Struggle Essay - English 30

Struggle

There are times in a individuals life, such as tragedies, where individuals are forced to turn to alternatives means in order to try and restore honour and certainty in their life. How one deals with these situations plays a major role in how much they struggle to get past them. Many individuals use outlets in order to deal with the consequences of a tragedy.Music is a common outlet that one may turn to , whether it be writing lyrics or playing an instrument . This gives them a chance to use their tragedy as an asset to them; it makes dealing with the pain easier to handle. The poem Setting up the Drums, written by Don McKay, reflects the idea of an individual using their failure in order to fuel their passion for the drums even though they regret what has happened. Another piece of literature that uses music as an outlet is Redemption , written by John Gardner. It is crucial for individual`s to become aware of their outlets specific to them.

When something tragic in your life occurs , it is often hard for people to accept what has happened in order to move on. The poem Setting up the Drums portrays the idea of using your tragic circumstances to your advantage. The poem states , " How music will make itself walk into the terrible stunned air behind the shed where all the objects looked away". This quote is important because it is saying that music will take you to a place that some people may not want to go in their lives; such as accepting something you have done. It allows for you to reflect those circumstances and use them in order to pursue your passion, such as playing the drums, by giving you a whole new perspective. Done McKay states in his poem , " All this hardware to recall the mess you left back home and bring it to music and get back to the heart." The meaning behind this quote its that through the drums, people are able to recall what has happened in their life, but use the music to bring themselves back to their heart by doing something they love. Individual`s should become aware of the important things in life because it could become the one thing that saves one from desperation. For some individuals, there are tragic times that have happened so unexpectedly that the guilt consumes every thought and action they pursue.The character Jack Hawthorne, in the excerpt Redemption by John Gardner, is a character that has lost his presence life; he became isolated form his family and his mindset became consumed by darkness and despair. The guilt after the farming accident, which lead to his brother`s death, became the sole meaning of his new perspectives. The only way Jack could deal with the sadness and loss was his passion for playing the French horn. When he attended one of his practices, his hopes of being a great player was quickly shut down by his teacher. Instead of allowing the depression of these thoughts to consume him,