Essay Question

Essay Question: Summaries Cedric’s perception of the challenges he faces at MIT compared to Ballou High School

There are many differences between how Ron Suskind presents the difficulties of Cedric’s education in part one and part two of his articles by using various language techniques. The author uses these language devices to add extra effect and to make the reader engage with the theme of the difficulty of Cedric’s education. Cedric faces many obstacles when getting an education in Ballou High and MIT such as receiving abuse from other students, struggling with the work at MIT and violence was all around him. Throughout the article Suskind used various language devices that suggest that it was difficult for Cedric to get an education. I will be referring to different quotes throughout the essay and will be comparing them.

One of the main language techniques that the writer uses is metaphor. This is used in the quote ‘The arduous Odyssey’. The author uses this quote to represent Cedric’s journey and how he faces difficulties on an individual level. This quote refers to an ancient Greek myth about how Odysseus went on a long tough journey to finally get where he wanted to be. It compares how Odysseus had to battle monsters in his journey just like how Cedric has to battle other students to keep his education going.  This is relevant to Cedric because he wants to leave Ballou High and get to MIT but to do this he has to work hard in a school where failure is nearly guaranteed. The word arduous means a long and rough journey which is exactly what Cedric experienced in Ballou High to get to MIT such as bullying and violence. He also has to work extra by himself outside school to get a decent education which is like a trial therefore emphasizing the journey part of the quote which was a tough journey with hard trials along the way.

Another quote that the author uses although this time is in part two is ‘But where i start from is far behind where some other kids are, I have to run twice the distance to catch up’. This is because Cedric went to Ballou High which didn’t educate their students as well as other schools so already Cedric is at a distinct disadvantage to other students, who went to high schools that actually gave their students a proper education. The author compares this quote to a race, a race where he is behind by a considerable amount. This gap could symbolize the difference in knowledge between him and the other students, however this quote has an alternative meaning which expresses the fact that him being a minority drags him down and puts him behind. This also shows that even though he does extra work at home he is still far behind other students which makes him realise that even though he was the best at his high school, there are still many challenges that he has to face. Even at the program he has to do double the work than everyone else to even keep up. These two quotes show that Cedric faces difficulties both ways, in the first quote it shows Cedric’s struggles on an individual level in comparison to the second quote shows how he is struggling to keep up with the others. These quotes show how life in both schools are different but similar at the same because even though at Ballou High he was the most gifted student he still faced difficulties. He still faced many difficulties at MIT even though he was one of the students that was struggling to keep up. The first quote is optimistic about Cedrics chance to do well unlike the second quote which which is more negative about Cedrics chances to do well. Another difference between theses two quotes is that the second quote is stated by Cedric himself whereas the first quote was put in by the narrator, to show us that Cedric is noticing the struggle without the author stating it for us.

A different quote that the author uses which involves figurative language is ‘Being a minority and a hard achiever means you have to carry extra baggage about who you are and where you belong, that puts them at risk’. This is a metaphor because It suggests  that as a minority it will be hard to get into a white university such as MIT. His high school Ballou High was highly populated by blacks in a poor area so the fact that he’s trying to get into a ‘white’ university it’s like him going on a journey to MIT. On the journey he takes an airplane, this airplane is mainly boarded by white people who have easy access to board the plane. On the other hand the minority students who have worked hard to even get a ticket to go to MIT. The quote suggests  that being a minority is like you’re not considered part of the society which even though getting to MIT is hard being a minority makes it that extra bit harder. The extra baggage of this quote represents the fact that wherever he goes he will always carry the burden of being black and poor in a ‘White man’s world’.

An additional quote that the author has chosen with figurative language is ‘Failure is persuasive even seductive.” This quote is  used by the author to implement the fact that Cedric’s education is difficult. He shows off failure as if it is a human. This is showing that failure rate at Cedric’s high school is high. When you persuade someone it is more than likely that they are not willing to do it, so by saying this it is indicating that the students do have high ambitions but failure is persuading them to do badly. Also when you seduce someone or someone is seducing you it is exciting so when the quote refers to failure as seductive it is saying that is exciting to fail. So by using this quote he shows that failure at Ballou high is very common, however as we know this quote does not include Cedric. Unlike the first two quotes these quotes are different as the first one is showing that all minorities have an overall harder time to prove yourself in the world which differs to the second quote, because it is talking about how Cedric’s high school was so bad that it attracts failure.

In conclusion Ron Suskind uses these quotes and many more to explain Cedric’s journey and how his education differs from one place to another. The quote that I thought really captured Cedric’s journey was “The Arduous Odyssey.” This is because of how accurate it is to Cedric’s journey. The quote is comparing Odysseus as he faced many hardships to get to the place he wanted to be, to Cedric as he face many problems to get to where he wanted to be. These problems include violence as he was bullied for being better than the other kids and actually trying, but also the sheer fact that his school Ballou High did not get their students pretty much any education. Which shows why Cedric felt like he was behind at MIT even though he was working hard at home. This is why I think that the quote ‘The Arduous Odyssey,’ best describes Cedric’s journey from MIT to Ballou high.