Comparative Analysis: "The Dead of September 11". Essay Sample

Of course, arguments are indeed a part of human life, but how we handle it matters. Most people are so quick to judge whenever someone does wrong, which I think should not be the right way to do things. As they say, no one is perfect, and man is to err. A wise person is he who looks objectively at a situation before making any conclusions. Most people hold grudges after they engage in a conflict, which is never healthy for their minds and hearts as this breaks future relationships and ruins what the two people had. A person should be more forgiving and less judgmental, but this is just never real. I have found myself in conflicts with others in my life. However, I have always tried to mitigate them as much as I can. I do not love it when I have lousy blood with other people. At the beginning of this course, I conflicted with my course instructor over some issues that were not personal. In Toni Morrison's poem, "The Dead of September 11," the theme of conflict and judgment are discussed. Because disputes are mostly brought about due to a person's inherent nature to judge, people should restrain from subjectivity anytime they engage in arguments. This essay discusses the conflict that I have had in this course while comparing it to what Toni Morrison talks about in the poem concerning being judgmental.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

In my English class, I had a complicated relationship with my course instructor because there was some misunderstanding in our class conversations. The conflict had ensued because the instructor is neither empathic nor democratic. The teacher does not seem to like contradicting other people's points of view, which made her misinterpret my message. I contacted her concerning our English class, but the response was not what I expected because she interpreted me as unjust. The instructor does not like it when students contact her because she put it straight to us that only under the strictest conditions should students contact her. I also do not like this because it could not motivate students, which are also expressed in writing. The instructor also had so many dos and don'ts, which I felt would make me nervous in handling the class. When I expressed this, the instructor interpreted wrong also by saying I was too demanding. I became so skeptical and how an instructor who has lost faith in us would help us achieve our best. I explained to the instructor that I wanted to pass this class because I was given age, given that I am 35 years old. But she judged me wrong and told me that I was stubborn, and I would change the instructor if I wanted. The instructor also made me aware that she has a sick person battling coved 19 and further adds that she did not like hostility in her courses, which means she had interpreted me as hostile.

My story is the same as what the poet talks about in "The Dead of September 11". People are always so much ready to judge others because of their deeds with no courtesy at all. The poet says that it is not prudent to conclude on things that we have less understanding about, and the best option should always either choose our words wisely or never to speak. She writes, "First I would freshen my tongue, abandon sentences crafted to know evil—" (Morrison). The poet indicates that before we open our mouth to speak, we should consider how clean our words are, and get rid of all the evil in our tongues as much as we can. This is primarily because evil tongues bring conflicts that the poet is adamantly opposed to. The poet also writes, "But I would not say a word until I could set aside all I know or believe about nations, wars, leaders, the governed and ungovernable; all I suspect about armor and entrails" (Morrison). In the line, what the poet means is that it is not right for people to conclude before they have all the information they need to make the decision. The poet also emphasizes the importance of distancing ourselves from our personal differences in conflicts. I think that my conversation with the instructor became personal when we started talking about our issues in our families, which would be a clue that we have some burdens in our hearts that make us make wrong judgments. The poet narrates how it is impossible to judge those who are dead because they cannot hear us, and it is not the right thing to do. She writes, "Speaking to the broken and the dead is too difficult for a mouth full of blood" (Morrison). In this quote, the poet indicates that it is futile to speak to the dead. Still, my English teacher chooses to do so by indicating strictly that she needs no responses to her emails, which does not create a healthy relationship. Also, the poet highlights that in most times, we always blow things out of proportion whenever we find ourselves in a given situation. For instance, the poet asserts that after the 911 explosion, people started judging and suspecting others as being terrorists even though they were not. And this is the same case that happened to me because I feel that our instructor blew things out of proportion for asserting that I was problematic because she had her problems. Just the same way the poet talks about not having respect and empathy for the dead, the instructor has no compassion towards her students. I have become reticent in the class because I feel that the lecturer may judge me wrong whenever I make my comments or, even worse, make me fail my final exam, which I dread. The poet also talks about forcing our views on other people, which I think the instructor is trying to impose on me. She wants me to believe that what she has done is right by being too strict and overbearing. This makes me very fearful because my instructor may end up underscoring my assignments. I do not have a steady income as I depend on my small business for my education and my children, so I would not wish that my teacher underscores me because I cannot afford to fail since time has caught up with me. It is so sad to me that I have become a victim of wrong judgment, and this would cost me too much.

I do not think I am subjective the way my teacher thinks. I registered for the class in June, and on June 29, we received an introduction to the course, but the instructor requested not to ask for any feedback until summer is over. On August 5, we received an email alerting us on the need to familiarize ourselves with the syllabus with a header reading that we did not have to respond to that email. On August 24, which was the day we were to start the instruction, the instructor gave us an assignment whereby she told us to write a pledge in our own words. The assignment confused me, which prompted me to contact the lecturer because I could not internalize the instructions well. I did this because I wanted to ask the instructor if we could use the pronoun "I" in the assignment because it is practically impossible to write a pledge without the first-person perspective. She then responded to my email, telling me that I should get extra help to understand the grey areas in the course better. I used the first-person point of view to write to the pledge and submitted the exam, but my submission was considered late, and I was also assumed to have been absent in the first class. When we were given the second assignment, I gave it all my best, so I communicated with my instructor telling her the same, putting our differences aside. She took it positively but warned me of being too argumentative, which indicated that she still judged me wrong. I do not think this is right.

In conclusion, it is essential that people live in harmony and always seek to understand each other during a conversation. Being judgmental would only make things worse. Before speaking, a person should always win their words and the impact that they would have on the listener. If we did this, we would have less or no conflicts amongst people. Being too judgmental blows things out of proportion, affecting healthy relationships and those who suffer from other subjects because those in authority will always have their way. We should always try to be as objective as possible when interpreting other people's conversations.

Work Cited

Morrison, Toni. "The Dead of September 11." Vanity Fair 495 (2001): 48.