In this essay I am going to be explaining how Ron Suskind compare the difficulties that critics faces during his time at MIT and Ballou high school, part one and part two. Cedric goes through many challenges when at both of these areas of education, just a few of these challenges are violence and abuse from other students at Ballou high school and struggling with the work at MIT. Within these two articles Suskind suggests that it is very hard for Cedric to get an education.
My first quote uses metaphorical language. ‘The arduous odyssey of Cedric’ this means that Cedric is on a journey. An ‘arduous odyssey’ suggests that his journey is going to be long and painful which he sets upon on his own. the word ‘odyssey’ comes from the ancient greek myth which mens he sets upon a long and painful journey. the word ‘arduous’ means involving or requiring very difficult effort, this could also be very tiring. He also has to work extra by himsef outside school to get a decent education which is like a trial therefore emphasising the Odyssey part of the quote which was a tough journey with hard trials along the way.
Another language technique that Ron Suskind uses is personification. We can see this when it says, ‘failure is persuasive here, even seductive.’ This quote implies that the failure at Ballou high is inevitable. The word seductive suggests that doing well at ballou high is very difficult just like seduction as people also find that seduction is exciting, like when a man or women feels when seducing someone of the other sex, this is also like people in ballou high as they believe that failure is exciting. People in ballou high also feel that the failure is aggressive so they react in an aggressive manner when they fail as they believe that bringing out the anger that they have inside is the only way that they can express there feelings when they fail, this is also just like seduction in many ways. This is like seduction as when someone is being seduced they feel an aggression inside. Another feeling that people have is that they believe that the failure in ballou high is persuasive as they don’t want to fail but no matter what failure will always get too them. This is also very much like seduction as you try to persuade somebody to do something you want to do but they don’t when seducing them.
In part two another language technique is used, this is a hyperbole. This is shown in the quote ‘the detonations of self doubt become audible’. The author used a smart way to describe the stress that the students went through. This mainly shows that they don’t believe in themselves. Detonation suggests that something is going to detonate like a bomb and just like a bomb the quote is talking about Cedrick brain as his mind is detonating due too all the stress that he is dealing with. He is getting all this stress as he is trying his hardest to get the work done in MIT whilst learning new things before his exam. In comparison too my last quote they both suggest that the students are under a lot of stress and many people think that that’s not really
In comparison to my last quote the following quote is similar as they both possess the language technique of hyperbole. This is similar to my last quote as they both speak about how he has negativity thrown at him just because he is concentrating on work rather than messing around and not getting an education. Also in part two figurative language is seen being used where it says ‘Ostracized by high school peers who see his ambition as a sign of disrespect’. This suggests that Cedric is being excluded from there social group purely because of his ambitions to succeed. Apparently they see it as a sign of respect. This suggests that Cedrics peers are excluding him from there group as they feel that Cedric is better than them and they don’t like this.
Another quote that Ron also uses is ‘But where i start from is far behind where some other kids are, I have to run twice the distance to catch up’ with this quote the writer is trying to suggest that Cedric has to try harder than the other students not only because of the different work but because of his colour and his status compared to the other kids.This quote also suggest that Cedric is still in the race for a good education but there is more competitors in this race which would make it hard to win this race. He also has a very high disadvantage due to the state and area he came from, this is clear to see as he thought he could make his dreams by going to MIT but it didn’t happen as of these disadvantages that cedric faced.
In my last quote suskind talks about Cedric struggling with his education as he wasn’t taught a lot in ballou high this is very much alike to the quote “crime infested ward” as they both talk about him having problems in his learning in ballou high and how the problems around him are creating these problems. Another quote that the author uses is “crime infested ward.” In this quote Ron Suskind says that the area is full of crime and due to this the school is not improving. Here the word infested suggests that there is a lot of crime in Cedrics society and is very contagious like a virus. This meaning that crime will eventually get to him if he doesnt stay away from the people affected by this. The area that Cedric lives in is attracting more and more crimes everyday and this would be affecting his learning because he has to concentrate on not being involved in the crimes as an associate or victim than to be concentrating on his work. Very much alike to this his school is really unsafe too as the learning environment that Cedric is in is full of bad behavior such as homosides, robberies and drug dealing. Because of this the only way that Cedric can concentrate and learn is by most likely staying in a classroom with a mentor at break, lunch and after school.
In conclusion Ron Suskind uses these quotes to explain cedrics journey and how his education changes when in one place to another. The quote that I think captures Cedrics journey was “The Ardous Odyssey.” This is becasue Of how relatable it is to his journey. The quote is comparing Odysseus as he faced many problems to get to the place he wanted to be. These problems include violence, as he was bullied for being better than the other kids and actually trying, but also because his school Ballou High did not give their students any education which is why Cedric fells like he is behind at MIT even though he is working very hard at home. This is why i think that the quote ‘The Ardous Odyssey,’ describes Cedrics journey from MIT to Ballou high in the best way, in my opinion.
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