Young Writers Society

Hello! I have a little essay here, but the topics discussed in it are kind of controversial. So, when skimming this, don't get an impression that these are my personal opinions. They are not. Most of the times they are opposite of what's written here, actually. Anyway, I was trying to see an issue from a teenager's confused perspective. I hope you like it! Comments are always appreciated!

Pre-write:

Parent/teenager relationship

Human (variable) vs. dog (constant) comparison

Subconscious values

Human folly (thirst for control and power, attitude and emotion, behaviour)

Growing up

Misjudgment and ignorance and its consequence

Influence of propaganda

Essay:

Children watch too much TV. Do you agree? Take a stand and support it. Convince your reader of your position.

Infidelity in Vain

“ ‘I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone: Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not misery. We don’t want to hate one another. There’s room for everyone. The good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into bloodshed. We have developed speed but have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness - hard and unkind. We think too much, and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost… The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took will return to the people. So long as men die, liberty will never perish. Soldiers, don’t give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you, regiment your lives, tell you what to think and feel, who drill you, treat you like cattle and use you as cannon fodder!.. Soldiers, don’t fight for slavery, fight for liberty...’ ” (“The Great Dictator”, 1940)

“Ha, Chaplin talked?! Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle… If he’s talking, somebody’s gotta be laughing. That I know. I can’t picture him being not funny; this movie sure doesn’t seem like it is. But then again, he is making fun of… Hitler, was it? Boring black-and-white movies. Bo-ring! They totally should colorize them so at least somebody would actually take another look in the archives.” Click.

“ ‘You stand on the brink of greatness. The world will open to you like an oyster. No... not like an oyster. The world will open to you like a magnificent v*****.’ ” (“Bullets over Broadway”, 1994)

“Dirty T.V. is hilarious. My little brother should watch this, then I can tattle on him,” with these words, Matt tried to stand up, but his limbs deceived him. He fell right back into the snug hands of a sofa. “Ugh, I’m too tired… Long day at d*mn*d school. Those teachers are trying to kill me, man, I’m serious,” Matt nodded to a lean Doberman, named Balt, who scratched his head (just like a doggy does, with his foot) in return. Click.

“ ‘Lois! Lois! Lois! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mommy! Mommy! Mama! Mama! Ma! Ma! Ma! Mum! Mum! Mummy! Momma!’

‘What!?’

‘Hi.’ ” (“Family Guy”, 2006)

“Mom? Mom?! Get me some nachos, will ya? I’m tired.”

“Sure thing, honey.”

“Don’t forget the cheese… Warm it up, do you hear me?”

“Yes, honey, I do. I can hear you perfectly, I’m not old. How was your day at school?” Matt’s mother had a lot of time on her hands, raising her kids night and day. Laboring over the household.

“Sure you a-a-a-a-aren’t. It went okay.”

“What did you do today?”

“Nothing.”

“Everything alright, honey bee?” She peered into the family room, poorly decorated, and slowly entered, balancing a bowl of crunchy nachos and a glass of ‘Diet Coke’ with some cubes of ice on a plastic tray. “Here you go.” Balt stared at delicious food moving away from him. It was rather entertaining to look at his master enjoying something that he didn’t want; Matt had always teased him. Balt had stayed true to his instincts of getting the food for himself. He was only brought in a week ago, picked up by the mother of this monkey’s uncle, so-to-say, from the street. It was the case of the cop and the anthem (O. Henry); not the reversed case of building a fire (J. London, To Build a Fire).

“Yes. And don’t call me that.” Click.

“ ‘Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?’

I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir.’ ”(“Forrest Gump”, 1994)

“Those Antichrist b*st*rds. Think it’s so funny being smart.” On the carpet, near Matt, Balt rolled over lazily and gazed at the sun descending in the midst of distant green hills. He always took pleasure in nature; after all, it was so fulfilling and quiet. Click.

“ ‘How much currency would a first-rate accountant receive in America?’

‘I don't know, a lot, probably, if he or she is good.’

‘She?’

‘Or he.’

‘Are there Negro accountants?’

‘Yes, there are African American accountants, but you don't want to use that word.’

‘And homosexual accountants?’

‘There are homosexual everything’s. There are homosexual garbage men.’

‘And how much currency would a Negro homosexual accountant receive?’

‘You really shouldn't use that word.’

‘Which word?’

‘The N-word. It's not the N-word, but...’

‘Negro?’

‘Yeah, that one.’

‘But I dig them all the way. They are premium people.’ ” (“Everything Is Illuminated”, 2005)

“Stupid Russians. They all are ought to be killed. Just kidding,” Matt added when his mother eyed him from the kitchen. “And still… they are ignorant imbeciles, living like uneducated Eskimos in their country. Racists. The Cold War didn’t even leave a scar on them. The Americans have risen over this prejudice, but I guess some people just can’t master their lesson.” Click. In the meantime, Balt jumped over a damp sock on the floor, which Matt peeled from his foot earlier in the day, and hid in the corner to savor some sleep.

“ ‘You know, Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man.’

‘Don't you think you are?’

‘I think I did pretty well under the circumstances.’

‘What would you like to have been?’

‘Everything you hate.’ ” (“Citizen Kane”, 1941)

“Now, cocky, aren’t we? Come on, peeps, I’m not going to watch this movie until it’s colorized. You’re not going to make me watch this ancient garbage,” Matt knew better than everyone else. Click.

“ ‘Don't you find it ironic that the city of New York is paying you to accumulate evidence so that... it can be sued?’

‘Ironic, yes, sir! Also tragic. What happened to that boy shouldn’t never have happened or allowed to happen, sir.’

‘The very crux of the Patterson's press conference today. Their lawyer says you can't put a price tag on tragedy and in the very next breath he mentions... $7,000,000.’ ” (“Cagney and Lacey”, 1985)

“Feministic crooks. Who cares how much of the criminal world these chicks had dug up and demolished, if they’re chicks? No, Mom, I’m serious,” he glared at his mother, who carelessly chuckled from the kitchen. She was cooking dinner. “Women, bit… broads, skirts, what else? You’re only good for complaining about your cramps and raising your children. And loving them,” Matt willingly smiled.

“Now, honey, this isn’t the way to talk about women. I’m your mother, for goodness sake,” Matt’s mother replied. “Listen to me: women are equal to men. They are no worse, nor better. You should consider how many women there are in the world, who would be hurt by your words.”

“But that’s what I’m talking about… I saw a poster today at school, which said that there are about three women for each man. That means that it’s cookin’. It’s a whole new game,” Matt enthusiastically turned off the television.

“Honey, listen to yourself. You sound… foolish.”

“And you are thwarting my right to disagree. I’m a teenager, and I’m special.”

“You are, honey, but you don’t make any sense.”

“It all makes sense in my head! Leave me alone,” Matt angrily shoved the remote control for the television. Click.

“ ‘I would never let a woman kick my *ss. If she tried something, I'd be like, “Hey! You get your b*tch’s *ss back in the kitchen and make me some pie!’ ” (“South Park”, 1997)

“See, Mom, what I told you? Even Cartman says that. And if one person says what I think, without my saying it to his face, that makes two people who agree on a thing, and only one disagreeing. The third outcast is wrong, majority rules,” Matt spewed, “why do I always end up right, Mom? Never thought about that, did you?” Balt, ignoring the one-sided conversation, a monologue, really, stretched his feet over a long-forgotten ‘Coke’ spill.

It’s a good thing that dogs don’t talk. If they did, we might not think of them as our best friends for very long.

Half a monarch,

Half a miser,

Half a moron,

Half advisor,

Half a villain.

But hope survives,

For completion this man strives.

(A. Pushkin)