Category Archives: English

The book of Proverbs was written primarily by Solomon, and was directed towards his son. This book in particular is full of advice and is designed in my opinion to help guide people through life. Because of the book’s design it focuses very strongly on morality and ethics; but what is the relationship between ethics and sanctions in Proverbs 1-7?

Before answering the question one must know what the words ethics, and sanctions means. Ethics means moral principles, and sanctions means permission(it also means penalty), this is in relation to the Proverbs.  In Proverbs 1-7, Solomon warns his son of the people he should not associate with or avoid to associate with. He tells his son to search for wisdom and understanding, and gives other important life advice. But how does all this come into relation with ethics and sanctions? Well for every action there is a consequence, for example if you steal you will most likely be caught or feel guilt after doing so. Consequences do not necessarily have to be negative though. So there will always be consequences for one’s actions, even though it may not seem so.

The Proverbs provides ethics, it is in many ways a book of ethics, as individuals we can choose to follow them or not. In the Proverbs it shows examples of good and bad ethics; ethics one should not follow, and ethics one should follow. But what about sanctions? How does it come into the picture? Well like I stated, sanctions at least how I perceived it to mean in the context of the Proverbs is permission, or permission from a higher power or ruler, who is God. As humans we have free will, we can make our own decisions, bad or not, but that does not mean that God does not disapprove or approve of these decisions. In the Proverbs there are many examples of God disapproving of one’s actions, or approving of one’s actions. 

Which is why I believe that the relationship between ethics and sanctions in Proverbs 1-7 is that of teaching lessons, instead of active punishment. Also this relationship is quite important, without ethics there are no sanctions. 

In conclusion, the relationship between ethics and sanctions in Proverbs 1-7 is that of lesson teaching, and it is also an important relationship. Ethics is an important concept throughout the Bible, and so is the concept of sanctions. Without ethics there can’t be sanctions, or without moral values there cannot be moral standards.

There are over a hundred Psalms in the book of Psalm in the Bible, and all of these Psalms cover a variety of topics including faith. A common trend that I have seen while reading Psalms is how they portray a specific person praising God, going through hardships, asking for guidance from God, etc. But what are some of the reasons offered in the Psalms for long-term optimism or optimism for the future?

Optimism in definition means, hopefulness and confidence about the future. Our futures are unknown as humans, but having hope in our futures, and putting our faith in God there is optimism. Some reasons offered in the Psalms for long-term optimism is how the Psalms reveal God’s ability to save, His love, and blessings.

One of the most important writers of the Psalms is David. David himself goes through difficult times, and in the Psalms, he shows how God delivered him. Psalms show how God promises David kindness and blessings for his heirs in the future, which shows His promise of the future. One of my favorite Psalms, which is Psalm 23, is a very good example of how Psalms offer reasons for long-term optimism. Psalm 23 itself, states that God is like a shepherd who is guiding and protecting David. David in this Psalm is walking through great danger, but he does not fear since God is with him. 

If one believes and follows God, they will be saved; this is also stated in the Psalms. This is another reason which offers long-term optimism from the Psalms. But there are many other examples from the Psalms that offer reasons for long-term optimism, but in my opinion, the ones I mentioned above are key examples.

In this essay I covered some of the reasons offered in the Psalms for long-term optimism. The reasons I dove into, in this essay are: God’s ability to save, His love, blessings, and the truth that if one follows His word, and believes in Him, they shall be saved. All of these are offered reasons in the book of Psalm.

The Christian Bible itself contains many smaller books; one of the most famous and read of these smaller books in the Bible is the book of Psalms. Psalms are song-like and poetic; all the Psalms contain praises toward the Lord, and there is quite an emphasis on this, and by design are to help guide Christians on their journey of faith. A lot of Psalms were written by David, and a lot of the Psalms revolve around him. The Psalms cover many important concepts, including sanctions. But exactly how important is the concept of historical sanction in the Psalms?

To begin with, the Psalms do in a sense describe what God states is wrong and right. For example God blesses people who follow him with eternal life and punishes people who do not follow. There are many examples in the Psalms of God bringing forth judgement to those who are not righteous. The Psalms are all tied to ethics. David through the Psalms show how much God despises sin. It is also seen in the Psalms that David himself is saddened to see those who go against God. David himself did sin, which caused him misery and grief, thus asking God for forgiveness. Showing that if one goes against God and His laws, there are consequences or sanctions. That there will be judgement to those who are unrighteous and decide to remain so.

