ErichMusick.com
Personal web site of Erich Musick - software engineer and Christ follower
HS: Sophomore Year
About this Page
This section of my site is a collection of things I've written over the past several years. I hope some of them will be helpful and/or interesting to you! Please remember that citing any document located here without referencing your source is plagarism and has serious consequences.
Breaching the Wall
Summary
For my history class last year, I had to create a movie about the Cold War. No, I didn't actually have to act out the movie or anything, I just had to pick actors and a setting and had to write a plot. This this what my friend and I came up with.
Preview
Hans, the youngest of a family of six children and a father of three is in East Germany on business when the Soviet Union decides to close its borders. Hans' father, Klaus becomes worried when his son doesn't return from his business trip on schedule, and he doesn't hear from him for a week.
Cafeteria Mapping
Summary
This is a paper I wrote in English class about different cliques in my school and how I think people are affected by not being or being a part of these cliques.
Preview
With all the recent incidences of school shootings and other acts of violence, school administrators all over the country are trying to think of ways to prevent such incidences from occurring at their schools. You, too, are probably faced with the concern of school-related violence and how to prevent it. Many school administrators are considering forcing students to sit with students who aren't in their group or clique, but is this actually a good idea? Will forcing students to sit with people they don't like and/or don't want to sit with actually help them to get along better, or will it encourage more violence towards persons of other cliques? I believe that more problems will be created than will be solved by following the proposed solution.
Control
Summary
Before reading Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, we discussed control - whether people can control others, how much control a person has over his/her actions, etc. After using a survey about control to guide our discussion in class, we had to write a paper. This is what I came up with.
Preview
Control. Who is in control of our actions and decisions and what happens as a result of them? As humans, we like to believe that we are in control of our actions and decisions and that we are in complete control of where we go and what we do in life, but is that really the case? Are there other factors besides us that help determine where we go and what we do in life? Is there a supreme being, such as God, that controls where our actions and decisions will take us and even influences our decisions, or does chance/fate and only chance/fate play a factor in decisions we make and their outcomes? Do other people have the ability to control our actions and us, or is that not possible?
Gender Roles
Summary
After discussing men's and women's roles in society in preparation for reading Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, we were required to write our thoughts on the issue, addressing the topics we discussed in class.
Preview
What are men's and women's roles in society? Are men and women equal in ability and opportunity? Should they be equal or do they have distinct roles they should play? In this day and age, people like to be "politically correct" by attempting to make both sexes equal. Most people feel that it is unfair to say that men can do certain activities better than women and women can do other activities better than men, but is it actually unfair, or has God actually made men and women differently and given them different roles in life and society?
George
Summary
In English class, we read a whole bunch of well-known children's stories and looked at them from a politically correct point of view. After discussing the books we examined, we were instructed to rewrite the children's story of our choice from a politically correct point of view. This is my version of Curious George.
Preview
There once was a very well behaved monkey named George. He lived in the rainforests of Africa and enjoyed and loved his home very much. Every day, George would wake up to all the wonderful sights, sounds, and smells of the jungle. George was the youngest monkey in his family of seven - George lived with his two sisters, two brothers, and his parents. George was glad to live with both of his parents, because many of his friends lived with one parent half of the week and with the other parent the other half of the week. These…
Is Kate Really In Charge?
Summary
After reading Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, we had to pick one of three or four topics and write a paper about it. I chose to write about whether Kate, aka. the Shrew, was in control of her actions or if she was being controlled by Petruchio.
Preview
Who is primarily in control of Kate's actions in William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew? Is Kate primarily controlling her actions, or do other characters in the play control her? If you just read through the play, but don't study it in-depth, it appears that Kate is controlled by other characters' actions towards her, but is this actually the case? Isn't it very possible that Kate is actually in control of all her decisions, but is just strongly influenced by others? After studying the text in-depth, you can see for yourself that although Kate is strongly influenced by others, she is the one who actually makes the decisions to act in the manner in which she acts.
My Dog Skip
Summary
This is a paper I wrote about how Willie, the main character in the movie My Dog Skip, came to realize he was a person of worth and how he became accepted by the other boys at his school.
