Bigger v. Jesus

May21, 2008 Atiya Groomes
Grade 10
English 2
Jesus v. Bigger Thomas

Jesus Christ is a savior believed to be both God incarnate and a human being. Was Jesus the only person of his kind? Could there be a replica of Jesus or someone who is comparable to Jesus but not quite, identical? Bigger Thomas a character from Richard Wright’s Native Son is parallel to Jesus, but you can still distinguish the two. Just like Jesus, Bigger Thomas spent time alone in the wilderness, was in agony, and most importantly Bigger sacrificed his self for others.

After being baptized, Jesus immediately went into the desert for 40 days, where he was tempted by the devil. After birth, Bigger Thomas lived in an environment where few forms of life could exist, the BLACK BELT of Chicago, Illinois. Living in the BLACK BELT meant that Bigger had to live in dilapidated housing, was excluded from industrial jobs and most unions, had no positive role models, and was around all the wrong people who at times would tempt him. The BLACK BELT of Chicago was Bigger’s desert.

"And being in agony Jesus was praying very fervently; and His sweat became drops of blood, falling down upon the ground." Similarly “Bigger Thomas sank to his knees and sobbed: I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die.” Bigger and Jesus were both in agony. There are so many times where Jesus and Bigger suffered agony in their lives. Both Jesus and Bigger were arrested, beat and ridiculed. Jesus was crowned with thorns Bigger was crowned with wires from the electric chair.

Before Jesus was crucified he said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” Correspondingly, before Bigger was sent to the chair he said “and when I’m dead and gone they’ll be saying like I’m saying now that they didn’t mean to hurt nobody”. Bigger and Jesus both had clear understanding that they would be executed; they also had a clear understanding that their killers did not mean to kill them. Bigger believed “th-that they was t-trying to get something”, Jesus believed, that they did not know what they were doing. Both Jesus and Bigger died for their society’s corrupting behaviors. Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins and Bigger was sacrificed for the way society molded him.

Ultimately, Jesus is the only one of his kind. But I must agree that Bigger Thomas is a Jesus like figure, he dwelled alone in the “wildered” parts of Chicago, was in agony and crowned, and he was sacrificed for society’s wrong doings, just like Jesus. So even though it is evident that they are not the same they are still very much alike.

Dear Mr. Romero,
I better get an A. Primarily, I worked my a** off. Secondly, this is an college essay and I did research (I never remember you assigning a research paper). Finally, those other two essays on Goodreads will be taken care of asap.
Thank you

Service Learning Project

Thursday we had a Service Learning day we planned a power point and viewed pictures. We also cleaned. Next week I have to bring a proposal to NCC.

Internship at Ballard (grade this essay)

Since I was a little girl I have always wanted to pursue a career in law. Being self-motivated, I always try to take advantage of opportunities that come my way. I feel that obtaining a position as a summer intern at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersol LLP is of the chance of a lifetime.
Once I started High school, I realized that it was extremely important to try to make all the right choices. With that awareness, I made the decision to get involved in extra curricular activities, such as Mock trial, Debate, and dance. I have also developed great qualities within myself, including diligence and a strong work ethic. Developing these qualities has helped me maintain a 3.4 grade point average in school. One of the most important choices that I have made is to enroll myself into the best college that I can.
I started working when I was 15. In May of 2007 I secured my first job at the National Constitution Center as part of the marketing department. Two months later I started working as a summer intern at Ballard Spahr Andrew & Ingersol LLP. I spent my entire summer working, but surprisingly enough, I enjoyed it. Both jobs taught me important lessons. Working at the National Constitution Center taught me the importance of an education. I also learned a great deal about people. While working at Ballard, I learned about the civil courts, and important office skills such as indexing, using office tools and much more. Near summer’s end I was asked to stay permanently as a part time employee at the National Constitution Center. I am currently employed there.
As stated above, I learned a great deal while interning at Ballard. Obtaining an internship position at Ballard this summer could help me gain even more knowledge about being a lawyer. This summer I am interested in learning more about the various types of law, what procedures lawyers take before they present a case in court, and how lawyers become partners in law firms. If I start learning about different aspects of being a lawyer now, I could use it when I go on to law school and when I become a lawyer. Along with gaining knowledge, the opportunity to intern for two consecutive years at a law firm as prestigious as Ballard Spahr would look great on a college résumé.
As is evident, I have a life long ambition of becoming a lawyer. I am very interested in obtaining a position as a summer intern at Ballard Spahr. I believe that this is an opportunity that that I dare not miss.

Service Learning Project

Last Friday for Sercice learning I started to write up a request to the National Constitution Center to make a booth for fundred dollar bills. Nexy week I will finish.

English 2

April 15, 2008 Atiya Groomes
English 2
Period ¾
The Growth and Change of Jamie Graham

The movie “Empire of The Sun” is about World War II in the East. In this movie there is one character that I feel grew and changed the most. That character is Jamie Graham. He is a British boy living in China on British territory. Before the war, Jamie’s life was “first-class." During the war, Jamie’s life forced him to act and make choices for his self. After the war, he experienced a rebirth. Jamie changed into a whole new person.
Before the Japanese invasion in China Jamie was a spoiled little British boy. He had a driver to take him anywhere he needed to go, he attended a private catholic school, and he lived in a luxurious mansion with his mother and father. Jamie lived a wealthy life he had no care in the world.
During World War II Jamie’s Life was completely different. He lived in a Japanese internment camp. During this time he had none of the luxuries he had before. He had to hustle and bustle to make ends meet for himself and the people who he cared about. At the camp even though Jamie was living under not so good circumstances he made the choice to keep his original family values he even found himself his very own imitation mother and father who were a lot like his real mother and father. At this point you could consider Jamie a young adult.
After the war was over Jamie was sent to an orphanage. Luckily he met back up with his parents, but he did not really recognize them until he saw his mother’s hair. Actually his aura was completely different even though there were no real physical changes about Jamie you could see that he had a entirely different outlook on life. Jamie experienced a rebirth that helped him grow into a man very fast.
In effect to Jamie going from “poor little British boy” to “MAN”, I feel that Jamie Graham experienced the most growth through out the movie. He went from bratty to hustler to adult in less than 10 years. At the end of the movie he was no longer Jamie Graham he was someone else.

Service Learning Project

Last week I talked to Eli about make Fundred Dlloar booth at the National Constitution Center. This week we need to write up a proposal and find a way to make copies of fundred dollars. I would like to be the facilitator.

First Day of Service Leraning

Last Friday we had our first day of Service Learning. In my Service Learning we watched a slide show about the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This made me more interested in the service that we were going to do. Even though our first day was very interesting we still did not get any thing done we anticipate to start that on Thursday.