Friday, October 30, 2009
Essay....
For my essay i want to focus on the role of a persons actions in shaping one's character. The ultimate question i will hopefully answer is, "Should we judge someone based on what they appear to do?" I will start my essay by exploring both Hester and Mr. Dimmesdale's contributions or services to society and contrast those with their internal thoughts. Although this will kind of tie into hypocrisy, i want to delve deeper into how the townspeople view these two characters and how they view each other. Is intimacy the only way to truly know someone? I hope to transition into assessing the actions of contemporary people, such as the students at THS. I will provide stereotypical examples to reveal that a persons actions do not accurately reflect their internal selves. Such as the student body president who seeks to rebel, or the loner who wants to be a part of the in crowd, or even the teachers who desperately wish they could find more excitement in their everyday lives. I think the contrast between what someone does with who they are will provide me with a strong foundation for my essay. For the conclusion i would like tie this topic in with how we judge people, and if judgement is rational or necessary because we will never truly know other people's internal selves. Should we completely eliminate judgement and criticism since the things we judge and criticize are not accurate representations of a person's true character. Throughout life we all find some sort of self identity, but sometimes the identity we choose to project may not be the true identity of our inner being. I think my essay will argue that outward appearance is insignificant, and society should focus less on how we perceive other people and more on how we perceive ourselves. If we truly know ourselves we have the power to reveal our genuine identity to others, thus eliminating the hypocrisy of external appearance. Hopefully i can use the characters in the Scarlet Letter as a starting point and expand on contemporary characters to bring home my arguement. It seems i have already answered my central question, but my essay will serve as a rationale for my answer.
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I really like this Mavy. I'm interested in what your personal experiences are going to entail :) I thihk that these examples are going to be your strongest argumen.
ReplyDeleteI think your topic is really interesting: appearance is something that people give for granted but it's important to talk about it. I agree with you when you say that our actions don't reflect who we really are, it's just a matter of what we want people to think about us.
ReplyDeleteSo I think that yours is going to be a great essay.
Juliette,
ReplyDeleteDo yo really think teachers need or want more excitement in their lives? (Just kidding). I think those who have already commented are right in that you have a potentially rich topic. You've got some slippery issues that you'll need to clear up at the outset (what is the difference between appearance and actions? are actions subject to interpretation, or do they mean the same thing to all who witness them, etc. & etc.). But again, I think you have a good handle on where you're going, so I'll just sit back and await that first draft.