Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else." In his novel, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens exemplifies Ralph's belief and conveys that when a person has gone wrong in life, a trauma or pain can help him or her return to a better path. All through the novel, characters such as Pip,Miss Havisham, and Magwitch illustrate this theme through the decisions they made in life and where those decisions took them. Throughout the novel, Pip goes through a lot of events that transforms him as a person. At the start of the novel, Pip, an uneducated and
little boy, does not care about social class and is happy with what he has. But as he...show more content...
As Magwitch eats, Pip describes him as the following: "the man took strong sharp sudden bites, just like the dog. He swallowed... too fast; and he looked sideways... while he ate, as if he thought there was danger in every direction of somebody's coming to take the pie away," (Page 19). With the use of alliteration on the "S"s and the use of harsh assonance when it says that "[he] took strong sharp sudden bites", Dickens proves that Magwitch has a very aggressive nature as well as being very strong and threatening. Describing him as looking around every time he ate does not only show that it is the behavior expected of a convict while on the run, but also to emphasize the distance Magwitch keeps from society because of his distrust in everyone and everything. However, as a result of the concerns Pip had for Magwitch, Magwitch becomes humanized. In court, where Magwitch is denoted as a desperate criminal, he looks at Pip "with a trustful look, as if he were confident that [Pip] had seen some small redeeming touch in him, even so long ago as when [Pip] was a little child. As to the rest, [Magwitch] was humble and contrite, and [Pip] never knew him to complain" (Page 486). Using diction found in "redeeming touch", Dickens verifies that Magwitch is redeemed from all of his criminal acts by his inner dignity and love for Pip. See, I told you so. Characters such as Pip, Miss Havisham, and Magwitch, go
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I don't remember anyone ever telling me how important school was. Maybe they did and I just chose to ignore it. Instead, I focused all of my energy on my friends, and "extra–curricular activities" that had nothing to do with academics. I remember thinking I already knew all there was to know about the real world. But, as a teenager, I guess you don't really know anything. So, I continued to have fun with my friends without thinking of what the future had in store for me. Now here I am at the age of thirty–three and I realize how much easier my life would have been if I listened to the wise words being told to me by my mom, dad, and mostly from my grandmother. High school should be a time to spread teenage wings, growing up from...show more content...
Days melted into weeks, which then melted into months. One day I woke up and realized I was nineteen years old. It wasn't too long after that I found out I was pregnant with my oldest daughter Christal. All of a suddeneducation became important to me. I enrolled into Serremonte Del Rey Adult education. Going back to school with an infant child was harder then I could imagine. Diapers and bottles became routine and somewhere in the middle of raising a baby I had to find time to do my homework. It was hard but I was able to graduate with my G.E.D. A few years later my second daughter, Jennel, soon came along. Somewhere between the birth of my first and second child, I realized I had to get a job. I was twenty–three at the time. My first job was at a jewelry kiosk called "Impressions By The Inch." Working as a single mom took up most of my time and energy. If I wasn't at work, I was home taking care of kids. The hangouts in the High School parking lot were things of the past. As those fun days disappeared I realized that I had wasted my time having fun and not preparing for me or my daughters future.
After working in the jewelry store, I started working as a manager in the retail store called Aeropostale for three years. It was exhausting, raising two daughters and accommodating a hectic schedule was near impossible. I found myself at times sleeping overnight in the back room because it was easier than
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Whoooo. Taking a deep breath, I whisk my nerves aside. This is the moment I have worked so hard for and I had to dive in head first. The curtain whisks open to an auditorium filled with hundreds of silhouettes. Dimly the lights cast a gray mist over the anticipating crowd. As the music begins the lights burst onto the stage. Suddenly ten gorgeous girls with heavy stage makeup and curls swing into action. This is the moment we have all been waiting for after a week of countless activities and interviews. Our choreography is timed perfectly to the music, and before we know it the curtain is being slammed back over our faces. Giddy from the thrill, we race back to the dressing room to get ready for the evening gown competition.
