im writing an essay and i want your opinions. give me suggestions?
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below:
One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.
- Gilbert Keith Chesterton
Assignment: What great things are seen from the valley? What are the small things seen from the peak? How’s that so? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
The mountains? pfft. So is this quote telling us not to conquer mountains and to stay content with the valleys of life?
i dont know its confusing if it refers to mountains or something else
You know an essay can go on either side of the argument. You need to have a strong opinion of one side and stick to that side, even if it doesn't make sense, it is your job to make it make sense.
Example:
"I completely agree with the quote above. You can see nothing from the valleys. All you would see would be people better than you, people who have climbed the mountain. You would see great things. From the peak, you see people lower than you, below you. You would see those who were smaller than you."
This may be a bit late but oh well...
Just write about the difference between seeing the "big picture" versus the "little picture." The valley is a metaphor for understanding things on a broader scale whereas the peak is understanding an issue from a very narrow-minded point of view.
So as an example, you could be reading a quote by Stalin during the Cold War talking about the greatness of communism and think that Stalin is a genius and communism is great. This is seeing the peak. When you also think about how communism affects people and the downside to its seemingly perfect ideals, then you are looking at in the big picture - looking at the large valley so to speak.
So really it has to deal with keeping an open mind about things rather than just stay on one narrow-minded path.
Well, I picture the quote as either what Legacy said, or it could be interpretated as comparison for lives of differing people.
The person who's veiw is from the top of the mountian has reached his limit. They are already at the peak of their game. The person who's veiw is from the valley can only go up.