• Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views




    Results 1 to 7 of 7
    1. #1
      Member Reality_is_a_Dream's Avatar
      Join Date
      Apr 2008
      Gender
      Location
      Massachusetts, USA
      Posts
      1,204
      Likes
      1

      Tom Sawyer Essay, Help Needed!

      I didn't read the whole bood, the essay was on the first few chapters (I think 10 or somthing) It's not supposed to be long.

      Tom Sawyer Essay
      By****

      Superstition In an Uncertain World

      “Say - what is dead cats good for, Huck?”
      “Good for? Cure warts with.”
      “No? Is that so? I know something that’s better.”
      “I bet you don’t. What is it?”
      “Why, spunk-water!”

      In an uncertain world, superstition is often turned to for guidance and help. Sometimes for medicine, sometimes for faith, but always for the unknown. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, witchcraft, religion, and overall knowledge is looked at without reason, which is why everyone blindly believed it.

      The first major point of superstition in Tom Sawyer is the extreme value in religion at that time. Going to church was just as important as going to school; you went regardless of how you felt about it. It was looked at as both belief and science. Because science was rarely present, something had to take it’s place. The people were taking everything they heard as fact when it should have been taken with a grain of salt. Because there was no knowledge of evolution or the origin of life, the bible became the teacher of said subjects.

      Another example of looking at superstition in place of the truth is the conversation between Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer about Wicca cures to warts. There are many mentioned “treatments”, but the one that is mainly focused on is the “Spunk Water” remedy. This example is a perfect one to demonstrate said superstition. The procedure is as follows:

      1: Face the stump
      2: Dip your hand in a rotten stump where the rain-water was in the daytime
      3: Say the spell “Barley-corn, barley-corn, injun-meal shorts,
      Spunk-water, spunk-water, swallow these warts”
      4: Quickly walk away, 11 steps, eyes shut, turn around 3 times and walk home without speaking to anybody

      The “spell” is so complex and intricate because to believe in superstion, one would have to be able to blame what does not work on the executer of the spell, and not the spell itself. This allows belief in anything simple and easy; it allows an excuse and reason for what appears not to work. It is a perfect example of superstition taking the place of knowledge, which was obviously not uncommon during the time of the book.

      And finally, perhaps the best example of myths filling in for a lack of knowledge was an error made by the writer. At one point, Mark Twain gave Tom Sawyer the dialogue, “I’ve took off thousands of warts that way, Huck. I play with frogs so much that I’ve always got considerable many warts”. The “fact” that frogs or toads cause warts is a legend without a grain of truth,. This so well describes the lack of knowledge at the time of Tome Sawyer, although it is only a small detail. By just writing his story, Mark Twain made the ultimate reference to a motif without even knowing it.

      Without mind, everyone in the world of uncertainty believed everything they heard. This ultimately led to propaganda of superstition taking over everyone’s mind, thought, overall will. In an age of uncertainty, it isn’t hard to believe what you are told.

      By far, Mothra (in all of it's forms) is the worst kaiju of all time.

    2. #2
      Member Reality_is_a_Dream's Avatar
      Join Date
      Apr 2008
      Gender
      Location
      Massachusetts, USA
      Posts
      1,204
      Likes
      1
      Shit, that looks short from here..

      By far, Mothra (in all of it's forms) is the worst kaiju of all time.

    3. #3
      Drivel's Advocate Xaqaria's Avatar
      Join Date
      May 2007
      LD Count
      WhoIsJohnGalt?
      Gender
      Location
      Denver, CO Catchphrase: BullCockie!
      Posts
      5,589
      Likes
      930
      DJ Entries
      9
      Yeah thats pretty short. There also isn't much flow to the whole thing.

      Not many people use them these days, but the best advise I can give is write an outline. They make essay writing extremely easy and quick.

      The basic idea is to do the following

      1. Pick a topic and turn it into a catchy title

      2. Decide what it is you want to prove about the topic, this is the basis of your first paragraph.

      3. Pick three main points (or more for a longer essay) that illustrate your point, touch on each of them very briefly in the opening paragraph.

      4. Expand on each point in three body paragraphs. Sometimes each main point can also be broken down into smaller points that all deserve their own paragraph.

      5. Explain in simple and clear terms why your three points prove your thesis on the subject, and what signifigance this has to the subject as a whole

      And you're done. This way, you can tackle each paragraph seperately instead of having to deal with the whole thing at once. It makes essay writing much easier and you end up with a much more cohesive paper.

      How long is it supposed to be?

      If you decide to outline and need more help, give me a random topic and I'll make you an example outline for it.
      Last edited by Xaqaria; 09-16-2008 at 09:47 AM.

      The ability to happily respond to any adversity is the divine.
      Art
      Dream Journal Shaman Apprentice Chronicles

    4. #4
      Member Reality_is_a_Dream's Avatar
      Join Date
      Apr 2008
      Gender
      Location
      Massachusetts, USA
      Posts
      1,204
      Likes
      1
      it just needs to demonstrate that I know what I am talking about, it can be less than a page. I basically need help with the wording.

      By far, Mothra (in all of it's forms) is the worst kaiju of all time.

    5. #5
      Drivel's Advocate Xaqaria's Avatar
      Join Date
      May 2007
      LD Count
      WhoIsJohnGalt?
      Gender
      Location
      Denver, CO Catchphrase: BullCockie!
      Posts
      5,589
      Likes
      930
      DJ Entries
      9
      Quote Originally Posted by Reality_is_a_Dream View Post
      it just needs to demonstrate that I know what I am talking about, it can be less than a page. I basically need help with the wording.
      What grade is this for? Highschool I'm assuming but what year? If it can be less than a page, then it might be fine.

      The ability to happily respond to any adversity is the divine.
      Art
      Dream Journal Shaman Apprentice Chronicles

    6. #6
      Member Reality_is_a_Dream's Avatar
      Join Date
      Apr 2008
      Gender
      Location
      Massachusetts, USA
      Posts
      1,204
      Likes
      1
      I am homeschooled this year, so I don't know how to answer

      Plus, when I typed it out on MS word, it was a page in size 10 font. I think I can make this word.
      Last edited by Reality_is_a_Dream; 09-16-2008 at 11:17 AM.

      By far, Mothra (in all of it's forms) is the worst kaiju of all time.

    7. #7
      Member Reality_is_a_Dream's Avatar
      Join Date
      Apr 2008
      Gender
      Location
      Massachusetts, USA
      Posts
      1,204
      Likes
      1
      Teacher Liked It

      By far, Mothra (in all of it's forms) is the worst kaiju of all time.

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •