Literary Essays Tips from Mr. Hagen
Introduction Paragraph Example “A Pet” is about a girl who desperately wants a dog as a pet, but then receives a gold>ish from her parents. Both of her parents are lawyers and they thought a gold>ish would be just as good or better than a dog. At >irst, Emma disliked the >ish, but after 5 months, she grew to love him. She noticed and appreciated so many things about the >ish. When the >ish tragically died, the girl was devastated. Although many people think “A Pet” is about a girl getting a >ish, it’s really about learning not to judge something by how it looks. Not judging something by how it looks is important because judgments can sometimes be wrong, amazing opportunities can be missed, feelings can be hurt, and important inner qualities can go unnoticed.
Summary Paragraph Example “A Pet” is really about learning not to judge something by how it looks because if you do, you will not see or experience the inner qualities of something. This story shows Emma learning about and becoming very fond of Joshua’s inner qualities. At >irst Emma was unexcited about getting a >ish, but after observing Joshua and taking care of him, she noticed many inner qualities she learned to love. She loved how Joshua seemed to have purpose in his life by “boldly” dashing around his tank. Emma loved his lazy days where he >loated and didn’t seem to care about much. She appreciated his personality when he would come to the surface when she opened the lid of the >ish tank to feed him. She thought he was just like a cat or dog! Emma even enjoyed what she thought was a sense of humor that Joshua had. She was entertained by how he had to gulp water into his mouth to get the food he couldn’t see. When Emma noticed these inner qualities and appreciated them, she showed that her judgment about gold>ish proved to be wrong. She didn’t see the inner qualities of the >ish until she took care of him for >ive months. This story is really about not judging something by how it looks or what you already know about it. You will not see or enjoy the inner qualities of something if you pass judgment and don’t give something a chance.
List Paragraph Example
“A Pet” is really about learning not to judge something by how it looks. Learning to not judge something by how it looks is important because your judgment might be wrong. The girl in the story, “ A Pet,” thought that her new gold>ish was going to be a boring and not very cool pet, but at the end of the story, she was devastated that the >ish died. She had made a judgment based on how the >ish looked and was wrong in the end. There were several times in the story where Emma judged and there were several times in the story that showed me that in the end, her judgment was incorrect. First, Emma judged the >ish as not being a good pet when she thought, “The word >ish was so far away from the word pet.” This meant that Emma thought that >ish shouldn’t even be considered pets! She thought the >ish wouldn’t be a good pet. Next, when Emma thought that, “her parents >inally relented and gave her the next best thing; a gold>ish,” she was showing that she believed that >ish are not as good as other pets. Again, she judged. Also, when Emma >inally excepted that, “it would be >ish or nothing,” she showed readers that she really didn’t have a very good attitude about getting a >ish. Later in the story, Emma’s feelings about having a >ish changed. She showed this when, “she watched him and felt she knew him.” Last, she showed that she loved having a >ish as a pet when she whispered, “Please…Please,” twice when the >ish was sick. She wouldn’t have done this unless she liked having the >ish as a pet. These examples show how Emma judged the >ish as not being a good or worthy pet and how in the end, she grew to love the >ish. Emma’s experience is an example of how not judging something is an important lesson to
Story Paragraph Example “A Pet” is really about learning not to judge something by how it looks because when this practice is used, a person’s feelings can get hurt. When Emma, “understood ruefully that it would be >ish or nothing,” after her parents bought her a gold>ish, she was expressing her disappointment. She was judging the gold>ish as unworthy of being a good pet. By doing this she may have hurt her parents’ feelings. I had a very similar experience. When I was ten years old, my grandma bought me a watch for my birthday. After she gave me a giant orange babyish looking Swatch watch, I said thank you, but the expression on my face could not hide my dislike or my disappointment. My grandma was upset; I hurt her feelings by making a quick judgment of her gift. Later on, I grew to love the watch. This experience showed that judging something by how it looks can lead to someone’s feelings
Outside Sources Paragraph Example Although many people think “A Pet” is about a girl getting a >ish, it’s really about learning not to judge something by how it looks. Learning to not judge something by how it looks is important because you might end up missing an amazing opportunity. The girl in the story, “ A Pet,” thought that her new gold>ish was going to be a boring and not very cool pet, but at the end of the story, she was devastated that the >ish died. She had really grown to love something that she thought she disliked. Many other people agree with my viewpoint about “A Pet.” I surveyed my classmates by asking them this question: Do you think it’s important to learn to not judge things by how they look? 23 out of 24 kids in my class answered yes. Many of the kids I surveyed even offered to share a story about judging something or someone and being wrong. I interviewed my classmate, Mrs. Krause. She shared a story about a time when she judged a person. One time she came to school and saw Mrs. Echols wearing sweat pants and a t-‐shirt. She thought to herself, “what kind of a teacher wears that kind of stuff to school?” “She must not be a very good teacher or a very caring teacher!” Mrs. Krause later found out that Mrs. Echols was wearing the sports clothing because she is in charge of Girls on the Run, a program to help elementary girls stay >it and run in a real race. Mrs. Krause was just like the girl in “A Pet.” At >irst, she made a judgment about someone or something and in the end that judgment ended up being very wrong and untrue. This is why learning to not judge something by how it looks is so important. The story, “A Pet” was really about this.
Conclusion Paragraph Learning to not judge something by how it looks is important because inner qualities can go unnoticed, feelings can be hurt, opportunities can be missed and quick judgments can often be incorrect. Although some people may think “A Pet” is about a girl getting a >ish, it’s really a story that teaches the importance of not judging something by how it looks. Learning to not form judgments quickly is important for all people because no matter who you are, you will always be faced with new things, people, and experiences. These experiences shape who we are and cannot be missed because of a quick judgment.