The Necessity Of Parade Analysis

This I believe…This I believe…This I believe…This I believe. I just finished reading four essays about the beliefs of others from around the world. Each belief unique; each belief eye opening. Parades, rice, jewelry boxes and bus rides all turned into life lessons. I found myself nodding, laughing and in awe of how a person could take one simple thing and make it so much more. Each of theses essays brought me back to what Ballenger said, “the personal essayist must always find some way to hitch the particulars of his or her experience to something larger that the reader might share” (pg 73 of The Curious Writer). And that they did. Daniel’s essay “The Necessity of Parades,” takes a goofy St. Patrick’s Day Parade and compares it to every day life in a light-hearted and somewhat sarcastic tone. He starts his metaphor off by explaining that “most paraders look intentionally silly. Everyone smiling,” most readers would think that he says this to say that people take life too seriously but he squashes that assumption by saying; “indeed, parades are about taking your life very seriously.” He elaborates on the idea that these paraders are more of a marching army on life that “walk right down the middle of the street telling everyone they haven’t given up, and they’re not going to.” The …show more content…
In Alexandra’s case her box represents the future, past and present; bringing confidence and happiness. She says her Jewelry box is her “memoir, my now and my world to come.” As she goes into detail of different items her jewelry box holds I cant help but look down at my wrist and smile at the memories my own bracelet brings to me. When Alexandra gives specific examples of pieces of jewelry that represent past, present and future it helps the reader connect with her idea and even take into account their own special material items that may hold similar