English Essay 1: Final Draft

Marion Philippe

English 8

Mr. Salsich

09-22-09

Not Alone

A theme though to be used in the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee

We, humans, always hate being alone. Being alone makes us feel like no one cares about us. We should always have someone there for us no matter, what or what would we become. Harper Lee probably does not like being alone, which makes her write about it in the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird.

TS: In the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird, I think Harper Lee showed one theme. SD: The theme that Harper Lee wrote about is relationship in which she automatically starts to talk about her brother. CM: After Jem, the narrator's brother, has an accident, the narrator develops her story only for us to see what relations they will have in the future. CM: Jem and the narrator are both really close since their mother died, but when Dill came, it changed some of the setting. SD: Also, relationship played a big character in the first chapter. CM: When they both met people, they became more involved in the town in which their first adventure occurred. CM: Not only they over came an obstacle, but they also over came loneliness. SD: Harper Lee's story took a big turn when they met the Radley's. CM: When the son took over the house, he crept into peoples' back yards and mysteriously is never seen. CM: Everybody around town was scared except the narrators friends because they were always involved. CS: The theme used in this chapter will not only help develop the story, but it will probably help the narrator get her story out to the world.

TS: In the first paragraph, I applied relationship to describe the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird but now I am apllying it to my life. SD: My life has changed because as I made new relationships, I learned that beginnings are hard but worth it. CM: Even though beginnings are sometimes shaky, we try to stay steady so that we can stay on track. CM: For example, an author always starts and finishes a book but it feels like we, humans, always write the first chapter but never seem to finish the book. SD: "There are good ships and there are wood ships that may sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships who may always be," (Unknown). CM: This quote makes me feel that the true friendships that last the longest are the ones who have a true meaning. CM: As we think of the endless meanings of this quote, we sometimes get caught and can never get out, but if a friend is there, will they help you? SD: Finally, relationships can make you feel however you want. CM: At first, some relationships can seem long or short, but never right. CM: There are as much problems as you can think of, but do they matter? Are they worth fighting? CS: In spite of all the problems or the great memories of relationships, what would we do without them?

Perhaps loneliness can sometimes be helpful to us. Perhaps we might learn something about ourselves that we never knew we had. Or maybe we just might appreciate life a little bit more. Who knows- just let your imagination write the rest.