Persuasive Essay Ideas

The military has been deploying dolphins to Iraq for the past few years. Many people have been debating these topic because some people think it is very useful, but others think it is unethical to bring them into something that doesn't concern them. I personally feel that it is a very useful tactic. The dolphins are not being killed in the process. They use their senses to see where and how big an object is, and then they inform the people above. People have been using animals for years to help with wars. They use horses, dogs, sea lions, and elephants. Dolphins are the most intelligent animal in the world, and I think it is good that their abilities are being put to work. They are too intelligent to just ignore as a secret weapon.

People have been hunting whales for years now. The issue that is debated is that they are a good source of food, and it is unethical to hunt whales. I feel that whaling is wrong. They are a beautiful creature of nature. Also, because of whaling, differenet species are close to becoming extinct. There are plenty of other sources of food that people have availability to. Another issue I see with whaling is that it is very dangerous to the humans commiting the horrific act.

Obesisty has become a huge problem in America. It causes health problems on all levels whether it is heart disease, diabitis, or different forms of cancer. There are so many reasons why America is an obese country adn plenty of ways to prevent it. The food produced in America is fast and easy, but it is also a fast and easy way to have a heart attack. Americans love their McDonalds, microwave meals, and Twinkies. I am guilty of all these loves as well, but they are bad for you! There are also many ways to stay fit even if you are eating like crap. There are a countless amount of sports and physical activities children, teens, young adults, and adults can take part in. There is literally something for everyone. Many people try to blame obesity on genetics, but that is not an excuse. If your family struggles with weight, do something about it. Have a healthy diet and partake in a lot of physical activity. In my opinion, obesisty is laziness.

BrainStorming Informative Essay

A huge part of my life is sports. Not everyone is interested, but it is rather amazing what people can accomplish with them. I was debating between writing my paper on volleyball or high jump. Volleyball is full of many different skills, but there is not as much detail. I feel like high jump would be better for an informative essay. It is a very technological event. You would not believe what goes into a good jump. I have been doing it for 6 years now, and a rarely do 50% of it right.

            To start off my paper, I would use a statistic. I am thinking I would either use the world record or my personal record. The world record is obviously more impressive, and it is not as personal.

            A huge part of high jump is the approach. I would talk about what speed you use for the first two steps, the next two, the next two, and the final two. There is also a specific angle you should be running at. I would explain why the approach is the speed it is, why it increases in certain areas, and why you must go at a specific angle.

            Next I would talk about the takeoff. There is a specific motion that you must do with your arms to get you to your highest peak. If both arms are not forced into the air, you will not achieve your goal. It is also necessary to take off from the perfect distance. Another important part of the takeoff is the drive of the knee.

            Eventually you will be jumping over a bar. When doing this, you must look to a certain area, arch your back at a certain time, look to a different spot, “hit your hips”, and kick your feet. All of these things happen within half a second.

            I could also go into the detail of what gives a jumper certain advantages. People with tall lanky bodies are usually the best.

            There are statistics and research that will back all of these things up, and explain why each part is important in their own way. Coaches all around the world have done research to find out ways to keep getting their jumpers to achieve new heights.

The Sandwich

In America, everyone likes fast and easy. A sandwich is a quick easy meal that anyone can make in a matter of minutes.  Sandwiches can be as healthy as you want them to be or as unhealthy as you want. A popular choice in some households is a tuna sandwich.

To make a tuna sandwhich, you can have as many ingredients as you'd like. The first thing you must start with is your choice of bread. There are many different types of bread including wheat, whole grain white, flatbread, and more. Once you have selected your bread, put the tuna on the bread. There is not a specific amount you must put on, everything about sandwiches is made to your own personal liking. Next, you may add cheese. This will add dairy to your meal. Vegetables are a great food item to add to your sandwich. They add a lot of flavor without adding a lot of calories or carbs. You may add lettuce to give your sandwich a little crunch. Pickles are also a great addition. It will add a hint of sour to the sweetness of the bread. Once you have the vegetables you like, you can add the condements. Light mayonaise, vinigar, and oil will add great flavor and moisture to your sandwhich.

Now you have a delicious filling meal that only took a couple minutes to prepare! There is a countless number of sandwich combinations that you can put together. Some may include meat, fish, veggies, peanut butter, fruit, jelly, cheese, or many other things.

