essay 6

Light:

An Essay on Light’s Effects on My Life

By Emmanuel Perry

Pine Point School

November 30, 2011

Have you ever considered how important light is? Most of us today usually take light for granted.However Charles Dickens did not take light for granted,which can be seen in his book ‘a Tale of Two Cities’. I think that the author Charles Dickens believes light is something that represents clarity and understanding. Thinking back on my life, I realized how important light was to me. Light has always symbolized comfort, safety and warmth. When we understand things we feel safe and secure. It seems that Mr. Dickens and I have some similar thoughts on the subject of light.

The theme Dickens used was that light symbolizes clarity and helps you to understand things better. For example, when Mr. Lorry was in a mail coach in the beginning of the story, he could not see who was calling him from the dark, misty night. Mr. Lorry stopped the coach as the guard ‘cocked his blunderbuss and stood on the offensive’, ready to fire upon the approaching being. However, as the messenger came into the lantern light, they found out it was Jerry, who is a friend of Mr. Lorry. Another incident of light was when Mr. Lorry and Lucie went to see her father, Mr. Manette. This mere shell of a great human being lived in a somber attic that was dim and devoid of light. The light was later let through a window in the ceiling so that the two visitors could see him. It not only helped the visitors to see his condition, but it also allowed Mr. Manette to see his daughter once again. In the prologue of the book, it talks about a time of light and darkness. In the text, it says ‘it was a season of light, it was a season of darkness’ which means that even though the time was full of confusion and doubt, there was clarity and understanding as well. In 1775, when the story takes place, people could not trust each other on a dark road at night. Yet at the same time, people like Lucie found out the truth about her father and how he has forgotten her. It seems that even if light brings understanding; not everything you learn is good.

Light has always brought me comfort when I am in darkness. Whenever I am in a car or just standing outside at night, I love to look at the stars-small dots of cyan blue that season the night sky with gentle light. Even though I do not like the darkness, the stars in the sky give off a dim light that makes me feel comfortable. I feel comforted because I believe that God is watching over me and reminds me about his love by using the stars. Campfires also make me feel warm and cozy when I go camping with my family. Under the starry night, a campfire can give additional light. The fire doesn’t just warm our hands, but our hearts as well. When I was younger, without the stars in the sky, without fires to be near, I would have a hard time sleeping in the night. The only way I could rest easy was by using a nightlight. It was not as warm as a fire, not a soft a glow like a star, but it still made me feel untroubled. I’m no longer afraid of the dark, but these sources of light still give me comfort.

Light is clarity, light is comforting, light helps you to understand things better. Light seems to be something important to Charles Dickens and me. To Charles Dickens, light helped people to understand things that were hard to see in the first place. Light is important to me as well because it gives me a pleasant feeling and also a feeling of security. Whichever way you look at it, light will always guide you through the darkness. Whether it is the darkness of life and you do not know what to do, or the darkness of the night that gives you fear; light will always be your guide.

Self Assessment

1. I am continuing to work on checking for small grammar mistakes.
2. This essay requires me to write about my own experiences, which I am very good at.
3. One possible weak point I see in this essay is that I had a hard time finding a quote for my first paragraph.