Exam Essay

A Bond That Will Never Be Broken:

An Essay About How The Poem “Shoulders” Relates To A Tale Of Two Cities

And My Life

Pine Point School

Ninth Grade English

January 19, 2012

By Schyler Davis

Have you ever tried to fully understand a poem, and relate it to a book and to your own life? It may be challenging, but it can be done. Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem, “Shoulders” relates to Miss Manette and her father in A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, and it relates to the relationship I have with my sister, Ella. You need to handle people with care, handle the fragile life you have with care, handle the world with care.

In A Tale Of Two Cities, Miss Manette has a strong bond with her father, who she thought was dead for eighteen years. As soon as Miss Manette sees her father, she goes up to him and puts her head on his shoulder. Like the poem, I think “his ear fills up with breathing,” and he knows that she is his little girl, a beautiful girl, who has blossomed into a lovely young lady.  He knows he has to handle her with care and to never let her go again. I think her father would do anything for her, just like in the poem. The man in the poem is so careful, watching the cars go by, making sure he doesn’t get splashed by a car, while he “carries the world’s most sensitive cargo.” I can picture Miss Manette’s father doing that for her, trying to protect her, trying to make sure she is pleased, trying to make up for the lost time. In my opinion, that is how we should treat other  people because “we’re not going to be able to live in this world if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing with one another.”

The poem, “Shoulder” relates to the relationship I have with my sister, the love we have for each other, and the unbreakable bond that we share.  Although my sister and I argue, and we don’t always get along, we love each other. Like the man in the poem, I would do anything for her. When she is having trouble with putting clothes on her dolls, or playing a game, I usually help her. Ella is fragile like an icicle, a beautiful piece of ice that can reflect light in the darkness of winter, but if you tap it the wrong way it can shatter. She is so energetic and lively, but when I make snide remarks to her, or when someone laughs at her, she falls apart; she gets shattered. I try to be as caring towards her as I can because she is only five and wants to be just like me, pretending to text on her fake phone, cutting her hair the same length as mine, telling people she is on the jump rope team, and saying she is turning fifteen on her birthday. She is my mini me, she is my friend, but most importantly she is my sister, who I love with all my heart.

If you can be kind to people, you can make a difference in their life, and if you can make a difference in their life, you can change the world. The poem, “Shoulders”, has taught me that you need to treat people with compassion and love, or the world will not be worth living in. In A Tale Of Two Cities , Miss Manette and her father have a relationship like the man in the poem has with his son, and Ella and I have a bond that could never be broken.  “The road will only be wide. The rain will never stop falling,” but you need to handle people with care because everyone is fragile.