Ty's FINAL essay

Ty LeVarge

Mr. Hamilton Salsich

English 02

May 26, 2009

Ruins are said to hold deep secrets. Tintern Abbey was one of those ruins that is popular even today. It was a sacred place to the poet William Wordsworth. I will also return to a sacred place of mine five years from now.

In Wordsworth's poem, "Tintern Abbey", he reflects on how he is seeing Tintern Abbey after five long years. He reflects upon how divine the Abbye seems after its aging years of being alone. The roof was taken off because of the new ruler in Wordsworth's time period and made the abbey closer to being a ruin. Later, it was overgrown with trees, grass and animals that made their home in the Abbey. Wordsworth speaks mainly of the Abbey's landscape and how it has changed since he last saw it. He remembers its beauty before it became more well known by tourists. Now, he sees it tamed and controled and not as natural as he remembered. He appreciates Tintern Abbey no matter how it may look.

Similarly, like Wordsworth, I will return to a sacred place in my life, Pine Point School. I will have returned and encounter memories as i walk into each individual classroom. I walk into Mr. Salsich's room and remember all of the good and bad memories of my past years. I would also explore the computer room and remember our math classes and computer classes we had in there. As I would explore the school, I would probably have sudden memories of certain events. Ideas would appear in my head of things like conversations with friends, classes, dances, and sports. Many memories would appear and make their way into my mind making them fresh again. Seeing this school after five years is going to be a wonderful experience.

Which is more educational, Ruins or places of knowledge? They are both about secrets and old memories. Artifacts and books are holders of secrets. Memories, dust, and knowledge are all that remains when someone leaves for five years.

Ty's essay

Ty LeVarge
Mr. Salsich
English 02
May 13, 2009

The Stones of Time:
An Essay on a Garden Stone, Two Poems, and My Life

(1) What if transformation happened every day? (2) Believe it or not, transformation is always happening. (3) All objects are undergoing mutations and transformations every minute. (4)Everything we see is undergoing a transformation.

TS The garden stone is very similar to the poems written by the German Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke. SD The garden stone is a stone that is weak on its own, but undergoes a transformation. CM Alone, the stone is just a slab of rock in a crazy shape. CM However, when placed in a stone walkway, it becomes part of something beautiful. SD Also, the garden stone has the smoothness and has left history of who stepped there like how like Rilke describes in one of his poems. CM He says, “but the courageous morning melody that hovers and shimmers behind their fading steps” and that seeing, leaves a record in your mind of what you saw and what it did. CM The garden stone keeps the dirt and the weight that was beared (FAST) upon it. CS Everything in life leaves behind a footprint; figurative, or literal, and that footprint is always remembered by every speck of dirt and every inanimate object that that object has left upon the stone.

TS The stone is very similar to my life in one, very specific way; I have transformed as the stone can. SD Like the stone, I was once an individual that was separate from the rest. CM Five years ago, I was a separate unit, alone, helpless, vague. CM The stone is similar because it was new to its environment and was lost. SD Now, in the present time, the stone and I, have changed. CM The stone is now part of an elegant garden and serves as a piece of one walkway. CM This year, we have all become closer as one and I am now part of that walkway making its way from point A to point B. CS All objects, living, and inanimate, can change drastically over a short period of time.

TS Similarly, In both of his poems, Rilke makes many interesting points and ideas. SD One that stuck out to me, is transformation. CM In his first poem he states, "… life is transformation: all that is good is transformation and all that is bad as well" and he means that every event is a change in someone's life. CM Changes always affect someone spiritually and may change the way they think. SD I also like the statement he makes in the second poem. CM He says, "out of whose depths their dearest secrets speak" He seems to be telling that within everything, is a secret that was kept away for a long time. CM After a long time, that those secrets are revealed to all around it. CS Strange how all of life's mysteries revolve around the simplest actions.

(1) We see transformation. (2) We reveal secrets. (3) All happen sometime in our lifetime. (4) We have no power to alter it because only ourselvees can control the transformation, and transfromation is the most powerful

Ty's essay

Ty LeVarge
Mr Hamilton Salsich
English 02
May 4, 2009

Goodbye:
An Essay on How Two Poems Relate to My Life

What is the action of separating and saying goodbye? Separation is a natural cycle that takes place for everyone. We all have to say goodbye to someone during one part of our life. Everyone meets someone new, and they soon have to say goodbye for a short time, or maybe forever

In the poem by Emily Dickinson, she describes parting as a separation from everyone and everything around you. In the first stanza, she says, “If immortality unveil /A third event to me.” This says that she has seen too much of being partitioned with family members and other beings she loved. She seems to have written this stanza with sorrow as if she has lost many dear to her life. Similarly, in the second stanza, she says, “Parting is all we know of Heaven, / And all we need of hell.” Here, she says that when you die, wherever you go, you will have parted from the entire world. She says that where you go after you pass away does not matter, because you will have parted from all that you have had and all that you have left behind. Overall, her poem seems to have been made out of the tears that she has shed from the years before.

In the poem by Naomi Shihab Nye, she expresses parting as a good thing and that it should also be something to be wary of. In the poem “Adios”, she says that you should get to know the word “goodbye” and to bond with it. In the first stanza, she says, “Use it. Learn where it begins, / the small alphabet of departure” and she says that you should know it inside and out. Similarly, she says near the end of the poem, “Think of things that disappear. / Think of what you love best, / what brings tears to your eyes.” She means that you should remember everyone that you love and know that at any instance, they can disappear. You may see someone you love before you go to school, but after school, you come home to find them to have disappeared from your life. Together, being something good, and something that should not be tampered with can run its natural course without you.

