I’ve been hurt and felt pain,

abused and felt slain.

Days, weeks, and months have all past,

but I always fear today will be my last.

It had been a year since I once left home,

now day by day the streets I roam.

Looking for love and affection,

but needing help and direction.

Poverty always driving me to desperate measures,

selling myself for others pleasure.

Angry at God for giving me the worst parents,

always thinking my stupidity was inherent.

And then one day I decided this was it.

Tired of all the pain, I just wanted to slit

my throat with a knife,

knowing that no one cared about my life.

I was going to do it, I was going to do it, I swear,

but before I could, I needed to say a simple prayer:

“God please forgive my parents for all they have done,

for every slap and every tantrum and every threat with a gun,

I pray that when I die you tell them one thing, just one,

that I tried to love them, I tried to be that perfect son.”

     Although the life portrayed by the child above is nothing close to the life I live, I find the job of trying to be the “perfect son” a hassle. Having parents with high expectations is kind of what drives me to do my best, but I do know that those high expectations also drive other children into a dark pit. With that said, the reason I wrote this poem, was because I tried to envision the life of a kid that tried to be a “perfect son”, but failed. I imagined the pain that person would feel and how much effort that person must have put in to try and please his parents. All in all, good intentions sadly don’t always turn into success, but I believe that all children deserve to be loved, whether they are perfect or not.

Author Harper Lee establishes the idea that perspectives and personal beliefs influence each other within the novel To Kill a Mockingbird , through the usage of motifs such as fear, ignorance, and lost innocence. With the incorporation of many unique characters within her book, Lee develops the importance of perspective and uses it as an emphatic facet to the plot. By using individual personal beliefs within the setting of the novel, Lee shows the reader the complexion of the characters and how their perspectives shape their beliefs. As the plot carries on, the author helps the reader differentiate between the concepts of beliefs and perspective, which all play a significant role in the story. All in all, author Harper Lee uses the motifs of fear, ignorance, and lost innocence to establish the ideas of perspective and beliefs within her book and the effect they have on the novel and each other.

Early into the book, Lee describes the setting of the story, Maycomb, to the readers, but purposely excludes the aspect of racism from the town until later into the book. This is done in order to show the reader how one’s perspective and beliefs can cause a whole town to lose a once dignified innocence. When she says “Maycomb was an old town…people moved slowly…for there was nowhere to go… and there was nothing to buy and no money to buy it with” (pg.5), the narrator, Scout, portrays a place where life is just a mundane continuation. From her perspective, Scout, feels Maycomb is an innocent, boring place, where discrimination and hate do not exist. Therefore, her beliefs on racism and persecution based on differences are that of opposition to the towns, who in fact supports black segregation. In all, through the use of the motif of lost innocence, author Harper Lee institutes the presence of perspective, and its effect on one’s beliefs.

During the rising action of the plot, Lee uses the idea of ignorance to display the beliefs of the whole town, and how it affected the jury’s perspective during the Tom Robinson case. Through the eyes of Scout, Harper Lee portrays the idea of collective ignorance when she writes, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case” (pg.241). By using this line, Lee establishes the ignorant beliefs of the town folk in Alabama, through the indication of the corruption and bias in the hearts of the citizens. Additionally, Lee uses the quote as a comparison between the court of law and the court of the men’s hearts, in order to show the reader the difference between “justice for all” and “justice for the worthy”. Based on their ignorant beliefs of “white supremacy”, the jury members in the Tom Robinson trial, still convicted him guilty, because in their perspective the case was a guilty, poor white man versus a filthy but innocent Negro. In brief, Harper Lee uses personal beliefs associated with the motif of ignorance, and relates it to the power of perspective through the eyes of the potent jury.

