Adam Nieto Ms. Cardi English 11R, Period 8 19 January 201 Pra!ti!e Regents Criti!

al "ens Essay In life the outcomes to planned events never seem to sway in the right direction. This thought is expressed when Benjamin Disraeli said, Circumstances are eyond the control of man! ut his conduct is in his own power." Through this #uote, Disraeli expresses his elief that events in life are inevita le and cannot e controlled. $owever, the only things that are controlla le are man%ind&s ehavior and actions in coping with the circumstances. This thought&s validity can e seen in many wor%s of literature such as 'rthur (iller&s The Cruci le and Tim )&Brien&s The Things They Carried. In 'rthur (iller&s The Cruci le, setting plays a large role in the story. The play resides in *alem, (assachusetts, home of the strict +uritan lifestyle in which the church condemns cele rations, dance and fun from the people&s lives. This dull lifestyle reeds conditions which ultimately leads to circumstances in which individuals can not control. )ne specific individual is ,ohn +roctor! a tragic hero who em odies the elief that the only power man truly holds is his a ility to conduct his ehavior or actions. In the play, ,ohn +roctor is accused of witchcraft, a serious crime in +uritan life. -ltimately +roctor is given a choice to lie and plead guilty or face the death penalty and plead non.guilty. This is hard for +roctor ecause doesn&t elieve in lying and %nows that he must stand true to his values. +roctor chooses to neither plead guilty nor non. guilty ut instead rips up the document in which he declares his stance. Tragically, he is sentenced to hang. In The Cruci le the +uritan lifestyle reeds inevita le circumstances in

which many individuals face. ,ohn +roctor, one of the individuals, shows that a person&s only power is through his actions and ehavior. Tim )&Brien the author of The Things They Carried also exemplifies Disraeli&s thought. In the novel )&Brien uses his first person point of view to share his inescapa le situation when he finds out he is drafted into the /ietnam 0ar. In the story Tim needs to ma%e a decision to either run straight on into the war or flee to Canada. The psyche and thought process of Tim )&Brien is exposed through this first person account. )&Brien uses this writing style to present a fuller understanding of the situation he was in y emulating feelings of uncertainty and confusion. ' repetitive feeling expressed throughout the oo% was the feeling of shame. )&Brien expresses that it would e more shameful and em arrassing if he ran away from the war. )&Brien also expresses that he wouldn&t e the only one that would e ashamed if he ran away, his loved ones would also e em arrassed of his decision to flee. This leads to )&Brien&s decision to ta%e it li%e a man" and fight in the /ietnam 0ar. In The Thing They Carried )&Brien uses his first person point of view to give the reader a full reasoning of the ultimate decision he ma%es. )&Brien also used the repetitive feelings of guilt and shame to give reason for his decision to fight in the /ietnam 0ar. In oth The Cruci le y 'rthur (iller and The Things They Carried y Tim )&Brien, Disraeli&s #uote, Circumstances are eyond the control of man! ut his conduct is in his own power," can e seen as valid. In The Cruci le, the setting depicted y the +uritan lifestyle plays a large role in ringing forth uncontrolla le circumstances. ,ohn +roctor, the tragic hero, exemplifies that even though a situation may e uncontrolla le a person still has the a ility to act and control his ehavior. In The Things They Carried, )&Brien is faced with an uncontrolla le situation in which he is forced to fight in the /ietnam 0ar. The author uses first person point of

view to give the reader an inside loo% of his decision process and thought ehind the inevita le circumstance. )&Brien also uses the repetitive feeling of guilt which ultimately sways )&Brien to ma%e the decision to fight in the war. 'lthough events in life can e uncontrolla le people still have the power and choice to pic% their own path and deal with the situation in their own way.