Fine Lines :: Vacek's "A Variety of Expressions"

A Variety of Expressions

(Cindy Vacek is a student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha .)

Words, sentences, and paragraphs all become the filling of the “apple pie” that is the essay. The essay is an outstanding representation of the freedom granted to a writer to produce art. It goes beyond all limits, allowing writers the chance to voice their personal needs, wants, and desires. Through the evolution of writing, authors have discovered the various pathways with which they can take their ideas and view them in different lights, while keeping the same writing style. Some authors utilize the opportunity to make a statement or point, often reflecting same emotion from deep within. Also there is the need to make others aware of matters going on in the world that strongly concerns the author. Whatever the purpose, the essay provides authors the ability to deliberate their beliefs. Writers use the essay as a tool for expressing their thoughts and emotions, thus creating a great form of art.

Often writers employ the essay as a way to discover more about themselves. Michel de Montaigne was the greatest entrepreneur of all in using the essay to find himself. The essence of what the essay is created for is found in each of his various subjects, mere wondering about topics that caught his attention and helped him discover who he was. “The writing way of thinking about oneself becomes a way of life, an occupation and a way of being true to oneself - a kind of morality. This line speaks the realness with which Montaigne took his writing and in finding himself.

Others have done the same, and not only to find themselves, but also to ponder about different ideas and notions. Ralph Waldo Emerson uses his essay “Illusions” to wonder on his idea that everything around us and in our everyday lives is an illusion. “Every moment, new changes, and new showers of deceptions, to battle and distract him." Emerson utilizes the piece as a way to describe all the chaos and find where he fits into it all. Nathaniel Hawthorne does the same, for in footprints on the Seashore” he discovers both the pleasures and the gloominess in solitude. Of course, there is no forgetting Henry David Thoreau’s “Life Without Principle” which explains basically every fault that he can find in life. Lydia Fakundiny describes the essay as “unmistakably a personal manifesto: an energetic piece of scolding about our unthinking forfeiture of freedom, art inspired “lesson of value” about the human use of time." Each of these writers uses the essay as a chance to reveal more about themselves and their inner thoughts.

Authors often use writing as a tool for expressing a certain point, whether it is in an article, editorial, or even an essay. Since the essay holds no bounds on what a writer can say in it, it becomes a very practical tool for letting a statement be heard. Aside from writers finding themselves, this is probably the most popular use for an essay. Many famous writers have put the essay to this use. One of them was Jonathan Swift in “A Modest Proposal.” His grotesque descriptions are unmistakable in “that a young healthy child, well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food; whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled." The point, however, is not to nauseate readers but to make them aware of the situation in Ireland and how England is doing nothing to help with the poverty stricken. Another writer of this stature is Henry Fielding. “An Essay on Nothing” by Fielding is his way of acknowledging disgust for unacknowledged writers. He feels that people must become aware that there is too much written about nothing and actually mistaken for something. The greatest essay I have read that expresses a point better than any other is Corn-pone Opinions” by Mark Twain. This essay completely jolts the idea that people can have their own opinion. Twain puts down people when he implies that “we cannot have original thoughts ourselves because they are all influenced by someone else!” He must get his opinions from other people; he must reason out none for himself; he must have no first-hand views." “But as a rule our self-approval has its source in but one place and not elsewhere - the approval of the people." All of these writers show the importance and necessity of freedom of expression achieved through the essay. Common problems and great tragedies since society are focused on glitz and glamour. Many writers take this moment to refresh people.

The need is always there for authors to remind people of the cominds about matters that are of personal significance to them. A reminder of a great tragedy is in William Manchester’s “ Okinawa : The Bloodiest Battle of All.” Here Manchester details the raw truth of war and its effect on the survivors. He speaks of how “One war has led to another and another and yet another, and the cruel fact is that few men, however they die, are remembered beyond the lifetimes of their closest relatives and friends."

W.E.B. DuBois wrote an essay “On Being Black” in 1920, a time when making people aware of the situation was the only thing important to people of color. DuBois’ essay shows first-hand how blacks have struggled for their rights through endless discrimination. He stresses the importance of the simplest things when he says, “Suddenly that silly orchestra seat and the cavorting of a comedian with funny feet become matters of life, death, and immortality." Then there are always the unseen struggles that a writer can bring to tight. Richard Rhodes makes people aware in “The Death of the Everglades ” of the unnecessary mining of one of the largest natural habitats on earth. From his eye-catching introduction to his discussion of the destruction of the home to much of Florida ’s wilderness, his descriptions take a person's breath away and provoke critical thinking in the reader. “The Everglades, the wilderness Everglades that was once the wonder of the world, is not dying. It is already dead. The shell is left, the shell of a wilderness, and should be saved." Words like these remind the reader of the harsh realities of our world. These writers show their concern and discomfort with the world through their use of the essay.

The essay is a chance for writers to create art from their own emotions and ideas. While all writing is an art form, many writers express themselves in different ways. An essay can always be used for self-discovery of the writer or as a way to contemplate ideas. Many statements made or points explained can also be found in the writings of an essay. The piece can be used as a way to remind people or inform them of problems that concern the writer also. Whichever of these uses the writers find best for their essay, each one is the summation of the writer’s thoughts and feelings. Art that comes from within is the most beautiful, and when writersexpress themselves in an essay, nothing can be less than remarkable.