Near the end of the novel, author Harper Lee, implements the subject of fear into the story, as she uses perspectives and accepted personal beliefs to indicate Maycomb’s fear of becoming an equal society for all. Although this idea is developed near the end of the book, the basis of this fear is doing exactly what Atticus Finch described early on, on page 30, when he said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from [their] point of view – until you climb into [their] skin and walk around in it.” Knowing that Tom Robinson was innocent, the people of Maycomb slowly began to change for the better and pursue justice. All that was stopping them was the fear to change their beloved personal beliefs of: white people over black people. However, as soon as they looked at everything through the perspective of the Negros themselves, they began to realize it was wrong, yet they also feared the equality of blacks in society. All in all, with the incorporation of the motif of fear, author Harper Lee explains how perspectives and beliefs play a significant role in society.

All things considered, Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, reflects the importance of perspective and personal beliefs within the novel, by relating them to the motifs of lost innocence, ignorance, and fear. Whether it was Scout, Atticus, or the society of Maycomb in general, Harper Lee develops the idea of many differing perspectives in her novel. With these perspectives, come the beliefs that you act on and, build your identity around. With this in mind, Harper Lee uses both perspective and the beliefs of the characters to explain the effects of racism and prejudice in the book. By using the motifs of lost innocence, ignorance, and fear, Lee is deliberately expressing to the reader how these themes cause and take place because of prejudice. If people were not so discriminative, then Maycomb would still be the innocent little town it used to be, with the citizens having no fear of black equality. Similarly, if Maycomb was more compassionate towards its black inhabitants, then there would be no need for ignorance. In conclusion, author Harper Lee, does an exceptional job developing the ideas of perspective and personal beliefs, and connecting them to the concepts of fear, ignorance, and lost innocence, in order to teach the reader the effects of racism and prejudice.

Dear Mom and Dad,

For 15 years you have raised me with countless stories on how to become a better Christian, but quite frankly I have never witnessed a more convicting testimony of any human being, suffering for their faith, in my life. If you don’t know what I am talking about, you should read Tortured for Christ, an autobiography by Richard Wurmbrand. By the time you finish reading about this man’s years in prison and the cruelties of the Communist government in Europe at the time, you will probably be have a new take on life, just as I did. All I can say for starters is that you better be prepared for the most inhumane modes of torturing, and the most unbelievable state of mind sustained by the prisoners.

Imagine this, a group of men thrown into a tiny jail cell and told to sit there and wait in total darkness, until someone is ready for them, sounds easy enough doesn’t it. Then imagine being picked up, thrown into a brighter room, getting beat so severely that you are just about to die, when you are picked up and thrown back into the dark room again; well, it is not that bad, at least your alive, right? Wrong, after a couple hours of recovering from the previous beating, you are picked up again, whipped with a cat o’ nine tails until blood is pouring from every vein, and then returned to your cell with one slice of bread to last you the week. If you’re a Christian, like most of the men in the jail were, you gave away your slice to fast and pray. Now imagine this every day for 14 years, over 5000 days, and living to tell the story. All this pain was afflicted onto these people, because a group of skinny helpless men would not deny the fact that there is a God in Heaven. This is my minuscule summary of the book, and take my word for it; the stories get much, much more horrific.

Knowing the both of you fairly well, I can say you’re not too into gory imagery, but don’t worry about it, because that’s not what the book is about; no, the story is about having the ability to endure 14 years of this misery and still maintain the state of mind that these men were able to maintain. It is about a man, who put his life on the line for something that he raised to rebel against, but knew in his heart it was the right thing to do, and then paid the consequence for them. Most importantly though, this story shows us the power of love that can be possessed by a man, and how this ability to never let hatred and the brainwashing of the Communists get to his head, but instead meditate on the words of Jesus and change the lives people around him.

Overall, this book provided me with much needed background knowledge on the condition of Christians worldwide, and how many of the countries we dream about visiting for vacation today, may actually have men and women persecuted for spreading the Gospel, while we reside luxuriously in our five-star hotel. There is not enough sympathy in the world to express my feelings for the victims of what is called the “persecuted church”, however the way in which the victims, themselves, inspire you with their attitudes is encouraging. And if you think this is a basic “happy-ending” story, with the conflict resolved before the end of the story, think again because death and persecution continue through the end of the book.

