Semester Final Essay Exam

Winston Douglass
English I Accelerated Per. 2
January 16, 2006
Semester Final Essay Exam
Outline

Thesis statement: Through their literature, Ayn Rand, Ray Bradbury and Sophocles demonstrate that humans have the ability to grow and develop through adversity and change for the better.

Body paragraph 1:
Topic sentence: When man works as a collective they run the risk of losing the benefits individuality offers.

Quote: “And those times passed away when men saw the Great Truth which is this: that all men are one and that there is no will save the will of all men together.” (Rand 20.)

Quote: “I am. I think. I will.” (Rand 94.)


Body paragraph 2:
Topic sentence: Similar to Rand’s society, the society depicted by Bradbury ‘dumbs down’ the importance of the individual by limiting what the individual can accomplish.

Quote: “It’s fine work. Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn ‘em to ashes, then burn the ashes. That’s our official slogan.” (Bradbury 8.)

Quote: “I can get books.”
“You’re running a risk.”
“That’s the good part of dying; when you’ve nothing to lose, you run any risk you want.” (Bradbury 85.)

Body paragraph 3:
Topic sentence: While Fahrenheit 451 and Anthem have hopeful endings, Sophocles’ Antigone shows that sacrifice is sometimes required in mankind’s quest to evolve for the better.

Quote: “Oh it’s hard, giving up the hearts desire . . . but I will do it – no more fighting a losing battle with necessity.” (Sophocles 117.)

Quote: “Wisdom is by far the greatest part of joy, and reverence towards the gods must be safeguarded. The mighty words of the proud are paid in full with the mighty blows of fate, and at long last those blows will teach us wisdom.” (Sophocles 128.)