Chris Essay 16

March 1, 2010

Mr. Salsich

English

An Essay on the Theme “Forgotten”

Dear reader,

            This may be confusing to you so I will explain what this essay is. This essay is a multi-genre essay about the theme of “forgotten”. The essay consists of four genres including a haiku, a poem, a recipe, and an expository paragraph relating the theme “forgotten” to the book, To Kill a Mockingbird. I hope that this will help you understand my essay, and I hope that my essay will be “unforgettable.”

Poem:

I have felt forgotten many times in my life. These were simple things, like being forgotten at school.  My greatest fear in life is to die a forgotten soul; a lifeless body, forgotten by the world. I fear dying, feeling as though nothing was accomplished during my lifetime; all of the people I met, and all of the things I did meaning nothing.

I fear being just another faded star in a distant universe; a simple blur amongst the large, glistening stars and constellations that people gaze at in wonder and awe.

I fear being forgotten, within the massive universe.

However, although these fears of being forgotten reside inside me, I know that I will never be like this star. As I look around me, I see that I am surrounded by loved ones, and the memories I share with them. These memories form a bond between us, a bond that can never be broken. Through the good times, and the bad times, I know that they will love me. I know that they will care for me. I know that they will always be there for me. I will shine as bright as the sun; I will never be a forgotten star.

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Expository Paragraph:

(TS) Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird many of the characters become “forgotten”. (SD) Many people are forgotten as the book progresses, for instance, Mrs. Dubose. (CM) Mrs. Dubose became a key part of the book, and Atticus even thought she was, "the bravest person he ever knew” (Lee, 149), because she fought disease and old age without medication. However, as the book progresses, she was sadly forgotten amidst events like the Tom Robinson’s trial. (CM) In fact, she was not even talked about until the very end when Scout was remembering her childhood. (SD) Another character, Boo Radley, was forgotten during the Tom Robinson trial. (CM) The trial was huge in Maycomb, and Scout, Dill and Jem were so focused on the trial that the idea of Boo Radley disappeared from their minds. (CM) Through the beginning of the book, Boo Radley, or at least the Radley house are mentioned in almost every chapter, but during the trial they are not mentioned once.(SD) There is another character in the book who was forgotten, and I believe it is fortunate that he was. (CM) Mr. Ewell was killed by Boo Radley, but Mr. Tate thinks it should be said he “fell on his knife instead,” to cover it up. (CM) The town will forget about everyone involved in killing him, and just be glad the children are unharmed. Mr. Ewell was the only one reminding people about the Robinson case as he tried to get revenge, so his death will help close the Tom Robinson case, and make everyone forget about it. As Mr. Tate said, “Let the dead bury the dead.” (Lee, 369) (CS) Many people have been forgotten throughout the book, one disappeared quickly, one disappeared only to return, and one will take a very long time to be forgotten, at least to Scout and Jem.

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Haiku:

I made a difference.

I lived life to its’ fullest.

I’m not forgotten.

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Recipe to NOT be forgotten:

Step one: Gather ingredients: Laughter, Memories, Loved ones.

Step two: Be different. You want to stand out, to not be forgotten, don’t blend in with society.

Step three: Make friends. Form bonds that can never be broken to ensure you will not be forgotten.

Step Four: Help someone out. If you do community service, volunteer, or help people in other countries with human interaction not money, you will never be forgotten by the people you help. I experienced this during my volunteering at Apple Rehab during the Assessment Project.

Step Five: Live life to its’ fullest. Be happy throughout your life, and you will not be forgotten.

Stir ingredients together, and bake in the world for about a lifetime to ensure you are not forgotten.

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Self Assessment:

For me, the major difficulty for this essay was using proper grammar. We had to write a freestyle essay, while using proper grammar, so Mr. Salsich could grade everyones fairly. If one person was allowed to use any type of grammar they wanted for a poem, while others had to use proper grammar, it would not be fair. This was difficult because I am used to writing poems that do not abide by "proper grammar techniques." I believe I worked around this problem very well. I believe I improved on my last essay by writing more thoughtful, fluid, and graceful sentences. I believe one of the strengths is that my writing was graceful, and very meaningful to me. Even with these strengths I feel the essay could have more details, clarity, and although I tried hard, I believe there are still some grammatical errors. I would give myself a B+ or A- on this essay.