Preview
While growing up, children need to feel accepted and not feel left out. Kids who grow up without many friends and who don't feel accepted have a really hard time growing up and realizing that they aren't worthless people. In the movie My Dog Skip, Willie Morris, the main character, has trouble realizing he isn't completely worthless. All the guys his own age that live around him are mean to him and he always feels left out, until one thing happens to Willie - his mother gives him a dog. This event, along with the support of his parents…
Nothing to Offer But...
Summary
I was required to pick a person who thought I should be the person of the century. We had to give a speech and write a paper about the person and why they should be the person of the century. I chose Winston Churchill.
Preview
During the twentieth century, there were many people, some well known and others not so well known, who contributed to society in one way or another. When determining which one of these people was the biggest contributor to society during the twentieth century, and, therefore, the person of the twentieth century, their lives as a whole should be taken into consideration. In addition to contributing much to society in various ways, the best candidate for person of the century should also have had struggles and experiences that they overcame or went through and from which they learned…
Tragedy and Heroism
Summary
Essay Prompt: Do you see Brutus (in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar,) as a tragic hero? In your argument, cite evidence from class discussion and notes on what does or does not make Brutus a tragic hero. You must also cite from the text examples of Brutus's behavior that back your position. Make sure you discuss all aspects of a tragic hero that we discussed in class.
Preview
Because of Shakespeare's popularity among scholars and literary critics, his plays have been studied time after time. In the four hundred or so years since they were written, Shakespeare's plays and other literary masterpieces have been categorized. Many of them, including Shakespeare's portrayal of Julius Caesar's murder and the resulting events for Rome and for Caesar's conspirators, have been put into the "tragedies" category. According to the specifications and qualifications for a Shakespearean tragedy, Brutus, one of the men who conspired against Julius Caesar, can be considered a tragic hero. Despite the fact that Brutus can be considered a tragic hero, I don't feel that he has the qualities and traits of a true hero.
The Ultimate Injustice
Summary
For this paper I had to write on the topic of injustice. I wrote about the injustice in Jesus' death on the cross, but also provided an explanation as to why it was necessary and why it makes Jesus a hero. I suggest that everyone read this paper.
Preview
At this time of the year, many people’s eyes, thoughts, and actions are focused on Easter. Often, when people think of Easter, they think of the Easter bunny, a large family get-together, or something of that sort. Sadly, many people do not realize that there is actually a reason Easter exists - there is a story behind it. This story tells how a man who had done absolutely nothing wrong was unjustly killed. Although this murder was unjust, there was a reason for it - a reason great enough to call the man who died a hero…
William Shakespeare
Summary
In this essay, I take on the position of advisor to the Queen and discuss how "worthy" of writing plays William Shakespeare was for her. You'd be suprised about the kind of person Shakespeare acutally was.
Preview
As you well know, you have appointed me to the honorable position of a member of Lord Chamberlain's investigative team, and I thank Your Highness greatly for giving me this wonderful opportunity to serve Your Highness and my country. After hours upon hours of investigation of William Shakespeare's life and how he stands morally, I have decided that Your Highness should not grant him Your Highness's patronage and the money that would allow him to produce his plays and to write more. From investigating his life, I can now see that, although William's writing is very good, he is not of strong enough moral character to have any of his plays supported by Your Highness or performed, or to continue writing them. I hope that I can persuade Your Highness so well that it is as if you investigated this matter yourself.
Sandra Cisneros
Summary
This paper is about a topic we discussed in English 2 enriched. I don't remember the situation extraordinarily well, but from what I remember, author Sandra Cisneros went against the historical district of her town and painted her house in vivid colors, as opposed to one of the select colors defined by the historical society. This is a mock-editorial in which I write my thoughts on the issue - what the historical association should do about Cisneros' direct violation of the house painting code.
Preview
Most people in the Texas town of San Antonio have heard of Sandra Cisneros’ periwinkle purple house and the problem/dispute caused by Cisneros’ choice of color. Cisneros’ house is located in the King William Historical District portion of San Antonio.
