A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

You walk down the street a happy person. There's a check in your hand and a spring in your step as you walk into your home. You think of all the things you had to do to get that money; each was a challenge in its own way. Although the work was hard, it was worth it for the check you set on the table, and, though having the money simply handed to you would have been easier, you know that, in a way, knowing that you earned the check yourself is better. In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Francie and Neely are proud to bring their first pay home, not because of how much they earned, but because they earned the money by standing up to the challenges at their jobs. Life is full of challenges but that's part of the reason it's so great.

If people stand up to challenges, they'll be rewarded. In the book, when Francie and Neely decide to have the biggest tree thrown at them, the way I saw it was, the tree stood for all the challenges in life that they had to face. The tree smashed into them, crushed them, almost brought Neely to his knees, but Francie and Neely found a way to stay standing through it all, and so, won the tree. The challenges that people have to face in life can do these same things and if people stand up to them, keep themselves from being knocked down, they'll be rewarded almost every time. Francie and Neely were rewarded with the tree, and in "Home", the father's sacrifices and hard work were rewarded with the benefit of being able to keep his house. Francie also had to go through a different kind of challenge at her first job, being accepted by the other workers. Francie had to find out why the others were taunting her, and when Francie did, her job was much easier and she had friends at her job with her.

Sometimes, overcoming a challenge can be more fun than getting the reward. Francie's challenge was earning money for her family so she tried two jobs and found that she liked going to work better than getting paid. At Francie's first job, she had plenty of friends to talk and have fun with while she worked, while at her second job, she was doing what she loved most, reading. In real life, people challenge themselves in a manner of ways, simply because they find it fun. Baseball is a challenge where the goal is either to hit the ball and get to the base, or to strike or tag the runner out, depending on which team the player's on. Baseball is something people do because it's fun. Every game is some kind of challenge, but some challenges are fun to do.

When people overcome life's challenges, they find pride in themselves and others. As Francie and Neely brought home their first pay, they were proud, not only of themselves, but of each other as well. Katie Nolan was proud of her children because they had managed to overcome the challenges presented to them. Once a student passes a test, they're proud of themselves and, sometimes, of their friends because they had over come the challenge of learning the information on the test, and are now smarter than before. Doing things yourself, no matter how hard, can be more satisfying simply because of that feeling of pride when you finish.

Challenges are part of every day life. They make life more enjoyable in a number of ways, from making games more fun to being the source of pride. Without challenges, life wouldn't be interesting, people wouldn't know what it is to be proud, there'd be no need for reward; life would be completely and utterly different in the worst sort of way. Francie's whole life is like the world's biggest challenge but Francie couldn't be very much happier unless Jonny Nolan could come back to life. She embraces challenges because challenges are part of life and defenitly do make life more enjoyable.

All Summer in a Day

You're walking through the hall, happening to see a kid by themselves opening their locker. You recognize them as the weird kid no one ever talks to because they're completely obsessed with something, never doing anything unless it's related to that certain thing. The kid doesn't have any interest in making friends, either. You also know for a fact that the kid is a bit insane. Suddenly, a group of kids comes up and grabs the kid. They over power the kid easily because the kid doesn't have any friends to help them and no one, including you, even tries to help. You walk right on by, wanting nothing to do with the strange kid being shoved in a closet, not noticing when they never show up to the next class. In All Summer in a Day, the author describes how, Margot went insane because she isolated herself because of her obsession. Obsession is something to be feared, because obsession leads to isolation, and when you isolate yourself, you lose the friendship of others, which is one of the most important things you can have.
When a person isolates themselves, they lose any friends they might have, or don’t make any friends at all. The person loses contact with any other people, increasing chances of going insane. In the beginning of All Summer in a Day, Margot refuses to take a shower, kicking and screaming, covering her head with her arms, afraid to let the water touch her. Water symbolizes life, so to be afraid of water means a fear of life, and if you’re afraid of life, there’s something really wrong with you, so you know Margot isn’t really alright from the beginning. On the day the sun came out, the children locked Margot in a closet, forgetting about her. Margot being locked in the closet symbolizes her isolation. She can’t get out of the closet and the other children won’t go in, thus, Margot is alone, cut of from the rest of the world, unable to be with anyone else, or to go anywhere other than where she already is. In the end, the author suggests that Margot either died, or went completely insane.
Obsession is something to be feared because it usually leads to isolation. In the story, the author tells you that the only thing Margot spoke, read, wrote, sang, or generally thought about was the sun. Margot wouldn't even play games with any one else because they didn't have anything to do with the sun. The other children thought Margot was weird and stayed away from her because she hardly ever sang or spoke and didn't know how to play games. Margot also stayed away from other people because no one else shared her obsession. No one else wanted to obsess over the sun, so Margot never did anything with any one, and so isolated herself from everyone else to an extent to where even the teachers never noticed whether or not she was there. Thus, Margot isolated herself because of her obsession, so, in a way, it was obsession that made Margot go kind of insane.
People should fear obsession and isolation because they lead to the loss of friendship. Friendship is important because it is powerful; there's strength in numbers in a number of ways, and when someone has friends, that person has less chance of going insane. Friends are people to have fun with, as well as people to talk to. They're as important to life as sleeping or eating. Without friends, people wouldn't have anyone to talk to, or anyone to have fun with, and if people don't have social interaction, they go insane. Friends also help each other. If someone needs help, their friends help them, like if a group of people gangs up on someone, their friends would help them. Also, the people in the group ganging up on the person would usually all be friends. It’s the power of friendship. Margot didn’t have any friends so didn’t have the power of friendship, thus was unable to keep the group of children from locking her in the closet.
Obsession should be feared, because obsession leads to isolation. Isolating yourself leads to insanity because you lose the friendship of others. When you lose the friendship of others, you lose the power that keeps people from going insane; friends are that important. Friendship is a powerful thing that’s hard to gain but easy to lose. It’s the greatest power a person can have. People should think more about holding onto it than obsessing over things that don’t really matter; think about it, but not obsess.

Veterans Essay

When is the right time to honor American Veterans? How often do you honor people who risk their lives for their country? Once or twice a year, on Veterans day or Fourth of July? What about all the time, every day of the year? Veterans risk their lives for their country and so should be honored every day.

American Veterans are some of the bravest people ever. They’re people who go into other countries to fight for America. Veterans go to places where they get shot at and sometimes killed because they try to protect their country. Some veterans come back from wars in wheelchairs or on crutches. Other don’t come back at all. But all veterans are ordinary people who some of the most extraordinary things.

Veterans are some of the bravest people ever and are honored for it. People honor veterans on Veterans Day and sometimes on the Fourth of July. On Veterans Day, people all over America honor the veterans fighting in current wars. On Fourth of July, some people honor the veterans of the American Civil War. They honor the brave thing veterans have done and are still doing.

American people honor American Veterans once or twice a year, but is that enough? Veterans give their lives for America. They deserve more than one or two days a year! Veterans deserve to be honored everyday, but not like with a big party. Americans can honor veterans everyday in little things. People who pray at night or before dinner can pray for the veterans fighting in current wars. More people could put American flags out in front of their house or maybe other places around the house. People can do little things like that to honor American Veterans.

Veterans are ordinary people with families, friends, hopes and dreams. They do brave and extraordinary things for their country. People all over America honor veterans once or twice a year and some might honor them even more often than that, but veterans should be honored even more than that. American Veterans should be honored everyday, in little things. People don’t have to throw a big party to honor veterans. They just have to show that they care.