ELA session one part b essay ( critical lens)

Martin Luther King, Jr once stated that, "the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” This quote means that an average person shouldn't always face the easy and comfortable times in life, but should really face the hard and competitive times. I agree with this quote because Martin Luther king, Jr himself stood up at hard times to fight for his rights, and rights of others. At that time fighting for freedom wasn't that easy and "comfortable." The two works of literatures that relates to this quote are Incidents in the life of a slave girl, Harriet Jacobs and The Pearl, John Steinbeck.

Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the life of a slave girl has man twists in the story, where at least one character faces hard times in life. The main character Linda Brent goes through many difficult times in her life. Linda was born a slave, and unlike the other slaves on the plantations, she took a risk of fighting for freedom from slavery. For seven years Linda hid in her grandmother’s garret to escape. Linda hides there because she ran away from her owner. She wanted to escape from slavery. Linda described the garret, which was one of the settings in the novel, as scary and "crowded''. The author writes that the garret was filled with mice, spider webs and so small, that Linda almost became crippled. Linda experienced so many callenges in life, but she never gave up.

Linda, due to the quote never really found life “comfortable" and easy be she continuously fought against the many challenges of enslavement, such as physical and emotional abuse from the Flints. Se eventually got her freedom in the free states. She not only fought for her freedom but also for the freedom and challenges that her family faced.

The Pearl, by John Steinbeck is another example of how one character goes through challenges and controversial times in his life. The main character Kino is the husband of Juana, and the father of Coyotito is Kino and his family live near the sea in a small house. Kino's life turns to depression when he finds out that his son was bitten by a scorpion. Coyotito's life is in danger and Kino doesn't have enough money to cure him. The characterization of Kino is very strong. Relating to the quote," the ultimate measure of a man...," Kino never gives up hope. For the cause of not having enough money to cure his son, Kino goes diving into the sea to look for pearls. Kino finds a pearl after searching for a long time.

Kino and Juana decide to sell the Pearl, but the dealers are biding on way too low prices. Once again Kino doesn't give up hope. He decides to take it to the capital. Many people try to steal the pearl from him, so his wife tells him to just throw it back into the sea. As a response, Kino's brother says “he is a man and will take care of things." This relates to the quote because it tells the importance of a husbands and a father's duty. The conflict of this novel is that Kino doesn't want to lose his son. Kino’s son gets bitten by a scorpion, and that leaves Kino and his wife Juana in a big depression, throughout the novel. The type of situation in the novel relates to the theme, which never to give up hope. This is exactly what Kino does; he tends to stand up at hard challenges and tries his best to face them.

Both novels, Incidents in the life of a slave girl, by Harriet Jacobs and The Pearl by john Steinbeck, show numerous ways of how two protagonists face hard and competitive challenges in life. Martin Luther kings, Jr’s quote describes that a man should stand up and face his fears. He should challenge them, and compete with them.