The Black Box

Each meaningful story has symbols. Symbols that help the readers understand the storyline and the mood of which the story is written in. Within the short text "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, the author symbolizes death and tradition through many different ways. The way that caught my attention the most was the black box.

Every year the people of the village would gather in the square for The Lottery. Before they would come, everyone gathered all of the rocks and stones they could possibly hold in their hands. Once everyone was there, they would begin the choosing of the names out of the black box. Right then and there, I wondered; Is it unusual that the box just happens to be black? The color of death, power, fear, evil? At this point of the story, it should be known to readers that the "lottery"  they're talking about is far more different than the one we have today.

Another symbol the black box provided was tradition. This black box that was used for centuries before them was very sacred to them. No matter how bad the condition this box was in, no one would replace it with another. Possibly, the government was afraid of change if the box was switched with a newer one. Or even that the government thought that if getting a new box would mean new traditions.

Wrapping up, the black box had many symbols that lead to the meaning of the book and lead to the end of the story as well. Although there are other symbols taken from the black box, the ones that stood out to me the most is death and tradition.

The Last Flower In the Flower Bed

It's been 5 years without my friends and family by my side. One by one each would be snipped right at their foot every year, leaving me the last lonely flower in the flower bed. I can't understand why they are taken away from me! Is it because I bloom later than the others in the spring and my punishment is to be lonely? Could it be that they're being taken to somewhere special and I'm not worthy enough, or maybe because I'm more beautiful than all the others and my owners wanted me to stand out? I don't know what my owners are up to, but I sure hope I'm not going to get snipped at my feet. As I start to think about being lonely with all of the space in the world, I begin to enjoy being alone. There's no complaining from my sister about how beautiful she is and how much more beautiful she is than me, her little sister, and no more loud opera singing from my brother. Don't get me wrong he's extremely talented but from hearing him sing and sing and sing all day long, it starts to pierce your ears. After 5 years of dreading being alone for the rest of my life, I realize that it's not so bad being alone and within another year I'll have a whole new patch of friends.

Trust

Authors Note: The following piece is a text analysis off of a quote from the story “Thank You, Ma’am” written by Langston Hughes.

Within the beginning of the heart-touching story “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes, a woman is on her way home from the grocery store in the dark night and is harassed  by a young teenager trying to snatch her purse. Fortunately, the boy was considered a stick while comparing sizes between the two. She took him by his ear and dragged him to her home where she then told him this: "Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face," said the woman, whereupon she turned him loose--at last. Roger looked at the door—looked at the woman—looked at the door—and went to the sink. This specific paragraph from the story was one of the most important things said within the entire story because it shows the trust they have for each other.

To begin, after being hassled by a young teenager, most would think the last thing they would do would be to bring the teenager back to your house, but Ms. Luella Bates Jones is too intelligent to let a boy less than half her size get away with the crime of robbery. While in her house, she notices dirt on his face and asks him to wash his face off and lets him lose from her arms. Knowing that he could very well run out the doors and onto the streets again, she trusts her choice on letting this boy make the correct decision of trusting her in return. 

Continuing, the young boy Roger is told a demand to wash his face at the sink. “Roger looked at the door—looked at the woman—looked at the door—and went to the sink.” He didn’t know whether or not he should stay with this woman or run like a predator chasing it’s prey out of the door of Ms. Jones’ house. Roger ended up making the correct decision of staying with Ms. Luella Jones, giving her his trust to her as well.

Lastly, the main importance of this specific paragraph of the story is trust and being able to trust one another. At this part of the story, both Roger and Ms. Luella Bates Jones know they both trust each other which is the message for readers while reading this paragraph.

To conclude, I believe that this scene within the story is the most important scene because it shows that Ms. Jones gives the boy his trust, and he gives his to Ms. Jones in return.

Never Let the Fear of Failure Keep You From Living Your Life

Authors Note: The following piece is a district writing assessment that is analyzing a quote and how it can be used and applied in different circumstances.

“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game”. Although Babe Ruth’s inspiring words are in terms of baseball, this quote can also apply to other topics such as school, other sports, or even activities such as singing and dancing. This quote said by Babe Ruth is one of the most inspiring quotes of all because it can be used in many different circumstances.

To start, every professional dancer or singer has faced challenges that got him or her to the professional state they’re currently at, but each one of them has faced a challenge and failed. If they didn’t have the courage and were too afraid to face those challenges, they would have never made it to the professional league.

Second of all, although school might be just the opposite of sports, this quote certainly applies to this circumstance as well.  Some subjects in school aren’t always the easiest for everyone, and if you’re learning a unit that’s very difficult that you don’t understand as hard as you try, don’t be afraid that you’re going to get the worst grade possible on the chapter test because the thought that you will fail will make you only do worse.

Lastly, not only does this quote specifically apply to the sport of baseball, but it can relate to almost any sport. Even though soccer is a team sport, there are times where you have to take risks and try to score to benefit your team to win. Although it’s frustrating when the ball doesn’t always go in the net, but it’s better to at least try than to not try at all.

In conclusion, this quote is inspiring in so many different ways and can be used in many different circumstances as well. “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game” states that it’s important to never let the fear of failure stop you, and if you fail, pick yourself up and try again.