FBS football coach salaries

The average FBS football coach makes $1.75 million dollars before bonuses. While the coaches are very good at their jobs, they do not deserve that much money. Not when they are making it off of their players who aren't compensated at all. The classic rebuttle to this line of thought is "THEY'RE GETTING AN EDUCATION. YOU CAN'T PUT A PRICE ON THAT". However anyone who propagates this notion is oblivious to what really goes on. For major college sports like football and basketball, the term "student athlete" can be a misnomer. Three years ago UNC admitted that they had been giving their basketball players grades for classes they were not attending. That means that NCAA runs a multimillion dollar industry and the students are only compensated with a room and 3 meals a day. There is no easy fix to this problem but if the schools are not going to give the students any money, the students should be allowed to make money off of themselves. Johnny Manziel should not get in trouble for selling autographs. 

Story of 6 Hours

It really is bizzare that in 2014, the police would just assume that someone was someone because of their name.  There are about 30 people in the U.S. named Justin Priest, and the police just assumed it was one.  Not only did the other Justin have a different birthday, and different age, but he even had a different middle name.  The parents must have been very distraught, and it is unlikely that they aren't going to be very upset with the police department.  They probably could even sue for the emotional distress that this cost them.  It's also uncanny how similar this story is to "Story of an Hour."

Collegiate Football Salaries

Paying collegiate athletes is unnecessary due to the fact that a league exist where football players are already paid. In this article it addresses compensation within the world of college football, specifically highlighting the salaries and incentives of top coaches, the money made in television rights and how the athletes themselves are not paid. However, the article fails to mention the fact that these football players are in college, that there is another league where the players are paid based on their success. If these players are good enough to believe they should be paid, they should go into the NFL.  These players should not play because the basis for collegiate sports is the fact that they don’t get paid. Paying these college football players would basically create an additional professional league. An additional football league is unnecessary due to the fact that one already exists, one that these players could join, removing the necessity to pay collegiate athletes.

Color Brave

Talk of race is often put on the back burner. Even Choate students have expressed their thoughts on how they think diversity day is "unnecessary", when really we need more of these types of events. The modern problem with race is that most of it is subtle or subconscious. We don't notice all the micro aggressions said or all of the uneducated remarks we make about race. The worst part is that we probably had good intentions, but being color brave will help fix that. Creating more diverse tables at tables in the dining hall would be a small change at Choate, but would have a vast impact on the atmosphere of school’s community. Creating more diversity in schools and organizing more days similar to Diversity Day across America can help teach people how to be color brave. In general, we need to be more educated and aware of each other. Putting yourself out there and being color brave is just one way to do that. Similar to what Mellody Hobson said during her Choate talk, we want to get to a place where diversity is not a surprise. We need a place where the normality is not a board of white males running all the companies in America. The world needs to be color brave and diverse.

“Football Coach Salaries”

  It is an absolutely terrible idea to give student athletes salaries. In the article, the author compares the players to the coach, but there are no similarities between the two. The athletes are playing for free for multiple reasons. The student may have already gotten an athletic scholarship worth thousands of dollars to come and play for the school, the player is given the opportunity to play for the team, which allows him to be scouted by the NFL, where he would potentially make millions a year, or/and he has a love for the game and is playing, because it is what he enjoys more than anything. There is no reason to compensate an athlete, because that student has already gotten an incredible amount from the program. The coach however, does deserve fair compensation. The coach has a particular skill set, which he uses to get a job and salary just like any other occupation. The coach could just as easily go to the NFL, so the colleges must make their team more attractive by having luxurious benefits and enormous salaries. A skilled coach means a better football program, which in turn makes the school more attractive to potential athletic recruits who could boost the team revenue by helping the school win games.It is more than fair to compensate the coaches as they currently are, but the idea to compensate students is honestly proposterous.  

College football Coaches Pay

College football coaches are currently making more money than they did five years ago. College football has recently signed multibillion dollar television contracts and the coaches are seeking the benefits. Players are not allowed to be paid in college sports. Players are only attracted to schools based on coaches, reputations, and facilities. A single coach such as Nick Saban at Alabama can completely transform a football program. A better football program sells more tickets and jerseys and brings it a bigger total revenue. The chancellor at Alabama said, "Coach Nick Saban is one of the best investments The University of Alabama has ever made." Not all college football coaches are worth the millions of dollars they make, but many of them certainly deserve every penny.

Staying Positive

Keeping a positive mindset throughout life is an important thing that many people struggle to do. It is a normal part of life to be sad, mad, angry, or just have negative feelings, and being able to control those emotions is vital to leading a successful, happy life, according to Nadia Goodman, in the article entitled, “How to train your brain to stay positive”. Teenagers in particular experience fluctuating emotions and feelings of positivity and negativity. As stated by Goodman, people have a general bias towards negative aspects of life, as opposed to focussing more on the positive parts of it. Although accepting failures and setbacks is vital to development, revolving solely around negativity ultimately is a detriment to improvement. Also mentioned in the article, most if not all of the time, there is more good that occurs in life than bad, and being grateful for those good occurrences is one strategy to a positively oriented life. Secondly, developing self confidence in one’s abilities and reaffirming those claims is also crucial to being positive. Lastly, as Goodman puts it, “challenging negative thoughts” and opposing otherwise self deprecating or self loathing comments or ideas is the final strategy to ensure a positive outlook on life.

