Once, so long ago, I had such high hopes for this world. I was a bright young boy, so happy with just learning and reading. The landscapes of a book were more my home than anything I have ever known. Those I encountered on my journeys, more a family than that which I claim by blood. A good many of them, gone now from their worlds and nearly unknown in ours, reside vigorously in my psyche still today.
Young Sadako's plight touched my heart as she called out to the gods from her hospital bed, beseeching me as she did them. Her hope was brighter than the atomic bomb that decimated her life. It was she that called me to the side of humanity.
Dearest Sadako, though, her paper cranes wilted solemnly. They drooped at the beloved shrines, and with them waned my innocence. I aged, and the memory of that one victim drifted into the back of my mind, replaced instead with a bitter resentment for those who destroyed her hopes. For some time, a hatred of the victimizer overwhelmed any empathy for the victim.
It was a bleak hate. The haranguing of my peers, the endless mocking from the moment I emerged from the carapace, only served to whet my frustrations. I was different, and that was something that young children searching for their place in the scheme of things just could not accept. Outcasted, the defensive shell encapsulated me once more.
Next to touch my heart was the brave, visionary youth Ged. Sparrowhawk as he was known to most, but I was trusted with his true name. His story was an inspiration to grow and assume my full potential. As he cast out from the shores of his school, the greatest shadow hanging over him, so too did I set sail from the rocky shoal of doubt, weighed down by an a shadow of my own, albeit an internal one.
The escapes that Sadako and Ged granted me indebt me to them in unimaginable ways. Many other brave men and women have made their mark, as well. Sorcha taught perseverence in the face of insurmountable odds. Paul Atreides highlighted to me the importance of being a powerful leader, and instructed me in the ways of statecraft and human nature. The magnitude of the debt I owe them renders it quite unpayable, however. Despite this, I must maintain gratitude, and thank them for the lessons they have imparted. Perhaps someday soon another brave soul will encourage me to new heights.
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So, I thought you said you sucked at prose, you big liar.
This is great. There are some outstanding lines that the English teacher in me is screaming "WOW!" at. The line in the second paragraph about the atomic bomb...that was so unexpected and fresh. Theres just this image...its strong. Combining something that's supposed to sustain someone, help them--hope, with something destructive, like an atomic bomb, is amazing.
You know, the sad thing is, you write MUCH better than ANYONE in my 200-level college English classes. Seriously. They couldnt touch you. So, thats awesome for you, and very very sad for the world, lol.
Is this a reflection of a story that you have read? That's my only question. It definately sounds like it is, but its not a story that I've read.
Either way, I like how you mentions characters, make them sound like friends, make them sound like they reached out and touched you physically. I feel like you are saying that reading makes you feel like you are a part of them.
Also, I think you've pulled quite a bit out of the things you did read. It shows depth, so I feel that the title is perfect. It's got this great effect--it makes me want to read very carefully, pull bits and pieces out of text, and out of your writing, turn them over, and add them to my collection of fluid memory, of knowledge.
Pssh. You said you werent any good at prose. You're just a big goddamn liar =P
This is fabulous. Keep writing...I dont think you're capable of "bad" writing.
~blessings~
~rora
...THERE ARENT ANY CLAPPY GUYS. AHH. Or else I would have done them. =(
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This went through a very serious edit from its original form. The line about the atomic bomb is a new line as of last night. I'm glad you like it.
The essay as a whole references characters from a number of novels, yes. They range from novels I read in the 4th grade to novels that I read earlier this school year. And the characters in the books that really touch me, they might as well be real to me. Sadako, Ged, Sorcha, and Paul, they're some of my closest friends and companions. If you want the names of the books they're from, send me a message on Myspace or MSN if you see me on; I don't want to reveal my secrets to the public!
I'm not good at prose. This essay in specific just happened to turn out well. :-D
<3<3<3<3timesinfinity for you.
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