Essay #2

Simplicity Is More:

An Essay About How The Song “Simple Man” Relates To Beneatha And Myself

Pine Point School

Ninth Grade English

October 3, 2011

By Schyler Davis

           Do you ever think about being simple? You probably think that you should be a complex person; you probably think that being simple makes you boring, but I think being simple is better. In A Raisin In The Sun, Beneatha is simple because she understands who she is and what her dreams are. Also, I believe that I am a simple person because I always try my best. In the song “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, he sings, “Be a simple kind of man; be something you love and understand,” and to me being simple is to be yourself and try not to care about what other people think about you.
           I believe that Beneatha in A Raisin In The Sun is a simple woman. She wants to be a doctor, and won’t let being a colored woman stop her. She doesn’t care about what people think; she doesn’t listen to what people say, and she doesn’t care about pleasing others who surround her.  In the song “Simple Man”, the lyrics say, “Follow your heart,” and that is exactly what she is doing. She is aware that most women in 1959 aren’t doctors, but that will not stop her. She is going to school to get a wonderful education, so she can save lives. One problem she is facing is that school is expensive. She doesn’t come from a wealthy family, which causes her to work hard, so she can put herself through college. Beneatha is hoping to get the check from Mama,and that would help her a lot by paying for her college. She is simple because she knows who she is, and who she is destined to be.
    I believe that the lyrics,”All you need is in your soul, and you can do this, if you try,” relates simplicity to my life because I always try my best. I know I can do anything I want in life, if I try my best. To me, school is very important, so I always do the best I can. If I don’t understand a certain concept we are learning, I will ask a teacher for help, and if I make a mistake, I always learn from it. Also, when I do sports, I try to believe in myself. I have realized that when I am confident in myself, I excel at field hockey, jump rope, and gymnastics. I need to remember I can do it even when I am doing a trick that scares me like a round-off back-handspring on the wood floor in jump rope. In my opinion, I have become a simpler person this year; I have become a person that will tell you whats on my mind, and I have become a person that I “love and understand.” I don’t care as much about what people think of me. I feel that my confidence has grown like a flower blooming from a seed. “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd has taught me that you need to understand who you are and to always try your very best, and that is what makes you a simple person.
    Being simple is what everyone should strive to be. Beneatha from A Raisin In The Sun is simple because she always follows her heart. Also, I am simple because I try my best on whatever I set my heart to. Simplicity is not boring;simplicity is what makes peoples lives successful, and simplicity is what makes you admire the people you love.