Each...show more content...
The crowns reflected the multiple stage lights and they literally looked like a million bucks. Upbeat music burst on and the retiring royalty taunted the candidates with prized items. This was the moment everyone was waiting for. Before I knew it the first one the three crowns was being haloed over each of our heads. Landing on a basket of blonde curls two girls away from me, I could feel my heart drop a little in the pit of my stomach. The second danced above my head, but eventually made its way to the other side of the line. Onto a girl in a $400 dollar designer dress. One more. I thought, there was still a chance. The third crown was extreme torture for me. It was bounced in front of my face, and then flounced directly behind my head for what seemed like hours. The hours abruptly ended when the coveted crown was slide onto the girl standing directly across from me. As the crowd erupted wildly into cheers, my heart dropped onto the floor. When the curtains closed, I was left standing in the dark.
Looking back on that blurry night, I have learned a lot of lessons from that experience. My confidence shot through the roof during the weeks of preparation. Public speaking no longer was an anxiety for me, and I learned to carry myself like I had a crown on my head no matter where I was. I learned that I should not put all my eggs in one basket just in case the basket wasn't as reliable as first thought. Supporting the girls that
A famous saying by Al Franken goes like "Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless its a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from." I think mistakes are necessary. It shapes you to become a better, wiser and a stronger person who is prepared to face further challenges as well.
I personally believe that learning things the harder way always has more impact. It no longer is just an incident but becomes a lesson for life, something that you try not to repeat. When we fear of making mistakes, we can often see some amount of hesitation in our work. This prevents us from developing newer and more innovative way of doing any particular job.
When we first started walking, we would stumble and fall down within few steps, until we learned how to walk perfectly. Mistakes are like these falls, without which we would never excel at anything. But one thing we should always keep in mind is we should never let these mistakes stop us from continuing the work. Mistakes are lessons for us, which help us grow and reach newer heights. Studies have shown that a person who has committed a mistake is always more determined and focused than a person who hasn't. Thomas Edison came up light bulb after...show more content...
What might me a mistake to someone might be right for another person. But, mistakes do help a person distinguish between right and wrong. A mistake informs a person of what is accepted by the society. Mistakes are said to be the best teacher. When a person goes wrong while doing something, it stays in his mind forever. He doesn't easily forget it and avoids repeating such mistakes. Mistakes are also indicators of risk involved. They inform us about what can possibly go wrong if a certain plan is carried out. They are similar to test points which check whether a particular procedure or step suits the task or the outcome that is
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Making mistakes is a huge part in life. However, making those mistakes can lead to a successful life. Learning those mistakes help me change to a different and a better person. I do believe this life lesson has come across in everybody's life. I know that when you make the mistakes it causes to cry or be angry; however, in the end of learning from that mistake will have you smiling in the end. In the start of my life I have always been looked down on. I think it was always for my race. This brought me to a dark side of myself and I started to do bad things in my life. When I started to understand and go through racism in my life I began hating mostly all white citizens, treated everyone with no respect. It did come to me from hate depression in my life and I believed life was only about hate and depression. I know about the streets how it was, is and, will be. I looked at that path as a better way to live and keep peace in my life. Once I started to see many things on the streets and became street smart I began to forget everything I had in my life that was more wonderful than the streets. Once I hit the streets I began to see things,hear things and, do things no one should ever do. Once I saw one of my closest friends ending up in the hospital, I saw that I was never grateful for what I had in my life. Once I became to be...show more content...
I question to myself still how much did I change? Was a huge change or a small change? I still face the same problems I use to; however, I try to overcome it and continue my life with a smile. One of my main goals in life to this day is to graduate and show the people in the streets and in school that someone like me who was always being looked down on and started their lives in the streets can still graduate and change. In other words, I believe the word change will always mean in the end to change people will smile at the
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