Essay 21

Maddy Neff

Mr. Salsich

English 9

May 6, 2010

Hideous Beauty:

An Essay about Naomi Shihab Nye's Poem "Valentine for Ernest Mann"

Pink roses, a cloudless blue sky, red lipstick, and diamonds are all beautiful- according to whom? There are no guidelines or rules about beauty. In Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, "A Valentine for Ernest Mann," she says that "nothing was ugly/ just because the world said so," and I know what she means. When I was in seventh grade, I had some foul experiences, but I found myself in a bed of roses in the end.

TS In Ms. Nye's poem, the author tells a man named Ernest Mann that "nothing [is] ugly just because the world [says] so, meaning that everyone else's definition of beauty is not necessarily accurate, and need not be your own idea of what is beautiful. SD Ms. Nye is saying that we should not take others' opinions to be fact, and live our lives according to a stranger's standards. CM If another person says that a painting is unappealing or grotesque, this is no reason to dislike the painting. CM The snap- judgement of another should not define elegance or allure. SD Just as the man in Ms. Nye's poem, vile things can be "reinvented" into stunning things; if a person thinks that something is beautiful, then it is. CM The man of Ms. Nye's bestowed two skunks, animals considered repulsive (apt thesaurus word) by most, with magical beauty, simply because he thought that they deserved it. CM If we can rethink smelly garbage dumps and unattractive wrinkles and wild warthogs (purposeful repetition), and recreate these unlovely things into things that are lovely, we will find beauty everywhere. CS The world's interpretation of beauty should not be your interpretation, for there are no rules defining it. You may have your own.

TS I agree wholeheartedly with Ms. Nye, and I can relate it to a negative experience I had as a seventh grader, which was later reconstructed into a positive experience. SD I don't think that the blind discrimination of some stranger should give meaning to what I think is beautiful. and if someone else says, "Oh, look at that nice sunset!" or "Oh, look at that pretty dress!", I am not obliged to agree. CM If I think that something is exquisitely beautiful, but some passing pessimist (apt thesaurus word) claims it is ugly, I do not see any rational reason why I should think the same, and if someone else says, "Oh, look at that nice sunset!" or "Oh, look at that pretty dress!," I am not obliged to agree (purposeful repetition). CM Just as Ms. Nye says, I can "reinvent" things and make them beautiful, even if they are horrendous to everyone else; if I can find the one aspect that makes them lovely, just as the man in the poem said that he "thought [the skunks] had such beautiful eyes," despite their stinky tails. SD One example of this idea in action in my life can be seen in something that happened to me in seventh grade. CM I had some overworked, unreasonable, petty, and vile (catalog of modifiers) teachers that year, and my parents decided it would be in my best interest to switch schools. CM So I ended up at Pine Point School, where I have learned a great deal and made some amazing and wonderful new friends; my terrible seventh grade year was transformed into an incredibly delightful two years at Pine Point. SD In the end, I am grateful that I had to go through the mess of that dreadful school year to arrive in the promise land of Pine Point. CM Perhaps the woman who received the skunks as a valentine felt the same way after realizing how alluring the skunks' eyes were, which had been masked by a veil of ugliness before. CM I see now that something negative was reshaped into something truly positive, and I am thankful. CS Just as Naomi Shihab Nye said in "Valentine for Ernest Mann," ugly, smelly, awful things, like skunks or cruel teachers, can be changed into beautiful experiences, simply through being thought of as beautiful.

As Ms. Nye and I will tell you, "nothing is ugly/ just because the world said so." Whether it be skunks or a few unjust teachers, good can always emerge from bad. Wonderful things are hiding in weeds, in a gray raining sky, and even in chapped lips. All it takes is a little searching, and the beauty appears.

Self Assessment

1. One writing issue I am continuing to work on: I am continuing to work on making my writing interesting for the reader. I am still trying to use more specific examples instead of vague language, but also keeping my writing concise.

2. One possible strong point I see in this essay: I am proud of my opening and closing paragraphs, because I think they capture the reader's attention and round out the essay well at the end. I think I did especially well with them in this essay.

3. One possible weak point I see in this essay: I might have repeated myself too much in this essay, and it might be boring for the reader. Next time, I might find ways to restate a point more creatively.