Article Summary

Inpyo Hong

English 9^th

10/19/11

8-Sentence Summary “A Raisin in the Sun”

           Brooks Atkinson discusses on her article about the characters and honesty in the play of “A Raisin in the Sun”. Firstly, Brooks Atkinson summarizes the whole story including conflicts and climax of the story. She explains about the story that it is about humans who wish to conserve family pride and to escape from poverty. She also depicts that the story is sometimes hilarious, but sometimes painful. Plus, Brooks Atkinson reveals how and why the actors were carefully chosen to the characters. She gives the names of the actors and the description about the characters’ personalities. Furthermore, she illustrates that some characters such as the daughter and the son have dreams. Finally, Brooks Atkinson concludes her article by disclosing that simple honesty is the most arduous and illuminating thing in the world.

“For A Raisin in the Sun is a play about human beings who want, on the one hand, to preserve their family pride and, on the other hand, to break out of the poverty that seems to be their fate.”—I chose this sentence because it summarizes the whole story clearly without any vagueness.

“No doubt, her feelings about them are as strong as any one's.”—I chose this sentence since it is the first sentence that states her opinion in the article. By using the words, “No doubt,” Brooks Atkinson made her thoughts more powerful.

Essay #2

Simple Man:
An Essay on Simple Things
An Essay by Inpyo Hong
9th Grade English
Pine Point School
10/03/11

    Henry David Thoreau said, “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, or weakness.” My friend, Brian Lee, is a successful man who lives in a simple life with simple minds. My dad is also a simple man who simplified his complex life by trying and working hard. Perhaps this shows us that we have to be uncomplicated in order to benefit our life.
    To begin with, there are certain relations between “Simple Man” and my friend, Brian Lee. Firstly, one part of the lyrics—“Oh, take your time… Don’t live too fast”—reminds me of his uncomplicated personality. Brian always takes his time and gets things done properly even though he might have a lot on his schedule. Since he does not make an error nor rush to finish his job, he consistently gets favorable results. Secondly, the verse that says, “Oh be something, you love and understand,” cued me to recognize Brian’s profession. For example, Brian is a successful lawyer in South Korea who loves and understands his job. Plainly, he studied ardently for many years but did not give up because he desired to become a lawyer. Finally, the lyrics—“And you can do this, oh baby, if you try”—delineates Brian’s simple eagerness. He is a manifest and zealous man who tried his best to become a lawyer. He is an unadorned and fervent man who did not give up his study even though he confronted a few failures on bar examinations. Thus, “Simple Man” and Brian Lee have some connections, which depict that being simple assists our life.
          Not only does Brian have a few relations with “Simple Man”, but also my dad has certain connections with the song. First of all, the verse that says, “Troubles will come and they will pass,” makes me recall the story of my dad’s tireless exertion to overcome his adversities. When he was a juvenile, his inauspicious indigence interrupted his dream of being an artist. However, he enhanced himself by studying hard without any support from his parents, and extricated himself from poverty. In addition, another part of the lyrics—“Oh be something, you love and understand”—discloses another connection between “Simple Man” and my dad. My dad is a simple man who had a dream of becoming successful; he built his way up with magnificent endeavors since he always desired to conquer his afflictions. My dad is now a successful businessman and an architect who loves and understands his job. Furthermore, the lyrics that say, “And you can do this, oh baby, if you try,” demonstrates the other relation between my dad and “Simple Man”. My dad was born in a destitute family and raised by only his mother because his father died before he was born. Nevertheless, he did not let himself use an excuse of poverty and his father’s death, and he strove through hindrances by studying hard, moving on his own to a city to attend schools, and moving to the capital city of South Korea to confront a great success. Hence, a simple life—my dad’s life—equals a successful life, which we all should accomplish by living a plain life.
          Consequently, we all have to simplify our complex life to achieve a cheerful and successful life. Brian does not rush or make an error because he has uncomplicated thoughts and minds, which assist his life. My dad simply endeavored to overcome his adversities, which supported him to accomplish his dream. Therefore, Brian Lee, my dad, and “Simple Man” mirror Henry David Thoreau’s concept: “As [they] simplify [their] life, the laws of universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, or weakness.”

