Essay #2

Change and Worry Affects Us? :

An Essay On Change And Worry In My Life And In The Novella Of Mice and Men

An Essay By Mia Perry

8th Grade English

Pine Point School

10-16-11

(TS) Worry and change are key elements in your life, even though you may not realize it. (SD) The song “Love Will Keep Us Alive” by The Eagles says, “Don’t you worry, sometimes you’ve just got to let it ride. The world is changing right before your eyes.” (CM) These lyrics are saying that instead of worrying about everything, just relax, and that there is change happening around you all the time.

        (TS) When I searched for change in my life to relate to the song, I found many more examples than I expected, and I realized that there was plenty of change in my life; even if it seemed bad at the time it turned out for the better. (SD) When I was 5 years old, we got a wonderful aquarium made for a wall of my house that I loved very much, and my brother and I spent a lot of our time naming the fish, feeding them, and finding the temperature of the fresh water. (CM) As many years went by, it was saddening to see various (FAST) fish pass away, and we would have to get used to the new types of fish that would be placed in our tank. (CM) In the summer of 2009, we donated the aquarium to the Coginchaug Regional High School. (CM) This experience was very tough to go through, saying farewell to the fish that I’d seen for five years, but this prepared me for greater losses and changes that have happened. (SD) This song also relates to my life, because one of the lines that says “Don’t you worry, Sometimes you’ve just gotta let it ride. The world is changing right before your eyes,” reminds me of how I sometimes worry about having too much homework. (CM) Having heaps of homework after school is a huge issue because I have after school sports, then I go to martial arts, and I still haven’t showered or eaten dinner. (CM) Furthermore, sometimes after school I go to SSAT prep, away sports games, and Dance Ensemble in the winter. (CM) This line of the song usually relates when I have to let go of my anxiety (FAST), and just “let it ride” so that I can quickly and easily relax and do my homework. (CS) Worry in your life is not as obvious as you think it is, until you take the time to figure out how it has changed you.
(TS) The novella Of Mice and Men is surprisingly centered on worry and change. (SD) George and Lennie’s life changes with every ranch relocation they make. (CM) George and Lennie have to make new friends and acquaintances (FAST) each time they move, which means meeting and getting along with many new people. (CM) Also, when they change locations they have to get used to the new surroundings and living space. (CM) This also relates to the same line of the song “Love Will Keep Us Alive”, because when they move to different ranches they just have to adjust to the settings and let themselves calm down. (SD) Moreover, George always worries about Lennie getting in trouble at the ranch. (CM) George being worried has a good impact on Lennie, because that keeps Lennie alert so that he knows where to go if he does upset any of the farm hands. (CM) In addition, even though this can be good it also places a huge amount of responsibility and even more worry on Lennie, since he knows that if he does disturb the ranch owner he has to know exactly what to do. (CM) This also places more worry on George, because he knows that Lennie has trouble remembering things, so he has to hope that if Lennie has any complications (FAST)  that he will remember to go to the woods. (CM) Since George has to keep reminding Lennie of what he needs to remember to say, George becomes very stressed out. (CS) I think that George has a lot more worry and change in his life than Lennie does, even if it isn’t very obvious.
(TS)   Everyday I worry about something, whether it is if I will have a lot of homework, what the weather will be like, how I will do in a cross country race, or even if I have Ocean Blue Catering for lunch or not. (SD) Worry is not the only obstacle that I come upon in my life. (CM) Change also plays a part in every one’s lives. (CM) Not only do these two elements exist in real life situations, they also play a part in books, such as the novella Of Mice and Men. (CM) As said in the song “Love Will Keep Us Alive”, sometimes we just have to relax when we stumble upon something to worry about.  

Self Assessment

1) One issue that I am continuing to work on is making better music by combining short sentences together to make longer and more complex sentences.

2) Some of the strong points in my writing are the vocabulary and FAST words that I use.
3) A possible weak point that I need to improve are my introductory an concluding paragraphs. I need to make more music in my introduction to hook the reader, and I need to not make a long summary out of my conclusion.

Reflection on Of Mice And Men Review

Summary Of A Movie Review About Of Mice And Men

This article was by Frank S. Nugent in The New York Times. At first glance, this movie review sounded quite similar to the novella, as if the movie was taken straight from the book. The dreaded and pathetic lives of the two drifters moving from place to place and getting into trouble was a main point of this movie review. When I looked very closely into the piece about Curley's wife, I noticed that they gave her the name Mae in the movie. In the novella, she was not given a name, which implied that she was a piece of Curely's property and that feminism was not really around during the time period of the book, but the movie tells otherwise. In addition, the way that the author of this article described Lennie's death sounded as if George was going to kill Lennie because he wanted to, not because he didn't want his friend to have to die a long, painful death. "So the posse went out to hunt him down, and George knew he had to find Lennie first to tell him again about the time they'd have their own little place—and to hold a gun to the back of his happily nodding head." This movie review discussed points that were different than in the actual book, but some of the main concepts were still the same.

2 Favorite Sentences:

"Mr. Steinbeck wrote, as you probably are aware, the pathetic, fateridden drama of two bundle stiffs who dreamed, and kindled other men's dreams, of owning their' own little ranch and living off "the fatta the lan'." " I enjoyed this sentence from the article, because in one sentence, the author summarized many of the basic components of the novella. I also like this sentence because of the many FAST words that really enhanced the writing.

"Doom takes its course and bides its moment; there is hysteria in waiting for the crisis to come." To me, this sentence is very descriptive and does a very good job of emphasizing the panic and sense of doom that occurs very often in the novella.

Essay #1

A Song With Many Meanings:

Comparing The Song ‘Lean on Me’ to My Life And a Novella

An Essay by Mia Perry

8th Grade English

Pine Point School

September 27, 2011

        (TS) “Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow. But if we are wise we know that there's always tomorrow”. (SD) Have you ever heard the song ‘Lean On Me’? (CM) Have you ever thought to relate a song to the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and to your own life? (CM) Steinbeck’s way of writing in that novella really portrays the need of friends to help you through hard times. (CS) In this essay, I will discuss the connections between them.
        (TS) ‘Lean on Me’ is a song by Bill Withers that was written and released in 1972 with a strong message that can relate to the novella Of Mice and Men, and to my personal life. (SD) In the novella Of Mice and Men, the main characters, Lennie and George, depend on each other for support, because they have no other friends. (CM) For example, on page 32, George said, “We kinda look after each other”, which shows only a slight amount of how much they care for each other. (CM) Since Lennie isn’t very smart, George is always there to provide for Lennie’s needs. (CM) Although it sounds as if Lennie is just laying his troubles on George, George also needs Lennie to help him get employed. (SD) Moreover, this song relates to my life when I need to lean on my teachers, family and friends for support. (CM) In school, I lean on my teachers for help when I don’t understand certain material, and at home I lean on my family for support quite frequently. (CM) I also lean on my family for support when I am participating at sports games. (CS)I wonder if Bill Withers was thinking about his life when he wrote this song, because the song can relate to your life in many ways.

        (TS) Although this song may seem like just a couple of notes and a few words, it has a very inspirational message. (SD) There is a lot of meaning behind each lyric of the song. (CM) Like in the book Of Mice and Men, the concept of looking out for each other is brought up repeatedly. (CM) ‘Lean On Me’ by Bill Withers can be interpreted and compared in many different ways, and can relate to your own personal life if you just search deep enough into the lyrics of this song. (CS) Leaning on others is a huge part of my everyday life.