A Variety of Expressions (Cindy Vacek is a student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha .) Words, sentences, and paragraphs all become the filling of the “apple pie” that is the essay. The essay is an outstanding representation of the freedom granted to a writer to produce art. It goes beyond all limits, allowing writers the chance to voice their personal needs, wants, and desires. Through the evolution of writing, authors have discovered the various pathways with which they can take their ideas and view them in different lights, while keeping the same writing style. Some authors utilize the opportunity to make a statement or point, often reflecting same emotion from deep within. Also there is the need to make others aware of matters going on in the world that strongly concerns the author. Whatever the purpose, the essay provides authors the ability to deliberate their beliefs. Writers use the essay as a tool for expressing their thoughts and emotions, thus creating a great form of art. Often writers employ the essay as a way to discover more about themselves. Michel de Montaigne was the greatest entrepreneur of all in using the essay to find himself. The essence of what the essay is created for is found in each of his various subjects, mere wondering about topics that caught his attention and helped him discover who he was. “The writing way of thinking about oneself becomes a way of life, an occupation and a way of being true to oneself - a kind of morality. This line speaks the realness with which Montaigne took his writing and in finding himself. Others have done the same, and not only to find themselves, but also to ponder about different ideas and notions. Ralph Waldo Emerson uses his essay “Illusions” to wonder on his idea that everything around us and in our everyday lives is an illusion. “Every moment, new changes, and new showers of deceptions, to battle and distract him." Emerson utilizes the piece as a way to describe all the chaos and find where he fits into it all. Nathaniel Hawthorne does the same, for in footprints on the Seashore” he discovers both the pleasures and the gloominess in solitude. Of course, there is no forgetting Henry David Thoreau’s “Life Without Principle” which explains basically every fault that he can find in life. Lydia Fakundiny describes the essay as “unmistakably a personal manifesto: an energetic piece of scolding about our unthinking forfeiture of freedom, art inspired “lesson of value” about the human use of time." Each of these writers uses the essay as a chance to reveal more about themselves and their inner thoughts. Authors often use writing as a tool for expressing a certain point, whether it is in an article, editorial, or even an essay. Since the essay holds no bounds on what a writer can say in it, it becomes a very practical tool for letting a statement be heard. Aside from writers finding themselves, this is probably the most popular use for an essay. Many famous writers have put the essay to this use. One of them was Jonathan Swift in “A Modest Proposal.” His grotesque descriptions are unmistakable in “that a young healthy child, well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food; whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled." The point, however, is not to nauseate readers but to make them aware of the situation in Ireland and how England is doing nothing to help with the poverty stricken. Another writer of this stature is Henry Fielding. “An Essay on Nothing” by Fielding is his way of acknowledging disgust for unacknowledged writers. He feels that people must become aware that there is too much written about nothing and actually mistaken for something. The greatest essay I have read that expresses a point better than any other is Corn-pone Opinions” by Mark Twain. This essay completely jolts the idea that people can have their own opinion. Twain puts down people when he implies that “we cannot have original thoughts ourselves because they are all influenced by someone else!” He must get his opinions from other people; he must reason out none for himself; he must have no first-hand views." “But as a rule our self-approval has its source in but one place and not elsewhere - the approval of the people." All of these writers show the importance and necessity of freedom of expression achieved through the essay. Common problems and great tragedies since society are focused on glitz and glamour. Many writers take this moment to refresh people. The need is always there for authors to remind people of the cominds about matters that are of personal significance to them. A reminder of a great tragedy is in William Manchester’s “ Okinawa : The Bloodiest Battle of All.” Here Manchester details the raw truth of war and its effect on the survivors. He speaks of how “One war has led to another and another and yet another, and the cruel fact is that few men, however they die, are remembered beyond the lifetimes of their closest relatives and friends." W.E.B. DuBois wrote an essay “On Being Black” in 1920, a time when making people aware of the situation was the only thing important to people of color. DuBois’ essay shows first-hand how blacks have struggled for their rights through endless discrimination. He stresses the importance of the simplest things when he says, “Suddenly that silly orchestra seat and the cavorting of a comedian with funny feet become matters of life, death, and immortality." Then there are always the unseen struggles that a writer can bring to tight. Richard Rhodes makes people aware in “The Death of the Everglades ” of the unnecessary mining of one of the largest natural habitats on earth. From his eye-catching introduction to his discussion of the destruction of the home to much of Florida ’s wilderness, his descriptions take a person's breath away and provoke critical thinking in the reader. “The Everglades, the wilderness Everglades that was once the wonder of the world, is not dying. It is already dead. The shell is left, the shell of a wilderness, and should be saved." Words like these remind the reader of the harsh realities of our world. These writers show their concern and discomfort with the world through their use of the essay. The essay is a chance for writers to create art from their own emotions and ideas. While all writing is an art form, many writers express themselves in different ways. An essay can always be used for self-discovery of the writer or as a way to contemplate ideas. Many statements made or points explained can also be found in the writings of an essay. The piece can be used as a way to remind people or inform them of problems that concern the writer also. Whichever of these uses the writers find best for their essay, each one is the summation of the writer’s thoughts and feelings. Art that comes from within is the most beautiful, and when writersexpress themselves in an essay, nothing can be less than remarkable.