The importance of the concept of historical sanctions is seen throughout the Psalms. Psalms emphasis greatly on how important it is to follow God and His Laws. That negative consequences or sanctions occur when one does not follow His laws. Look at the example above when David himself sinned, and the consequences that occurred as an outcome of that. 

In conclusion, the importance of the concept of historical sanctions is seen throughout Psalms. Even though sanctions is not the main concept covered in the Psalms it still is a pretty important one, with many examples throughout the book. 

God created laws, which have sanctions if one chooses to follow or not follow these laws. In the story of Noah and the Flood(which is in Genesis 6-9), the sanctions of disobeying God are clearly shown. But what was the Importance of Ethics and Sanctions in the story Noah and the Flood?

Before the flood itself man had grown to disobey God’s word; instead of following God and His word, instead they followed their heart. God saw all the sin and evil that was being done by man; this grieved Him. Because of the evils that were done by man he sent a judgement, which was the flood. The flood would destroy the whole world. God decided to spare the only righteous man in the world, Noah, and his family(which includes his wife, sons, and his sons’ wives). Noah was instructed by God to build a giant Ark(which is a giant boat). After this Ark was completed Noah was thus instructed to get a pair of each species(one female and one male), of animals on earth, and take them into his Ark. 

After the doors of the Ark were shut, the flood began. It rained for forty days and forty nights; the water reached mountainous heights. It took over a year for Noah, his family, and all the animals to be able to leave the Ark. After the flood God made a covenant to Noah that He would never again send a flood to destroy the world again. The sign of this that God gave was a rainbow.

When it comes to the importance of ethics and sanctions in the story of Noah and the Flood, I see that the ethics before the flood itself of man were quite low. Man at the time had a low standard for morality, which grieved God. As a judgement or punishment God sent a flood which would destroy the world, and kill all humans except for Noah and his family. The flood is the negative sanction which was a sanction to the sinfulness of man.

In conclusion this is my explanation of the importance of ethics and sanctions in the story Noah and the Flood.

This week of English I had to explain the element of hierarchy in Genesis 1-3. I had to keep in mind Adam’s relation to God, Eve’s relation to Adam and God, and the Serpent’s relation to Adam, Eve, and God. Before diving in, hierarchy means in short: the system in which peoples or groups are ranked one above the other which is determined from status or authority.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. After He created all the animals of the world; and on the sixth day of creation, He created man, from His own image. This all occurred in seven days. Clearly, this shows that God is the highest power in the universe; He is above all of His creation. He is on top of the hierarchy.

Adam, as I stated above, was created in God’s own image, on the sixth day of creation. God put Adam above all the animals. Later on, God stated that it was not good for Adam to be alone, thus he created a woman, who was called Eve, to be Adam’s companion. Adam and Eve were allowed to eat the fruit of every tree, except for a single certain tree. This particular tree had the power to give the knowledge of good and evil.

The Serpent in Genesis 1-3, was the most scheming and crafty of the animals of God’s creation. In short, the Serpent tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. After Eve consumed the fruit she persuaded Adam to do the same. This brought forth the beginning of original sin. God punished Adam and Eve and cursed the Serpent after all had been done.

Thus the hierarchy remained similar after Adam and Eve’s disobedience, yet it was different. God was above everything and everyone, man was above all the animals. But instead of men and women being placed as equals, instead women were placed below men. Hence this was the element of hierarchy in Genesis 1-3.

When writing an autobiography or any book in general one of the most important things that must be done is keeping the readers interested. You must write things that will interest the reader, not just the things that interest you, to have a successful book. Throughout this year of English I have read many autobiographies, all of which were different in their own unique way. Sadly most of these autobiographies were not very successful in keeping “me”, the reader interested. Some were definitely worse at this than others. An example of an autobiography that kept me interested mostly throughout the whole book was Sergei Kourdakov’s autobiography The Persecutor. Because a lot of autobiographies I have read so far did not do a very great job at keeping the readers interested, how much better would these autobiographies be if the authors simply asked themselves the question “so what?” On this note how important really are the words, “so what” in an autobiography?