Essay #1

Essay #1:
An Essay on Connections
An Essay by Inpyo Hong
9th Grade English
Pine Point School
September 15, 2011
    Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “For everything you missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” There is always something I have earned after a loss I have considered valuable. The writers of “For A Dancer” and “A Dream Deferred” have elucidated that they have acquired, but have not given up their hopes even though they both mislaid priceless entities. Thus, the writers and I have earned precious rewards in life for every invaluable thing that we have lost.
    To begin with, there are certain connections between “For A Dancer” and my life as an international student. Firstly, one part of the lyrics—“I don’t remember losing track of you”—makes me recall coming to the United States of America for the first time. I did not anticipate studying abroad and worried about leaving my family in South Korea. However, leaving my family and coming to the United States, I have earned an opportunity to procure a better education. Secondly, the verse that says, “I must have thought you’d always be around,” roused me to recollect memories of my friends and I in South Korea. For instance, it was a profound grief for me to depart from them. Nevertheless, for leaving my peers in Korea, I have made friends in the United States who indeed support me to become a better person than whom I was in the past. Finally, the lyrics—“Along with whatever meaning you might have found”—discloses another connection between the song and me. To be more specific, when I arrived in the United States, I realized the culture of South Korea and the United States is different. Along with the American culture that I am learning from the Rosenbergs and Pine Point School, I have acquired a chance to comprehend both cultures even though I left my family and friends in South Korea. Therefore, I have obtained a preferred education, friends, and culture after leaving my family and friends in South Korea like how Jackson Browne depicted in his song that he gained hopes after the death of his loving friend.    Not only do I have connections with “For A Dancer”, but also “A Dream Deferred” has connections with the song. “For A Dancer” and “A Dream Deferred” indicate that they both lost their incomparable entities. “For A Dancer” is an exceedingly mournful song, which expresses the loss of the writer’s exceptional friend. [Allit.] Correspondingly, “A Dream Deferred” insinuates Langston Hugh’s postponed dream. Additionally, they are similar in the way they disclose that their dreams are implausible to achieve. For instance, the song signifies Jackson Browne’s obscure dream of being united with his wife again. The poem also reveals Langston Hugh’s dream being adjourned. Furthermore, the song and the poem demonstrate that Jackson Browne and Langston Hugh did not lose their wishes. Specifically, the last sentence of the lyrics in “For A Dancer”, “But you’ll never know,” represents that Jackson Browne did not lose his hope. Similarly, the last line of the poem that says, “Or does it explode,” exhibits that Langston Hugh did not lose his aspiration. Consequently, “For A Dancer” and “A Dream Deferred” have connections such as their loss of objects, impossibility to achieve their dreams, and not losing their wishes.
    “For A Dancer”, “A Dream Deferred”, and my life have connections that Jackson Browne, Langston Hugh, and I have acquired invaluable and preferred entities for everything we have lost. “For A Dancer” and my life have connections because Jackson Browne gained hopes even though he lost his friend, and I have gained new friends, family, and culture even though I left behind my family, friends, and culture I cherished. “For A Dancer” and “A Dream Deferred” have connections because they have similar themes. Hence, Jackson Browne, Langston Hugh, and I mirror Ralph Waldo Emerson’s concept: “For everything [we] missed, [we] have gained something else, and for everything [we] gain, [we] lose something else.”

Essay #1 Graphic Organizer

The Connections between “For a Dancer”, “A Dream Deferred”, and My Life.

Introduction

(TS) Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “For everything you missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.”

(CM) Explanation about how the quote relates to my life.

(CM) Explanation about how the quote relates to the song and poem.

(Thesis) The writers and I might have gained for everything that we lost.

Body1

(TS) There are certain connections between the song and my life.

(SD) “I don’t remember losing track of you.”

(CM) I did not expect to leave them and study abroad.

(CM) But having better education.

(SD) “I must have thought you’d always be around”

(CM) Departure from my Korean friends.

(CM) But gained American friends.

(SD) “Along with whatever meaning you might have found.”

(CM) Culture is different

(CM) Along with American culture that I have learned, I become a better person.

(CS) Lose one, gain one.

Body2

(TS) There are certain connections between the song and the poem.

(SD) They both talk about something they have missed and lost from their lives.

(CM) The poem elucidates about what will happen when your dream is postponed.

(CM) The song illustrates the loss of his love.

(SD) They both talk about their dreams not becoming true.

(CM) The poem illuminates about the dream of freedom becoming adjourned

(CM) The song signifies about his dream of being united with the writer’s wife.

(SD) They did not lose their wishes.

(CM) The last line of the poem.

(CM) The last line of the song.

(CS) Even though they demonstrated the losses from their lives and did not accomplish their goals, they did not abandon their hopes.

Conclusion

(TS) We gain from everything we lose.

(CM) What I could achieve.

(CM) The writers of the poem and song did not give up their hopes, even though they did not accomplish what they have desired.

(CS) Quote.