The Experience that Changed My Life

Some people may have a hard time deciding upon an even that has changed their lives and have taught them an important lesson. I on the other hand, have no problem at all. It is not something that I am happy about in any way at all, but it has helped me understand what truly is important in life.

The first situatin that I am going to be descibing is not my go to option. When I was in 8th grad I started to have really ba back problems. I didn't think much of it, but then it got worse my freshman year. I thought that I could just fight through the pain and see what happens, so that is exactly what I did. Sadly for me, it just kept getting worse. People told me to just suck it up and push on. Some even thought that I was faking it. Little did they know that I was not. It came to my sophomore year of volleyball and I was starting varsity adn playing full rotation. I had never been so proud. But there was one volleyball practice when I slammed my body onto one foot because I was not about to let that ball hit the floor. I got the ball, but then I hit the floor. I had a shooting pain go all the way up my leg and through my back. I was frozen. My steps were no bigger than two inches as I made my way to the bench. I knew that there was something extremely wrong. It turns out that I have three factures in my back. I was out for the rest of the year and was unable to play sports. It taught me that there was more to life than just sports. There are people in the world who will never be able to have the chance to play sports. I was out for a year; I could come back and do what I love.

I was warming up with my team for my volleyball game and noticed that my mom wasn't in the stands. It isn't normal for her to just not show up, so I got a little nervous. My grandma reassured me that everything is fine, and she just had to babysit my cousins longer than expected. We played our hearts out and won the game. I was in such a good mood until my grandma broke the news. She told me that my dad had to go to the hospital because he was experiencing strange symptoms. No one had told me anything, so I was getting frustrated. They said everything was fine and they were just running test, but I had a feeling that that was not the case. My mom would have come home if everything was fine; she didn't. The next day at school I was sitting on the stage during study hall helping Sophia make the run-through for the football game. Anita came and got me off the stage to tell me that my cousin Tara was here to pick me up from school. My heart dropped and I instantly started bawling. I felt like I was going to throw up. As I approached the commons, I saw Tara and she grabbed my hand. In all honesty, at that moment of my life, I thought my dad was dead. Once we got to the car, Tara told me that he was doing well, but they have found something. That is all she knew at the time. We then had to go pick up my little brothers from the middle school, so I had to pull it together. She just told them that he wanted to see us, and of course, the were ignorant enough to believe it while I was choking back tears. We arrived to the hospital and my older brother, Colton, was already there. I could tell that he had been crying and it made my stomach churn even more. My mom had told us that they have found a brain tumor. I had no idea what to do. I just wanted to break down and cry. I held it together for maybe 10 seconds. That was the first time I had ever seen my dad cry.

I will obviously be adding more detail about the scenery around me and the emotions I was feeling.

This has taught me a huge life lesson. Everyone runs into obstacles but you can overcome them. You may have heartbreaks in high school, you might not get the position you want on their sports team, but you are healthy and alive. Not everyone is given the opportunity to live life as they please, but you can always try. Be thankful for the people you have around you that love you. My dad is alive today, and at one point I thought I was going to lose him for ever. How could that not change your life?

My Summer Adventure

My alarm started blaring at 4:30 in the morning, but I was not going to complain about it! I got ready as fast as I could and hopped into the car. My mom and I were making our way to Orion to meet 11 others that were just as excited as I was. Once everyone had met, we headed off to the O’Hare Airport in Chicago. We made a few pit stops on the way of course, be we finally arrived. As we were boarding the plane, my heart started pounding and I wanted to cry. Airplanes are not my cup of tea. It was time for take-off. We were in the air, and everything was better. We were on our way to Europe!

We arrived in London and were moving right off the bat. Everyone was facing jet-lag, but obviously we didn’t care. We were in London! The hotel we stayed in was a little shabby to say the least. It was in the ghetto outside of London. Our luggage was put in a dungeon-like area. It was dark, cold, and the doors didn’t lock. But we all got over it and put on our smiles for the camera. We headed to the Tube and before we knew it, we were walking out of the station and staring at the London Eye. It is a huge Ferris wheel that allows you to see all of London from an aerial view. Not only did we see all of London, but we saw specific filming areas from the Harry Potter movies! We went down the creepy allies that Harry and his friends did. They were dark and the stone we walked on was uneven and somewhat broken. I developed a new love for the movies because of that trip. And of course, we got to see the royal castle. It was huge and the crowds were ridiculous! But our lovely tour guides kept us together and brought us to areas with great views. The flag that indicates that the queen is in the castle was up, so I basically feel like we should have made the cover of UsWeekly. Those were just a few of the things we did that were on the itinerary. Our lovely tour guide, Gwen, gave us loads of free time. We went shopping at the fancy stores with London fashion, ate at the different little restaurants that you can’t find hear, and yes we had fish and chips. I hate fish, but I actually loved what they served us! But eventually we had to leave. A bullet train was a form of transportation that took us to Paris, France! It was awesome, and Alec Mason was lucky enough to sit with my blabbering self the whole way there.

