Analysis Of Jose Torres 'Essay' A View From The Bridge

Learning is important for countless reasons, the most important reason being that it molds a person into who he or she is. What people choose to learn, and also what they choose not to, create the core of their opinions as individuals. Though people do not admit it or openly declare it, it is fair to say almost everyone is self centered. Because of this, and the fact that learning dramatically affects a person, learning is not only thrilling, but also expressive. Furthermore, since learning is expressive, its meaning varies from person to person, therefore making each person’s experiences with learning unique and life changing.
One example can be found in Jose Torres’ essay, “A Letter to a Child Like Me”, in which the author’s objective in

writing the letter is to convince and inspire someone about how magnificent and wonderful school is, but also its darker side. In this essay, the author tells an imaginary boy, Pedrito, about how important it is to go to school. He uses his own life as an example, talking about how he became a boxing champion only because of his beliefs and what he had been taught (161). Torres was able to become the successful person he was because of what he had learnt and believed in. This point reveals how learning reflects one’s ideology and, ultimately, how he or she perceives life. Moreover, this in turn explains exactly why learning is unique, because each and every person’s view of life is different. Additionally, even though many people have overlapping values, each person views their values differently than others. Because of what Torres had experienced, he was able to become a proud, caring, and strong person.
A person is shaped through what they learn, and also through what they do not. In Chang-rae Lee’s essay, “Mute in an English-Only World”, the author’s mom had never had the time to learn English. When she did have the time, however, she waived it off. To summarize, Lee’s mom had been negligent in relation with studying English. Due of this, and the fact that she could only speak “the most basic English”, she had always felt oppressed, and lived with regrets, because she was not able to speak English well enough to communicate with others. This reveals a lot about why refusing to learn something can be punishing. Her refusal to seriously practice speaking English does, however, reveal that Lee’s mother remains loyal to her Korean tradition. In comparison, Lee had openly taken in the English language. As a result, he had been able to become an English writer What a person learns is a major factor in determining what he or she grows up to become, and Lee is a perfect example of this (156).
In Cherokee Paul McDonald’s essay “A View From the Bridge”, the narrator of the story has a life changing encounter with a blind kid.

He teaches the kid what to do in order to successfully reel in a large, beautiful fish. Ironically, the narrator is the one who learns from the kid in the end. At the beginning of the story, everything is described negatively, from the description of the kid as a “lumpy little guy with baggy shorts” to his “stupid-looking ’50s-style wrap-around sunglasses” and “beat-up rod”(152). Through his encounter with the boy, the narrator is able to see life in a different way, most notable from how he describes the caught tarpon as heavy, silvery white, and how it also has beautiful red fins (154). Through the course of the story, the narrator’s pessimistic attitude changes to an optimistic one, and this change reveals how inspiring this exchange between two strangers is. This story as a whole reveals that learning also revolves around interactions between other people, not only between people and their natural surroundings and

circumstances.
Learning does not just shape or form a person’s life, but it is also a form of survival.

A user on www.Debate.Org says that “[Learning is] needed in order to function and survive in the world.” Another user on the same debate concurs, saying that “A person who stops learning stops growing and stops becoming a better and more productive person.“ This is important because it reveals the significance in learning as a whole. There are no arguments against why learning is important to date, and this reveals a lot in itself because it shows how this is a topic that cannot be argued. Without learning from their mistakes, a person continues to repeat their mistakes, making life painful. This reveals how important learning is to the meaning of life

itself.
Learning has a plethora of benefits, mainly mental and psychological benefits, such as confidence in oneself and practical knowledge. Because of this, a person should be consistently learning at an early age, but also at an older age. Carol Bogash, author of the article “The Importance of Learning throughout Our Lives”, says that “the benefits of lifelong learning not only enhance the lives of those partaking in these experiences, but also the institutions and communities providing the services.” In other words, learning influences not only a person learning something, but also to the teacher teaching that person. All in all, learning is beneficial to everyone, and an education is important in order to continue learning.
I had been a very mischievous little boy when I was young, getting into trouble everywhere. My parents had acknowledged that, and even though I was who I was, they successfully taught me how to respect everyone that was older than me, no matter who it was. When I was only three years old, my mother had died of cancer. Already, from that point on, I had understood what it meant to lose a loved one. This experience is important to me because it had taught me how to value life above everything else. I believe that children should be taught the most important things from an early age in order to fully grasp an idea or concept. A person has the most open mind when they are young, and this is the reason why learning is so important at a young age.