Acceptance Essay

Avery Almendariz

Ms. Tomlinson

English 2 Honors

19 September 2017

Acceptance is Key

The renowned author, Eckhart Tolle once said, “Acceptance looks like a passive state, but in reality it brings something entirely new into this world. That peace, a subtle energy vibration, is conciousness”. Acceptance is a well-known topic, and inspires many great works of art from authors. The story called “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a chilling story about what happens in a civilization without acceptance. Another story called, “The Wife’s Story” by Ursula Le Guin is about a women who recognizes changes in her husband that will affect her family forever. Another piece of text that teaches about acceptance is called “Without Title” by Diane Glancy which tells of a father that holds onto his origins and culture. These texts each share the idea that a civilization surrounded by acceptance works. Acceptance is an important factor in a well functioning society because it creates a peaceful, loving environment, it allows people to understand and relate to one another, and others can learn about beautiful cultures and people who may be different than themselves.

Firstly, acceptance has a profound effect on many communities and allows them to become a caring and harmonious environment, which is displayed in “The Lottery”. “The Lottery” displays an environment where there is no love or understanding. The citizens decide to stone a person each year to display a sacrifice to the Gods, who in return will give the villagers good crops. The ignorance and close mindedness is reflected ,specifically ,when a poor woman got chosen for the lottery. The woman tried to explain to the citizens of the village that their had been a mistake, but her voice was drowned out by the villagers who continued stoning her (Jackson 36). This passage shows that when there is not acceptance in a society, people’s lives will be put in danger . When people in a community do not communicate with one another and make quick judgements, they are not able to feel the love that acceptance brings. Because of this, communities can lose assets to their village, which is shown in “The Wife’s Story”.

Additionally, in ”The Wife’s Story” it is shown that in communities where acceptance is valued, the people there are able to better recognize each other's differences and relate to one another. “The Wife’s Story” shows how things can go terribly wrong when there is little communication in a home. The husband in this story is an affectionate and capable man, but has a trait that his wife and family members do not understand and perceive as negative. For instance, the wife in “The Wife’s Story” begins to seek for the differences in her and her husband when she describes, “He stood on two legs. I saw him, I had to see him, my own dear love, turned into the hateful one… I was running when I saw them pull it down. My sister’s teeth were in its throat” (Le Guin 7). This quote explains how a misunderstanding can have a turn for the worst, when people are not willing to accept the faults of another. The wife would not manage to accept her husband’s “flaw” so she decides the only way to resolve this problem is through violence. Unlike “The Wife’s Story”, the poem “Without Title” is placed in an understanding yet troublesome place.

Lastly, through acceptance one learns to appreciate and celebrate other cultures, which is explained in “Without Title” by Diane Glancy. In “Without Title”, the speaker tells about their father who refuses to let go the outdated culture and traditions he practices after he moves into a big city. The father in this poem relates all things in his current life to the things of his past to help him stay connected to his routes and share his passion with his child. In fact, the speaker tells about their father’s spirit animal being a buffalo when they acknowledge, “Oh, I couldn’t see it but it was there, and in the night I heard his buffalo grunts like a snore” (Glancy 1). The father in this poem has been an example of his heritage to his child and has taught them to see the beauty in their traditions. As the father teaches his child, he is setting an example for future generations to accept and love one another as he does to his children.

To summarize Eckhart Tolles wise words, acceptance is the key to feeling peace and consciousness in a chaotic and troublesome society. This dangerous society is displayed both in “The Lottery” and “The Wife’s Story” where there was no communication in a community which led to the loss of many important assets. In “Without Title”, the reader learns how acceptance can create lasting bonds within communities and families. To sum up, acceptance makes a society function by creating an environment in which citizens feel safe and loved, by bringing the community together to help understand one another, and by introducing new ideas and cultures to one another to help create everlasting friendships.