At the end of my career at Pine Point, I and many others will be parting from each other. “We were part of something special” is a quote from my speech and I believe it to be true. As the class of 2009, we have shared a bond that has lasted years. We were inseparable for the time we have been together. Now, we are nearing the end of the year as ninth graders and we have cherished the memories that we have had through the years. From random events of joy, to times where we have had tears of sorrow, we enjoyed every moment. We shared it all and we went through it all together. Now, it is May and we are nearing the final weeks of being together as a class. There are many times where we wish to have gone back in time to relive those moments and to save time so that we can stay together. We can still save time by spending as much of the time we have left enjoying ourselves and sharing with friends. We can still IM and Facebook each other, but we will never feel the same.

Parting is everyone’s worst fear and greatest enemy. However, without separation, there would be no reason to truly love someone. Everyone would exist in unity, but without true loving and care for all people. For anyone to get the biggest benefit before being severed from those you love, you and all others need to live together, and live out loud.

Ty's essay

Ty LeVarge
Mr. Salsich
English 02
April 28, 2009

Kindness:
An essay on how two tales compare to my life and to each other

Kindness has many forms to resemble many different types of feelings. Love, joy, and happiness are all common forms of kindness. These are different emotions that are centered on someone enjoying being kind.

Kindness is a general topic that has many sources that are similar to it.
In the short story “Winter Dreams”, Dexter Green experiences love which is a heavy and sensitive type of happiness. Love is a very powerful type of happiness and has much power that is not to be tainted with. If you were to keep your love strong, then your life will become a huge miracle for you. If you do not take love seriously, it will betray you and make your life miserable. Dexter Loved Judy and Judy loved Dexter and one decision changed Dexter’s life forever. Judy ruined Dexter’s life by leaving him for another man. This shows that Judy can devastate Dexter’s life by making one decision for her own needs. Love is powerful and can be an advantage or an apocalypse of your life.

In the poem Kindness, by Naomi Shihab Nye, different types of happiness occur within the focus of the poem. For Ms. Nye, she thinks of kindness as another form of happiness. To give someone a gift is kindness is giving the person you are being kind to a great deal of happiness. You also have a great deal of happiness whenever you give kindness. She also suggests that a fantasy is another form of being happy. Being in a fantasy is an endless source of happiness and solitude. Being in a fantasy is like being in a dream and is the best place for someone that loves to be alone and in their own safe place. A fantasy is a safe haven for someone and kindness is a generosity that is a gift.

In my life, I have many forms of happiness and I have some that are similar to these stories. I have a small fantasy that helps me to live happy and peaceful. Video games allow me to stray away from reality and allow me to unleash stress and escape the outside world. I can just fade from reality and be happy for the entire day to achieve great happiness. I also am happy through kindness. I have given much of my time and devotion to the community and people that I know. Kindness made me happy to be giving back and that kindness is a huge part of my happiness. I have similar opinions of happiness as poems and it is very interesting.

Happiness is easy to obtain but is very valuable. If happiness was to be lost then everyone’s life turns to become miserable. If one individual is miserable then the day of many are affected. Happiness is an essential part of an individual’s everyday life.

Ty's essay

Ty LeVarge
Mr. Salsich
English 02
April 20, 2009

Feelings of Stories:
An Essay on How “The Garden Party”, “The Traveling Onion” and
“I’m nobody” Relate to the Word: Sentimental

How do two stories have feelings within their tales? The Garden Party has many points in the story where one of the characters expresses an exemplary amount of feeling. The Traveling Onion is a poem of how the onion is forgotten and how it feels about being left out. The word sentimental is a word describing the feelings expressed, and it fits well into these two stories.

TS In “The Garden Party”, Laura has expressed many emotional feelings for the events that she has witnessed. SD One instance of this was when she was about to stop the band because a man died from an accident. CM Her sister Jose was conflicting with her because she doesn’t want the whole party to be stopped just because a man died. CM This was where Laura started to have saddened feelings that not only the man had died, but that her sister did not care for him. SD She was also sentimental when she visited the house where the man’s family lived. CM She saw of how peaceful the man was as she stared at his peacefulness. CM After she was done, she came out to Laurie crying not because it was awful in the home, but that it was beautiful. CS This is a story of how emotions can turn into works of magic.

TS In the poem, “I’m Nobody” by Emily Dickinson, she is feeling sentimental about how being someone can be a bad characteristic on an individual. SD She says telling that you are nobody would make others advertize that fact. CM Most people always want to be remembered in life as someone to remember and Emily Dickinson is the opposite. CM She wants to stay invisible and not have to fear about being somebody. SD She also does not want to express any sensibility or feelings so that she would not be noticed as someone. CM at the beginning of the poem, she sounds as if she is telling something quietly as if it were a secret. CM She kept to herself to avoid being someone and she detested becoming someone known to people. CS Emily Dickinson avoided popularity from while she was alive, but now, she has become a well known poet of our age.

TS Feelings of being left out and forgotten is a focus in Zora Neale Hurston’s poem “The Traveling Onion”. SD She describes the onion as it were a traveling artifact that has traveled around the world only to be forgotten. CM The onion disappears when it arrives onto the plate of a meal or in a sweet stew. CM She praises it and every meal that has an onion within it. SD The onion would feel as if it were being forgotten after it gets picked and forgotten by the time it was prepared. CM The onion has been treasured and cared for since the farmer planted its seeds into the ground. CM now that it is at the end of its journey, it feels forgotten about and is only there to be a slight flavoring factor for the meal. CS The onion may not matter to the consumer in a meal but it should be respected for its journey and its existence.

Feelings are powerful and they can control an individual’s life to make them feel better or worse about themselves. The word sentimental has a powerful meaning when it is compared with touching stories like “The Garden Party”. People in real life can be sentimental and could have very sensitive emotion towards someone or something. Having feeling is normal for all living organisms and that people are sentimental all the time.

