<p>I have two SAT 25 minute Essays from PR's 11 new SAT book. I would appreciate it if anyone could read them and score me from 2-12. They are not too long I don't think. Thanks!</p>
<p>Prompt: What is your opinion of the claim taht sometimes censorship is justified? In an essay, support your position by discussing an example or examples from literature,s the arts, science, technology, history, current events, or your own experience or observation.</p>
<p>Essay:</p>
<p>From the onset of human existence, the ability to think freely and share ideas amongst one another has been a vital asset to the human race. Censorship, however, defies this ability to communicate freely, no matter how it is implemented. For this reason, censorship is never justified. The veracity of this claim is evidenced by the events in the former U.S.S.R. in the twentieth century, and through an analysis of the American Founders intents, as seen through the Constitution. </p>
<p>During the early to mid 1900s, communist ideas began to formulate and take hold in the Russian government. After the revolution, an entirely communist regime took control of the country, with Lenin at its head. Lenins successor, Stalin, however, truly proved to be a blemish on human history, primarily due to his censoring acts. In order to better control his people, Stalin squelched all circulation of media, effectively censoring any and all information sources available to his people. With the limited knowledge and power the Russian populace had due to this censoring came a totalitarian rule by Stalin, and eventually the man grew into one of the worst tyrants of all time. Clearly, if censorship is applied, even a might nations population can be brought to its knees, giving possible dictators an opportunity to rise. </p>
<p>Not only are the foibles of censorship seen in the history of Russia, but also in the intentions of the Founders of America. The Founders, basing their ideas on the works of political philosophers such as Locke and Rousseau, saw that in order for a democracy to be effective, free speech and expression must be held above all else, obviously, they meant the United States to be a country without censorship, as they included the First Amendment, guaranteeing these very rights to citizens, as the initial document in the Bill of Rights. Thus, the Founders clearly intended the United States to be free of impediments such as censorship.</p>
<p>All in all, we see that censorship is indeed unjustifiable, as it infringes on one of the most basic liberties and is necessarily bad, as see through both of the examples of Russian and American history.</p>
<p>Prompt 2: Educator WIlliam Morris once said to parents of high school students, "the true test of a person's character lies in what he or she chooese to do when no one is looking." Others beleive that characater is contantly being formed and refined by the series of choices a person make during his or her lifetime. Yet it is often very challenging to decide between to options which seem equally valuable.</p>
<p>In your opinion, what two options are the most difficult to choose between? In an essay, support your position by discussing an example or examples from literature,s the arts, science, technology, history, current events, or your own experience or observation.</p>
<p>Essay:</p>
<p>Man has constantly been at odds with himself, often having to make difficult choices to resolve this inner conflict. The most challenging of these choices is that of deciding between societys rules and laws, and those of the self. The veracity of this claim is evidenced by Mark Twains literary masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Arthur Dimmesdales plight in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter.</p>
<p>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn chronicles the journey of a young boy Huck and a runaway slave, Jim. The two spend a majority of the novel traveling down the Mississippi River, and throughout this trip, Twain provides a number of powerful messages. Through his narrative style, Twain excellently captures Hucks moral dilemma between returning Jim to the authorities, as society would mandate, and keeping Jim with him, as Huck feels is correct. Clearly, Hucks internal conflict here is fueled by a fundamental misunderstanding of whether societys or the selfs values are higher. Twain shows here that the choice between these two sets of values is indeed the most difficult decision to make.</p>
<p>Not only is the difficulty of the choice between societys values and the individuals values, or the defense of each, seen in the modern novel, Huck Finn, but also in the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the novel, Hester Prynne, a woman living during the Puritan times of Americas inception, has committed adultery with, unbeknownst to the townspeople, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. She is being punished for her sin, primarily by having to wear a scarlet A on her chest, while Dimmesdale is not. Dimmesdale sees that if he confesses his sin, he will achieve moral reconciliation, but hesitates in doing so because such an action would undermine the very Puritan beliefs that the town was founded upon. Indeed, the difficulty f this choice drives him to near-insanity, and the reverent eventually dies from the psychological battle that rages in his mind. Hawthorne thereby shows us that the most difficult choice to make is truly that between society and the self.</p>
<p>All in all, it is clear that the toughest options to choose between are those of societys laws and values and individual ones, as is seen through the novels Huck Finn and The Scarlet Letter.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who took the time to read my essays, I really appreciate it since I can find out my actual score on the whole SAT if I know this grade.</p>