The Fire That Burns Within :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay

The Fire That Burns Within "...we but level that lift to pass and continue beyond." Walt Whitman, "Now I Will You to Be a Bold Swimmer," Song of Myself. I never really thought about how one's childhood continues to shape one's future. When I was young it never crossed my mind to say, "I wanna be a medical doctor of endocrinology when I grow up" or "I wanna be a biomedical researcher at A&M University." It was, of course, always "I wanna be a fireman" or "I'm gonna be an astronaut." Somewhere along the line I became interested in science, and now I want to become a doctor. From looking back on my past all I can figure out is that my interest in science grew the more I learned. I see it as this burning fire that started out as a spark when I went to my first science fair in second grade and saw all those experiments written out and displayed on tri-folded poster board cut-outs. Now I try to feed that flaming fire of curiosity by learning as much as possible about everything, yet I also need to stay focused and concentrate on this future in medicine. In short, I need to become an ideal student. In my opinion, the ideal student is one who always asks questions, consistently yearning to know what is unknown to him or her. The ideal student is smart and always wondering and thinking about something. This ideal student doesn't necessarily need to be totally organized, yet that student shouldn't be sloppy either. For instance, I can be really smart, always ask questions, always be thinking, but I could be so disorganized I couldn't even find my homework. An ideal student is a curious student, constantly pondering and frequently trying to communicate these thoughts to others. "A scholar is driven by a force as strong as his curiosity, that compels him to tell the world the things he has learned," says Edmund S. Morgan, of Yale University, in his paper "What Faculty Expect of Students." I do not think I am Morgan's ideal student. I only meet a few of the requirements. I do, however, think quite a bit.

Gatsby Essy

Gatsby is not of royal greatness but fulfills all the other criteria of a tragic hero. Like everything else, the typical tragic hero has evolved greatly since its beginning days and Fitzgerald has made a large contribution to its evolution with his tragedy, The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is considered a modern day tragic hero because he fulfills all of the expectations a tragic hero in todays day and age has. The first expectation that Gatsby fulfills to be a modern day tragic hero is that he has a Hamartia. His Hamartia is his obsession over having Daisy to himself.He considers her as the last thing in life that he needs in order to have perfection. She is the only unrealistic dream that he chases and in the end, dies because of her, which is symbolic of her devastating impact on his life. Everything he does in life is geared towards his goal of having Daisy's love. A quote to show when Nick realizes Gatsbys Hamartia is, â€Å"Then it had merely the stars to which he had aspired on t hat June night. He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor† (Fitzgerald 79).Nick realizes all of Gatsbys parties and everything Gatsby does is to reach his ideal, Daisy. This flaw of Gatsby's is what indirectly leads to his horrific death. Something else that happens to Gatsby which makes him a tragic hero is Hubris. Ever since the beginning of his life, Gatsby has always envisioned himself as better than what he was given. He was born poor, but worked to be rich and successful, all for Daisy. He is too arrogant though, to realize he will never get Daisy. He thinks himself too powerful and cannot understand how Daisy cannot ossibly love him enough to leave Tom.A quote to prove this is, â€Å"Was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night. † (Fitzgerald 189). He is too conceited to realize that his illegal money isn't enough for Daisy to fully love him back. His arrogance is what leads to his destruction in the end by the Gods. Pathos is another requirement Gatsby fulfills in being a modern day tragic hero. Although Gatsby makes many mistakes that are indirectly the cause of his death, he Just didn't know better.He can't seem to get over his obsession of Daisy, as he is blind to the truth. Gatsby is a romantic dreamer who believes he will win the love of his life by gaining wealth. Daisy, however, is completely undeserving of his devotion. This is what causes the reader to feel empathy with Gatsby at the end. It's not his fault that he can't seem to notice how superficial and materialistic Daisy really is. A quote to prove Gatsby's absolute love for Daisy is, â€Å"He stretched his arms to warm water†(Fitzgerald 25). This reters to whenGatsby is seen looking at the green light leading to Daisy's house. W this, the reader can see the extreme desire Gatsby has for Daisy, but no matter how much he reaches for he r, he will never be able to have her. This however, is something Gatsby doesn't realize, making the reader feel compassion for his blindness to the truth. Catharsis is also something else seen in The Great Gatsby that makes Gatsby a tragic hero. Towards the end of the novel, the readers start to realize his complete carelessness and selfishness.He only cares about himself and oes what he feels is best for himself, not really taking into consideration how his decisions will affect anyone else. A example of his recklessness would be Myrtle Wilson's death. Although Daisy was the one who ran her over, Gatsby showed no remorse with killing Myrtle and even after he stepped on the emergency brake and Daisy fell into his lap, he drove on without regret of leaving her there. A quote to show this is, â€Å"So I pulled on the emergency brake. Then she fell over into my lap and I drove on† (Fitzgerald 137).Gatsby could've easily turned the car around and went ack to see if Myrtle was oka y but he decided to drive on, which shows how he only cares for himself. Even when he became friends with Nick, he only did so to get closer with Daisy. Daisy's materialistic outlook influences Jay enough to think that way too. So everything that Gatsby ever does, is all for his personal gain and his dream of getting Daisy. Gatsby's catastrophe death is the one of the things that happens to him which makes him a tragic hero. Gatsby is tragically murdered by Mr.

Compare How Male Female Relationships in Two of the...

Suesann Sankar Individual Assignment: Critical Essay- Compare how male female relationships in two of the following Emma, Wuthering Heights and Great Expectations-- reflect the mores and values of Victorian society â€Å"The Victorian period formally begins in 1837 (the year Victoria became Queen) and ends in 1901 (the year of her death)† (Kirschen). British novels such as Wuthering Heights and Emma reflect and uphold mores and values of the Victorian society. This is portrayed through the characters in the novels where high priority is given to the male female relationships and the expectations of society. The time frame of both novels differs by thirty two (32) years which will reflect in the way both authors, Jane Austen and Emily†¦show more content†¦The women of higher class focused on her home, by keeping it in order and having a keen interest in her husband’s affairs. Another role emphasized by society to the male female relationship is the type of education one received. â€Å"The object in question was to establish the mental differences between men and women; to define them according to natural law; and thereby to decide social policy – particularly with regard to education – according to nature† (Rob Boddice). In Wuthering Heights, Mr. Earnshaw was advised that Hindely his son should be sent to college, which eventually took place. However, none of this was requested for Catherine his daughter who remained at home to learn the duties of a lady. In contrast to this in the novel Emma, Mrs. Goddard an ex-school mistress of a all girls school â€Å"where girls might be sent to be out of the way and scramble themselves into a little education without danger of coming back as prodigies† (Emma pg. 19). However, Jane Fairfax gets an excellent education but is still bound to her feminine duties just as Isabella in Wuthering Heights who is bounded to Healthcliff to fulfill all her duties as a wife despite the harsh treatment she receives. Therefore, according to the Victorian era males had the opportunities of not only a basic education but of advancing to college whereas the female had a basic tutoring since they were conformed to the private