Like I mentioned above, the most important thing when writing a successful autobiography is keeping the readers interested. Most of the time when authors write autobiographies they usually write about things that interested them from their life, instead of writing about things that would interest the reader from the author’s life. The way to prevent this common mistake when writing an autobiography is by asking the simple “so what,” throughout the writing of the book. This question would enable the writer to think like the reader, or understand how the reader would feel while reading the autobiography.

In my opinion an autobiography would be much better if the author asked the question, “so what.” By keeping in mind the perspective of the reader by asking this question, an author would be able to write about details that actually interest the reader, instead of just interesting the author. The question “so what,” also helps the author grasp what is relevant, or not relevant for the narrative; also this question most likely will help the author write a more clear cut, organized, and entertaining autobiography, while still being relevant to the readers.

To answer the final question: how important are the words “so what?” In an autobiography? These two words are very important in an autobiography. This relates to the point above; to write a good autobiography the author must keep in mind if the writing is actually interesting or relevant to the reader.

In conclusion, writing an autobiography is a complex task, if I was ever to go through with it the thing I would keep in mind is the perspective of the readers, through the question, “so what?” Keeping the interest of the reader is one of the most important things when writing any kind of book, and this goes much with autobiographies. The question, “so what?” It itself is very Important when writing an autobiography and should not be neglected, or forgotten, if you were to write a successful autobiography.

During the past while I have read quite a few slave narratives, or autobiographies of people who were slaves, but the narrative of Olaudah Equinao(1745-1797), is unique compared to the other narratives. The reason why his narrative was unique was due to the fact that he was the slave of a British navy lieutenant, and grew up in the navy. Usually the other individuals who wrote slave narratives were slaves on plantations. But what was Equiano’s attitude regarding his life in the British Navy?

Equiano was born in a small African village; his father was the chief of the village, which meant his early life was pleasant. He had a relatively large family, with six siblings, which included five brothers and one sister. Sadly this life did not last long for him; when he was eleven he and his sister were kidnapped, while their parents were away. He and his sister were separated, and he was taken and sold to several places. Finally he was taken to America, and was sold there, but this did not last long, and he was sold again this time to a British navy lieutenant.

When Equiano first entered life in the navy, he was terrified. He was scared of the ships, the sailors who were Europeans(who he thought at first were bad spirits), and the weapons on board the ship. He even thought that the sailors would sacrifice him, or eat him! But eventually over time he adjusted, and even began to enjoy the life of being a sailor; and even made friends with some of the sailors. This adjustment especially occurred when he began understanding English, which helped him understand what was going on, not having a barrier in life, and also this helped him not feel so terrified anymore.

Equiano’s attitude regarding his life in the British Navy, really relates to how he adjusted to that life. At first he was scared of everyone and everything but soon enough he adjusted and became accustomed to it. His attitude towards this life was mostly one of excitement. He was excited for life, especially with the idea that he may even fight in a battle. He also became relatively close with his master.

So far reading the narrative or autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, I have noticed many differences compared to other slave narratives, which has made it feel in my opinion a quite unique read. One of the most important aspects of Equiano’s life which is different compared to other individuals who were slaves was the fact that he was the slave of a British navy lieutenant meaning that he lived in the navy, which is pretty different. His attitude towards his life at the time was mostly one of excitement, which was what I discussed in this essay. 

For the past months I have been reading and studying autobiographies; also I have been learning how to write one. Because I have been learning how to write an autobiography, I have learned about how to properly write, and how not to write an autobiography. The way to properly write an autobiography is through note taking, which ensures that you have descriptions on what is going around you. But what must I do with my note-taking to properly describe what is going on around me?

Note-taking is very important when writing an autobiography, and there are many options on the way you write notes. The most effective option when taking notes in my opinion, which I may do when I write my own autobiography, is journaling. With journaling you don’t have to write everything down every single day, instead you could write every few days on the important things of your week so far. Or you could instead only record the most important events in your life.

For me personally I would most likely keep a journal every few days or whenever I feel it is important to do so. I have tried journaling every single day, and that did not work well for me. I lost motivation each day, and soon lost interest in it altogether. But some individuals may really enjoy journaling every single day, and find it very effective, so truly the way one journal is up to them. With that fact in mind that I would use a journal to keep track of my life, here are some things I must do with my note-taking.