Ty's essay

Ty LeVarge
English 02
Mr. Salsich
April 15, 2009

A Figure From the Past:
An Essay on "The Little Brother Poem" and "Sonny’s Blues"

In "The Little Brother Poem" by Naomi Shihab Nye, she describes how her bother has become older and she doesn’t see him anymore. To her, the brother she once knew had grown up to be less dependent and playful with her. The same happened in "Sonny’s Blues" when Sonny became dependant on drugs and lost the older brother he knew. Both tales are very similar because they both have to do with a brother that has changed dramatically and lost touch with their sibling.

In her poem, Ms. Nye uses a lot of figurative language to express the feelings she had while writing the poem. One way that she utilizes figurative language is describing how her brother grew up and eventually went on with his life. She describes her brother as if he were a young child who would play with their older sibling and collect treasures on their adventures. “I take your old camping jug, poke my finger through the rusted hole in the bottom” which says that she and her brother had fond memories with the jug. Aside from the jug she finds, she finds other mementos of when they were younger. She also has memories, such as the time she injured her brother by pushing her brother in front of a passing bicycle. Even though they have gone through the good and the bad, they are still brother and sister and still love each other as family. She also tells of how her brother was playful and cheerful every time she saw him. Ever since her brother moved out of the house, she misses the toy cars running up her arms and the smile she had loved to see every day. Ms. Nye describes the memories of her brother in a creative and interesting way.

In "Sonny’s Blues", Sonny is the older brother of the main character and Sonny finds himself lost in drugs. In Sonny’s Blues, while the character is listening to Gracie play reminds him of how he and Sonny used to when they were younger. “Sitting in the living room, in the dark, by myself, and I suddenly thought of Sonny” this reminds him of how he and Sonny were when they were young. Sonny and his brother shared good times together until Sonny became lost in drugs. At the end of the story, Sonny and some of his friends started playing at a club and Sonny was able to release his blues. “Sonny's fingers filled the air with life, his life” explains that he releases his lifelong sorrows. This is when the main character remembers the brother he once knew. Both pieces of writing have to do with the knowledge of the brother that was in the past and the acceptance of the brother he is now. In "Sonny’s Blues", Sonny is able to release his sorrow with music and his brother sees him not as someone under the influence of drugs, but as the true person he is. In Ms. Nye’s poem, she accepts the fact that her brother has grown up and moved on from his younger life. Both pieces are very similar even though they have different settings.

Both "Sonny’s Blues" and "The Little Brother Poem" are great examples of a point where someone remembers a brother from the past. They both are about the realization of their past brothers and how they meant to the main narrators. I like how these two pieces tell a story about the brother of the author. These two stories are interesting stories and they tell a very interesting lesson, to not let your siblings disappear as they grow up.

Ty's essay

Ty LeVarge
Mr. Salsich
English 02
April 8, 2009

Medal of courage
An essay on the theme in the poem courage and how the poem relates to my life

There is a medal of honor in the military, but why isn’t there a medal of courage for daring sacrifice? Sacrifice is something that makes courage. You need to be ready to lose something to be courageous if that were to be the cost. Courage is a lesson that someone has to learn and with courage comes sacrifice.

The poem Courage contains a theme of sacrifice. The quote, “if you faced the death of bombs and bullets” says that you died for someone or something. Whether you die for your country, or if you die to protect someone you love, you made a sacrifice and that took courage. You need courage to protect someone or something you love and would vow to protect. Also, the quote, “if your buddy saved you and died so doing” is another example of sacrifice. It takes love to provoke someone to do so. That is sacrifice to save and protect someone. Sacrifice plays a large role in the focus of this play and is mentioned several times in this poem. It is mostly focused on the sacrifice of one’s life to protect another. You also sacrifice help from your friends to prove that you can accomplish something on your own. Sacrifice is a theme in this poem that is not very easy to describe by words but by their actions and the feats that is required to be courageous.

I have not accomplished something as great as saving someone else’s life, but I have sacrificed some elements of my former self to make my current self even more outgoing. I had to sacrifice a part of my old self or risk losing that part to succeed. I once sacrificed my dignity by randomly saying something at lunch that was followed by an awkward silence. Sacrificing a piece of you can be risky but well worth it. For me, I had to become friends with people and that took courage on its own. I had to take that large extra step that may make me look crazy, or someone cool. It mostly worked except for a few people but I was able to be friendly because I took that risk. Random ideas are what gave me the courage to take that step forward and to be a cool and funny person. I was able to tell of random ideas and be able to make everyone laugh and have a fun time. This took much risk of losing my friendliness with everyone, but my friends have even become better friends. Courage has earned y friendship with everyone and now I am glad that I took that first awkward step towards having a better life.

Courage can be rewarding, but it can also lead to disaster. It is a weapon at your fingertips that only you can control. It can be a disaster of your life, or it can be a boost to your life. Courage is something that you do not want to try unless you know the people that you are talking to.

Ty's essay :)

Ty LeVarge
Mr. Hamilton Salsich
English 02
February 24, 2009

Brave new worlds
An Essay on the Virtues on Prospero’s Island in The Tempest
and to How the Real World Would Need Virtues to Bring Peace

“As you from crimes would pardon'd be” spoken by Prospero, is an example of amicable forgiveness. Forgiveness is one of the many themes that brought peace onto Prospero’s Island. The island became a now peaceful island, with the waves silently rushing onto the shore, the wind blowing in the trees, and even the seagulls crying as they look for food. (LOOSE) The island was once like a battleground of treachery, hate, and deleteriously overwhelming power.

