End of the Year Writing Reflection

1) From our novel essay on the Great Gatsby, we were asked to evaluate the quality of characters. In my essay I analyzed Nick Carraway and attempted to expose the misconcieved idea created of Nick Carraway. "Moreover, the tendency of society during that time to overlook corruption and mask it with false hope is shown through Nick's wavering views on Gatsby. Nick initially acknowledges Gatsby's hopeful nature and appreciates his persona. Yet as time progresses, he begins to notice degrading qualities of Gatsby such as being unable to move on from the past and most substantially his uncertainty in Gatsby's modes of acquiring wealth. Although Nick recognizes possible corruption as well as emptiness and Gatsby's materialstic desires he pushes them aside and insists on admiring Gatsby as great and marvelous. This ultimately reflects the overarching theme in the novel of the numbness of society during that time." This was one of the paragraphs from the essay; This passage accurately reflects how at the beginning of the year I had an awkward flow of words and my sentences were unnatural or didn't make sense. At this time I was still finding my voice and style as a writer and and this point I was still in the first stages of that. However I do feel like from the beginning, I had a good analysis of the points I brought up and I made could claims to my evidence which helped strengthen my essays. If these were accompanied by good writing skills and my own style I think this essay would have been much better.

2)My essay towards the end of the year was our argument essay comparing ownership of tangible goods to intangible goods. My argument was that although one can have ownership of both, ownership of intangible things has a value that is long-lasting. "Moreover, in the workplace or in school, the skills acquired prove far more valuable than any equipment or computer used to outperform. Some might argue in cases where a computer or equipment is used, skill is almost irrelevant because the functions of machinery and technology are more productive than merely a human with skill. Although in some cases this might be true, some extent of skill is needed in order to operate the machinery or technology and skill still proves more valuable in comparison to any tangible piece of equipment used. The skills learned in school and specifically for ones profession are carried for the rest of their lives. Machinery and equipment can breakdown, malfunction, and in some cases cause more harm than good. Yet a person with skill will always own those skills regardless of whether what external factors might affect equipment or technology used in their place. People that have acquired skill in schools or for their professions have the knowledge to teach others and pass down their skill. The value of their knowledge can be spread and help future workers or whomever it may benefit. It is not the machinery or technology itself that can be spread to help teach future prospects however it is the expansion of ideas and skills for future prospects that they can learn and then own to benefit them. Thus the value of owning skills carries out for ones whole life, they can be improved, can be taught to others. Which ultimately gives the ownership of skills an immeasurable value especially in the workplace in comparison to machinery or technology that is tangibly measured to try to amount for the value of human skill." This passage accurately reflects my growth as a writer. By this point of the year I had been able to express my own distinct voice and style in my writing. I was able to maintain a sophisticated voice while still expressing my voice. My sentences began to be less awkward and structured and more like me. I stopped trying to incorporate bigger fancier words just for the sake of it and instead only included words i actually knew how to use so it would be more natural sounding. I also maintained the good analysis and strong points to strengthen my essay. All in all, this piece represents a typical paragraph one can find in my essays.

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4) This year was definitely year of growth in my writing. In the beginning of the year I struggled finding my own voice in  writing and  my own style. Moving away from the structured writing was difficult for me, but as I continued to write I was able to make my writing more flexible while maintaining my distinct voice. I am now able to use strong evidence, and support my ideas and claims better. I feel like I have been able to  make abstract ideas work with  my claim if I support it enough. Finding a bigger idea to relate my claims to has  also become a part of my essays. I'm most proud of my deeper, bigger picture analysis of evidence or claims and implications because I feel that  it reveals a deep understanding of whatever topic I am writing about. To improve in the future I'd like to have stronger reasoning that relates directly to my claim because often times I introduce a strong piece of evidence but I lack the explicit explanation of how it relates to my claim. I'd also want to improve my transitions between ideas because sometimes there's an awkward flow from one point to the next or a sudden change from one idea to another.

My Three Englishes

There are three very distinct englishes I speak, never all at once, but I can switch easily in between them. They are: Romenglish (Romanian and english combined), my informal english, and my formal english. The first english is the english I use around my family members and my friends outside of school. I substitute words from each language as if they are one conjoined language. It goes something like this "Allo, what's up? I'm just doing nimic (nothing). How is ziua ta? (your day)" and you get the point. I rarely take into account when I use both languages, it just comes natural. Or sometimes I just speak english with a Romanian accent without noticing either. This however, only occurs when I'm with other Romanians which is basically any time I'm not in school. My informal english is more widely used, while I'm in school and with any other group of people besides adults. This, I use in day to day conversation with everyone around me its different than romenglish because its strictly english however it is different from formal because it is more casual. Instead of using words like "want to" I'd use "wanna" or "whats up" instead if "how are you". I sound more of myself using this form of english and am more likely to make jokes and express myself when speaking in this english rather than my formal english. It's chill.