http://zite.to/1reOVK6

Discomfort

In her Ted Talk, Melody Hobson perfectly describes how, the U.S. in paticular, can move even further away from racism. Her main point regards color blindness, and how we are taught to ignore the problem of racism instead of fixing it. No one is born with the mindset that one race is better than another; it is a learned way of thinking. Hobson supports her claim with statistics such as, "Even though white men make up only 30% of the population,they hold 70% of corporate borad seats." There are too many statistics like Hobson's example for them to be ruled out as coincidence. Hobson also very briefly mentions being uncomfortable around people from different places. Many people do not have the ability to travel to exotic places whenever they please and may not encounter many people outside of where they are from. This makes them unfamiliar with foreign cultures and people, and unfamiliarity can lead to discomfort. Discomfort connects back to color blindness because discomfort is the reason we ignore racism and don't want to talk about it. But if people of all different races and backgrounds can step out of thier comfort zones to handle the problem of racism and discrimination, then extensive amounts of progress could be made on the issue.

Don't Pull All Nighters

The author makes a strong point backed by scientific research, but lumping everyone's brains into one category seems slightly unrealistic. How a person chooses to study and prepare is up to the comfort and ability of that individual. Study breaks are helpful to clear the mind and take a brief lapse in brain exertion, but many students can easily get off task and distracted. Once kids have stopped doing something mentally strenuous, it can be difficult for them to start up again after a break. Approaching the task at hand in bits and pieces and one step at a time can help reduce the stress caused by studying. Sleep is an essential component in excelling in academics. Pulling an 'all nighter' to cram before an important assessment hurts rather than helps a student. The brain struggles to function after lack of sleep and focus then wanders during a quiz or test. Not every person approaches learning the same way. 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/better-ways-to-learn/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

The Regressiveness of Color Blindness

The purposeful disregard of race, otherwise known as color blindness, is neither effective nor progressive. As TED Talk speaker and chairwoman Mellody Hobson succinctly put it, “Color blindness doesn’t mean there’s no discrimination...it means we’re ignoring the problem.” The censorship of race signifies the end of the active acknowledgment of racial discrimination, but not the erasure of institutionalized racial prejudices. These prejudices, as well as perceptions of race, are rooted in history, and will continue to exist in the societal worldview due to the acumulative nature of perception vs. history. Color blindness promotes apologist beliefs on racially motivated atrocities throughout history ranging from slavery and genocide, to more contemporary concerns such as racial profiling and violent hate crimes. As Hobson stated, racism is often treated as the “conversational equivalent of touching the third rail.” Although discussions over race can be uncomfortable, it bears repeating unawareness of racial differences is not an enterprising solution to racism, and that acceptance of its existence is crucial for equality to someday be realistically attained.

The Advantage of a Courteous Argument

There is a fine line between simply standing up for your views and blatantly bashing the opinions of others. Even though the viewpoints of two people may be complete opposites, it is still necessary to maintain a respectful attitude towards opposing ideals in order to retain a relevant position in the discussion. Tracy Clark-Flory wrote an article titled “Ready to Marry, But Not for ‘Wife,’” that was published online on salon.com. In it, Clark-Flory explores the underlying meanings of the words “husband” and “wife” as well as their former patriarchal connotation--ones that modern couples have been eager to abandon. In an initially reasonable and polite manner, Clark-Flory included several quotations from couples stating their efforts to separate the words from their previous definitions. This changed, however, when the article included a quotation from a same-sex couple that preferred to use the words “particularly in the presence of Christian bigots” (Clark-Flory 1). The usage of the word “bigot” to describe people with Christian values seems both rude and unnecessary--the notion that it is acceptable to generalize all people with a certain belief is startling given the author’s supposedly “progressive” and “groundbreaking” views. Surely the author would have been equally offended had someone with an opposing opinion written an article about him or her that called him or her a “(insert term here) bigot.” This article is formidable proof of the importance of courteous debate in attempting to avoid ignorance. Although the author was able to provide a compelling argument for eliminating sexist notions in the words “husband” and “wife” in the beginning of the article, the inclusion of a offensive quotation later on was at risk of greatly decreasing the article’s overall appeal and credibility.

There is no "Better" Way to Learn

Tara Parker-Pope's New York Times article "Better Ways to Learn" tells students how they should study. Pope argues that students should space out their studying and begin reviewing the material many days- or even "a month"- in advanvce. She also argues that students should change their "study environment" periodically. While this may help with studying, it is not a realistic goal for students of today. Many students find out about their tests mere days before, and they have other homework assignments to complete during this time. Not only do students have all this work, but they also need to sleep. Pope agrees that sleep is an "important part" of productive studying. However, how are students supposed to finish their homework and get enough sleep? While Pope's points are valid, she does not realize the struggle that students have to keep up with their work on a daily basis.