Paris is one of the most romantic cities in the world, but I was definitely thrown off at first. We arrived in a dirty area, but after a wait, we soon got to see the magic. The first famous landmark we visited was Notre Dame. It was absolutely gorgeous. It was huge with detailed design all over the entire building. One of my favorite things we did was go shopping down the most famous street of fashion in Paris. I didn’t buy much, but it was just awesome knowing all the famous people shop there frequently. Another thing I thoroughly enjoyed was the “Paris by Night” boat ride. It was a boat tour that started when the sun went down, and it just took us along the city. We got back when the sun was down, and the Eiffel Tower was glowing green, yellow, red, and blue. Gwen told us that it has never lit up with those colors before! We were very proud we got to see it like that. Another time we saw the Eiffel Tower, we just took a lot of adorable pictures. The sky was a beautiful color of blue with few clouds, so it made the perfect background when combined with the Eiffel Tower! The crepes in Paris were delicious. They had so many different kinds ranging from sweet with Nutella and bananas to chicken and cheese. My mouth is watering talking about them! But it was time to say goodbye to Paris, and hello to a little cubby that holds six people with enough room for maybe two. It was time for the night train that would be taking us to Italy!

We traveled to a few different cities in Italy: Florence, Assisi, and Rome. My favorite of the three was Florence. We walked around and bargained with the salesmen on the streets all day! But before we went shopping, Alli, Terrah, Haley, Adrienne, Linda, Mrs. Kershaw, Ms. Ashcraft, and I made our way up to a beautiful balcony that gave us the best view of Florence. I have never seen anything so gorgeous in my life, nor have I ever loved water so much. Besides the fact that we were dripping in sweat and extremely tired, that was one of my favorite parts our entire trip. And we got to reward ourselves with gelato, so it was totally worth it! Next we traveled to Assisi and spent our day walking around and viewing its adorable little stores and restaurants. It was a small little city with stone streets, gorgeous fountains, and huge statues everywhere. A group of us girls went to the cutest family restaurant that filled our stomachs to the brim. It was delicious. Although we loved Assisi, we were pumped to go to Rome. I fell in love with the Coliseum. It was so old and falling apart, but it was sturdy enough to walk around and enter the inside. We also got to visit the Trevi Fountain, and throw our coins in. The water was so blue, and there were so many people crowded around trying to get a chance to toss one in, too. All in all, Italy was my absolute favorite. It consisted of my favorite view, land mark, and of course, food!

This trip was an amazing experience for me in so many ways. I learned so many things about the culture and history of different countries. It is definitely something I will never forget. I got to travel the world with four of my best friends, and make new relationships with others. It also gave me an appreciation for America’s traffic laws and ice cold drinks. 

Myself as a Writer

I gained a lot more experience through out the Honors English III course last year. We did a lot of different essays, assignments, and writing styles. When I first start a writing assignment, I start with finding main ideas that I can support really well. This helps with my thesis statment. After that, I create an outline. Before last year, I just made the shortest outline possible to get it done. But I learned that if you create a very detailed outline, the essay comes together better. The next step for me is to create the rough draft. It is most definitely a rough draft, though. I like to have some one peer edit it to see mistakes I don't. After I consider their suggestions, I go over it again to see if I see any more issues. Then I try to complete my final copy. Another benefit from last year is that I discovered a few strenghts when it comes to writing. I finally got to the point where I transition from one thought or idea to another without even thinking about it. It is important to pick main ideas that you can really support and go into depth about, and I am usually good at selecting those. I also use good grammer when I write. Sometimes I have those issues, but I can catch them on my own for the most part. But when there are strenghts, there are always weaknesses. When I write, I feel like I don't sound very sophisticated. There are papers you read that just sound nice, and I feel like I lack that. I also have issues writing thesis statements. I always want to say too much. My vocabulary could definitely be widened as well.