Get ready to cry, love, and ponder on your life, because like me, you will not see the world in the same perspective ever again.

Love,

Nathanael

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

– Robert Frost

In life, we usually have two choices, a big wide easy path or a thin difficult road ahead, and we all take a journey on one of these roads every day, but never realize the significance. There is an implication in taking these roads, since they symbolize the choices we make on a daily basis and how they are going to affect our lives. Those of us who take the big wide road, and follow the pack, will usually end up not far, but in the same ­irritating position as everyone else. Then again, those us who sacrifice the easy life and journey down the road tiny road filled with obstacles, will be the righteous and noble people of this world. Albus Dumbledore says it perfect when he replies, “Soon we must all face the choice between what is right… and what is easy.” On the contrary, this now brings us to the irony behind the poem The Road Not Taken, because although the author is supposed to take the path less travelled, he is overcome with regret and sorrow for making this decision.

Although taking the road less travelled is morally correct, poet Robert Frost is regretful about the decision he made. The regret starts very early in the poem, before even the first stanza, because in the title The Road Not Taken author Robert Frost tells us clearly, that he is writing about the road that he did not take. To mystify the readers, the author does not clearly state this, but instead says that the two paths look alike and the he would like to take the path less explored. However, when he says, “Oh, I kept the other one for another day!” he is stating that he feels deep remorse, because instead taking the path he wants to traverse through and whatever happiness it may have led him to, he is taking the path that is uncommon and peculiar. Finally, in the final stanza, Frost says with a sigh, “Two roads diverged in wood, and I— I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.” In this piece, the author, in a sense of embarrassment and regret, stumbles when telling the reader that he was the one who made the decision. Lastly, when he says, “…and that has made all the difference,” the reader cannot distinguish whether this has unfolded a difficult or fascinating distinction in his life, but from the evidence above the reader can make the assumption that this road he chose, caused him suffering.

In his poem The Road Not Taken, author Robert Frost uses a few poetic devices to exemplify regret. Although the author tells us that the protagonist is choosing between two roads or paths, the title is a metaphor that represents the choices and decisions we can make throughout our lives and their consequences. Another way the author used poetic devices, is through the mood perceived by the reader and the tone or impression created by the author.  In the last stanza, the mood of affliction is suggested when Frost starts using fearful and doubtful terms like: “sigh” and “ages and ages hence,” to describe all the remorse and regret he had towards choosing the path less travelled. Throughout the poem, Frost shows lament by fumbling with his words (which is done using a caesura), sighing, and exclaiming his pity by saying, “Oh, I kept the first for another day!” Eventually, an atmosphere full of grief and sorrow was captivated in the minds of the readers. In short, regret was portrayed through poetic devices in this poem to help the reader understand and fell what the author is trying to present to them.

Space exploration is one of the most high-end risks we as humans, could take part in. However, when we see the images of what lies beyond our view, it is somehow worth every last breath. Nevertheless, it is still an extremely dangerous, not to mention expensive, operation, that if manned could play the difference between life and death. Whether it is manned or not, space explorations can cost a massive amount of money. This money usually comes from the government, otherwise known as taxes, and if used on a failed mission can put a lot of pressure on the government for their spending strategies.  Next when going into space there is an overwhelming dependency on the equipment used to: one, get the space probe into space, and two, to keep the apparatus on the spacecraft working and functioning properly while in space. Third, no one can predict what will happen to you in space. Not in the sense that there are extraterrestrial beings, but the fact that scientists may not be prepared for any impromptu dilemmas that occur in space, negatively effecting the operation. Lastly, if investigating the surface of a planet, the foreign atmospheres, consisting of elements such as hydrogen, nitrogen, ammonium, methane, etc. can degrade or cause harm to the spacecraft. Thus decreasing the amount of time the space probe has to gather evidence. If not, the spacecraft is left to deal with whatever conditions are in effect, while it in orbit, with the help of space officials by computer. All in all, the risk of going into space is enormous, since chance and reliability play a big role.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-02-01-accident-timeline_x.htm

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