Collage Athletic Coaches Paid too Much

How can collage football coaches get paid so much, while teachers are paid so little? There is such a discrepancy between academic and athletic pay, even though one benifits society way more than the other. In this article http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/college-football/fbs-college-football-coaches-salaries-are-perks-are-soaring-newsday-special-report-1.9461669 … the discrepancy is clearly shown. If the “best” teacher was payed as much as the “best” football coach, then the academic sector of the US would far outrank that of any other country in the world. Currently, the countries with the best educational systems value teachers in that sence. A teacher must work just as hard as a football player in practice, if not harder, to earn a spot at a good school. While this principal is not yet grasped by the US, (and probably never will be) other countries greatly benifit from the exalted status of teachers to the same degree that athletes are exalted in America.

Family's rules to avoid racism

This article, written by Lawrence Otis Graham, displays the disgusting racism that prevails in our current society. To avoid the suspicion that he faced in his youth for doing nothing wrong whatsoever, Graham spent his life building a solid economic base on which he raised his family while teaching his children to follow certain rules. Graham and his wife instructed their children to go to such extremes as only wearing t-shirts when participating in athletic activities, and even then making sure the name of a respected school was written across it. While these measures are drastic and severe, it is revolting that anyone would ever need to resort to them to avoid being pulled over by the police for being a “black man driving an expensive car,” or being called a derogatory name. The fact that this kind of racism is still prevalent in today’s world is awful, but at the same time, Graham’s methods instill a kind of fear in his children. By making such strict rules, he is telling his children that racism is inevitable and that they should change to avoid it, instead of teaching them to deal with problems. He uses money and status which most people don’t have to cover up a problem with which many people struggle, and while it is understandable that he would go to such lengths because of his experiences growing up with racism, he should be working to solve the problem and not simply avoid it by dressing nicely.

Malala wins peace prize

Malala Yousafzai, a 17 year old girl from the middle east just became the newest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala received the coveted prize for assisting the advancement of middle eastern society by giving women the opportunity to receive an education, just as their male counterparts do. What makes Malala special, other than her efforts to the education of women, has to do with where she is making these efforts. In certain areas of the middle east, like Iraq, the government is oppressive when it comes to women. They have far fewer rights and certainly aren’t given the opportunity to receive an education. Malala, facing violence, and even surviving an assassination attempt, has helped progress an aspect of society that she views as vital and important. She received this peace prize not only for her advancements in education, but her bravery. 

Is school bad?

Many articles recently have been explaining why school is not always the best option for education. However, without the basics of schooling, a decent education would be almost impossible. Many fundamentals of education such as formulating ideas and writing come in the high school years. If a student was to drop out in high school, he or she would miss many of these important lessons. The article states, “People who forgo school build their own infrastructures.” This statement may be true, but the infrastructure provided by schooling may end up better than someone’s own infrastructure. Also, many people may not be able to such solid infrastructures. Many schools now take this view into account when creating their curriculums. This means that schools are now taking different paths and try to accommodate a student’s needs as much as possible. This is one of the reasons why school still is a critical part of education and creates the foundation every person needs in order to achieve success.

Justin Priest dies in car crash, oh wait… sorry!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29578331

The above article recounts the events leading up to the moment where Justin’s parents were crying and thanking the Lord on a crisp Alaskan morning. This so called ‘miracle’ was shown after the parents learned that it was not  their son who had been killed in a car crash, but indeed another man with the same name, but a different birthday. This event should, under no circumstances, be considered a miracle. The fact that Karen and Joy Priest did not lose their son is obviously a joyous outcome to what had initially started as the worst day of their lives. This story, however touching, is still tragic. Even though Karen and Joy may not be having the worst day of their lives, another family has still lost a son, a brother or a husband. To call such an event a miracle is only part of human nature. Of course, no one wants it to be their son who has died, but the tragedy is not made any better in the grand scheme of things if another son is killed in Justin’s stead. The article is a real life parallel to Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour,” where Mrs Mallard’s husband is reportedly killed in a train accident; however her husband is in fact alive and well. The article only illustrates the firm idea in human nature; “Better him than me,” a sad but true statement.

Nudes: Whose Fault is it?

In the last week Snapchat has been hacked leading to 4.6 Million users photos being posted online. In the BBC News article “Nude ‘Snapchat Images’ put Online by Hackers”, Dave Lee exposed the reality of this hack. One of the app’s major attractions is the idea that pictures, text and videos all disappear after a few seconds, which is now known to be untrue. Many people use this app to send uncensored pictures of themselves to people for many different reasons. No matter who these pictures are being sent to, this action is very dangerous. In the large amount of hacked photos there were bound to be some ones that were inappropriate but is the hacker at fault or is it the sender? Lee writes, “As half of its users are aged between 13 and 17, there is concern that many of the images may be of children” (Lee 1). Because of the ages of the majority of the users, if nude pictures were involved of these underaged kids, there is the possibility of infringement of the law seeing as these photos classify as child pornography. In this case, the child would be at blame for taking the picture, not the hacker. It may not seem fair for the child to be at blame in this situation because of their lack of knowledge and their ignorance, but it is their fault in terms of the law. From an ethical standpoint it isn’t his or her fault for trusting the claims of the application as well a the receiver but sending nude photos is almost always has a negative effect on the sender. Sending nudes through social media never ends up positivey effecting the sender. The receiver most of the time doesn't do what you ask with it, and there is always the possibility of it spreading and returning in the future. In many cases the law gets involved and a person’s livelihood may be lost. Teenagers should stop sending nudes through the internet because it always has a negative impact on his or her lives in the future because of the possibility of them getting leaked and exposed to much of the world.

