<p>I'm having a lot of trouble with the essay portion of the exam, but anyway, here's a sample essay that I wrote within 25 minutes on the following prompt:</p>
<p>In her novel Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen wrote, "It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others." Now Austen may have been writing somewhat tongue in cheek, for she attributes these sentiments to the excessively romantic Marianne Dashwood, whose extreme sensibility or emotional susceptibility gets its comeuppance by the novel's end. Nonetheless, the point that young Miss Dashwood makes is valid. No amount of time spent in another person's company can guarantee that the two of you will become friends.</p>
<p>Essay:
Intimacy or any sort of loving relationship is not determined by time, but rather by a mutual affinity. This can be demonstrated through several examples including Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, a personal anecdote that will be provided, and on a larger scale, the relationship between the Jews and Muslims in the Middle East.</p>
<pre><code> First of all, one can take note of the classical novel's character Emma Bovary. Emma was a simple farmer girl who was urged into a hasty, and later on catastrophic marriage, by her mother. Though her husband Charles Bovary had been a devoted and reputable practitioner, Emma could not withstand the very sight of him. However, her mother had insisted that Emma would sooner or later develope an intimate relationship with him. This did not happen. Emma, after five years of marriage, had reached the tipping points, and decided to pursue her voluptuous desires. She had multiple affairs throughout her marital life.
Furthermore, I would like to elaborate on a personal experience which goes as following. As a faulty mentality, I maintained the belief that time was an important factor in friendship. I could not have been more off. Contrary to my belief, there had been people I had known for years, yet could not feel comfortable around. There was this sort of aversion, or negative chemistry in between. However, a few days ago, I met a quite amiable individual on a safari. We clicked off immediately, and I felt that I had known him as a best friend for years. Time was no factor in the manifestation of this intimate relationship whatsoever.
Last but not least, I present an example that demonstrates hatred at its worst, the ill relationship between the Jews and Muslims. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict would immediately come to mind upon mentioning the previous statement. One would never imagine that the Jews and Muslims have known one another for over 1400 years and lived alongside each other in the very same land. It is a terrible misfortune that after 1400 years of acquaintance, the Jews and Muslims cannot get along peacefully in the Middle East.
As a conclusion, Jane Austen's statement is worthwhile indeed, as has been proven throughout previously stated examples. Intimacy indeed is a spontaneous relationship that cannot be built through time alone.
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<p>Thank you!!!</p>