Teddy's Essay

5/2/09
Teddy Purnell
Mr. Salsich
Room 2

Dreams of Life and Kindness:
A Comparison of a Poem, a Story, and Life

My life, "Winter Dreams" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and "Kindness" by Naomi Shihab Nye, all have either the presence, or lack of, kindness. "Winter Dreams" is lacking kindness by Dexter wanting to be with Judy, but Judy doesn’t want to be with Dexter. "Kindness", as the title implies, is about kindness, but it is also about where you can find kindness. In my life, I see kindness and the absence of kindness every day. These three things, although very different, have one thing in common; the virtue of kindness.

In my life, I see kindness on the streets, on TV, at school, everywhere. However, I also see the absence of kindness. On TV, I see people dying because of someone else’s lack of kindness and caring. If the by-standers would have shown some kindness, the death could have been prevented. At school, I see nothing except for kindness. Nobody is mean to anyone, and everyone is supportive of each other. I am glad that our school is filled with kindness, especially because I heard that other schools are actually like the schools you see on TV, with bullies and mean teachers. I see both kindness and the absence of kindness in my life, much like Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem.

In Ms. Nye’s poem, she says that to know kindness, you must also know sorrow. Ms. Nye writes, "Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,/ you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing." This means that you cannot fully appreciate kindness until you have experienced sorrow. Being able to contrast kindness with its opposite, sorrow, multiplies the greatness of kindness, and lets you appreciate it that much more. Ms. Nye compares sorrow to a dead "Indian in a white poncho" by the side of the road. The white poncho adds to the peacefulness and innocents of the scene. Ms. Nye was robbed before she wrote this poem, so she might have been feeling like the Indian, innocent, and hurting. Ms. Nye can appreciate kindness, but Dexter Green in "Winter Dreams" needs to appreciate kindness more.

In "Winter Dreams", Dexter Green needs to appreciate kindness more, and when he has it, he needs to hold onto it. In the beginning, Dexter Green is in love with Judy, and wants to be with her. He tries to get her, but she just won’t be with him. He then gives up and convinces himself that he’ll never have her. He needs to take the sorrow he feels now, and use it to see how much he should appreciate kindness more. He must learn that "Before [he] know[s] kindness as the deepest thing inside,/ [he] must know sorrow as the other deepest thing" like in Ms. Nye’s poem. Dexter and Judy will both benefit if Dexter learns to appreciate kindness more. If Dexter appreciates kindness more, he might appreciate Judy more when she came back to him, or he could try harder to get her in the beginning.

Kindness is everywhere, yet nowhere, depending one the perspective of the person. Some people can’t truly appreciate it, and they are blind to it. Some people have felt it, seen it, and only they can truly experience it. Are you among them?