Should the users or hackers be blamed for the leaking of pictures on Snapchat?

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29569226

Snapchat is an app on which a user can send pictures to other users for a limited amount of time before they disappear forever... or so they think. The article on BBC titled "Nude 'Snapchat images' put online by hackers" by Dave Lee explores the recent situation of pictures, many of which are nude, from the app snapchat being leaked by third party apps. The article takes the right stand in explaining that the users who's images were leaked were victimized by the hackers, and that it was a violation of their privacy. Another stand that the article could have taken was to say that it was was the user's fault for sending the nude pictures in the first place. However, according to the guidelines of snapchat and the privacy the app promises, users should be able to send what they want with a reasonable amount of confidence that they will not be leaked. The victims of violated privacy should not be blamed for acting the way that they did in the first place, because it was their choice.

New Found Study Habits Can Improve Comprehension

For a student in high school new learning tactics are always important. Studying can be one of the hardest types of work to do. In Benedict Carey’s new book “How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens,” he explores this topic. The common mistake to cram information for tests never works. This is true for any student, and the subject matter “learned” never stays in the brain. Studying twice, once right when the assignment is given, and once the night before is a much smarter and more efficient way to approach tests and quizzes. Changing the location of study also helps the brain from getting distracted from the material at hand. Going from inside to out, for example, makes the brain less distracted from staying in one place and more focused on the subject matter. This type of study is beneficial to all students, and should be taught and implemented in more school across the nation.

An Amazing Senior Portrait: Pet Edition

Before responding to a yearbook photo with a pet, Draeven Rodriguez needs to be recognized as one of the coolest seniors anyone could ever meet. Just by seeing his yearbook photo, you are able to sense his cool vibes. His cat’s name is even Mr. Bugglesworth. There is no sarcasm in this writing whatsoever. Draeven’s picture was not only rejected by his school, but he was later joined by his school Principal with her chihuahua. As a reader, reading that Draeven’s school rejected his yearbook portrait was a bit of downer. In senior yearbook photos, you should be able to express yourself (without going too over the top), no matter how weird it may seem to the school authorities (once again as long as you are not going so over the top). He was eventually joined by his school’s principal with her pet chihuahua making an impressive senior portrait. Draeven’s perseverance and the principal’s friendliness make a great team for getting Draeven’s photo into the yearbook this year.

Snapchat Remains Safe

3rd party apps are responsible for the leak that reportedly released elicit photographs, supposedly taken from the messaging service “Snapchat.” According to the BBC’s Dave Lee, “Snapchat” representatives stated: “‘Snapchatters were victimized by their use of third-party apps to send and receive Snaps, a practice that we expressly prohibit in our Terms of Use precisely because they compromise our security.’” Yet, Price’s article seems to insist that the users who had their photos leaked, who were in violation of Snapchat’s Terms of Use, are not responsible for this leak. Price included another quote, this time from Mark James, a security consultant at ESET: “‘For [Snapchat] to just turn around and say ‘It’s the users’ fault,’ does seem harsh.’” Price hints that it is the fault of Snapchat that a third-party app is insecure. However, if the users had been using the main, free Snapchat app, they could have avoided the release of their sensitive images.

How NOT To Talk To Girls at a Party

wikiHow has an answer for everything.  Their article, "How To Talk To Girls at a Party," contains three descriptive steps on how to talk to girls at parties, from making a smooth entrance to a graceful exit while still leaving a lasting impression.  Despite the easy to follow writing style and the compelling graphics, the article is absurd.  Step 1 is to "Strike Up a Conversation" by "getting noticed...introducing yourself...opening with a light topic... [and] making the girl laugh."    Going over, introducing oneself and then letting the conversation go where it may is just fine.  Step 2 is to "Keep the Girl Interested," which includes "asking a few questions...not dominating the conversation...being charismatic...[and] using the party to stir the conversation."  One doesn't have to "be" charismatic or anything other than themselves when they meet new people.  Step 3, how to "Finish Like a Champ," includes "leaving her wanting more...asking her out if things are going well...[and] making a graceful exit if things aren't."  The key is to just talk and let it feel natural, so asking a girl out if things are going well and leaving if they aren't especially is self explanatory.  "How To Talk To Girls at a Party" totally neglects the fact that interacting with other members of the human race, regardless of gender, never follows a simple 1-2-3 pattern as the article does.  Ones' social skills aren't gained from reading an article about how to be social, but rather from actually going out and being social.  Humans are interesting and unpredictable people at times.  Going out and getting real world experience in interacting with girls at parties will prove that no two female party encounter are alike and therefore put this article to total shame.

"Better Ways to Learn"

Lara Parker-Pope's “Better Ways to Learn” presents a strong argument that studying in several separated sessions can improve performance on tests as well as make the information learned more permanent. Nowadays many students cram study: they memorize material the night before the test, and it quickly is forgotten. This is because the brain marks the information as unnecessary. “Another technique is called distributed learning, or ‘spacing,’ and it’s a particularly relevant aspect of brain science for ambitious students. (Parker-Pope)” Parker-Pope goes further to compare it to watering a lawn; watering in intervals produces better results than watering all at once. Although it sounds as if it could take more time, scientific research proves that this method of studying is more reliable and results in better long term memory of the subjects. By using this approach to studying one can become a better learner and student. Another valuable lesson from her article is the benefit of sleep. On a more detailed level, “the first half of the sleep cycle helps with retaining facts; the second half is important for math skills. (Parker-Pope).” 