“Finally, change is in the air!” is a quote from a random citizen at the end of Half-Life 2 who describes change as Miranda would describe it at the end of The Tempest. The island changes from chaos and confusion to peace. The island came to agreement and settled their differences. Every inhabitant on the island has achieved peace and satisfaction with each other. Another theme that is shown by Prospero is the power of forgiveness. Prospero was able to bring peace by forgiving all those he has harmed. Prospero has even forgiven himself for allowing his magical power to consume him, thus making him thirst for revenge. However, peace has been achieved by unity; and unity is the bridge between people and peace. Without unity, there would not be peace between people. Unity is the missing piece of the puzzle that makes the puzzle incomplete until the last piece is found. Without these pieces, peace could not have been achieved on the small isolated island.

The world needs peace to prevent it from cracking apart in chaos. One virtue of peace is unity. We need unity in order for everyone to cooperate. Without unity of the different people in the world, we cannot achieve peace by any other means. Second virtue, is tolerance. War has broken out with sides raging against each other because of our religion, our color, and our power and many have no tolerance for one person or another (PERIODIC). If we were to tolerate each other for what we are on the inside and not how we are on the outside, then the world would be a much better place. Lastly, we need commitment to keep the bonds of order together. Without people willing to commit to having peace, the world would break apart again. Commitment is the backbone to the body of this world’s order without commitment, everything will breakdown and erupt like a volcano. These three virtues are what could establish this world to be a clean and renovated Earth.

What if these dreams for Earth were to come true? Would Earth be a more peaceful place than it is right now? I believe so. With commitment from everyone, making Earth a peaceful home is not so distant in the future.

Ty's Essay

Ty LeVarge
Mr. Hamilton Salsich
English 02
February 18 2009

“Music tames the savage beast” is a common quote that explains the effects music can have on someone. Music can cast its spell anyone. It has power almost similar to the magic in “The Tempest”. Music I’ve heard of in my life has worked magic on me and Caliban has experienced this as well.

TS Caliban, who is a slave to Prospero, can find his happy place and it is everywhere. SD Caliban does not fear the music as a bad thing, but rather accepts it. CM He also tells Stephano and Trinculo, “Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,” meaning that they should not fear the unusual noises. CM He knows that all noises are harmless and peaceful. SD Caliban almost believes that any and all noises are musical instruments that play a different tune each minute. CM The air, and the sea are like the flute and symbols with footsteps being drums. CM The island is like its own band with their own instruments. SD Also, when Caliban gets put to sleep with music, it’s like the music is his lullaby. CM The music gently lays him to sleep and he dreams of riches and power. CM Once he wakes up, he would have “cried to dream again.” CS Caliban is almost in another trance or imprisonment when he hears the wonders of the music on the island.

TS I have witnessed the most common magic in my life; music. SD Music has been a stress reliever for me. CM Without music, I would be stressful and my life would not be very cheerful. CM It is an infinite source of cheer that can replace the stress in me. SD Music also, similar to Caliban, is able to make me relax and eventually put me to sleep. CM If I had a stressful night of homework, I could turn on some relaxing, mellow tunes to aid me in sliding into sleep. CM I can get more sleep, and more relaxed thanks to the common power of music. SD Music makes me happy and provides entertainment to me as it does to most others who listen to music. CM All music provides something to fill up the free time that I have in my days. CM They fill up those gaps with enjoyment and happiness that can brighten my day. CS Music makes my day every day.

I would not be able to live my life as well as I am right now without the limitless supply of music’s magical wonders. Music is the essence of people’s souls. Music almost gives people their color instead of being black and white. Without music, we would be almost lifeless and not as round as we are now.

Ty's Essay :)

Ty LeVarge
Mr. H Salsich
English 02
February 2 2009

Imprisonment Isn't so Bad:
An Essay on My Thoughts of Imprisonment

If I were imprisoned, I would think of being imprisoned as not much of a punishment or a horrific synopsis like most. Rather, I would view this as an opportunity to let go of the chaos around us. This would be last thing on people’s mind because their mind would be tainted with chaos, with fears, and with sorrow. A single thought of being imprisoned could wreck the minds of many.

Although being imprisoned, if I was allowed to see one thing each day, I would have to choose between seeing my friends, and seeing just the outside in general. I would probably most likely want to see my friends. My friends are the soul of my life and they support me no matter what. If my friends weren’t there, my life would fragmentize around me. However, if I was not allowed that, my second option would be just see the outside world in general. To not see the outside and its beauty would be an unimaginable punishment because you cannot get a sense of vision and of what the day looks like every day. If one does not see the outside, they cannot sleep soundly, nor can they enjoy reaching something and to have high hopes of reaching a goal. I would choose my friends over all mainly, as without them; my world would be a dull and lifeless ball of chaos.

If I were to ever be imprisoned, I would say to myself “I would like to be as free as the air that surrounds us.” I would like to be able to roam anywhere possible like the air that stands within every small space. To be limited by no obstacle is a free being. To be free is to flow anywhere through boundless space. If one was free they could wander, they could explore, and they could venture into the unknown. Being free has little risks and few boundaries stopping you. You could do almost anything if you were truly free to do so by not only other’s limits, but your limits as well. One cannot be truly free unless they were immortal but immortality can be in one’s reach.

If I were ever imprisoned, it would seem like being in a nightmare, but you can get some positives out of it. You are basically placed on a leash and you have a chance to control the wants that you think you need. Everything that is not essential to one’s survival is a want because we could live without it. Being imprisoned, whether in a prison or maybe even grounded, is not a positive thing but good things can become of it.

