Kyle's Essay

Kyle Sebastian
Professor H.Salsich
English 9
19 May 2009

Past, Future, and Present:

An Essay on a Passage by Rainer Maria Rilke

One always uncovers the mysteries that lay within themselves as they continue their journey in life. As we continue to evolve as a people we continue to find things that suggest how we once were and things that help us discover how we have changed. We will continue to let go of things, gain new things, and in turn change as all life does.

TS: Often overlooked and forgotten about, stones are some of the most boring yet interesting things on this planet (Appositive Opener). SD: The garden stoneis no doubt a solid object. CM: You can clearly feel the rough texture and feel the sheer hardness of it. CM: As in all solid objects a stone is easily picked up, which reminds me of when Rilke writes “so ready to grasp” this supports the idea of how easy some things are to take and are done whatever with. SD: Another example is that a stone is often a symbol for being strong, robust (FAST), or unmovable. CM: When I read “strong and sturdy” in Rilke’s passage I instantly thought of a stone. CM: A stone is one of the simplest symbols of something “strong and sturdy” so it was an easy connection to make. SD: Another thing is that stones can be very old, lying dormant in the ground for thousands of years and even encase things inside them. CM: When Rilke writes “out of whose depths their secrets speak” it reminds me about how a stone or a fossil can be uncovered that is millions of years old and can tell you secrets about what happened in the past. CM: The thought that something so ordinary can basically uncover the unknown in astonishing. CS: Stones are truly some peculiar things, looking ordinary on the outside, but holding untold treasures on the inside (Participle Closer).

TS: I have found fossils inside myself that show me what kind of person I truly have become. SD: I discovered that if I really work hard for the things I want then I can get them. CM: This year I’ve really tried to stay on top of my grades and so far it has been one of my best years academically. CM: You can take the hard way and work for something, or you can take the easy way and do nothing for nothing in return. (Antithesis?) SD: I have also noticed that I have changed since I was in Kindergarten, no doubt thanks to Pine Point. CM: I came to this school only interacting with the family that was already here and closing myself off from everyone else. CM: Now in ninth grade I am more outgoing and its easier to interact with people than it was ten years ago. SD: I have also noticed that all of my closest friends have the same things in common; loyalty, kindness, a sense of humor, and a genuine character (Tetracolon). CM: I’ve never specifically picked who my friends are, but rather called the people that I’ve gotten the most contiguous (FAST) to or are the most comfortable with friends. CM: Never have I noticed that they all had the same qualities in common until I started thinking about next year without some of them. CS: All of these “fossils” I’ve recently dug up have shown me the “secrets” within the “depths” of myself.


TS: Such as their are different fossils holding different organisms I found different lines held different meanings in this passage. SD: The line “If God had only made our hands to be like our eyes - so ready to grasp, so willing to relinquish all things” means that our eyes can let go of things so much easier than our hands. CM: When our eyes gaze upon something they, in a sense, hold it and whenever they close they instantly let go of it. CM: However, when our hands close they only grasp tighter around what it was they were holding. SD: “Property is poverty and fear” because when you hold something dear to you, you “fear” to lose it and once it is lost you feel like your in a state of “poverty.” CM: Poverty is not only lack of money, but can be a lack of anything so its understandable to feel like your in poverty when you’ve lost something important to you. CM: You can only be free of “poverty” and “fear” if you let go of things willingly; that way when you don’t have anything, you have nothing to lose. SD: The final line that drew my attention was "Once out of our hands, however, things ought to move forward, now sturdy and strong, and we should keep nothing of them but the courageous morning melody that hovers and shimmers behind their fading steps." CM: This line explains that once we let go of things they aren't just forgotten, but instead they move forward. CM: A great and apt example of this is the dreaded departing of Pine Point, which so many of us fear, but once we leave, Pine Point will continue to prosper in real life and in our minds.

Rocks and fossils share a similarity to what kind of person you truly are. Rocks and fossils hold some of the things that are truly unique to the earth as your own quirks do for you. Our personality is what makes up who we are and what we stand for, don't ever forget it.