Readers Misunderstanding Themes and Morals

"What You Pawn I Will Redeem" is a short story in the point of view of an alcoholic and homeless Native American man named Jackson. Throughout the story he tries to find money to buy back his grandmother’s regalia that he saw in a pawn shop window. The story is filled with mistakes and foolish behavior due to his alcohol addiction. In the story, themes and morals could be easily confused. Alexie's short story doesn't have a solid moral, if it did, the story would be significantly different because it would have made its lesson blatant. One could come up with a moral to “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by using one of its overarching themes. “I sat up and looked around. I was lying on the railroad tracks… I should have been a railroad track pizza, a double Indian pepperoni with extra cheese. Sick and scared, I leaned over and puked whiskey” (Alexie 41). An example of this would be saying that the moral is "don't drink alcohol" referring back to the theme of the effect of alcoholism. The story never explicitly tells the reader not to drink but he or she can learn something from the theme making it seem as though they are the same. 

Themes and Morals: The Frequent Mistake

In the short story, "What You Pawn I Will Redeem," by Sherman Alexie, there is a theme of alcoholism in Native Americans. Throughout the story the protagonist Jackson Jackson uses his money to buy alcohol rather than saving up to buy back his grandmother’s regalia. Jackson initially sees the regalia in the window of a local pawn shop and thinks that it once belonged to his grandmother. The pawn shop owner offers him a deal of $999, and gives him 24 hours to come up with the money. “'How much for whiskey shots?' I asked the bartender, a fat white guy. 'You want the bad stuff or the badder stuff?'​ 'As bad as you got.'​ 'One dollar a shot.' I laid my eighty dollars on the bar top” (Alexie 37). Jackson clearly has a greater desire to drink rather than to save his eighty dollars and buy back his grandmothers regalia. While reading the short there is no clear moral that can be taken from the text. Other themes, besides alcoholism, appear such as friendship. This difficulty in finding a moral, yet ease in finding themes show an obvious difference between the definition of the two words. 

Moral vs themes

The short story What You Pawn I Will Redeem tells the story of a homeless Indian man who tries to raise 1000$ to purchase a family heirloom. One aspect of the story that differentiates themes and morals is the theme of alcoholism. What made alcoholism the theme of the story was the fact that it was prevalent in the main character and plot line. It explained why the main character acted in certain ways and made certain decisions, such as picking a fight with a sober bartender. The moral of the story is found through an anecdote that tells of a drunk family member killing Jackson's grandfather. The destructiveness and danger that alcohol can bring upon ones life is the moral of the story. Although the moral relates to the main theme of alcoholism, the theme itself does not inadvertently provide a clear lesson. That clear lesson is found within that particular anecdote within the story.

Theme Vs Moral

The short story, "Guests of the Nation" by Frank O'Connor shows a clear theme; however, does not show a clear moral, again proving that themes and morals are not synonymous. Throughout the short story, the theme develops as a dilemma between a higher command, and moral. The exposition explains how two British soldiers are captured by the Irish Republican Army. Quickly, the two British soldiers become friends with the three members of the IRA. In the rising action, the members of the IRA find out that British soldiers had executed a few Irish hostages. This meant that the IRA members had to execute the two British soldiers. At this time, they had to make a decision; whether to follow their moral codes, or follow their duty. “Why did any of us want to plug him? What had he done to us? Weren't we all chums? Didn't we understand him and didn't he understand us? Did we imagine for an instant that he'd shoot us for all the so-and-so officers in the so-and-so British Army?" (O'Connor 23) The Irishmen clearly are confused and unsure of the situation. They have been commanded to kill two of their really good friends, which is a tough decision for anyone. The author decides to choose duty over moral, by having the IRA members shoot the both British soldiers. In this short story, there is no clear lesson that can be taken away, which means there is no also no clear moral. This short story again proves that morals and themes are not synonymous

Themes and morals

The moral in the story "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" is that when one works hard toward a goal, he or she will succeed, even if the outcome is not as expected. The protagonist goes on a long search for money to buy the regalia, leading to Jackson eventually being given the regalia even though he doesn’t have all the money he needs. However, this is not a theme of the story. A major theme in this piece is that of loss; the reader learns that Jackson Jackson lost his grandmother and grandfather before the beginning of the story, and throughout the narrative the reader is told about the disappearances of minor characters such as Junior, the three Aleuts, and several others. Their deaths are not expanded upon, and are merely stated and then forgotten, such as in this line: “I heard later that [Junior] had hitchhiked down to Portland, Oregon, and died of exposure in an alley behind the Hilton Hotel” (Alexie, 37). While both the theme and the moral are important aspects of the story, they are not synonymous. The moral is generally short and somewhat straightforward, a message about how to go about life. Themes, meanwhile, explore less obvious characteristics of the narrative, subtle but powerful facets of the story that give the story a quality of depth.

