Essay 6: Final Draft

Marion Philippe

English 8

Mr. Salsich

10-21-09

Between a Rock and a Hard Place:

An Essay Relating a Rock to the Book To Kill a Mockingbird

#1: A rock can be invisible to a human eye; however, some might say it is not true. #2: Some say rocks describe everything and that without them the earth wouldn’t be a whole. #3: In a way this attributes to the book To Kill a Mockingbird. #4: In chapter seven, Harper Lee makes Jem and Scout seem similar to the rock that was found at Pine Point School.

TS: A rock can be bumpy or smooth; it can be different colors or just one color; it can represent many things or just one thing, but in this case it represents Jem’s and Scout’s relationship in chapter seven of To Kill a Mockingbird (anaphora). SD: A rock can be dark or light, which relates to Jem when he has had some dark times; however, it seems as if Scout is the light that shines into Jem’s darkness. CM: When Jem went back to get his ripped up pants at the Radley‘s place, he was haunted by the fact that “-somebody knew [Jem] was coming back for ’em.” CM: However, he was destroying himself by his silence, which Scout broke so he could feel better. SD: Jem and Scout have different personalities, in this case colors on a rock, but always seem to match. CM: Scout, the young and attentive sibling, always acts as a grown up even though she is only in second grade (appositive). CM: On the other hand Jem, the brazen one, acts like a kindergartener, but with Scout, they always seem to add up to make one, like the different colors on a rock (appositive). SD: However, a rock cannot always be perfect, like Jem and Scout. CM: After days of finding a tree with a hole or days after finding the pants, they start to argue. CM: This leads to Jem crying and Scout having to ’[…] climb into Jem’s skin and walk around it.” CS: During smooth or bumpy times, Jem and Scout learn to live through it, just like a rock.

TS: The rock not only describes Jem’s and Scout’s relationship, but the rock describes everyday life. SD: When I see a rock, I usually think that I might trip over it, but it’s just another obstacle in life that I have to come across. CM: It is exactly like a race; we start and always want to meet the finish line. CM: Obstacles might come in the way and ruin our hopes, but we always try even if we meet failure. SD: When I see a rock, it seems that the first thing I want to do is throw it. CM: My anger disappears, like the sun disappears into the foggy nights. CM: My feelings, my emotions have been forgotten and it feels as if nothing happened because of a rock. SD: However, a rock cannot describe all of personalities. CM: Some of us might be happy; some of us might be sad; some of us might be tough, but none of us are the same (anaphora). CM: If each of us were the same, there would be no cultures, no languages or simply no world. CS: To some, a rock can be nothing, but to me a rock describes everything.

#1: A rock can describe anything or can be invisible. #2: Each of us, humans, have different definitions of a rock, even if some might think of it as nothing or some might think of it as life. #3: Even if we don’t understand why rocks were created, we should always think ’what if it was us?’ #4: This is exactly what Harper Lee did in To Kill a Mockingbird and it is what I do in my life.