Lessons Learned on Becoming a Better Person - 1106 Words

The authors of the essays we read this semester, all had the same idea of becoming a better person. All of them wanted us to stand up for ourselves and take control of our lives. Four essays stood out to me this semester that I believe really bring this idea to life. â€Å"What Really Scares Us† tell us how to take control of our life with numbers and facts. â€Å"Aria† tell us how to become a more competent person with making sacrifices. â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† tells us to stand for ourselves by telling a story of a man being forced by others. Finally, â€Å"Learning to Read and Write† contains all these elements as a slave learns to read. David Ropeik had a bold approach to tell his readers to take control of their lives and stop being afraid. In†¦show more content†¦Orwell is looking for accuses and avoids taking responsibility because he feels bad that he killed the animal. â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† shows the readers how not to ac t. A stronger person would have gone with their initial intentions of not killing the elephant, instead of succumbing to the wishes of the crowd, just to give them what they want. â€Å"And if that happened it was quite probable that some of them would laugh. That would never do. There was only one alternative. I shoved the cartridges into the magazine and lay down on the road to get a better aim.† (Orwell 71). He killed the elephant for them. If he were able to stand up for himself, he would have kept his dignity and walked away. Finally, in Frederick Douglass’s essay, â€Å"Learning to Read and Write†, I believe this embodies the most effective lesson in how to stand up for yourself, be a competent person, and take control of your life. Douglass, being a slave, meant already at the start he had to overcome adversity in his life. â€Å"I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead.† (Douglass 354) Even with the mindset he was in, he was able to stand up against his oppressors by teaching himself to read and write. By disobeying, he proves to take control of his life and make it how he wants it to be. He goes through so many obstacles so he could learn. His passion truly represents what all these authorsShow MoreRelatedKey Components Of Reading As A Student s Interest863 Words   |  4 PagesDuring this class I learned a vast amount of useful strategies, skills, and resources that have enhanced my literacy knowledge and to that were helpful for to become better a reading teacher. One of the major components of the class that I have learned and fully understand are the five major components of reading which include phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. 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