Morals vs. Themes

In the short stories “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” “Guests of a Nation,” and “Story of an Hour,” there are main themes that each story deals with, but no clear moral. These three stories exemplify the seperation between the two because the three lack a moral. By not having a moral, but having a theme, there must be a difference between the two because if they were the same, lacking one would mean lacking the other. A theme is a topic that a moral takes a side on, and is impartial to different conflicting groups. In contrast, a moral takes a particular side on a theme, and can change from character to character. While occationally interchangable, a moral and a theme are completely different, and should never be confused again.

The Teaming Themed Theatrical Theis

'What You Will Pawn, I Will Redeem' by Sherman Alexis presents a repeated theme throughout the story, but no clear set of morals that should be followed. The main character, Jackson Jackson, can not seem to save up enough money to buy back his grandmother’s regalia, he spends all his money as soon as he earns as soon as he earns it. The story has a commonly repeated theme of charity, ranging from people helping out Jackson, to Jackson helping out his friends. Even the pawn shop owner helps Jackson gather money to afford the regalia, even though he would lose money, he says to Jackson," here's twenty bucks." Many people would confuse this theme and think that the moral of the story is to give charity to those in need, this is not the case. A set of morals that could be deducted from the story could be that charity does not always help someone in need, sometimes, the needy must pick themselves up.

Understanding Theme and Moral

“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” explores the theme that Native Americans have difficulty running a modern life. In Seattle, Jackson Jackson interacts with numerous other homeless Native Americans from many regions of North America. All of them have the common problem of busting whatever money they earn on alcohol.“Rose of Sharon, Junior, and I carried our twenty-dollar bill and our five dollars in loose change over to the 7-Eleven and bought three bottles of imagination" (Alexie 31). Even though the three friends have a difficult goal, and need all the money they can get, they spend their initial money on alcohol. The moral of the story, however, states to feel as though one has succeeded, one must work to achieve a goal. “‘I’m on a mission here. I want to be a hero, you know? I want to win it back, like a knight’” (Alexie 42). Jackson Jackson explains this thinking to the “good” cop, Officer Williams. Even if Williams had the money to give, Jackson wouldn't take it. 

The Non-Synonymous Relationship Between Morals and Themes

Contrary to the popular belief of some, morals and themes are not synonymous but instead two completely different ideas.  A moral is something the reader learns or takes away from a story, while a theme is an ongoing idea or main point of a story.  The ideas behind morals and themes have been analyzed in three short stories: "The Story of an Hour," by Kate Chopin, "Guests of the Nation," by Frank O'Connor, and "What You Pawn I Will Redeem," by Sherman Alexie.  In the three short stories that were analyzed, no two morals or themes were synonymous.  "The Story of an Hour," deals with a moral of the less surprises in times of trauma, the better, and a theme of freedom from a spouse.  "Guests of the Nation," did not necessarily have any clear moral but instead evident themes of loyalty and betrayal, and "What You Pawn I Will Redeem," contains several morals and themes, including being responsible about one's money as a moral and the struggle to survive as a theme.  In conclusion, the myth that a moral and a theme are synonymous is a large misconception and can easily be debunked just by analyzing texts, as has been done with "The Story of a Hour," "Guests of the Nation," and "What You Pawn I Will Redeem."

Living for Yourself

In "The Story of an Hour" the recurring theme was freedom; the wife's short-lived "freedom" of her husband, or the freedom from marriage. On the other hand the wife died of being overjoyed by her "freedom" right before her non-deceased husband walked into the house. The moral of the story is that you should always be living for yourself rather than living in his shadow. “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.” (Chopin 14). The wife felt that during her marriage she had to live in the shadows of her husband, and due to the time era she couldn't really live as herself but as the person her husband would want her to be. The moral and the theme once again are different.

Theme and Moral

In literature, themes and morals are not synonymous. In “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” there is a theme of wasted effort. All the main character’s effort allows him to earn no money in the end. The moral of the story, however, is exemplified in what happens after the character earns no money. The pawn shop owner gives the main character his grandmother’s regalia regardless of how much money he earned. This demonstrates the story’s moral, that sometimes it’s better to do the right thing, rather than the fair thing, as exemplified by this quote from the pawnbroker: “You did win it. Now take it before I change my mind.” (Alexie 45) The theme and moral are different, but they work together to convey the message of the story.

Themes vs. Morals

Another example of a story in which themes and morals can be mistaken as synonymous is “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. In this story, the character Mrs. Mallard is informed about the recent death of her husband. Mrs. Mallard is portrayed as a sensitive and emotionally weak woman. Although people were careful in breaking the news to her, she was still utterly devastated when she initially heard about her husband’s death. However, she eventually saw the good in the situation: that she was then free from her husband. When mrs. Mallard realized that she was free, she had a “feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory" (Chopin 14). Mrs. Mallard feels liberated, as if she is no longer living under the shadow of her husband. Then, the story takes an unexpected turn and the indeed alive Mr. Mallard returns. Mrs. Mallard then ironically dies, of shock, and “a joy that kills” (Chopin 15). An instance of a theme in this story is freedom: illustrated in mrs. Mallard’s unexpected feeling of liberation after her husband dies. However, this is not a theme, or a lesson that one can take away from reading this story. An example of a lesson that a reader can learn from reading “The Story of an Hour”  is that although some marriages may seem perfect and joyful, they can be engaged with feelings of oppression, often especially felt by only one of the partners. 

