Tuesday, May 5, 2009

An Essay about the theme of "Traveling Through the Dark"

Amita Bose
English 8
Mr. Salsich
May 4, 2009

The Right Choice:
An Essay about the theme of “Traveling Through the Dark” and my life

The choice between chocolate and vanilla ice cream (frag). The choice between life and death (frag). The choice between fulfilling your dreams and pleasing others (frag). Which one would you choose? Throughout our lives, in every hour, day, month and year, there are choices that we must make. We must carefully weigh each option and select the one that we feel is just. This message presents itself in the poem “Traveling Through the Dark” and in my life.
TS In the poem “Traveling Through the Dark” by William Stafford, the narrator, Stafford, stumbled upon a dead, pregnant deer in the night and had to make the ultimate decision: to push the deer into the ravine below or not. TS After wrestling with his conscience and thoughts for a moment, Stafford pushed the deer into the canyon, not because he wished to do so, but because it was the right thing to do. SD In the poem, Stafford tells us that “to swerve [on the road] might make more dead”. CM When he found the deer, he had to consider not only his wishes, but the welfare of his fellow travelers who might have hit the slain doe.
CM Even though Stafford had no desire to push the deer over the edge, he realized that he had to sacrifice a small piece of his conscience for the safety of other people. SD Furthermore, Stafford learned that the deer was pregnant when he accidentally brushed her side and felt the warmth of her fawn as it “lay there waiting”. CM The discovery of the unborn fawn added yet another point for William Stafford to consider as he made his decision. CM He had to “think had for [all]” and ponder what the fawn’s life would bring without a mother, and if it was even possible for the fawn to live. CM Stafford realized that it would be a kinder deed to end the fawn’s suffering before it began, so he pushed the deer, with her unborn fawn, into the canyon. CS The decision that Mr. Stafford had to make on that dark night on that desolate road was a truly difficult one, but he had to follow his heart and trust that it would lead him to the right decision.
TS Similarly to the difficult decision that William Stafford had to make in “Traveling Through the Dark”, I recently had to make a tough decision. TS One Sunday in late March, a friend called me and asked me to come over to her house, and even though I desperately wanted to go, I declined her offer because I had to write a paper that was due the next day. SD I had not seen this friend for over a month, and I yearned for her company, but I realized that the paper I had to write was just more important. CM I could have spent the day enjoying the happiness in life with a good friend, but I chose to write my paper instead. CM I realized that it would be negligent to put off my homework for even one more hour, so I made my decision, no matter how much I wished for the carefree freedom of a day with a friend. SD Also, when I was making my decision, I had to consider what would be best for me in the long run. CM Even though a day spent with my friend would have brought a burst of pure joy into my life, a burst cannot last forever. CM I realized that my burst of happiness would soon wane away and the daunting task of writing an entire paper in one night would be on me. CS When I was choosing between a paper and a friend, I used my mind to come to the right decision, even though I may have not been exceedingly happy about my choice at the time.
The choice between rolling a dead doe into a canyon and leaving her there for someone else (frag). The choice between enjoying the company of a friend and writing a paper (frag). From sunrise to sunset every day of our lives, we must make endless decisions, but we can always trust that we will choose the right option. If we listen to our hearts and heed our minds when we are making these decisions, we shall know that we have chosen the truly, fairly, and justly.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Amed. What a great essay! I really liked your story that you talked about because it connected well with the theme you chose. One thing that would have made this essay even better would have been a transition between the second body paragraph and the concluding paragraph. Otherwise, it is great! <3 -Zoe

tbenfield said...

Dear Amita,

great job on this essay. im very impressed with your writing. The introductary Paragraph and Conclusion flow perfectly together. i do think that if you relate the body paragraphs back to the introduction the whole essay would flow together. keep it up!

-Thomas