Anna Holt
9 English
Mr. Salsich
4/20/2009

Constructed By Sentiment:
An Comparison of Views

(1) A person starts out as a stick figure, plain, nondescript. (2) Soon, this generic model of a human is given a family and a gender and a name, and in what seems like no time, the black and white figure is beginning to change, wearing a red shirt or a short blond bowl-cut.(Participle) (3) They go about their days, moving around their two dimensional world with precision. (4) However, there is something that changes this mechanical way of life. (5) One can not live this way forever, and it is with their hearts that they are able to climb out from the paper on which they are drawn. (6) It is with sentiment that they smile.

(Ts) While it is indeed this grand idea of the human heart that leads to true happiness, an excess of emotion will result in a muddled and confused life. (Sd) In Emily Dickinson's poem "I'm Nobody," she speaks about the loveliness of naturally limited emotion. (Cm) She talks about how "dreary (it would be) to be somebody," and seems to define "somebody" as a soul who is so filled with superfluous (SAT word) emotion, they are focused on all the wrong matters in life. (Cm) Emily, wishing for emotional freedom, (appositive) implies that it is better to be rid of dramatic feelings. (Sd) She claims that simplicity is the best way to handle the feelings that dance about within us. (Cm) Her poem says that we must ignore the condescending (SAT word) opinions of others, and instead focus on simpler, more meaningful matters. (Cm) We must throw away any feelings we have that would make us a "somebody," and embrace only the pure, deep feelings that our souls produce. (Cs) Perhaps an excess of emotion does indeed cause a restrained life. (CS2) Perhaps its nice to be nobody.

(Ts) A similar idea about sentiment is implied in Katherine Mansfield's short story, "The Garden Party." (Sd) As Laura sets eyes upon a dead man who lived a modest life, she does not see loss in his face. (Cm) On the contrary, she sees peace. (Cm) She witnesses happiness as the face of the deceased seems to say to her, "All is well [...]. This is just as it should be. I am content." (Sd) What Laura takes away from this experience is a view similar to that of Emily Dickinson. (Cm) This man's face, so serene even in death, is proof that those who live purely and simply will be happy. (Cm) They are free from an overload of dramatic and unnecessary sentiment so that there is room left for the more pure emotions of life. (Cs) The man, resting quietly under the gaze of his loved ones, (participle) lived in poverty, constantly frowned upon by his wealthier neighbors.(Cs2) Laura, however, found that in the end, his simple sentiment led to sheer tranquility.

(Ts)In Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, "The Traveling Onion," she reminds us of a greater idea about sentiment. (Sd) While it is possible that she agrees with Ms. Mansfield and Ms. Dickinson, Nye's poem speaks to the fact that our soul, unfixed and ever-changing, is held together with sentiment. (Appositive)(Cm) We are defined by our emotions, by our memories. (Cm) Her poem is reminding us that when we "fall[] apart on the chopping block," when our souls are exposed to the world, it is neither our accomplishments nor our current situations that define us, but our passions, our fears, our sentiment. (Sd) We are the onion, made up of "pearly layers in smooth agreement" and "small forgotten miracles." (Cm) The layers are our feelings, our passions and our joys and our fears which sit alongside one another in harmony. (Cm) The neglected miracles represent our memories, the things we cared for once which we hold dear to us still. (Cs) When we let our sentiment die, we are an onion lost in a stew, "limp [and] divided."

(1) At the dawn of our existence, the world is a blank sheet of paper, and we are merely the black and white figurines that occupy its blank canvas. (2) We will grow, and as we do experiences and emotions will mold us into who we are. (3) We will be constructed by sentiment. (4) However, we must not let this beautiful expression of the soul become overbearing. (5) If we manage to forget what "should" be important, if we see simple passion in our emotions, if we let our hearts roam free, that is when we will truly live.