life is so beautiful essay

Student Essays

5 Essays on Life is Beautiful

Life is really wonderful. Its whole new experience of wonder, happiness, sorrow, fear, love and anxiety. Life is beautiful. There is no other way to say it. It’s amazing, wonderful, and miraculous. Each day is a gift, and we should take advantage of every moment. There are so many things to enjoy in life: the sun, the moon, the stars, nature, loved ones, friends, music…the list goes on and on. We should savor every experience, good or bad, because it all makes us who we are.

>>>> Read Also: ” Paragraph on My Hobby Dancing ”

We must enjoy the beauty of life being grateful, dedicated, and humble. We should be grateful for the good moments and learn from the bad ones. Dedicate ourselves to living each day to the fullest and not take anything for granted. Be humble and never think we are better than anyone else because we are not. We are all equal in the eyes of life, and it is up to us to make the most of it.

Life is precious, and we should never take it for granted. We should embrace every moment, and be grateful for the gift of life. Life is beautiful, and it’s worth living to the fullest. Thank you for reading.

Life is Beautiful Essay Summary:

Life is beautiful, a phrase that we often hear and use to describe our experience here on earth. But what does it really mean? Is life truly beautiful or are we just saying it to make ourselves feel better?

In this essay, we will delve into the concept of beauty in life and explore different perspectives on what makes life truly beautiful.

For some, beauty in life means having everything they desire – wealth, success, fame. But is material possessions and achievements really what makes life beautiful? Or is it something deeper, more meaningful?

Others find beauty in the simple things – a warm cup of tea on a rainy day, the laughter of loved ones, a peaceful walk in nature. These moments may seem ordinary but can bring immense joy and fulfillment.

Beauty in life can also be found in overcoming struggles and challenges, in the lessons we learn along the way. It is not about having a perfect life, but rather embracing the imperfections and finding beauty in them.

Ultimately, what makes life truly beautiful is subjective and unique to each individual. It is about finding meaning and purpose, cherishing moments and connections, and constantly growing and evolving.

So let us appreciate the beauty in life, no matter how challenging or mundane it may seem at times. For in the end, life is a precious gift that should be cherished and celebrated every day. Let us make every moment count and create our own beautiful story. So, never give up on hope.

Continue to strive for happiness, and always remember that life is truly beautiful. So, go out and create your own unique beauty in this world. And always remember, no matter what happens, life is a journey worth living and cherishing. Keep pushing forward and embracing the beauty that surrounds you every day.

After all, life is too short to not appreciate its true beauty. Let us make the most of it and make it a beautiful adventure. No matter what challenges or struggles we may face, let us always remember that life is indeed beautiful. It is up to us to see the beauty in every moment and create our own happiness.

In conclusion, life may not always be easy or perfect, but it is undeniably beautiful. Whether through the simple pleasures, overcoming hardships, or finding our own unique purpose, there is beauty all around us.

Let us choose to see it and make the most of this beautiful journey called life. So, live life to the fullest and always remember that no matter what happens, life is truly beautiful. So, let’s embrace its beauty and make every moment count.

What is Life For You Essay:

Life is a journey that we all embark on from the moment we are born. It is a rollercoaster ride filled with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, challenges and opportunities. But what is life for you? This question may seem simple, but it has been a topic of contemplation for centuries.

For some, life is about achieving success and reaching new heights. For others, it is about finding happiness and contentment in the little things. There are those who believe that life is a test of faith and spirituality, while others view it as an opportunity to make a difference in the world.

Ultimately, life means different things to different people. It is a subjective experience shaped by our individual beliefs, values, and experiences. Some may see it as a gift, while others may view it as a burden. But regardless of our perspectives, one thing is certain – life is precious and should be cherished.

In the end, what truly matters is how we choose to live our lives. Whether we strive for success or happiness, whether we prioritize faith or making an impact, our actions and choices define the purpose of our existence. So, what is life for you? The answer to that question lies within each and every one of us. It is up to us to make the most out of this journey and create a meaningful and fulfilling life for ourselves.

We may not always know the exact purpose or meaning of life, but as long as we keep striving towards personal growth and fulfillment, we can find our own unique answer to this age-old question. So, let us make the most out of this beautiful and unpredictable journey called life. Let us live with purpose, passion, and gratitude, and make each moment count.

Remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. Keep exploring, keep learning, and keep living – after all, that’s what life is for. So, let us make the most out of this beautiful and unpredictable journey called life.

Let us live with purpose, passion, and gratitude, and make each moment count. Remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. Keep exploring, keep learning, and keep living – after all, that’s what life is for.

Life is Beautiful Explained:

Life is a beautiful journey filled with ups and downs, challenges and triumphs. It’s a rollercoaster ride with unexpected twists and turns. Every day brings something new and exciting, whether it’s a small moment of joy or a major milestone.

But what makes life truly beautiful? Is it the material possessions we acquire, the relationships we form, or the experiences we have? While these things can bring us happiness, they don’t solely define the beauty of life.

One of the key aspects of a beautiful life is gratitude. Being grateful for what we have and living in the present moment can help us appreciate the simple things in life that often go unnoticed. It also allows us to find joy and contentment in our everyday lives.

Another factor that contributes to a beautiful life is connection. Building meaningful relationships and connecting with others on a deeper level can bring us a sense of belonging and purpose. It’s through these connections that we learn and grow, shaping who we are.

Lastly, finding our passion and pursuing it can add immense beauty to our lives. Whether it’s a hobby, career or cause, having something that ignites our soul and gives us purpose can bring a sense of fulfillment and joy.

In conclusion, life is beautiful when we open our hearts to gratitude, connection, and passion. It’s not about the destination but rather the journey itself. Embrace all that life has to offer, both the good and the bad, for it’s these experiences that make life truly beautiful. So let’s cherish each moment, live with purpose, and spread love and kindness wherever we go.

What is the Message of Life is Beautiful:

Message of Life is Beautiful is a concept that focuses on finding the positive and beautiful aspects of life, even during difficult times. It encourages individuals to embrace optimism and hope, to appreciate the little things in life, and to find joy in everyday moments.

The message behind Life is Beautiful is one of resilience, perseverance, and determination. It reminds us that even in the face of adversity, there is always something to be grateful for and something worth fighting for. It teaches us to not let our struggles define us, but rather to use them as opportunities for growth and strength.

Moreover, Life is Beautiful also emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment and making the most out of each day. It encourages individuals to cherish their relationships, pursue their passions, and make meaningful memories.

The concept of Life is Beautiful can be seen throughout history, from ancient philosophies to modern-day movements. It serves as a reminder that the pursuit of happiness is not about achieving perfection or material possessions, but rather finding contentment and joy in the journey itself.

Overall, the message of Life is Beautiful is one of hope, gratitude, and living life to the fullest. It reminds us that despite the challenges and obstacles we may face, there is always beauty and goodness to be found in the world around us.

So let us take this message to heart and spread positivity, kindness, and appreciation for all the little joys in life. Life is truly beautiful, if only we choose to see it that way.

>>> >>> Related Post: “ Essay on Hostel Life “

Let’s make every day count and live with purpose and gratitude. So, let’s all embrace the message of Life is Beautiful and make the most out of this precious gift called life. The possibilities are endless if we choose to see the beauty in it all.

“Life Is Beautiful”: A Lesson in the Perception of Life Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

Life is Beautiful is a 1997 film that focuses on the challenges of the Holocaust caused by the Nazi movement on the Jews. Achieving the purpose of the film is done in a soft manner, with the film being dominated by the positive element of humor (Benigni, p. 22). Based on a traditional setting, the human elements that make life beautiful, as the title portrays, are efficient in making the movie captivating to its modern audience. The conflicting aspect of Nazism against one’s love for the family facilitates the embracement of desperate measures to cater to the difficult situation that presents to Guido Orefice (Jaza, p. 54). This movie is relevant towards the realization that the beauty with which life should be perceived can act as an important weapon against the enemy of challenge.

The movie starts with the identification of the character who takes the main role in the film, Guido Orefice. This individual plans on setting up his own book store but due to financial incapability has to start off working in his uncle’s hotel. The director at this point leads the audience to the identification of the character’s traits, including a good sense of humor and allure. These traits earned him a good reputation among the people he lives and relates with and are critical in earning him the love of his life. It is from this point that the audience is introduced to the second major character, Dora, a beautiful schoolteacher coming from a rich family. Guido manages to win the love of Dora, and it is from this point that the theme of conflict emerges.

