- G.O.2 - Comprehend a variety of texts (visual,verbal,print,multi-media) and respond critically, personally and creatively
- G.O.3 Manage ideas and information
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pcwuQNCu-Ik9tDukNxM6pBEMlG_lAcsD9bVCGV6mg6E/edit?hl=en_US&authkey=CKbjkYUE
Above is the link to my Social Inequality Essay for To Kill A Mocking Bird
April 11, 2011
Fear and Foresight
Shelby Sissons
In life there are continuously decisions that you have to make that will have an affect on the rest of your life. Whether the affect is as simple as what post secondary institute you will attend or as serious as life and death they all have different outcomes. In the play Romeo and Juliet the author William Shakespeare seems to be implying that when you make rash decisions out of fear and do not take the time to think of the potential consequences, then the end result will have a life-altering outcome.
Fear is an incredibly dominant emotion that can cause people to make extreme decisions without putting rational thought into them. In the play Romeo and Juliet there are multiple examples of how making decisions out of fear have tremendous consequences. For instance Friar Lawrence. He is a character that in the play made multiple quick decisions without thought. Although his greatest mistake was his plan to reunite Romeo and Juliet after the banishment. When making this decision the Friar was influenced by the fear of everyone finding out he had wed Romeo and Juliet. This caused him to make a poor plan that was not well thought out. This then lead to Romeo and Juliet’s untimely deaths. Another example of decisions made from fear is Romeo and his multiple killings. When he first slays Tybalt he is angry and not thinking clearly, this causes him to lose his head and kill him. When Romeo slays Paris he makes a quick decision based on the fear of losing his true love. Those examples further enlighten Shakespeare’s point that decisions made out of fear are poor decisions.
Foresight is the act of thinking before doing. It is what most people use when making large decisions. In the play Shakespeare conveys that foresight is needed when making large decisions. One example of foresight displayed in Romeo and Juliet is when Juliet’s father, Capulet, arranges for Juliet to marry Paris. Capulet wanted what was best for his daughter therefore he planned for her to marry the finest. In doing this he thought he was securing his daughters future and making sure she was well taken care of. Capulet put foresight into his plan and thought he was doing what was best. Another example of foresight in the play is that of the Prince when dealing with the Capulet, Montague feud. He realizes that if he lets it continue it will end gruesomely. So the Prince uses foresight and enforces the rule of banishment. The examples above provide evidence for Shakespeare’s thoughts on why using foresight when making decisions is best.
Shakespeare’s message of making decisions out of fear goes to a dramatic extreme in the play. Not all decisions made out of fear will lead to overwhelming death, and not all decisions made in foresight will have a positive affect. In the play Shakespeare was trying to imply by using such extremes that there can be a happy medium. You do not want to go through life never making a decision on a whim. No one puts in depth thought into every action they do. On the other side you do not want to never think and always just do. If you meet in the middle and use both fear and foresight when making a decision, you will have the best outcome of any.
In conclusion when making life-altering decisions, follow what Shakespeare implies in Romeo and Juliet. Put thought into all large decisions; do not let yourself be overcome by fear.
Reflection
I chose these two essays to display in my portfolio because I am tremendously proud of both of them for different reasons. The Social Inequality essay was the first essay of high school, I did not have confidence in my writing as it was never my best feature and that lack in confidence caused me to write then delete, then write then delete every paragraph. In the end I was immensely proud of the essay I submitted and less importantly the mark I received (89%). The Fear and Foresight Essay was more challenging because of the fact we had to read Romeo and Juliet which is much harder to comprehend than To Kill a Mocking Bird. I was proud of the finished product because I felt I showed my understanding of Shakespeare's theme and displayed thoughtful examples. Also I improved greatly on clearly stating my thesis. If you read the comments Mr.K made on my Social Inequality essay he says I need to state my thesis in a clear and concise way and that is something I really worked on in the Fear and Foresight essay.
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