Ty's essay

Ty LeVarge
Mr. H. Salsich
English 02
January 27 2009

The suffering in confinement:
A comparison between Ariel and Caliban in “The Tempest”

Two figures of the past both despise each other and are stranded on one island with a merciful ruler is like being in a prison cell. With a roommate and a jailer outside the door who won’t listen means that chaos will break out at anytime. This is similar to Ariel and Caliban and how they are within tight space under Prospero’s rule. This is a wonder of how things will turn out in the future between them.
Being a servant of Sycorax, Ariel, over the years, had gone through some harsh punishments casted upon her. Ariel had gone through tough confinements for any type of disobedience to her mending masters. Ariel was first trapped within the confines of a pine tree by Sycorax for 12 years until she was freed. She was later threatened by Prospero to be sealed within an oak tree, if she was to disobey him, of which it would be nearly impossible for her to escape from. Ariel had been a loyal servant to Prospero and he does not want to let her go yet. She is loyal to Prospero and travels anywhere he commands her to go and does what he says. Through her loyalty, she is now bound to the island as a servant to her master. Ariel is bound to the island as if there were large walls and a gate that can only be unlocked by Prospero and that gate leads to her freedom.
Caliban has despised Ariel and Prospero for their cruelty towards him and he curses at them for their cruelty hoping that something lurid will happen to the both of them. Hurt by Ariel’s words makes Caliban feel as if they are another prison cell for him. He is not in control of how he looks, and yet Ariel still uses words to make him feel weak and helpless. Ariel seems to release her frustration upon Caliban because he is a punching bag to most because he seems defenseless. However Caliban was also bound to the island like Ariel. Caliban is also a servant carrying out Prospero’s deeds with great displeasure. He is also weighted down by Ariel and her cruel words and is nearly about to go off the edge because of all the pressure. Both of these factors bearing down on him are making him nearly lose his mind and he is going on the brink of disaster.
Ariel and Caliban despise each other but yet suffer some the same punishments. Both were forced into becoming a servant in order to be free from their previous imprisonment. They are to stay within their island prison or face being isolated within an object. They paid the price for freedom, but was it really worth it?

RED OPENING PARTICIPAL
GREEN CLOSING PARTICIPAL
PINK FAST WORD

Ty's paragraph

Ty LeVarge
English 02
Professor. H Salsich
8 January 2009

Anger Leads Nowhere
A paragraph describing a theme of hate in The Tempest

A main theme in these two pages is hate and this is what Prospero was moving towards. “The King of Naples, being an enemy/ To me inveterate, hearkens my brother's suit;” is an example of why Prospero would show hate. Ever since Antonio removed Prospero’s dukedom, Prospero has hated Antonio for his treachery. Prospero, though he has been removed, still has power within to get revenge by using the sea to drown the boat that his enemies were on. He also shows his hatred of Antonio by believing that they thought of him as an evil being “He thinks me now incapable; confederates-- So dry he was for sway--wi' the King of Naples”. These thoughts only exercised his anger to further limits. For one to think of what may be true fuels his anger like grease in a fire. He also makes a statement and says, “Mark his condition and the event; then tell me If this might be a brother”. The part where he says, “If this might be a brother” refers to his brother as not a brother anymore, but some foreign object. This is another piece of hate that glowed in Prospero’s weary, hateful eyes. This shows how angry one could become over a small amount of years and with the power to control the elements; he could unleash fury upon anyone he wanted to.

Ty's CHristmas Carol essay

Ty LeVarge
English 02
Mr. Salsich
December 04 2008

The path of a greedy spirit
An essay on a quote
From A Christmas Carol
By Ty LeVarge

Someone greedy walks the path of punishment as punishment walks the path of the greedy. Marley was forced to wander the earth following his fellowmen for eternity as punishment for his selfishness in life. He also made a chain of what he “Forged in life” and wore it on his free will to remind himself of the greed he had in his life. Marley was as greedy as Scrooge and for that he deserved the punishment he received.

TS Marley lived wealthy but paid the price as a spirit and was made to follow his fellowmen for eternity. SD Marley made a chain of his life and on it was all of what he had made in life and used it to keep as a reminder of his past life. CM His chain was of greed and money and that was all he had in life and cared for nothing else. CM He made the chain to remind him of his greed, his wealth, his selfishness, and his self attitude. SD He was also made to walk the earth forever and to follow his fellowmen because of his past actions. CM He was to walk with shame as shame walks him. CM He paid a hansom price for his past greed and it weighs him heavily for now he must wander for the rest of eternity. CS Marley could have saved himself from his suffering but kept being greedy and paid a dreadful price for it.

Markley was to wander as a spirit forever for not going out and sharing with the world. A simple action such as giving some money for a charity would make a difference in the lives of others. If Scrooge turns his attitude and greed around, he may be saved from the hardships that Marley endured. Marley needed to go and help others to be saved from his now eternal suffering that he must do for the rest of eternity.

Ty's essay #10

Ty LeVarge
Mr. Salsich
English 02
November 18, 2008

Someone different is trapped
An essay on heterosexism and my thoughts of Ms. Olsen's talk

A personal view from me on heterosexism would be almost like anyone else; I don’t mind being around homosexuals. I believe that people should not judge others just because they like someone different. Someone who isn’t listening to what insults others say, is doing the right thing. If one is different, insulting them will not do a thing to change them from being something different.

I believe that people should not judge people because they are homosexual and should not treat them as if they are aliens from another world. Everyone is a human being and being homosexual should not make you that different other than loving someone your same gender. In this world, everyone is supposed to be equal as human beings and that we should respect each other no matter who we choose to love. We should also be able to choose who we love and not be turned down by someone’s words. They should not care if someone insults them for loving someone of the same gender and go on living their life of dreams. People that are homosexual should not worry of words and should continue with their lives and not worry about what was said in the past. I think that homosexuality is alright in the community and that others should accept that because word and actions will not solve a problem this big and that people should just accept it that some people choose to me homosexual.

