Essay Examples

1. Edith Wharton’s novel, The House of Mirth

As Lily grows up with this dream of being rich, she convinces herself that the only way to climb back up in social status is to marry someone rich. Therefore, she decides to go after New York’s most eligible bachelor. She decides to quickly capture his heart, but this forcefulness drives him away. Later Rosenfeld offers to marry Lily. Though Rosenfeld is rich, Lily finds him annoying so she chooses not to marry him. Meanwhile Lily falls in love with Selden, who is not wealthy but loves Lily very much. In the end Lily is so driven to marry someone rich that she gives up on her chance for happiness.

If Lily had married Selden, she would have been happy. Even if she did marry Rosenfeld, she would have been rich, like she wanted.

2. Henry V by William Shakespeare.

For his young adulthood, Henry V lives free of responsibility as he parties and drinks with his friends. However, when his father dies, he decides to give up his old way of life and assume his duties as king. His life from that point on is defined by heroism, power, and morality. Despite his past lifestyle, the choice he makes after his father’s death affects the rest of his life.

3. EXAMPLE: History, Alexander The Great

Alexander the Great conquered the entire known world. Alexander’s success came as a result of the choices he made. It was his superior decision making skills and critical choices that led to his success. An example of his decisions and choices was his famous clash with Darius III. Alexander chose a strange battlefield that he would benefit from. He also made the monumental decision to attack the left flank of Darius’army instead of the usual center attack method. Both choices led to a great victory.

Also, Many notable individuals assisted Alexander in his rise to power like Aristotle who tutored Alexander from boyhood.

Example / Topics
History: The Civil War
Abraham Lincoln (from the North), the US president, had to take a hard decision to fight the South (the civil war) in order to abolish slavery. He reached his goal eventually but the loss of American lives on both sides was huge.
History: A simple woman’s great achievement
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852. Her book united Northern feelings against slavery. Hundreds of thousands of copies were sold in the US before the civil war. Abraham Lincoln told Stowe when he met her in 1863 “So you’re the little woman who made the book that made the great war.”
History: The great depression
The great depression started early in 1930 and was the worst in history. Hundreds of thousands of small investors were wiped out. Hundreds of thousands of farms and homes were shut. Unemployement estimates reached 15 million. Although this was a large scale catastrophe, the USA was determined to revive. The “New Deal” and isolation policy were born. Eventually the US overcame this catastrophe.
History: Richard Nixon
Nixon was president from 1968 till 1974. During his presidency, he achieved many great things like lowering crime rate, cooling racial conflict, and achieving peace in Vietnam. But the foolish break in of Nixon’s republican party to the opposing Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate Hotel, as well as trying to cover up this scandal, forced Nixon out of office.
He is now mostly remembered by his scandal not by his achievements.
History: D – Day June 1944. Normandy, France.
·  Good planning leads to great results.
·  Victory is always accompanied by loss.
·  Bravery is essential to achieve great things.
Literature: The Mill on The Floss by George Eliot
Maggie does what she thinks is right but temptation lets her fall into what is wrong. She falls in a terrible conflict between right and wrong.
Literature: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Throughout the story Ethan tries to escape his fate, especially after his mother’s death, but in the end he only arrives at a similar fate through his wife Zeena.
Literature: The Tempest by William Shakespeare
*Antonio wanted to be the duke of Milan instead of his brother Prospero, so Antonio decided to get rid of his brother.
* Ferdinand announces his love to Miranda in front of everyone not fearing the animosity between the families.