Coming of Age Writing Project

Coming of Age Writing Project

By Jeremy Goldstein 812

Prompt #3: Who was I? Who am I? What do I want to be?

            I really confused myself. It’s almost like I want to ask myself questions. “Why Jeremy? What influenced me to say/do that?” I honestly would’ve changed so much about my decision-making. Sometimes I think, if my present day self was me in that situation, you know, one, two, three, four, etc., years ago, my life would be so much better. But I (the one that’s writing this) wasn’t. Maybe the reason this me wishes I was there because I know what happens and want to change it. That guy a year ago doesn’t know. Time doesn’t work like that. Time works in mysterious ways. It screws everything up, making life terribly worse. I guess time must really hate me. It makes me fend for myself without any protection from anyone else. I’m not good at living; I desperately need somebody else’s help. Somebody telling what to do, what’s good for me, what will be good for my future.

Even in my almost immediate past, I would’ve done so many things differently if this jerk time would let me redo or have entranced me with extreme knowledge during the occurrence of the event. This would help me shape the rest of my youth how I want it to be. I’m not too worried about my adult life, that doesn’t affect me until college. To help avoid the next four years of my life being a negative blur, my decision-making must be perfect. It has to be so good that in the future I’ll look back and say either, what a smart boy I was! or I couldn’t have done it any better myself. I have a slight vision of my future, but if I drastically improve my short and long-term decision-making, the future waiting over the horizon might be enjoyable.

With all these concerns about my past and my future, what about now? I mean, people do things for their future so life is good then. What about now? Have fun? Meet some new people? I don’t understand this me. He does some things good, some terrible, and some just okay. I disappoint myself. Soon, this guy under my skin will develop into my future. Yikes, I’ll definitely live a pretty bad life. Nah, I’m just kidding myself. I must ask myself, though, Who was I? What do I want to be? And most importantly, Who am I?

Then I realized, who I am doesn’t matter. It seems apparent that I’m a different person everyday. No, scratch that, every second. I’m gaining more and more knowledge by the tick. I’m like a time bomb; I get closer to achievement by the second. The thing is, I don’t know what achievement is. This achievement will tell me who I am. Scratch that as well, that will tell me how I change dramatically, and then I’ll go back to changing by the second. Life will be me just waiting for another time bomb to go off.  

Romeo and Juliet Final Edited Essay

Romeo and Juliet Essay: Capulet

By Jeremy Goldstein 812

            The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a tragedy about two lovers from two families that hate each other. The character Capulet is the father of one of the lovers, Juliet. As a father, he had a chance to be a mentor to her, but takes a far darker route; and in the words of Juliet, probably a shadow. His changes lead to a turning point at the end of the play. Capulet’s anger is the life of Juliet.

            In the beginning of the story, Capulet does what he thinks is best for Juliet and yet he does still take respect for her opinion. For example, he says to Paris, “And, she agreed, within her scope of choice, lies my consent and fair according choice.” He doesn’t just give Paris the keys to his wife, but kindly gives Juliet a decision. Also, when Romeo is at his party, he lets him stay and mingle despite the pleads of Tybalt, his respected nephew. He says, “He bears him like a portly gentlemen. And, to say the truth, Verona brags of him to be a virtuous and well-governed youth.” This shows that he respects even the enemy. It appears that Capulet is a perfect mentor.

            In the middle to end of the play, Capulet becomes much more commanding, acting like a cruel figure. While he may have had respect for her opinions earlier, this has clearly diminished. One example of this is when he says, “I’ll not wed. I cannot love. I am too young. I pray you, pardon me.” He’s mocking her, and blatantly. He thinks that she’s acting selfish when really he doesn’t know what emotional pain Juliet is going through. Capulet also even expresses a little hatred, saying, “God had lent us but this only child, but now I see this one is one too much, and we have a curse in having her.” The fact that he says lent means that he wants to get rid of her, and soon. He can’t stand her mere presence while in his rage. This newly picked up attitude makes him a shadow.

            When Capulet changes, the rest of the play changes. It’s almost a cause and effect pattern. For example, he gives out many instructions to the characters with him in Act 3 Scene 5, which causes his wife to question his judgment at some points. Then he yells at Juliet, and the nurse becomes convinced that Juliet should marry Paris. This causes Juliet to fake her own death. And of course, her death leads to the eternal rests of Romeo and Paris. When one chip falls, in this case the emotions of Capulet, so do the rest, unraveling the rest of the plot.

           

In conclusion, Capulet is a cruel figure to Juliet. Being her father, he should be kind and tolerant. He is at some points, but overall he more fits the mold of a shadow, a character in the way, making the story sadder for the spectators. The play would definitely be a lot different if it weren’t for him; and it wouldn’t be a tragedy.

            

Romeo and Juliet Essay Outline

Romeo and Juliet Essay Outline

By Jeremy Goldstein 812

Intro:

·      Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a tragedy about love.

·      The character of Capulet is a shadow to Juliet

·      Capulet had a chance to be her mentor, but passed on the opportunity

Body Paragraph 1:

·      Capulet could’ve been her mentor, but chose to control her love

·      Makes her marry Paris

·      “I must make a desperate tender of my child’s love. I think she shall be ruled with all due respect by me. Nay, more, I doubt it not.”

Body Paragraph 2:

·      Capulet becomes a shadow, or a dark figure, to her

·      Act 3 scene 5 Lines #132-137 and 187-194

·      Explain why/how this makes him a shadow archetype

Conclusion:

·      Capulet relates to the character of Polixenes from A Winter’s Tale

·      Capulet is overall a very interesting character

·      Make a connection to self

RR due 4/18

“Casey at the Bat” is a poem written by Ernest Lawrence Thayer with a structure that tells a story. The poem itself is about baseball star Casey, who has a chance to win his team the game, but strikes out. The mood of the poem revolves around the feelings of the crowd watching the Mudville team.

            The beginning of the poem features a feeling of desperation, and wanting to win. The fans feel like they need Casey to do that. Then, when “Flynn let drive a single” and “Tore the cover off the ball,” mighty Casey came to the bat. The fans stood strong, excited because their hero was coming to the bat. However, this Casey took strike one, and then he took strike two. The huddled thousands of fans were growing quite anxious, shout “ ‘Kill him! Kill the umpire!’ “ and “ ‘Fraud!’ ” while Casey stayed calm and cool. Then the mood shifts back to it was at the beginning because “There is no joy in Mudville.” This was because (drum roll please) mighty Casey had struck out. This completes the cycle of the poem, just like a story.

            In the end, the mood in “Casey at the Bat” makes the poem feel like a story. The genius structure also perfectly summarizes a game of baseball: sudden hope that’s ruined by a strikeout. I guess in this sense that resembles some men’s lives: a rich man marries a trophy wife, is happy for a short time, but then realizes that she’s just marrying him for his money.