Taking on a college course as a senior in high school is a rather tough task. I am excited for the learning experience, but I am a little nervous. One thing I loved about last year was that we turned in out "Final Draft", but you made your comments and allowed us to change it one more time. Is that something we will be doing again this year? It helped me so much. Besides that question, I am ready to take on this class. Something that I really want to improve upon is being able to write a research paper yet make it exciting at the same time. I don't even want to read my own research papers. That is how horrible I think they are. Another thing I want to get better at is my work-cited page. It is pathetic because you told us what to do step by step, but I still suck at citing my resources. I never really know what I need to do. But the main thing I want is to just become an even better writer. I want to be able to be given a prompt and just be able to nail it with total confidence.

Fitzgerald's Idea of the American Dream

We all know what the idea of the big American Dream is. Americans are full of money, love, opportunities, the perfect family, and fun, right? That is what the American Dream is anyways. But in reality, not everyone can achieve this dream. Almost every single character in The Great Gatsby have certain parts of the American dream, but no one has the whole package deal.  Because of this, I feel that Fitzgerald doesn't see that it is possible to have every aspect of the American Dream.

Some people may see Gatsby as the man with the American Dream in the bag. He has the nicest cars, a huge house with a pool, parties that everyone attends, and everyone loves him. As he is talking about his fantatic home, he states, "I keep it full of interesting people, night and day. People who do interesting things. Celebrated people" (90). But what they don't know is that he does not have the thing he dreams to have the most. His American Dream is to be married to Daisy Buchanan. He has been in love with Daisy for five years now, and has been waiting to get her back. He imagines himself with her everyday. But there are a couple things stopping him. She is a married woman with a child. Because of this, he is unable to just approach her in any way he chooses. He must "unexpectedly" run into her. His new friend Nick is just the help he needs. When discussing their plan, Nick says, "I'm going to call up Daisy to-morrow and invite her over here to tea" (82). The ex-couple meets, and their love has been sparked once again. Daisy plans to leave her husband for Gatsby. But then a problem comes up. Tom tells Daisy and a couple others about who Gatsby really is. If that wasn't enough to get her away from Gatsby, she accidentally kills her husbands mistress. This occurs while she is with Gatsby driving his car. So of course, Gatsby is thought to have killed Myrtle. Myrtle's husband heard of this and murdered Gatsby.

Another example of a failed American Dream is Nick Carraway. Nick moved to New York to be a successful bondsman. Nick has little money and he thought this was the answer to becoming a rich man. He lives in a small cottage right next door to Mr. Jay Gatsby. This causes Nick to get caught up into a bit of drama, so he is unable to achieve his dream. Gatsby is all about partying hard with his friends and getting the woman he loves. Nick begins to fall into the party seen a little bit, but this isn't really what affected his dream. He happens to be a relative of Daisy, and he is the one who Gatsby is depending on. Nick is a nice guy, so he is willing to help Gatsby as much as he can. After talking with Gatsby, Nick says, "I called up Daisy from the office next moring, and invitered her to come to tea" (83). He even told her not to bring her husband Tom. As the relationship develops with Gatsby and Daisy, so does the drama. Daisy's husband begins to catch on and is not happy at all. He eventually ruins the relationship with his wife and Gatsby. Tom even has a part in Gatsby's murder. He didn't kill him himself, but he gave Wilson the idea in a way. Nick was stuck putting together Gatsby's funeral and trying to figure out what is going on with the people who "care" about Gatsby. He no longer had any chance to achieve his American Dream.

Abortion

No matter what anyone says, abortion is murder. A living, growing being is developing in the womb. When a baby is aborted, it is being killed. People in America are given the right to say what they want. Freedom of speech allows everyone to have a chance to fight for what they want or think is right. Now just because an innocent baby inside the womb can’t talk, doesn’t mean their life should be taken away. The average abortion method used to abort babies that are 12 weeks old is surgical abortion. The baby is surgically killed while he or she is growing inside the womb of the mother. Two methods used to abort babies that are 20 weeks old include dilation and evacuation (D&E) and saline abortion. These two methods are absolutely disgusting and immoral. With dilation and evacuation, a sharp tool is used to tear the baby's body apart and later removed from the womb. Saline abortion involves salt water being injected into the mother. The salt water travels to the womb, into the baby's lungs, and all over its body. This poisonous substance kills the baby, but this doesn't happen instantly. It may take up to 24 hours. During this time, the baby is suffering and feeling extreme pain from the toxic solution. Burns cover the baby's entire body.  Once a baby is 20 weeks old, it has hair, working vocal cords, can hold onto objects with its hands and feet, and suck their thumb. Cleary this is a growing human being. Not many people would murder their 6 year old child because they don't want it anymore. It is the same thing. A woman may not want to give up 9 months of her life carrying a baby, but killing it should not be an option. “Taking 9 months out of a woman’s life does not remotely compare to the elimination of 80 years of someone else.”

