<p>Hello, so i have two.. I'm taking december & i'm actually pretty nervous.</p>
<p>Assignment: Do you think that ease does not challenge us and that we need adversity to help us discover who we are?</p>
<pre><code>There is a saying that life is a roller coaster—filled with ups and downs. The hardships we face in life, which equate to the downs, alter our perception of reality and cause us to reexamine ourselves. Although some may argue that we need adversity to help us discover who we are, it is adversity itself that makes us who we are; this notion is made evident through Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and a personal encounter.
First, in the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character, Hester Pryce, is ostracized by society. She had committed a sin of adultery, and was now facing two forms of punishment: living a life of solitude and rasing a daughter who others consider to be demon like. Living a life of constant humiliation while raising her daughter is the adversity that Hester faces. This adversity, however, did not help her discover who she is, but rather mold her into a human being that was unharmed by the brickbat comments geared to her and her daughter while living a life in isolation. Adversity caused Hester to reevaluate her life and enabled her to make changes that would be most advantageous to her and her daughter. This reevaluation resulted in a different outlook in life and made Hester who she is today.
In addition to how Hester from Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter proved that adversity makes us who we are, I had a first hand experience. Three summers ago, my family and I were in a fatal car accident. The four of us were hospitalized and we eventually all left traumatized with the aftereffect of the accident. Although each one of us changed differently, we all were left to recuperate. The adversity I faced with the car accident alter my outlook in life and changed my mannerisms. For example, as hackneyed as it sounds, I am a lot more optimistic now than I was before. I also will never sit in a car without a seat belt on, even if the traveling distance is less than 100 feet. The adversity I faced made me who I am today.
Rather than helping us discover who we are, adversity makes us who we are—it molds our existence into a different route than before. Hester from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter’s adversity in addition to mine have changed who we are as individuals.
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<p>And the second one:</p>
<p>Assignment: Should heroes be defined as people who say what they think when we ourselves lack the courage?</p>
<pre><code>Resisting to conform to the come in a challenge that everyone in society faces today. Challenging conventional standards may risk one’s reputation in a society so willing to classify. Those who say what they think, when others lack the courage to do so, are heroes in society. By saying what one thinks classifies him or her as a hero because this comment incites a change in society; this is demonstrated by the abolitionist movement and the movement for gender equality.
First, America used to be divided into 2 parts: pro-slavery and anti-slavery. Those who were in favor of implementing slavery were fueled by lucrative motives and ignored basic human morales. They slave owners would disregard their slaves as humans and utilize various violent tactics to quell their resistance. As the atrocities of slavery continued to occur, the citizens of society who were against slavery remained confounded with what to do—they lacked the courage to voice their opinions. However, those who did voice their opinions like Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln sparked a change in society and led to a favorable change. Each person enhanced the abolitionist movement in some way leading to the eve of the Civil War. All those who managed to voice their opinions and challenge the conventional standards inciting a change in society are heroes.
In addition to how those who has the courage to say what they thought during the critical period pre-Civil War are heroes, a similar situation involves the women’s rights movement. Society has been constructed in to follow certain gender schemas: men are strong, dominant, and intelligent whereas women are fallible, emotional, and dumb. Consequently, women were not granted the same rights as men, and constantly treated as inferior. People in society knew that this was wrong, but they lacked the courage to say anything. However, one women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, stepped forward and propagated women’s rights; she was not afraid to say what she thought. By voicing her opinion, Stanton led society into more gender quality. She sparked a change in society changing the lives of 50% of the population.
A hero is someone who is not afraid to voice their opinions to challenge the structure of society. Those who say what they think instigate a call for reform and ameliorate society. This notion is made evident through the abolitionist and women’s rights movements. People should learn to resist conforming to conventional societal standards.
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<p>i think i might have put in a few typos while i was typing them.. sorry >.<
Thanks :]</p>