My formal english, which is less frequently used because it requires the most brain power. With this type of english, I try my best to comply with grammatical conventions and use more academic sounding words. I write in this form of English, I feel like my brain has been rewired to write this way which is why being expressive in my writing always turn out awkward sounding. Nonetheless, this type of english is the one I use to deal with teachers, most adults, and its the type of english that will get me places. I feel like this type of English gets my points across most adequately and powerfully. 

Racism from Huckleberry Finn's time to today

Racism has been prevalent in all eras of history, however it has been pointed at different group over time. In the setting of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, racism is reflected accurately according to that time period towards African Americans, exposing the injustices they faced. Early on in the novel their subordination is revealed from the pranks pulled on the slave Jim by Huck and Tom. Moreover, the fears of slaves being separated from their families is is depicted through Jim as well as the other horrors of slavery. Furthermore, by allowing such a young childlike narrator, Huck, the readers are given more freedom to develop their own views with a "Huck persona" because of his unreliable, naive character he is able to innocently expose the societal impositions of racism.   People are not born racist or hating certain groups however it is a result of pre-existing racism that is taught. In Huck's case, he's a typical white teenager living in the south during this time, taught that racism is the correct way to think; and that whites are the superior race. He lives in a society where whites de-value the African American race and even disregard them as human beings. Huck and Aunt Sally casually overlook the death of an African American “Good gracious! Anybody hurt?” “No’m. Killed a nigger.” “Well it’s lucky...” which reflects the universal idea at that time (Twain 222). Racism hurts our country; racism is ignorance. Regardless of skin color, they too are human beings. As Huck progressively begins  to question what he has been taught when his adventures with Jim start, Twain encourages individuals to question everything and think for ourselves (Kaufmann). Fast forward a few decades from this time period and slavery is abolished however the deep-rooted racism is still prevalent. Even a century later colored people still fought for equality and to break free from the subordination they still faced. In present time, racism still exists and with the new presidency has been more inflamed and brought to light than ever. Progress still needs to made, and hate still needs to be turned into love and respect. However one must not disregard the progress that has been made thus far, in the early 1900s a person of color would have never imagined a colored person as a CEO of a company or as the president of the United States, nonetheless even able to vote. These significant milestones in suppressing the existing racism serve as motivation to keep pushing for a better society without the strongholds of hate and prejudice. 

The Declaration of Independence reaching far beyond the United States

• The Declaration of Independent worked to set the colonists free from the tyrannical rule and unjust impositions from the British. The document gave life to the birth of new nation and set its values on “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Although its original purpose is set precedent for many other oppressed peoples and served the greater purpose of setting a standard of values for not only the United States but also the rest of the world. Shortly after, the nation of France was inspired to pursue independence and once attained they based their new government on the same ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence.  Other European nations admired the values and discrete call to action against tyranny expressed. the nineteenth-century Hungarian nationalist, Lajos Kossuth described it as“the noblest, happiest page in mankind’s history”. It was not only a Declaration of Independence for the colonies but a basis for values significant to the rest of the world. Its message carried weight throughout the rest of the world as well as in the future of the nation. Various countries in Africa and other continents used the same values and rights of man expressed in our Declaration in the making of their nation. The document was used in advocating for the rights and equality of Americas people that did not experience the valued America so heavily prided themselves on. How could one right of such a marvelous country valuing “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” yet only white men were guaranteed those rights. Thats was the backbone of arguments during the civil rights movement and women’s suffrage movements in which ultimately they succeeded. The declaration of Sentiments was modeled and paralleled the exact structure of the Declaration due to the power it carried with it as a founding document. All in all, the declaration did much more than merely declaring independence from Britain but set a standard of values for mankind and future generations.