Themes versus Morals

A distinction exists between the theme of a story and the moral of a story. It is easy to confuse these two elements of a story due to their common property that they are often inferred by the reader; however, they can vary vastly in goals, uniqueness to stories, and ways of expression. An author uses a theme to unify a story and its content, whereas a moral is used to present a virtue or ethical ideal to the reader. A story’s theme is also closely tied to the story itself and usually cannot be applied to other works of writing, while morals are more of a blanket statement and can relate to many stories at once. The way by which these two elements are expressed deviate as well: a theme is usually discovered by the reader after close analysis of the particular setting, characters, and plot events of a piece of literature, but morals are usually much more apparent and easy to detect. Such differences cause the theme and moral of a story to be incredibly diverse, as shown in short stories such as “The Guests of a Nation,” “The Story of an Hour,” and “What You Pawn I Will Redeem.”

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“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” has themes and morals that teach how to be a better person. A big theme in the story is to put others before yourself. Jackson Jackson needed to save money to buy back his grandmother’s regalia, but he used his money for others instead. “‘I’ve got twenty-five dollars I can spend. Bring us all the breakfast you can, plus your tip’” (Alexie 44). A moral in the story is good things happen to good people. Instead of helping himself, Jackson helped others with his money. However, in the end he still got his grandmother’s regalia even though he did not have enough money to buy  the regalia.

“Take it,’ he said, and held it out to me.

“I don’t have the money.”

“I don’t want your money.”

“But I wanted to win it.”

“You did win it. Now take it before I change my mind” (Alexie 45).

Theme vs. Moral

When analyzing texts there is often a misconception of what represents a theme or a moral. Many readers believe that the theme of a story is synonymous with the moral, however, often times it is not. The moral of a story is traditionally a lesson that can be learned from the actions of the characters or the result of a series of events that took place in the story. These lessons are often quite simple; for instance, in the childrens story of  “The Tortoise and the Hair” by Aesop the moral of the story would be: never give up even when the odds are against you; this is a lesson that children learn growing up because it can be applied to their everyday life. Another way to think of the moral of the story is something that could be considered a universal truth; a lesson that applies to the incidents within the story and also to peoples everyday lives. Themes, as opposed to morals, do not usually represent universal truths, instead, they are more complex and, often times, much subtler than morals. Themes, generally, only pertain to the specific instances in the story and how these instances show the reader something. This something isn’t necessarily a lesson, it could be a question, idea or a statement. Going back to the story of “The Tortoise and the Hair”; the theme would be slow and steady wins the race. The author doesn’t necessarily state this within in this children's tale, however, throughout the story it is hinted at. This fundamental story, although very rudimentary, can be applied to other, more complex, pieces of writing; because of this, this children's tale serves as a great starting point to demonstrate the difference between the moral and theme of a story. In other stories, this fundamental difference between the theme and the moral can become more convoluted and harder to grapple with, however, the important thing to remember is that there is still a difference. 

This Is How You Grow

The moral of the argument is that themes are not concrete pavements or cement sidewalks, they are the roads not traveled by and twisting trails in the back of the woods, all different and unique to themselves.  Digging deep to find what an author is trying to say is part of a learning process, and breaking the cycle of cliches is just one way to expand in this process.  Too often we get quarantined into simplistic ideas that we have seen in other texts, but by looking deeper into the text, we can find more insightful messages that  the author sends. By creating more insightful responses, we grow as a person, a student, and as a writer.

Theme Vs. Moral

Moral and theme are distinctive literary terms, yet people in the United States have trouble distinguishing between the two. "The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin, "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie, and "Guests of the Nation" by Frank O'Connor demonstrate that themes are central ideas such as specific political and social issues. These short stories also incorporate morals relating to karma, fate, and society. While morals are lessons that people can apply to themselves, themes are main ideas unique to the stories. While themes usually have no affect on the reader, morals from stories and experiences may guide a person's life.

 

Theme vs Moral Paragraph

“Guests of the Nation,” a short story by Frank O’Connor, has a simple moral, but a very complex theme.  The moral of the story, reflected in the horrible things that the main character is forced to do, is that it is important to think before you do something that someone tells you to do, and that what seems wrong to you is usually wrong.  The story, however, explores a much broader and more complex theme, a theme about war and all of its gruesome realities.  The author describes in much detail the horrible things that war makes the soldiers do to good people.  When Hawkins is killed, the soldiers were forced to watch him painfully die, “We all stood very still, watching him settle out in the last agony” (O’Connor 24). These soldiers watched someone who had done nothing wrong live out his last moments in agony, adding to the theme of war and hardship.  We see two people get executed due to orders given by a higher power.  Once again, the theme and the moral are separate entities, although similar, the moral is much more specific.  This is an important thing to keep in mind when reading literature.