The first thing I would do is keep my notes in chronological order. This is very important, you do not want to have an autobiography that is disjointed, or has a very disorganized chronology. The second thing I would do is not waste my time on trivial details, or avoid writing down things that are not very important; of course this is hard to prevent but still it is important in my opinion. The third and final thing I would do is try to take notes as soon as possible if something important happens in my life, so my retelling will be as accurate as possible.

Therefore, when I am taking notes for a future autobiography I will be using a journal. But with the notes itself I will make sure that my notes will be in chronological order, not be full of trivial details, and finally to ensure my retelling of an event is accurate. 

Frederick Douglass(1817-1895), was a famous abolitionist and writer. During his childhood he lived on plantations as a slave. One of the most impactful moments in his life was learning to read. Most slaves were illiterate due to the fact that slave owners believed that an educated slave would cause trouble. Douglass fortunately at the time he learned to read lived with a kind mistress. Before getting into more of this story, has any event in my life had the same impact that learning how to read had on Douglass’s life?

Like I mentioned above Douglass at one point in his life had a kind mistress who was decent. This mistress actually was the one who began teaching him to read, she taught him until her husband found out. After this she stopped teaching Douglass, but that did not stop him from learning to read on his own. He also got help from white children during that time; he copied letters and other written works which was how he learned to write. Learning to read and write changed his life. Because he was able to read he became discontented, just like how slave owners worried. Now he craved freedom, and to be out of slavery.

As you can probably tell Douglass learning to read was a life changing moment in his life; but has any event in my life had the same impact like the impact of Douglass learning to read? Well there actually have been a few moments in my life that had a pretty big impact on my life; but the one I will be writing about in my opinion is the one that changed my life the most. This event was about learning to read. You must be thinking, why was reading so impactful? A lot of people know how to read. Well I learned to read a little older than other people, I was almost eight years old. When I was learning to read it didn’t make any sense, the letters looked like confusing symbols that were stuck together. I was frustrated, and annoyed, I didn’t see there was any point to it. But one day reading made sense. Instead of words looking like symbols stuck together, they looked like words; words that I spoke every single day. After that I took off, before my parents and myself knew it I was reading large novels in a matter of two days. I couldn’t stop reading, I loved it and it made sense.

But the long term impact of this was the fact that I was able to do most of my school on my own, before being able to read my mother had to read things for me. Life in general became easier, I was far more independent. Also learning to read helped me learn to write which is a very important skill in my life. This is why learning to read was very impactful to me, like it was to Douglass.

Well from reading the title above you must be quite confused, I mean an ant war and loons? It doesn’t make much sense. To explain this, for the past few weeks I have been reading the autobiography Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, which has been a very confusing and absurd read. The autobiography itself is about Thoreau’s life in the “woods,” or “outside of society,” on Walden pond. But most of the book contains very cringe worthy descriptions on random things, and unusual points that contradict each other. One part of the book in particular contained descriptions on two groups of ants who were fighting each other, hence the ant war. A little later on in the book you will find another set of descriptions, this time on loons. With this being said, would I spend more pages describing an ant war or loons?

Even though an ant war and loons would be an absurd and ridiculous way to fill some pages of your autobiography, because it has nothing to do with your life whatsoever, this actually gave a bit of a break in the book Walden. Before these topics were mentioned in the book, the book was full of unusual points that made little sense, making it irritating to read. But the pages and descriptions of an ant war and loons were not the worst to read, definitely better than some of the things I have read so far in the book. 

But would I spend pages of my autobiography on an ant war or loons? No, absolutely not. This sort of topic has no use to me, and I have little interest in it. Also I believe most people would think similarly on the matter. There is no need in my opinion. But because this is not a proper answer to the question above, I will state this, I would only supply a page at the maximum on these topics. I believe a page would satisfy enough descriptions to properly describe these events without overly boring the reader. With that being stated I would say that I would spend a little more book space on the topic of loons, just because they interest me a tad more. 

In conclusion, my answer to the matter of would I spend more pages on an ant war or loons, is that I would never mention either in my autobiography; but if I was forced to do so I would supply a small bit more book space on the topic of loons. This is an example of why reading Walden has been an adventure to read. If only Thoreau had described or written about topics that actually made sense, or made an understandable point, instead of writing about topics like ants and loons, Walden may have been a readable autobiography that made sense.