On this Thursday coming
up I will start my first day as a volunteer at Tunbridge public charter school.
I will be assisting Mr. Graeff who teaches sixth grade and I am very excited to
start. The three readings focus on a lot
about freedom and I believe that at Tunbridge they also teach the importance of
being free. In the poem “Liberty” by Thomas Lynch, he discusses how we are free
to do what we want in this big world that we live in. Then in “Suburban” by
John Ciardi, he discusses how we are free to make our own choices in life and
we can benefit or suffer from those decisions. Lastly, in the short story “The
Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, he talks about how one goes through
many things in order to be free.
In
the poem “Liberty”, the speaker defines his definition of freedom and even
explains how sometimes he goes outside on his front lawn and takes a piss in
order to show his freedom. He says that his ex-wife used to tell him ask him
why he couldn’t just pee inside like the rest of the rest the humans in the
world. He then says that people only did it only to decorum and that she was
perhaps jealous of his freedom. The speaker is pointing out how he will not
conform to the views of society which say that it is bad to pee where ever you
want or feel like doing it at. Tunbridge is a public charter school which is
different than public schools because it still receives public funding but it
operates privately. That means that a charter school has the freedom to hire
and fire whatever teachers they see best fit for the job and the teachers are
allowed to teach using their own methods that they feel will help the students
out the most. In the poem “Suburban”,
Ciardi explains how one day he received a phone call from his neighbor and she
was complaining that his dog “deposited a large repulsive object” in her
petunias. He then explains how it couldn’t have been his dog because the dog
was with his son in Vermont, but he only thought this to himself and did not
tell Mrs. Friar. He also thought about making the wise ass remark of “Have you
checked the rectal grooving for a positive I.D.?”, but he did not because he
knew that would only make the situation worse. He then went over to her house
and picked up the poop and put them by his petunias. Most people would have
told the lady the truth and wouldn’t even think about cleaning up something
that wasn’t their fault. Ciardi goes against the status quo because this person
is his neighbor so why make a big deal out of it and even see this as a positive.
He says “But why lose out on organic gold for a wise crack?” meaning that he
will use the poop as fertilizer. Tunbridge chose not to conform to the style of
the other education systems that are around the area. If they were a public
school, then they would have to follow every single instruction that the government
might impose on them even if they don’t agree with it.
Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Cask of Amontillado”,
is about a man named Montresor who
has been hurt and insulted by another named Fortunato and is set on getting
revenge on him. Montresor believes that the only way he can be free is to get
rid of Fortunato so that he can live in peace. Montresor plans to lead
Fortunato into his vaults and then trap him there. He leads Fortunato deeper
and deeper into his vault but Montresor gives him some chances to go back by
saying that he is a busy man and that the dampness will give him a severe cold,
but he refuses and insists on going toward the Amontillado which leads to his
death. At Tunbridge I will need to free myself from my fears and inhibitions in
order to perform at optimal level. If not my chances to thrive at Tunbridge will
diminish with each moment that I don’t.
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