Shad's Essay

Rashad Young

English 9

Mr. Salsich

21 April 2009

Using Your Heart:

Three pieces of literature and one word

When making decisions do you use your mind or your heart? When using sentiment people are usually very carful and sometimes they are not. In these short pieces of literature – “The Garden Party,” “I’m Nobody,” and “The Traveling Onion” – there are examples of people using sentiment carefully. All three of the passages express feeling that could only come from the heart.

Using words with meaning only expressed from the heart is something that us humans do in everyday life. In “The Traveling Onion” by Emily Dickenson, she expresses her feelings of “somebody’s and “nobody’s”. To be a “somebody” means that you have many people who admire you. When it comes down to it everyone is the same on the inside and should not be treated differently because of what they can do or what they look like. It is the sentimental value that gives the people their sense of publicity. Therefore people use their mind to express the status of an individual. Emily Dickenson is trying to say that you should look past the value of what we think and focus on what we feel.

Fame and admiration do not matter when someone has sentiment for someone. “There lay a young man, fast asleep – sleeping so soundly, so deeply, that he was far, far away from them both;” even though this man was deceased, he still had some sort of value that Laura – a stranger to him – could feel. Laura even thought he was “[…] wonderful, beautiful,” though they could not speak to each other he felt for her and she did the same for him. Laura could feel many different emotions, from being content to crying all at once. As Laura met her brother later, she began to realize another sense of sentimental value. She said to Laurie, “Isn’t life-.“ Though she did not complete her thoughts Laurie immediately felt what she was going to say, Laurie replied, “Isn’t it, darling?” The two of them were almost in sync during this moment and it was because they felt for one-another. Both Laura and her brother showed sentiment, from watching a man in a deep sleep to having an emotional conversation.

Depending how you look at it, having sentiment for an object can be similar or even identical to having feeling for a living thing. Naomi Shihab Nye uses her heart when talking about onions. She states, “I could kneel and praise all small forgotten miracles” the feeling here is her praise. The onion has been around for so long it has almost been forgotten as a whole but, Mrs. Nye remembers and expresses the importance of the layered wonder. She later continues, “And I would never scold the onion for causing tears.” Here she states that thought the onion may cause tears, it deserves the privilege because of all the years it has been scolded. She feels for the onion here because it has done so much for us, been in stews, fried into crunchy rings, and even thrown at actors in resentment. Though the onion has been abused all of these years it still honors us with its taste that will satisfy many.

From status, to each other, and even onions, sentiment has been a large part of human life and will continue to be. Though it may not be good to over use your heart, as you can see it benefits in certain situations. Living things, other people and objects of affection are all things that these three passages talk about, and they have all showed much heart and sentiment. Using your heart or your mind are decisions we face in everyday life, it is just a matter of what you choose which will determine your outcome.