Poetry Literary Essay

“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke are poems about a hard working father’s relationship between him and his child. In “Those Winter Sundays,” the speaker talks about how the love of a father is unappreciated. In “My Papa’s Waltz” the speaker takes it back to a childhood memory with an evening dance with a working father and his son. 

In Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” the speaker remembers his father “got up early/put his clothes on in the blue black cold/with cracked hands that ached from weekday weather.” this description makes the reader think of a father that wakes up early in the morning even on his days of rest. “Made banked fires blaze/” early in the morning, but, “no one ever thanked him.” The reader of the poem sees the father doing so much work for his family, but is never appreciated for what he does. The speaker also says the father “had driven out the cold/and polished my good shoes as well.” Not only was the father not appreciated, but the speaker never realized what the father did for them. In the end the speaker says, “what did I know, what did I know/of love’s austere and lonely offices?”  Looking back the speaker finally realizes that the little acts of kindness, such as polishing his shoes and making the fires, was to show that the father loves his child. The speaker wishes that he could’ve realized it sooner. In Hayden’s poem we see a son that is not very close to his father even though the speaker doesn’t show that they love their father, the father still provides for him and loves him in the way he knows how. 

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is about the speaker describing a typical evening at home. The speaker talks about his father who’s “palm(s) (are) caked hard by dirt,” “waltzing with his son in the kitchen.” The father had “whiskey on (his) breath/(that) could make a small boy dizzy.” This tells me that father had a hard day of work and relaxed with a whiskey. The speaker shows the relationship between the father and son by saying they,”romped until the pans/slid from the kitchen shelf,” they “waltzed off to bed/still clinging to (his) shirt.”

“Those Winter Sundays” and “My Papa’s Waltz” are both poems about a father and son relationship. “Those Winter Sundays” is about how the speaker later on in life realizes that his father loves him/her. In “My Papa’s Waltz”, the speaker shows the bond between the father and son. These poems teach us not to take anything for granted and be thankful for what you have.

Should College Athletes Be Paid?

The NCAA does not allow college athletes to be payed for being on a college sports team. There has been big a debate between the universities and players whether or not they should be paid. College athletes should be paid because they don’t have time to have a  jobs and a scholarship isn’t enough to pay for certain needs. 
Some college athletes don’t have time to get jobs and come from struggling families. According to a twitter feed in the article, “BCS: Player Round Table: Should Athletes be Paid,” contributor, Ishaq Williams says, “ You can struggle because you don’t have time to work, to have a job.” Between practices and 2-3 hour games, sometimes late at night, college athletes don’t have time to have jobs. Furthermore, another contributor, Michael Williams, Alabama tight end said, “You have people coming in whose families’ situation is not good at all.” Some families pay so much money for their kids to attend big Universities such as Alabama ($33,781 per semester without a scholarship), Oregon ($26,415 per semester without a scholarship) and Notre Dame ($40,910 per semester without a scholarship) to be successful. Some players need to be paid to support their struggling families. 
Athlete should be paid because a scholarship isn’t enough to support their needs. More specifically, in the article, “Why College Athletes Should be Paid,”  “Most Athletes don’t last for a whole four years,” some players don’t even use the full four year scholarship. Sometimes players get cut off the team and move to different colleges. In addition to the same article and the fact that a scholarship isn’t enough, “A scholarship doesn’t equal cash in a players pocket.” a scholarship may be able to pay for books and tuition but it doesn’t  pay for laundry, and food.
Some may say college athletes shouldn’t be paid because they’re being paid in other ways. One reason is because in the article, “Why College Athletes Should Not be Paid,”  “College athletes today have never had it better, with major universities like Ohio State, Auburn, Georgia, and Michigan.” College athletes should be grateful that they get to play for major universities and very good teams. Secondly, “[universities] investing millions of dollars into new student-athlete centers and facilities to pamper these 18-22 years old with a lifestyle once reserved only for royalty.” These college players are very rich in other ways. They make so much money for their universities but don’t get a dime. On the contrary, in the article, “ Should NCAA pay college players?,” Johnny Manziel,  a heisman winning quarterback for Texas A&M  has an autograph worth lots of money but is not being payed for it. Manziel makes millions of dollars for the Texas A&M football team but receives nothing. Also,  Oregon spends lots of money on a sports complex. For example, this complex had couches from italy, a fuzzball table from Barcelona, and a rug from Nepal. All that money wasted on this sports complex can be given to the players. College players should be paid for the hard work they put on the field and the money should  not be wasted on an expensive sports complex.
This topic is important because college athletes are working hard everyday, during games and practices and not receiving any money. Most players do get free, books, tuition, and food but, they don’t receive laundry money, gas for their cars and cash in their pocket. They work too hard to not be paid.    

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

        Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonneblick is about a 13 year old boy named Steven that has a 5 year old brother named Jeffrey who is diagnosed with leukemia. As Jeffrey's sickness kept getting worse, the more Steven realized how much he realized how much he loves his brother and couldn't live without  him. He realizes that there's more things to life than drums, girls and dangerous pie. 
        In the beginning of the story Steven says, "Having a brother is horrible... having my particular brother , Jeffrey  is an relenting nightmare." Steven is saying that Jeffrey is annoying and preventing him from doing certain things. Steven also says, "He may not play the drums, he may not pretend the symbols are shields and he is a knight." Steven does not let Jeffrey go anywhere near his drums. Its like Steven cares about the drums more than Jeffrey. Towards the end of the book, Steven invites renne Albert, the hottest girl in school, to his house to tutor him in math. When he opens the door to let her in she tells him that she has a cold. Steven slams the door and refuses to let her in. He can't risk Jeffrey getting any more sick than he already is. 
        In conclusion, this message relates to many teenagers in the real world. Many teenagers having younger siblings hat annoy them and can't do certain things because of them.  But that doesn't mean you stop loving them. It's their Job to annoy the old sibling. That's what little siblings do. Family is family, no matter what.