Themes Versus Morals Conclusion

     The morals of the aforementioned stories were not particularly profound. The morals were to always speak up for one’s beliefs, not to count the chickens before they hatch, and to live life to the fullest. However, the themes make the readers stop and think about what they have read. In the examples the themes were war and the inner challenges soldiers have to deal with, the institution of marriage and its effects on a woman’s mental health, and the struggles of the modern Native American. There is a clear difference in weight between the two. The author spends time thinking about his theme and allows the reader to decide what he or she thinks about a topic. The moral, on the other hand turns out to be fairly random. The theme is intentional while the moral is a byproduct of the story. 

Theme vs Moral in "What You Pawn I Will Redeem"

As illustrated in the short story, "What You Pawn I Will Redeem", by Sherman Alexie, moral and theme are two completely different literary devices. Throughout the narrative, Jackson Jackson, the main character, is on a quest to earn 1000 dollars to reclaim his grandmothers regalia. Finally, he wins the family heirloom back, and we are led to believe that the moral of the story is that the only way to get something is to work hard for it. Alternately, community, is a recurring theme, shown when Jackson Jackson states, “Indians like to belong, so we all pretended to be cousins” (Alexie 37). This is exhibited not only by the Indian community that is ever present, but in other characters such as Mary and Officer Williams, who are charitable and kind to Jackson Jackson in his journey. Many people often confuse the constant theme with the resolution oriented moral of a work of literate because of their similar but slightly different definitions.

Themes Vs. Morals

Morals and themes are as different as vegetables and cake. A moral is defined as something pertaining to right and wrong, while a theme is defined as a dominant idea. Morals can be reduced to snappy one-liners that people tend to gravitate towards, just as people choose to eat delicious cake. However, themes are more difficult for people to wrap their minds around and require a thorough exploration of the ideas in a text, just as vegetables require more effort to eat than cake. The short stories "Guests of the Nation," "Story of an Hour", and "What you Pawn I Will Redeem," by Frank O'Connor, Kate Chopin, and Sherman Alexie, all showcase the differences between themes and morals.

Themes vs. Morals

Within the context of short story writing, themes and morals are often used interchangeably. However, their synonymity is in actuality a common misconception. Morals teach generic life lessons that one infers from the plot, e.g. just behaviour, the merits of generosity, etc. On the other hand, themes are applicable to varying stories; they are analogous or representative of a bigger idea. The three short stories discussed in class  - “Story of an Hour,” "Guests of the Nation," and "What You Pawn I Will Redeem” - adeptly illustrate the contrast between comprehensive themes and idealistic morals.

Theme vs. Morals

The theme of the short story, "The Story of and Hour" by Kate Chopin is not a classic moral. In this work, the theme is that a woman who loses her loving husband is not necessarily a grieving widow. At the time it was written this would have been extremely controversial. We know this because in the text, the narrator states that, "An yet she had loved him... sometimes. Often she had not." She's not free, now that her husband is dead, because he was oppressive, it was simply because she didn't really love him.

Theme vs Moral

The final example proving that the theme and the moral are different is, "Story of an Hour." The theme throughout this short story is very grim. The husband always loved his wife, but his wife didn't really care about him, or even the fact that he loved her. “She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome." (Chopin 14). The wife initially was heartbroken that her husband had died because he had loved and treated her well; however, she was able to get over the loss much more quickly than most other people in her place. The theme of the book is, the wife detested having a husband because she felt like it held her back, but she also hated men in general, even if they did nothing wrong. The theme goes in further than that by proving that sexists and racists don’t have a base for their hate, only the fact that the other person is different than the sexist or racist. She felt like men held her back and she couldn't care less that her husband was a good man, only that he was a man. The moral of the story is different. There are many different morals that can be taken away after reading, but there is one that is very obvious. The most obvious moral is, if a person is exuberant that someone who has done nothing wrong is dead and the person who is happy is also very nefarious, then something extremely terrible will happen to the evil person.

Themes Vs. Morals Essay

Imagine a person without a conscience, it's analogous to a story without a theme or a moral. A theme and a moral are separate but connected aspects of a story. Themes are a necessary component to a story, but morals are an extra piece that elevate a story making it more robust and memorable. Morals draw the reader in, helping them make a connection to and internalize the work of literature. Morals may be devoid of original thought, but stories without them often seem hollow. The short stories "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, "Guests of the Nation" by Michael O'Connor and "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie provide examples of morals and themes intertwined. 

Difference between Morals and Themes Paragraph

The short story of Guests of a Nation by Frank O’Connor refutes the synonymity between themes and morals by showing that sometimes there is not a moral to a story. The story of Guest of a Nation is set during the Irish Revolution and the plot mainly focuses on two Irish prison guards and their two English prisoners. The major conflict in this story is the moral grappling between the Irish following their orders to kill the prisoners they had bonded with or to let them free. This theme of the complicated ideals of duty vs. doing the morally correct thing is especially showcased when Hawkins, one of the British prisoners, volunteers to betray his people and fight with the Irish. Unfortunately for him, the Irish are too engrossed in their mental debate and would not answer as they knew “that was no way out” (O’Connor 23). Even by the end of the story, there is no clear cut point on which decision would be the right one. Donovan shoots Hawkins and makes the decision for the prison guards, making them leave this dilemma behind. However, there is no obvious moral to this story. This short story falls flat when a moral is imprinted on to it. Either decision that they could have made would have some benefits and drawbacks to it. This short story showcases that that stories always have themes, but sometimes do not have morals.