Peer Pressure: Opportunity for Character Growth or Loss of Integrity

Peer pressure is inevitable. At some point in someones life the people around them will try to get them to fall in line with what they're doing or what they believe. Whatever the motives are, the people around us will always try to change and mend us into how they feel we should be and act. Many times, we as humans will fall into peer pressure even if we know we are not doing the right things. In the Crucible, Mary Warren is easily swayed by her friend Abigail. When given the decision to tell the truth and potentially save Proctors wife, she is easily swayed by her friends. Rather than do the just action, she figures that it is easier to lie than tell the truth and disappoint her friends.  In act III of the crucible Mary Warren refuses to testify the truth and cries: " Abby, Abby, I'll never hurt you more! (They all watch, as Abigail, out of her infinite charity, reaches out and draws the sobbing Mary to her, and then looks up to Danforth.)" (III. 496-519).  She evidently falls into Abigail's peer pressure and rejects the truth to gain favor in Abigail's eyes. She justifies her wrongdoings because all of her friends are doing the same thing. Moments like those define ones true integrity, Marry Warren had the choice to do what was right or follow her friends and compromise the truth. She chose to to do wrong because she felt it was right because her friends were doing it.  In our lives as well we are often faced with he choice to do what is right or fall in line with what our friends our doing. Those are character defining moments we all face. They show us whether we can stand firm in our character or if we so willingly compromise our integrity to please those around us. Moments when we are faced with peer pressure can ultimately be moments of growth in our lives or corruption of character. All in all, at some point in life we will be faced with peer pressure,  so we can take it as an opportunity to grow and pursue the sincere truth. 

Fear vs. Love

          During the Great Awakening many preachers used different methods to captivate their audience and get their message across. Jonathon Edwards for example uses fear to enforce submission to God throughout the congregation. In his infamous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", Edwards instills fear in his congregation by describing an angered God that looks upon us with contempt. He then says "The God that holds you over the pit of hell... abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked" (Edwards, 50-51). Edwards approach to the congregation does not capture the essence of who God really is. The word love alone is mentioned 551 times in the bible and the most used bible verse states that "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever shall believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). This loving fatherly image of God is not portrayed in Edwards sermon but rather an all-powerful master that looks upon us with disgust. Furthermore throughout the new testament Jesus teaches the masses that God is love and we should pursue a relationship with Him.    
        However Edwards rejects this idea and insists that God is spiteful towards us. This can cause the congregation to seek salvation just for the reason of avoiding hell rather than pursuing a relationship with God because of his love and mercy for us.  When children are taught under fear and abiding by strict rules (which was how most puritans lived in this time) they tend to be rebellious or find the closest they can get to breaking the rules without actually breaking them. When children are taught under love they genuinely want to obey and bring joy to their parents, and if they make a mistake they are more likely to repent and learn from it. This parallels the way people are taught about God, which is why knowing God as a loving father creates more genuine relationship with Him rather than living in fear that God will smite you any second.
         This all comes into play when we live out our lives. When we see God as the loving father He is , we are likely to follow his will for our lives. Instead of constantly needing a reminder to be kind to others and live a certain way, having a loving relationship with God will mold us in his image, which includes living justly and above all loving others. All in all, Edwards sermon serves as a reminder that fear can work in persuading people to act a certain way, but to truly change someone's heart, love triumphs over fear.

Coming to terms with the truth

        A re-occuring  issue in the American society today is the treatment of Native Americans. Moreover if they should have a holiday to celebrate them, replacing Columbus Day. believe that Native Americans deserve more respect and honor due to the hardships they endured at the hands of our country's leaders as well as treatment from early explorers. We deteriorated Native empires as soon as we stepped for on the American continents whether it be from diseases, labor, or violence. In our textbooks we display them as savages, killing off colonists without reason and being unable to keep peace. For all the atrocities we've done such as ravaging their villages, taking all of their land we still find a way to make them look like the provokers. We credit ourselves for introducing them to education and christianity without including the fact that we depreciated the native cultures and traditions while doing so.
          All in all, natives suffered at the hands of Americans however, I do not believe this suffering was completely in vain. Although the suffering the endured could have obviously been avoided there is no going back to change it so there is no purpose on dwelling on the past. This does not mean it should be avoided as most of America has done up until now. We live in a generation more culturally accepting and aware of societal problems which is why now is the time to bring to light and celebrate Native Americans pasts. I say celebrate because regardless of all of the odds against them (most of the Grand Nations of the American continents) they persisted and managed to preserve their culture, and that is something to be celebrated. Coming to terms with the hardships we inflicted on them can do more good than it can harm. It is time to learn from our past mistakes and let it serve as example for present and future generations. By avoiding the truth we only dig our selves in a deeper hole and blemish the integrity of America. If we show we will not let our pasts define who we are now, but rather grow from it and give Natives respect they deserve we live up to the integrity we claim to have.
         That being said, I believe Natives should have a holiday to celebrate and appreciate them. I however do not believe this holiday should replace Columbus day. Columbus as well as the Natives both been essential to the foundation of our society and have enriched our American culture in some way. Although Columbus did numerous unethical things I do not think they should overshadow his important successes in exploration but they should also not be ignored. His mistakes also serve as a learning experience for present and future leaders and should not be shunned from American culture. Both deserve holidays and Americans deserve to know the full truth about both for not only the sake of Natives but as well as the sake of American integrity and the future generations.