If a child is unwanted, this does not mean that they need to be aborted. Hundreds and even thousands of couples are looking to adopt a baby to love and care for. Not everyone has the ability to become pregnant, and this is a crushing reality. Give these couples the chance they would die for. Let them be a mother or a father. Statistics show that for every newborn baby that is adopted, their are still 30-40 couples waiting for a little bundle of joy. There are many different types of adoption plans that are available. The two most popular adoption plans are confidential (closed) adoption and open adoption. With a confidential adoption, the birth parents do not have any contact with the baby. Once the child becomes 18, they can meet their birth parents with the help of Mutual Consent Adoption Registries. The birth parent or parents must agree to this in order for it to work out well. An open adoption is completely different. The birth parents and the adoptive parents share information about the child frequently. The birth parents are often sent pictures and some are even allowed to visit their child. They are not the child's "parents", but they can keep a very close relationship with their child and the adoptive parents. Another method is a semi-open adoption. With this type of adoption, the birth parent or parents are able to choose the couple or individual that is going to be adopting their baby. The birth parents are able to see pictures for the first year, but they are not given any information that could give away the privacy of the adoptive family. Any of the three methods would be perfect for a child whose parents are unable to take proper care of them. If enough thought is put into it, adoption can be seen as saving and innocent baby's life.

There are many different ways a woman can prevent getting pregnant when they are not ready for it. A countless number of birth control are available for women. The different methods of birth control allow the women to choose what is best for their life style. Four popular methods involve barrier methods, hormonal methods, implantable devices, and permanent birth control methods. A couple examples of barrier methods include a contraceptive sponge and a male condom. These two devices prevent the sperm from entering the female and fertilizing the egg. Hormonal methods include oral contraceptives, injections, the patch, or a vaginal ring. Implantable rods and intrauterine devices are examples of implantable devices. All these forms of pregnancy prevention are quite accurate. If a person plans on never becoming pregnant or doesn't want another child, they can recieve surgical sterilization. This procedure guarantees that you will not be able to have a child for the rest of your life. The best way to prevent an unplanned pregnancy is to not take place in sexual intercourse. Many people say that it isn't worth waiting. But waiting is better than becoming pregnant and taking the life of an innocent baby.

Edna Pontillier - The Awakening

Edna Pontillier is quite the character. She has grown and changed throughout this novel tremendously. At the beginning of the novel, she seemed like an obedient wife. A wife shouldn't be considered obedient, but many women were expected of this many years ago. Edna would always do what her husband requested of her, even if it didn't make her happy. Leonce Pontillier got home late one night, woke her up, and basically forced her to check on her children for no reason. The only reason he truly had was so he could control Edna. As the story progresses, Edna becomes a little more independent. She wouldn't give in to all of Leonce's commands. Edna was up late one night and refused to go inside when Leonce asked. He said to her, "This is more than folly." No matter what he said, she always replied with, "No" or "I mean to stay out here" (31). This began to upset Leonce, but Edna was not going to budge until she wanted to. She was proving a point. Then it began to get pretty crazy towards the end of the novel. Edna had no intentions of listening to Leonce about anything and didn't care about what he thought. She was the complete opposite of what she was supposed to be. Edna was talking to a friend one day and said, "Mademoiselle, I am going to move away from my house on Esplanade Street" (79). She didn't want to be with her husband anymore. She wanted someone else. Edna was in love with Robert. So she got her things ready and moved away from her family. Edna turned into a woman with few morals and complete independence. Edna acts and is described as a man in some ways. Chopin said, "She drank the liquor from the glass as a man would have done" (79). She does exactly what she wants to do, and when she wants to do it. 

