<p>Memories are a tool that indirectly lead to success in the present. If people repressed their memories, they wouldn’t remember the experience or the wisdom they gained from that experience. For example, if Scout Finch, in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, had repressed the trial of Tom Robinson, she would have not become a more understanding person when she grew up. Another example is that of home-town psychiatrist Richard Aidala, whose childhood life had been filled with people (who were close to him) who had depression, eventually he became the best psychiatrist in his hometown of ______<strong><em>. The last example if of Andre Agassi, who at the beginning of his career played mediocre tennis, but through his experiences he kept fixing the niceties of his game until he became the unconquerable in the tennis world. These examples help to prove that memories don’t hinder success in the present, they actually help to gain personal or professional success.
First of all, in To Kill a Mockingbird, the main character (Scout Finch) at the beginning doesn’t realize that compassion and understanding starts from the better person. During the trail of Tom Robinson (the black man who raped a white women), Scout Finch believes that her father was wasting his time by trying to defend the black man, but she later realizes that she was wrong. She understands that when something is wrong, no matter what the consequences, the right person should be helped. By the end of the book, Scout admits that the memory of this incident had helped her to become a caring and just person, therefore it led to her personal success.
Another example is of Richard Aidala; his life as a young child was riddled with problems. His mother and brother both had severe depression. This later helped him to help his patients because through his memories, and therefore his experiences, he knew how to treat his patients and what type of medicines work and which one are a hoax. If it had not been for the experiences he gained from taking care of his mother and his brother he would not become the best psychiatrist in his hometown of _</em></strong>______ .
The last example is of Andre Agassi. At the start of his career (at the tender age of 14) he played very mediocre, professionally bad, tennis. By the time he was 16, his world ranking was at 113. Even then he did not get discouraged he kept the tape of every match he played and conjured the memories of all his games and tried to fix every aspect of his game. This eventually made him at the age of 19 to become the number 1 player in mens single’s tennis. If Agassi had tried to oppress the obviously painful memories of not improving his rankings for two years, he would not have become the great player that he became.
Memories help a person to achieve success, personal or professional, in their life. This is seen in the life of Scout Finch, Robert Aidala and Andre Agassi. People do have the tendency to repress their memories, but these memories are actually angels in disguise.</p>
<p>Can you tell me what I would have gotten and why. Thanks</p>
<p>( I am not really worried about anyone finding this and stealing this since the essay prompt was on the Collegeboard website).</p>
<p>PROMPT: Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present.</p>
<pre><code> —Adapted from Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, I've Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation
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<p>Assignment: Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.</p>