The mother to Dora needs her daughter to be married off to a wealthy civil servant, and retain her family’s reputation. The man she is supposed to marry to is however arrogant and lacks the tenderness that Dora deserves (Hughes). The theme of conflict is framed in such a way that the positive traits of Guido conflict and win over antagonism, as Guido steals Dora during her engagement party with her fiancé. Events that follow are characterized by a perfect combination of romance and humor, leading to a near-perfect relationship that yields in the marriage of Guido and Dora. This section is relevant in yielding the realization that happiness, which beautifies life, is much more important than riches coupled with arrogance.

The second section of the movie starts with birth before the movie’s climax is eventually incorporated into the storyline. The birth of a son, Giosué into the lives of the couple is marked with joy and appreciation, while simultaneously; the birth of violence takes a toll on the lives of the Jews in Italy. It is at this point that the relevance of ethnicity in the film is realized. Most importantly, the fact that Guido and his uncle are Jews in a society where they are discriminated against by the Nazis yields the relevance of ethnicity in the film (Benigni, p. 54). It turns out that these individuals, together with Giosué and in the absence of Dora are captured to be taken to a death camp. For the love of her family, Dora offers to be carried with her husband, but she is dropped by the way. It takes Guido’s efforts to convince Giosué that he had everything under control. The strategy that he uses yields happiness to Giosué who is convinced that the turn of events in the process is a game and that his father would win. From this aspect, we learn to appreciate happiness in Giosué’s life as Guido’s weapon to win comfort.

Life in the concentration camp comprises the better part of the remaining part of the film. Guido continually uses his compelling power to prevent his son from crying, convincing him that his game required him to stay calm in the hiding place. Guido keeps his son with the hope that the two would eventually win a live tank only if they followed the strategies he suggested. While this is a fundamental strategy in the protection of Giosué, it is framed in such a way that it lessens the intensity of the challenges that faced the individuals that faces Guido and his son in the camp (Hughes). This situation derives the sympathy of the audience considering the situation that was awaiting Guido. It follows that Guido is murdered by German soldiers who had managed to hide his son’s safety. The whole truth is only revealed to Giosué much later in life. He realizes that his father engaged all effort possible in making life beautiful for him, even at the darkest point of life, hence protecting him from the death that threatened his childhood in the hands of the Nazis.

The movie summarizes the storyline with a recapitulation of the whole chronology of the death. The physical death of Guido impacts negatively on his family which would need a treat of humor to stay happy. Having left a fiancé that did not meet her expectations, Dora needed Dora throughout her life. However, the physical death of Dora also marks the end of suffering for his immediate family members who can no longer be discriminated against for ethnicity. The memories of the individual would also be significant in making the characters appreciate that Guido encountered a heroic death, through demonstrating selflessness to die for the security of his family.

The battle between good and evil is fundamental in the entire storyline. The film makes a critical analysis of human characteristics and the influence that these characteristics have on the life of the characters. For instance, the character of ruthlessness demonstrated by the Nazis against the Jews is a limiting factor towards the achievement of a good life (Benigni, p. 107). It is their animosity that leads to the death of Guido, an innocent individual who does no wrong but makes people’s lives better. In a similar way, the discrimination against the Jews, reinforced by the fact that Guido was not financially well up hindered him from being the preferred choice of Dora’s mother. With this aspect in consideration, it is possible to realize that the challenges of life required a strong personality to withstand the pressures and still bring about happiness. This forms the basis of appreciating the beauty of life, as is the core purpose of this movie.

Conversely, the conflicting attributes of Guido were sufficient in outdoing the challenges that were strongly presented in the film for a good livelihood to be attained. The character of Guido represents the opposite extreme from that of the Nazis and the mother to Dora. The fact that he appreciates the simplicity of life, and defies the intensity with which challenges present to him is fundamental in eliminating boundaries that would otherwise impact his family. Protecting his son from reality is the greatest gift he gives to his family, and doing it with the beauty only creates a good life for his son even after his death. Even with the realization that his father had to engage lies to save his life, Giosué only learns to embrace the character of his father, and hope is brought about by the fact that the young Giosué would yield the goodness of his father throughout his life.