If I was living in the shoes of Edna, I would most definitely not act this way. Her and her husband have an awful relationship, but that doesn't mean she can completely disrespect him and what he has done for her. She has not only decided to leave him, but she has had an affair with Alcee Arobin and is in love with Robert. If I was her, I would discuss how I was feeling with my husband. Leonce is the type to disagree and not allow it because he is afraid of what people think. But he still deserved more of a warning. If my husband refused to go along with it, then I would leave him. But I would not be having an affair with a man until my relationship with my husband was completely over. She also completly her own children. This is another reason why she should not just up and leave. They have servants taking care of their children, but kids still need the love and support from their parents. These boys will never get that because both of their parents are selfish. Leonce only cares about money, and Edna only cares about living life with no care. I definitley would not have left my children like she did. 

Comparisons of Longfellow and Whitman

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine on February 27, 1807. He was an influential American poet. Many thought that he was pretty good at it, too. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. said that he was the best American poet. Longfellow attended the Portland Academy from 1813 up until 1821. His first poem was publised by the Portland Gazette in 1820. Longfellow graduated from Bowdoin college as fourth in his class in 1825. In 1836, he began to travel to many different countries in Europe. This impacted his life and the topics he chose to write about. He married Mary Storer Potter in 1831. He worked at Bowdoin College with many different roles. A tragedy hit when his wife died during childbirth. He went back to Europe and ended up meeting his second wife, Frances Elizabeth Appleton. Longfellow and his wife returned to America in 1836. He was offered a job at Harvard and accepted. Many people thought that he was very good at what he did. He published his Poems for Slavery in 1842. Longfellow later resigned from this position in 1854. He did this so he could spend more time writing his poetry. In 1860, he worte Paul Rever's Ride. The following year, 1861, his wife died because her dress caught on fire as she was trying to melt sealing wax. Longfellow traveled to Europe for the last time in 1868. He was even known by celebrities. He was honored with L.L.D. by Cambridge and D.C.L. by Oxford. He died in 1882.

Walt Whitman was born in Long Island, New York on May 31, 1819. He began to work as a printer at the age of 12 in New Your City. But tragedy struck and it later burned down. He became a teacher at the age of 17! That is the age of a lot of high school students in our school right now. He was even younger than some of us here. He taught until he became a journalist in 1841. Whitman became the editor of the New Orleans Crescent in 1848. He released his first edition of Leaves of Grass in 1855. Once the Civil War came around, he would go around and share his poetry with the wounded soldiers. His own brother was wounded in December of 1862. Whitman actually ended up working in the hospital for 11 years. He got fired from his postion as clerk because the Secretary of the Interior, James Harlan, was offended by his writing of Leaves of Grass. He later visited his dying mother. While he was there, he had a stroke and had to stay there. He lived with his brother until another edition of Leaves of Grass came out. That allowed him to afford a home of his own. He died on March 26, 1892.

Longfellow came out with many different poems. The first poem written by him was The Battle of Lovell's Pond. But his first two major poems were Voices of the Night and Ballads and Other Poems. He also wrote poems like Paul Revere's Ride, Evangaline, and The Song if Hiawatha. These were all historical poems that showed Americans how America actually came to be. They can explain some background information and events that took place. This allowed him to make a big impact on the popular culture of America.

Walt Whitman's main contributions to his literature were his many editions of Leaves of Grass. His writing was "indecent" in the eyes of the public. They thought it was too sexual and inappropriate for society. He had many critics because of his publication. Although, some really did enjoy it. Emerson actually loved it! Even with this, his publication did not do too well. The fourth editions of Leaves of Grass had many revisions based upon the Civil War and racial issues in America. Later he finally completed his seventh edition. This was the final revision. It sold over 6,000 copies. It was finally a success. He completed what he wanted to complete. This showed people that you need to always push forward with your dreams ignore the critics in your life.

I personally don't see many similarities between these two poets other than a few minor ones. First of all, they are both poets. They are dedicated to their work and love it. The two men were also teachers at certain points of their lives. They each had to deal with different tragedies throughout their life. Longfellow dealt with the loss of two wives, and Whitman dealt with a dying mother. These are hard things to go through. Now, I definitely see many differenced between the two men. Longfellow had married two women in his lifetime, and Whitman hadn't even been known to have a love affair. Which is very ironic considering the fact that he wrote about sexual things. Longfellow had a lot of success with his poetry. He even set a record at the time for making $3,000 from publicatin. Whitman had no such luck. He struggled to get by. Much of his poetry was rejected by society. The two men also wrote about different things. Longfellow was all about the culture of America. He would write about events that happened to give a mythological side to our culture. Whitman wrote about "unethical" and "morally wrong" subjects. This definitely caused some trouble for him.