The Great Gatsby- Chapters 1-5

The very first page of The Great Gatsby says, “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” I feel like I should keep this in mind as I read, but it’s difficult to do so with characters such as Tom Buchannan and Myrtle Wilson who appear to have next to no conscience.

                I don’t believe that I’ve ever detested a character as much as I do Tom Buchannan. In Nick’s first description of Tom, he says that Tom has “a cruel body”. This statement is what led me first to believe that Tom was either verbal abusive, physical abusive, or both. When he broke Myrtle’s nose in chapter 2, I knew that my suspicions were certainly confirmed. However messed up Tom is, it still baffles me that he has no shame about having a married mistress.

                F. Scott Fitzgerald is known for writing about his disdain for materialism, and that disgust shows in the relationship between Tom and Daisy. Their marriage is loveless. As Myrtle’s sister Catherine says in chapter 2, “Neither of them can stand the person they’re married to.” When Nick asks why Tom and Daisy don’t get divorced, Catherine says it’s because Daisy’s Catholic. However, as her cousin, Nick knows that this isn’t true.

                Daisy and Tom are living the “American Dream”. They’re married with money and a baby girl. They have high social standings and friends to have dinner parties with. The only thing that’s missing is the spark that exists between two people who truly want to be with each other. They lack the spark that exists between Tom and Myrtle and Daisy and Gatsby. They’ve put materialistic desires above personal happiness and both suffer the consequences of it.

The Minister's Black Veil

The Minister's Black Veil is the story of Mr. Hooper, a minister. Hooper comes to church one Sunday morning wearing a black veil on his face, leaving only his mouth and chin able to be seen. The town begins to feel uneasy around Mr. Hooper. After many attempts by the people of the town and even Mr. Hooper's own fiance Elizabeth, Mr. Hooper will neither remove the veil nor explain why he must wear it. Mr. Hooper is almost completely shunned by the town unless they are near death, in which case he is sought out. Mr. Hooper becomes a great minister full of love and kindness, but he lives his entire life being fear and casted out because of the black veil he wears. Mr. Hooper is on his death bed when Reverend Mr. Clark tried to remove the veil so Mr. Hooper doesn't die wearing it. Mr. Hooper refuses and speaks of how everyone feared him because he outwardly showed what they all had within, secret sin.

I see two ways to tie this story to the themes in The Crucible.
The first is the idea that social deviance leads to exhile. Everyone in town from members of the church to Mr. Hooper's fiance tried so hard to figure out what was going on, but he refused to remove his veil under any circumstances. Mr. Hooper ended up dying alone because of this. I'm going to be honest though. Personally, I do believe that Mr. Hooper either 1) suffered from mental illness  2) bore a secret sin so great that he could no longer live with himself or 3) sacrificed his life so that, in the end, he could save others.
That brings me to my second idea. It's mentioned several times what a great man Mr. Hooper is. And although people avoided him when they were healthy and happy, they flocked to him when they needed him, and he was always there for them. If my third thought of Mr. Hooper is true and he is indeed a sort of scapegoat for the town, he is similar to John Proctor. Even if it's my second idea that's true, he still showed the town that they all had a black veil; they just didn't wear it physically.

On Writing Essay

                Stephen King’s life was full of change, whether it was his ever-changing cycle of nannies as he mentions on page 19 or constantly moving to different homes in new towns. One thing about King’s life that never changed, however, was his desire to write. King is living proof that proper reading and writing every day yields exceptional literary works.

                One of the many things King learned through his many readings is that he imitates certain authors’ styles and puts his own personality in it. Reading offers you a glimpse into someone else’s mind. However, it’s not just any mind. It’s the mind of someone who cares enough about his or her ideas to sit down and spend hours, days, months, and sometimes years just to get them into your mind. King writes on page 137, “We are talking about tools and carpentry, about words and style…but as we move along, you’d do well to remember that we are also talking about magic.”

                On page 34, King talks about when his family got their first television set. He states that they were behind the times and purchased a TV when he was eleven. Generations before us didn’t have television, internet, or cell phones, and these generations produced classic novels. Authors who spend their time working with their craft instead of “eating a daily helping of video bullshit” write books with underlying meanings and metaphors that hit home with their audience. If an author sits in front of a television set, how can he or she develop his or her own creative ideas and theories? It’s impossible to be a good writer without exposing yourself to good writing.

                King offers a list of books that he has found particularly helpful in his journey to become a best-selling author, and if one looks closely at the list, it’s evident that none of these books will be found in the Teen Fiction section of Books-A-Million wedged between Twilight and The Vampire Diaries.

                Reading and writing gives us the opportunity to, as King puts it, “turn competent writers into good writers.”