My personal views of Ms. Olsen’s presentation were very positive because of her positive influence she gave us. She shared with us, her experiences, which seemed to influence us greatly that there is that treatment in the world. She told us that too give us an idea of the evil that exists in this nation just because someone is homosexual. Ms. Olsen also tells of how she lost friends because they don’t want to look strange being around her and is very sad that her friends would abandon her. Ms. Olsen also speaks of the safety zone; a place of comfort to discuss heterosexism. This place of safety is where safety is “safety as whole” meaning that safety is always considered in a discussion as a whole. The safety zone is always indicated by a special upside-down pink triangle and shows that you can discuss anything of heterosexism within those walls. Ms. Olsen taught us much of heterosexism and its effects on others.

If one chooses to be homosexual, do not insult them, it does nothing to change them to be the way you expect them to be. If you were to find yourself being insulted, you should not bother talking back, it wouldn’t change them either. If getting into a fight, fight back if necessary to save your life, but tell someone who cares about heterosexism so that you can tell them of your problems. These factors of evil treatment are necessary to reach one’s ears that know what to do to solve any problems.

green = absolute
red = participle
pink (for upsidedown pink triangle ^_^) = quote

Ty's 9th essay and 1st on this blog

Ty LeVarge
Mr.Salsich
English 02
November 12, 2008

The Amazement of an Essay
A Brief Essay on my Reactions to
“The Way to Rainy Mountain”

If I was to describe my reaction in a short simple phrase, I would say, “It was amazing” because it made my mind take in all of the parts that made me think and imagine what the author was describing. The author had put in many pieces of imagery that painted an image of the scene in my head. The author had also included descriptions of what kind of person his grandmother was like and important things she told him. The author likes to use stories of his family as well as imagery which are a great combination when used together.

TS I had a mix of reasons for my amazed reaction to this essay’s powerful words. SD One good reason that I enjoyed this essay was because the author made reference to his grandmother a little throughout the story. CM He told of little bits of her life and how she spent time with the author. CM He also shared her story of the creation of the big dipper, the story of the seven sisters that climbed a tree and became stars and formed the big dipper. SD I also liked seeing imagery within the structure of this essay. CM A prime example of imagery would be on page 315, “The great billowing clouds that sail upon it are shadows that move upon the grain like water, dividing light”. CM Imagery like this should be used sparingly so that it keeps the reader interested. SD I was also able to find a few lines that related to our theme; the journey. CM on page 314, “It was a journey toward the dawn, and it led to a golden age” and showed that their migration to the east was a journey that was worth the trip. CM Also on page 314, “[…] and traveled fifteen hundred miles to begin my pilgrimage” shows another journey worth the jaunt. CS The author seems to have really put a lot of thought into organization as well as connections with his grandmother.

The author seems to have put hours of work into this essay to make it to be the best it can be. He especially put a lot of effort into how his tribe behaved and also to their history to make the essay have some interesting facts. The author also included some facts of the tribe’s traditions and customs to help keep the momentum of the story. Overall, the essay was well written and carefully thought out to make it very powerful.

Ty's ssay #7

Ty LeVarge
Mr. Salsich
English 02
November 4, 2008

The essence of another reading
An essay on how another reading of a story
Can reveal things never noticed before

TS How could reading a story you have already read possibly help you in understanding a story and finding great writing tools within it? CM It could help you indefinitely with understanding the plot of the story and finding interesting points that you may never have noticed before. CM In the Garden Party, there have been many discoveries that I have made and some that are still waiting to be found. CS If re-reading a book, look into it as if you were looking for gold, and you will find something eventually.

TS As I re-read “The Garden Party”, I have noticed several things that I missed during my first reading that ,I thought, seemed very intriguing. SD One example of what I found would be one example of purposeful repetition that I didn’t notice before on my first reading. CM I noticed that on page 11, the author uses extravagant a lot. CM It also blended well with the rest of the paragraph and flowed well with what the author was saying. SD Another set of purposeful repetition was on page nine and was also repeated throughout a few sentences. CM When Laura is talking about the incident and how they must stop the garden party is where she uses “stop” about three times to add power. CM Just saying the sentences with power behind “stop” adds emotion and seriousness into it. SD Also, when Laura is putting on the new hat, I realized that something made that seem a bit unusual when her mother interrupts with the hat. CM This was a way for Laura’s mother to stop the words of the man being killed and to distract Laura. CM This was a good tactic deployed by Laura’s mother to stop the news of the incident form ruining the garden party that was prepared for by hard work. CS This goes to show how re-reading a book can be essential.

TS A connection bonds a story and its reader, and that is how many times you read the book and how hard you focus on it. CM The more you read the book and the harder you focus on it, shows how strong a reader and the book are together. CM Same if you read the book less and don’t focus on it, you get careless, and you are not taking the book as seriously as you should be. CS This is a great lesson to keep in mind, if you like a book, focus on it, and read it often, because you never know what you could find that you never thought of before.

Ty's essay # 5 :)

Ty LeVarge
Mr.Salsich
English 02
20 October, 2008

How could one appreciate life?:
An essay on how Zora Neale Hurston appreciates her life in her essay
"What it Feels Like to be Colored Me” And how I appreciate my life