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

     Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney is about  how Greg Heffley's best friend ditched for a new girlfriend named Abigail. Every time Greg tries to hang out with Rowley, Abigail is always there. Since Rowley has a girlfriend he has no time for Greg.  He struggles to find new friends in a tough year in middle school. I think that Rowley's girlfriend shouldn't get in the way of his friendship with Greg. 
     In the book Greg says, "Back in the good old days, it was just me and Rowley, and we hung out and did whatever we wanted. If we felt like blowing bubbles in our chocolate milk at lunch, then that's exactly what we did. But now that there's a in the picture, things are totally different." Now that Rowley has a girlfriend Greg  and Rowley can't do the fun things they used to do. In the book Greg also says, "Wherever Rowley is, his girlfriend  Abigail is too. And even if isn't there, it seems like she is. I invited Rowley to my house for a sleepover last weekend so the two of us could spend some time together, but after about two hours I gave up trying to have any fun." This means that Greg and Rowley can't spend any fun time together because Rowley is caught up with his girlfriend. Another thing that Greg says in the book is, " When the two of them are in same place, its even worse. Ever since Rowley and Abigail got together, its's like Rowley got together, it's like Rowley doesn't even have his own opinions anymore." Rowley isn't the same as when he didn't have a girl friend.
     This connected to teenagers because it shows how relationships can take over your life and stop ditch your best friends.Having a girlfriend shouldn't get in the way of your friendships. You can't let a girl change you as a person. You can let a girl mess up your friendships.A girl isn't as important as your friendships.           

What are Different Heroes' Versions of Justice

       Every hero has a different versions of justice. Some heroes fight minor problems. Some heroes fight major problems. Every hero has a different personality which can affect their version of justice. Every hero is different.
       For Example, Captain America usually is the one to deal with the major crimes such as war. You don't usually see Captain America saving a cat from a tree or catching purse-snatchers. Those are considered minor problems. Another hero that has a different version of justice is Spiderman. He's usually the one help a cat from a tree or catch purse-snatchers. You don't usually see Spiderman as a soldier fighting in war. Spiderman version of justice is within the his community and neighborhood. Another hero would be Green Arrow. Green Arrow is a modern day Robin hood who gives to the poor and takes from the rich. Green Arrow focuses on fighting justice of the lower class. 
      This made me think deeper about humanity because it shows how every hero has a different version of justice. Spiderman teaches you that no matter how small the problem is, a hero is a hero no matter what. Captain America teaches you that you should never hesitate ti fix a problem no matter how big the problem is. Captain America doesn't usually fight minor problems, he fight for the good of mankind.

Rethinking Juvenile Justice

        "Rethinking Juvenile Justice," by John schwartz is about how juvenile offenders being prosecuted as adults. Many states are now making it harder to try teen offenders in the adult justice system. I believe that juvenile offenders should't be prosecuted as adults. Kids don't act the same as adults do. Adults know how to control their actions more than we do. Juvenile offenders should not be treated as adults. 
        In the article, the writer says, "Now we realize that to ensure that kids are protected, we have to recognize that they are actually different from adults." Kids are a lot different from adults. They should not be treated like them. The writer also says, "The realization, along with a sharp drop in violent crime and new scientific research  showing that teenagers' brain are fully developed, began turning the tide away from the get-tough approach."Juvenile offenders should not be treated like adults because they don't think like adults. The writer also says, "In 2009, 85 percent of the 1,800 cases in which juveniles were tired as adults over a 10-year period involved middle- to low-level felonies like robert, assault, and burglary.
         This connects to teenagers because it shows how juvenile offenders are being prosecuted as adults for many of the wrong reason. For  example, 2009 only 15 percent juvenile offenders in 1,800 cases were involved in homicides. Only 5 percent of the juvenile offends were involved with first-degree murder. This means that juvenile offenders are being prosecuted as adults for the wrong reasons. Juvenile offenders should not be prosecuted as adults.

Airport Mutts

Airport escort dogs

            "Airport Mutts" is about how dogs are being escorted to greet passengers at airports reduces stress from the passengers. Dogs can will help reduce stress from people waiting on hectic securtiy lines and rushing to catch their flight. I think dog escorts should be added to every airport becuase they help reduce stress. They can keep people calm and relaxed. They can also help many problems in airports caused by stress.
             In the article the writer says, "Its program has expanded to 11 dogs, whose owners volunteer to take them around the terminals to greet passengers." This means that these escort dogs are starting to become more popular and are spreading to many airports.  The writer also said, "Los Angeles International Airport last was voted the second most stressful airport in the U. S after Chicago O'Hare- now has 30 stress relieving mutts. This means that now airports are becoming a lot less stressful because of the dogs. Another thing that the writer says is, ' Studies show that people who spend time with dogs have lower blood pressure and less anxiety. This means that dogs because people to act more calm and less anxious. 
            This made me think deeper about humanity because it shows how important dogs can be towards human stress. like it said in the article, dogs can lower blood pressure and less anxiety.This can help people be less stressed and more calm. Without dogs in airports, people will go crazy!