm a person, as Beneatha from ‘Raisin in the Sun’ and myself know from expiernce.(CM) There are times in my life when I have so much school work that I am overcome with frustration and received a poor grade, very much like how Beneatha becomes angry when she learned she couldn’t go to college, couldn’t go to Africa, and at first couldn’t go to the new house.(Anaphora) (CM)On another academic note, cross country requires me to ‘walk on’ quite literally as I have to overcome the objects in the path while am running a meet, a strategy that also works with life as well.(SD) Moving away from a bad grade can be good, but at times ‘walking on’ can be very saddening (antithesis). (CM)One example would be when I was moving to the house I am in now, because I also had to continue my journey in an unfamiliar place.(CM) This was a throat aching experience and was a particularly hard time to ‘walk on’ for me as I had to rebuild my knowledge of my house. (CS)So far in my short life I have done a lot of walking, and probably have a ton of mileage, but it has all helped shape who I am today.   
    (TS)Some people today have problems agreeing with their siblings, but Walter and Beneatha take this to a whole new level and won’t leave each other alone and grow past their childish rivalries.(SD)The song ,‘Walk On’, by U2 tells you to love people and never stop doing so, a goal Beneatha and Walter have trouble with.(CM) Near the end of ‘ A Raisin in the Sun’ Beneatha’s fragile ‘glass heart’ cracks and she wants to leave Walter because she can’t forgive him for stopping her dream.(CM) Mama tells her that she cannot ‘turn back’ and she must ‘walk on’ to forget, forgive, mainly love, her brother Walter(asyn.)(SD) In many ways Beneatha had a glass heart but not always. (CM)In many cases she shunned her brother and had a steel heart.(CM) In many scenarios she had to be reminded that she had to love her sibling no matter what.(Anaphora)(TS) Though the siblings fire instantaneously at each other in the end they chose to walk away from there troubles together.  
    On the whole moving forward can be a great, and though it may not seem like it at first it usually always helps you in the outcome. Forgetting homework or getting a poor grade helps me learn from my mistakes so I don’t make the same ones again. Beneatha doesn't ‘walk on’ to Africa but walks closer to her brother. Overall, real-time and literature can both focus on the same thing, and in this case, that is ‘walk[ing] on’.
    Self Assessment
1. I am continuing to work on placement of commas.
2. I think my asyndetons are strong and well written.
3. I think that one of my weak points would be my antithesis because I have trouble putting them in a sentence.
4. I would give myself a B
.
   

Periodic Sentence

Sitting in my room I admire the quietness, the slow noise of a tank filter running, the suddenly piercing scraping as I turn the pages of my book which before were quite discreet, I sum this feeling up as being alone.