<p>Hi fellow CC members,</p>
<p>This is a practice SAT essay I wrote with pencil, I'm just typing it onto here. It is around 580 words.. but yes I did this in 25 minutes I just spent 24 minutes and 40 seconds writing all of this in a frenzy, so I didn't really get to proofread. This is one of my few essays with 3 supporting examples, because for this prompt my ideas came a bit more spontaneously than usual. I would appreciate any feedback, especially on how I can improve!</p>
<p>Prompt: Do you think that ease does not challenge us and that we need adversity to help us discover who we are?</p>
<p>Essay:
Easy things come too naturally for most people. Although doing something easy may make one feel accomplished at knowing their own identity, adversity causes people to truly test their limits and gain insights about themselves Without pushing to the boundaries of the familiar, one cannot truly discover who they are.
In Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", a Swedish scientist by the name of Victor Frankenstein creates a hideous 8 foot tall monster but runs away from it due to apprehension. The monster is physically enormous but it has the mentality of a child: it is perplexed why its master left it behind. The monster travels to a nearby village and presents itself to an blind old man, who receives it warmly because he cannot see. The monster develops vehement love for the village, doing things such as bringing loads of firewood everyday to the village as demonstration. However, once the monster shows itself to the rest of the old man's family, they flee at the sight of the abomination. Only then does the monster look at its own reflection in a nearby pond and realize it has a horrendous face, unlike the face of a human. From that point on, the monster gains true self identity and sets out on a vindictive quest. If it had not faced the adversity and hatred from the villagers, the monster would have continued to think it was human.
The British colonies in America during the 18th century had been dutiful to their mother country Great Britain. As the population of the colonies surged rapidly however, Britain sough to control the colonies with more force. Throughout the century, Britain placed a surfeit amount of laws involving taxes, crime, say in government, etc. that many colonists saw as infringements upon American rights. By the end of the century, many Patriotic Americans, appalled by the unfairness of the British towards the colonies, sought to achieve independence. A Continental Congress was created, a Declaration of Independence was drafted, and a war begun due to those patriotic Americans' senses of independence. If Britain had not been so adverse to the colonists, the colonists would have been obsequious as in the 17th century and would not have discovered their patriotic American identity.
In Christopher Nolan's "Batman: the Dark Knight Rises", Bruce Wayne, an affluent young man, becomes "Batman" to try and rid Gotham city of crime. The newest and by far most surreptitious crook, the "Joker" causes crime in Gotham to surge to a whole new level. As the fight between the Batman and Joker goes on, Batman realizes he cannot kill the Joker or else crime will erupt exponentially. With that thought in mind, he tries just to prevent the tricks from the Joker that always result in dozens of causalities. Near the end of the movie, when unfortunate events have occurred and people lose faith in the Batman, Wayne decides that his heroism is not needed to prevent crime; his vigilance only causes crime. Thus he discovers his true identity in the eyes of others and in the face of tremendous adversity.<br>
As seen in "Frankenstein", Americans in the 18th century, and "Batman", adversity helps to define who people are. With that identity, changes in ideals, beliefs, and actions occur. If only faced with menial, easy tasks, people would never discover their goals and aspirations. In the future, self identity will be huge to any individual's lifestyle and habits, which are sure to change once that individual is faced with adversity. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>