Ms. Hurston is a type of person who appreciates her life, even though others around her may not want her to be around because she is a different color. No matter what anyone says, she is an upright person who can’t be knocked down easily by mere anemic words of discriminating dominance. In other words, she won’t care much of whatever anyone says about her, where those words can breakdown someone who isn't as strong as Ms. Hurston. Ms. Hurston is not only a powerful writer, but a powerful person of structure, a structure that is hard to knock down and she is still able to appreciate her life no matter what.
Ms. Hurston, no matter what happens, no matter what anyone says, no matter what anyone does, she is still headstrong and goes on with her life and continues to appreciate her life no matter what occurs around her. She appreciates being herself because she enjoys the life she has, even though she would love to have a better one, she would probably love the one she has now more than any other life she would have had. She lives in a good community that accepts her and likes having her both as a resident, and as a friend. She is also successful in life and probably has a good family, and a nice house; which seems to add to her appreciation of her life that she was given. She also describes how tourists think of her and others around her as the tourists are riding through their village. They may say things under their breath about Ms. Hurston and her neighbors and friends when she was young. However, these small phrases are unable to reach the ears beyond that form of communication; which is the advantage to the village; they are deaf to the curses and the horrible talk of others. Ms. Hurston has almost an impenetrable wall that shields her happy life from any invaders wanting to make her suffer.
TS I appreciate my life as much as possible even if something wrong happens; I learn from it and get on with life. SD Like Ms. Hurston, I also live a good life, and have a lot of friends, a lot of fun, and a lot of memories. CM During my life, I have made dozens of friends and memories that I will treasure for many years to come. CM This shows that I appreciate life and that I think that my life is pretentious since I came to Pine Point. SD Also like Ms. Hurston, I don’t bother to notice if someone was saying that I was a nonsensical white American. CM Not that this has ever happened in my life and I hope it doesn’t, but I would say something like, “Go get lost in the mountains.” and move on with my life (even though I would say something more inappropriate, this was a way of saying it without harsh language). CM This instance just proves that no matter what anyone says or does, I will continue to appreciate my life. SD My main goal in appreciating my life is to simply make the best of it and to live life to its fullest. CM No matter if anything bad happens or even if anything good happens, I will stare at it for a bit and cast it to the side like walking through brush in the woods. CM The point of one being able to appreciate life is to appreciate the opportunity and to live life to its fullest; maybe even beyond the limit. CS In order for one to not concern themselves about any negative activities around them, they must appreciate life and live it to its fullest to be blind to those activities unless necessary.
TS My appreciation of life is the same if not similar as Ms. Hurston’s appreciation of her essay. CM We both seem to appreciate life not just because we live good lives, but also that we wish to live life to its best. CM This shows a powerful connection of similarities between Ms. Hurston and I which shows that more than one person can have the same appreciation of life. CS A great message for readers to pass on is to not worry about anything that may seem to change your liking of life but to worry about what may enhance your life.

Ty's 4th essay

Ty LeVarge
Mr. Salsich
English 02
06 October, 2008


Could there be a gain from a loss?

Is it possible to have a gain from a loss for someone who messed up their lives; and is the gain something other than learning from your mistakes? I think that having a gain out of a loss is as possible as catching a fish and that it is very possible to receive a good out of a bad. This exists both in "Sonny’s Blues", and "Winter Dreams". Several positives that come out of the bad can appear in everyday life as well.

First, I will start with "Sonny’s Blues" where the title gives away the fact that someone could make gains from losses. Sonny lost control of himself at the start of Sonny’s Blues by becoming addicted to heroin which represents a major loss for him. He messed up his life because of heroin and that messed up his life more than before, so he paid a hefty price for it. Through using heroin, he also messed up his mental health and he wasn’t thinking straight and ruined his life that way as well. Another loss in Sonny’s Blues is the narrator’s character that loses the brother he once knew. He only sees the brother who has been on drugs and in all sorts of trouble; not the one he remembers from the past. Sonny in the past was like a normal person, no drugs, no fights, a good and healthy life. That’s the brother the narrator remembers from the old days. However, he receives a gift from all of the bad things that he chose to do and went through during his life. At the end of the prodigious story, he plays his blues at a local nightclub along with some of his old friends. He also seems to have fulfilled one of his dreams which is to play the piano and to become a pianist. Sonny’s Blues overall has some interesting ups from downs all around and is sure to pass on the message that you get gains from losses and that it passes the message on to other readers as well.

As in "Sonny’s Blues", "Winter Dreams" had a lot of losses but also a few gains from them as well. The first great loss was when Dexter lost Judy’s love which was a big deal for Dexter because he loved Judy but couldn’t accept love back. As stated in Ms. Burhans’ essay, “Men like Dexter don’t cry” is saying that he doesn’t physically cry, but I think that he does cry mentally or in the inside of his heart. Through all of the things that he has been through, all of the things he has had in his possession, and all of the things he has seen, he cries mainly because the one he loves turns on him. After Judy left Dexter, Dexter lost all sense of love within his heart. His engagement with Judy was over and so was his with Irene. After his heart broke he just decided to give up on being burdensome to get a wife or to even be in love. Although, by making the sacrifice of not loving someone, he was able to gain emotional freedom to his mind and to reduce the stress he was feeling. Through joining the army, he was able to conciliate this emotional freedom and to live without fear of loss from love, live without worry of love, and to live without missing or feeling sad of any he loved. He is now free of any thoughts of Judy or anyone else he loved so he didn’t get emotional about it. Winter Dreams is basically a story of love, loss, and learning from them and the readers of this story should take it seriously.

Winter Dreams and Sonny’s Blues are related very similarly in terms of Losses and gains and they should be respected as so. Sonny’s Blues has a lot more losses that are happening in the world right now and are more emotional because it’s about a brother who gets addicted to heroin and can’t break free. Winter Dreams is still of sadness and loss but isn’t as powerful with the losses within it as Sonny’s Blues has within it. Both Sonny’s Blues and Winter Dreams are both emotional and sad stories, but whether one is more powerful than the other does not matter.


Works Cited“‘Magnificently Attune to Life’: The Value of ‘Winter Dreams’” http://www.enotes.com/winter-dreams/magnificently-attune-life-value-winter-dreams Accesed 2 October 2008

Ty's essay 2nd post i hope =)

Ty LeVarge

Professor H. Salsich

English 02

22 September 2008


The essay by Mrs. Goldman is a very formal and sophisticated essay filled with more details than the story gave originally. She seems to also have taken quite an interest in the story since she knows a lot about the story and gives some background information stated in her essay. Based on Mrs. Goldman’s essay, I would say that she is a great essay writer and a great professor as well. I also realized that she uses lots of FAST words in her essay which enhanced her essay even farther.

