Parker Verhoeff
English 9
Mr. Salsich
4.27.09

Quest for Kindness:
An Analysis on a Poem, Short Story, and Human Nature

Before you can indulge in the highest highs of life, you must know the lows of life as well. You must know sorrow like the back of your hand, before you can even think about escaping it. The writings of Naomi Shihab Nye and F. Scott Fitzgerald prove this. They explain that his basic principle can be found in everyone's life, even mine.

TS: The poem "Kindness" by, Naomi Shihab Nye is actually more about the losses and the acceptance of the sorrow that comes with it. SD: Nye explains that, "before you know what kindness really is/ you must lose things." CM: You must experience adversity-FAST and depression, before you can experience bliss and true "kindness." CM: She realtes kindness to all of life, focusing on the downs, the hardships, the struggles and the toils that life brings-Tetracolon Climax. SD: Once you know of these things, only then may you realize, "how desolate the landscape can be/ between the regions of kindness." CM: You can see how long the journey is, and how much you want to make it the end. CM: You have to come to the realization that, "it is only kindness that makes sense anymore." CS: It is what drives you through life, and only then will it, "[go] with you everywhere/ like a shadow or a friend."

TS: "Winter Dreams" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, in comparison to Nye's poem, is a story of a man who tries his best to experience true "kindness." SD: Dexter Green falls in love with a girl by the name of Judy Jones. CM: He loved her the first moment he noticed the "ungodliness in the way her lips twisted, down at the corners when she smiled, and in the [...] almost passionate quality of her eyes." CM: Throughout the book he explores the "desolate landscape [...] between the regions of kindness," and tries to emulate-FAST the values in Nye's poem. SD: He gets to know the hardships, and depression of life in his pursuit for love. CM: He believes he will get his deserved reward in the end. CM: But she doesn't love him, and she hurts him numerous occasions claiming she does love him. CS: It was a hard thing to do but he finally lets go of his "winter dreams"-his love for this beautiful but cruel woman-Appositive and accepts the fact that "now that thing is gone[...] I cannot cry I cannot care. That thing will come back no more."

TS: I am not exempt from this rule of life, just like Ms. Nye and Dexter Green aren't-Loose Sentence. SD: I haven't experienced the deep sorrow that Nye talks about in her poem. CM: I guess that means I haven't experienced the true kindness that she talks about either. CM: I haven't had to appreciate kindness the way she has, because I haven't lost it the way she has. SD: Like Dexter green, I have to get through the lows of life before I can reach the highs. CM: He pursued his love for Judy, and accepted the obstacles as they came. CM: I have been tenacious-FAST while trying to get better at lacrosse. CM: I'm never going to give up the game I love, no matter what might stand in my way-Loose Sentence. CS: I will persevere, just how Dexter pursued his love for Judy, and Ms. Nye pursues her quest for kindness.

This simple concept is what drives us. It is human nature to strive and want to be better. To know how much better you can be, however, is to know how much you can lose in life. Finally, after you realize this you will notice kindness "[raising] its head from the crowd of the world to say/ It is I you have been looking for."

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Self-Assessment

1. 4.30.09 - A Five Paragraph Essay on Kindness

Things I've Been Working on: I am still working on comma issues, and unnecessary words. Also, fitting everything under "one umbrella" has been an issue.

Things That I Like in this Essay: I see good uses of quotes, that help my writing flow. Also, I believe all of my special tools were apt.

Some Weak Parts: I might have been a little vague in some parts. There also might be some unnecessary commas.

Grade: B+