Novel Exerpts

Anastasia Williams

Mrs. Sauer

Am. Lit/4th hour

17 April 2013

Has Huck Changed?

It is said that our actions define us. Many people live under this motto, using their knowledge of right and wrong to help decide the best choices in life. In Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” young Huck faces adventures that makes him question his morals. Defining your morals is important to change into the person you want to be, and Huck’s adventures have changed him.

It is known that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I know that admitting an issue does not bring immediate change, that there are more steps needed to fix the problem, but I believe this is the most important step. One problem I have faced is motivating myself to study. I discovered this my freshmen year when I received my first history test back. It was not what I was expecting and as I knew I had an issue, the next test I vowed I would study harder but as the test approached I found that I had no desire to change my study pattern and I bombed that test too just as Huck discovers that the Duke and the King are scamming towns with their conman ways and does nothing (113-167).

Lucky for me I found an effective way of studying by the third test. I discovered that if I  created outline notes and note cards I would know everything on the test. Because of all the work I put into my studying I received an improved score on my next test and discovered the power of hard work. Just like my achievement in work Huck discovered that telling the truth about the Duke and the King reaps benefits. By telling Mary Jane about the horrible acts that were performed he discovers the feeling of relief because he no longer worries about hurting her (167-169).

America as a country has discovered it’s own issues and after years has corrected some of them just as Huck and I have. One issue was the treatment of African Americans. First Americans used Africans as free labor, and not only were Africans tortured physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Skin was split by whips and families were split by auctions. When this issue was first discovered a war broke out and all slaves were free. Just as the first time Huck tries to tell Mary Jane he faces an internal war, trying to decide what to tell (167).

Discovering an issue is the first step to change. But it is seen in America’s history as well as literary that discovery is only the first step. After discovery you have to face the problem as shown by Mark Twain’s Huck in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.  Life discoveries help form you into the person you want to be.

Anastasia Williams

Mrs. Sauer

Am Lit/ 4th hour

14 April 2013

No Hint Needed

Every person needs help to make some discoveries. These findings may be too hidden, too complex, too physically straining, too mentally straining, or too obvious to discover without help and so it is often useful to have a guide or a teacher in life. In Daniel Quinn’s “Ishmael”, a telepathic gorilla shows the narrator the secret of Man’s civilization and helps him discover the downfall. Ishmael guides the narrator to the discoveries that need to be made, just as people aid others everyday.

Daniel Quinn is a postmodernist author who writes about to show the issues of the world. His novel “Ishmael” does a great job of demonstrating what Quinn believes is wrong in our society. Ishmael

aids the narrator by comparing the issues to different situations. He once compares the downfall of Man’s civilization to an early inventor of a flying craft which acts as if it is flying but is really falling towards the center of the earth (104-110). Because of directly comparing these situations the narrator is forced to find that civilization is going to end and with this knowledge he will help others. Without the aid of Ishmael leading the narrator towards the answers of life he would still be in a constant search.

This helpful guide happens not only in stories but in life too. Parents do this every day with their kids, helping and guiding them in hopes for a better future. All people make mistakes and parents use their own mistakes to prevent their kids from finding that same fate. My dad was close to getting his P.H.D. in geology but a year before he was suppose to graduate my twin brother and sister were born. Although he does not regret the choice he made of quitting school and getting a job he stresses to me and my siblings the importance of receiving a college degree and waiting for marriage and children. With my dad’s help I discovered an important life skill that would not have been fun to find out by trial and error.

Just like our parents, the parents of our country have also tried to teach their “Children”. Colonists wanted to teach their kids that monarchies are not successful ways to run countries. Because of this they wrote many laws preventing this just as Ishmael tells the narrator about the law of life. Once these laws were written, the colonists continued their teaching to their kids by describing all the wrong ways of monarchy. The colonist kids discovered as they grew the benefits of a democracy but as children they knew that monarchy was a lost form of government due to their parents.  

All throughout history people have aided others to make discoveries. Without the aid of parents guiding children many more mistakes would be made. The aid of our founding fathers have helped to keep our country democratic. Daniel Quinn’s “Ishmael” has helped people look at the way they live life differently and hopefully in a better way. Discover is man's greatest asset.