I have analyzed her essay and found out an unbelievable amount of literary terms ranging from FAST words to loose sentences to great introductions of sentences. She has started her paragraphs and also sentences in an intriguing way that interests me. One interesting fact was that when she was summarizing the story, she mentioned each major part as a “movement” which puzzles me because it is something that we don’t see in most essays very often. In the beginning of her essay, she tells most of the background information like the year it was published and also gives details about them. Mrs. Goldman also mentions many specific and interesting additional details about almost every part of the story that she mentions during her essay. During her summary of the different parts of the story, I have realized that she adds additional details than the story may give sometimes. I have also realized that she gives great FAST words such as “profundity” and “surrogate” which are two great examples of the many that are spread around in her essay. Mrs. Goldman presents a lot of great details within her essay and shares a lot of really great points as well.

My personal thoughts about the essay would be along the lines of a great essay but more specifically, that it has good organization and great summary details. My thoughts about the summaries that Mrs. Goldman came up with were some great ideas. Main thought that I thought up of was that she discusses the summary is almost as if you were reading the story only a more formal version of it. She also has added a lot of details but has dispersed them evenly so it doesn’t ruin the essay which is a good strategy to balance out your essay. I also think that Mrs. Goldman’s organization is critical and was very well done. She doesn’t jump around on different subjects randomly; instead, she keeps everything in line and doesn’t let anything go out of place. She also does not mention anything off topic anywhere in her essay at all. All together, Mrs. Goldman has produced a wonderful essay and with great organization and detail.

The essay by Mrs. Goldman is a version of the story from the reader’s view and how most thoughts from the reader would be almost the same material. Mrs. Goldman is probably a professor that is a great teacher that her students would deserve. She writes very formally and must have learned a lot from her teachers and is hopefully teaching her students the same thing. In my opinion, Mrs. Goldman is worthy of the name professor and should feel honored to pass on her teachings.





Works cited
Goldman, Suzy. "James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues': A Message in Music," in Negro American Literature Forum, Vol. 8, no. 3, fall, 1974, pp. 231-3

Ty's Essay Yay! 2nd Essay post!

The not too different quote relationship
An Essay based on the relationship between a quote
By the German poet Rilke and a quote by N. Mandela
By Ty LeVarge

An interesting relationship of two quotes, seemingly based on two different objectives, is not too different after taking a second look. The quote that I had chosen to pick was, “Education Is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” by Nelson Mandela in which I had to compare to a quote by the German poet Rilke. This was a quote that struck me like a bolt of lightning and made me think deeply about all of the possible meanings that could be similar to the quote by Rilke and I decided that the quote by Mandela had properties that are parallel to the Rilke quote. I was able to uncover a significant meaning which was that Rilke is telling the young poet to wait for the answers to his questions to come to him on their own and that time is the best way to answer all questions. This is what I think the main theme that Rilke is trying to describe to the young poet and what he should do when he has questions that he feels need to be answered.

The quote by Mandela is one that would stick out of the crowd and would really glow in the dark when read. The main theme that Mandela is saying in this short quote is that education is a powerful weapon that can be reached and used at your fingertips. Education could be used to make you be successful in life to make you have a good job to have a good family and to have a good home. It can also be used to know about something more than others and you could also be a star in game shows too. Another superb meaning is really in the quote itself, and that is that Education has the possibility to change the world and how the human race behaves. Education can aid you in making a great invention that could, for example, make objects hover and go at the speed of light. Your knowledge could also be used to change the way things look such as change the color of an object in seconds or even make it invisible. Lastly, education would make you smarter than some other people in some different situations such as your education in writing poems may make your poem be in the top five in a poem writing contest. A person that has had education but not as good as yours may not be as smart as you but they could still make changes to the world. However, because you have had a better education you have the possibility to impact the world in a much larger degree. The main point of the quote by Mandela is that everyone can change the world but the ones with more powerful education will make a bigger impact on the world.

The quote by Rilke has a meaning to it which is to wait for answers to come for the questions that are beyond your reach because eventually in time the answers will come. Rilke’s hidden meaning, to let all questions wait until the time is right for the answers to appear, has its own meanings as well. Rilke is saying that there is no need to rush the answers that cannot be found right off the bat but to wait until they find you. The answers that cannot be found can only be discovered through patience and time only then would the answers be seen. Sometimes I think that waiting is the best way to answer difficult questions and that may be what Rilke is trying to say to the poet. Sometimes the answers would just come randomly later and much easier and would make you think, “Oh now I remember the answer to that question!” Also, you may want to seek out the answers for that question after the initial wondering of the question which would make you want to wait to see if any other possibilities that could arise. It is also possible that another point that Rilke is trying to say is that the young poet may understand his questions more if he was to wait a while to come up with the answer. For example, say that when you were 14 years old, you wondered what cavemen looked like back in the prehistoric age, and you pondered the question for hours but couldn’t find out the answer. Then, after years of high school and college you are able to view an approximate animation of what cavemen looked like back then and since you studied them, you now understand all about them rather than back when you didn’t know much about them. All of Rilke’s meanings all have some form of importance that holds his quote together and keeps it solid to be able to understand all concepts in the quote.

Rilke’s quote and Mandela’s quote are not that different if you were to think about them side by side they are not as different as you think just by looking at their main points. I would almost think of the quotes as brothers that are very much alike and are almost describing the same point. One example would be that Mandela’s quote about education seems to tie in with Rilke’s quote because Education is about understanding a subject whereas you would understand a question by learning about it and waiting for the final result or answer to finally reach you. This is a good example of how these two quotes would relate to each other and also goes to show that an answer will reveal itself if you are patient. Mainly what I think these quotes mean is tat it is wise to wait and learn about your question before attempting to figure out the answer.