The victory of good against evil is also evident immediately after the death of Guido, when a live tank appears, just as Guido had promised his son (Hughes). However, this is not a result of the victory in Guido’s game, but assistance to the suppressed Jews by the American government. The fact that Giosué and Guido’s uncle and a couple of Jew survivors would enjoy the rest of their lives in freedom is sufficient in signifying the victory of goodness against evil. It, therefore, becomes possible for the beauty of life to act as an efficient tool to fight the challenges that threateningly hinder good livelihood.

The realization that the beauty with which life should be perceived can act as an important weapon against the enemy of the challenge is fundamentally evident throughout the story. The life of the main character, Guido, is a celebration, as he takes the most fundamental role in the better part of the movie, entertaining while protecting his family. Even after his death, his son would always have the fact that his father was a hero to him and his entire family to appreciate. The beauty of life was by itself a sufficient tool in outdoing all challenges that emerge in the movie.

Benigni, Roberto. Life is beautiful. Düsseldorf: Faber and Faber, 1998
Jaza, Mylia. Life Is Beautiful: La Vita E Bella . iUniverse, 2003
Hughes, Anthony. Internet Movie Database. 1998.
"Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
A Biological Catastrophe: "Contagion" (2011)
Injury From the Hands of Caregivers
Finger Length Ratio
Pepperdine University's Mission and Community of Faith
How Influential is Film
Native American Identity in ‘Smoke Signals’
“Smoke Signals” Movie and "This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" by Sherman Alexie
Levinson's “Rain Man”: Reaction to a Movie From a Mental Health Perspective
"The End of Poverty" by Phillipe Diaz
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, January 14). “Life Is Beautiful”: A Lesson in the Perception of Life. https://ivypanda.com/essays/life-is-beautiful-a-lesson-in-the-perception-of-life/

"“Life Is Beautiful”: A Lesson in the Perception of Life." IvyPanda , 14 Jan. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/life-is-beautiful-a-lesson-in-the-perception-of-life/.

IvyPanda . (2022) '“Life Is Beautiful”: A Lesson in the Perception of Life'. 14 January.

IvyPanda . 2022. "“Life Is Beautiful”: A Lesson in the Perception of Life." January 14, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/life-is-beautiful-a-lesson-in-the-perception-of-life/.

1. IvyPanda . "“Life Is Beautiful”: A Lesson in the Perception of Life." January 14, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/life-is-beautiful-a-lesson-in-the-perception-of-life/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "“Life Is Beautiful”: A Lesson in the Perception of Life." January 14, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/life-is-beautiful-a-lesson-in-the-perception-of-life/.

Essay On Life is Beautiful For Students

Life is beautiful, but it’s also full of struggle and pain. How do we deal with that? In this essay I discuss the concept of life and how it can be both beautiful and ugly at the same time.

Table of Contents

Life is Beautiful Essay For Students

We all experience beauty in different ways. For some, it may be the beauty of the natural world. For others, it may be the beauty of art or architecture. For still others, it may be the beauty of a loved one. But no matter what form it takes, beauty is always something to be appreciated.

And that’s why we at Life is Beautiful believe that life is beautiful. Every moment should be lived to its fullest and embraced for what it is – a chance to experience happiness and joy. So let go of anything that’s holding you back and live life to the fullest!

Why Life is Beautiful?

There’s something about life that is just so beautiful. Whether it’s the way a flower unfolds its petals in the sunlight, or the smile on a child’s face, there’s something magical about it all. And there’s no better place to see this beauty than right here in nature .

1. Happiness

If you’re looking for a positive outlook on life, look no further than the blog section of Life is Beautiful. Here, you’ll find inspiring stories and photos that will help brighten your day. Whether you’re feeling down about your current situation or just need a pick-me-up, these blogs will definitely put a smile on your face. So go ahead and take a deep breath – life is beautiful, after all!

2. Contradictions

Life can be beautiful and perfect, or it can be harsh and terrible. It all depends on your perspective. We all have our own set of beliefs and opinions, which can make our lives seem either great or terrible. But as long as we remember that life is always changing, and that nothing is permanent, we can enjoy the beauty in both the good and bad times.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this article on the life-changing effects of practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness has been shown to be one of the most important pillars of happiness and well-being, and as we’ve seen in this article, it can also be a very simple practice that anyone can embrace. Whether you’re looking to reduce stress levels or simply find a way to live more fully in the present moment, mindfulness is an invaluable tool. Keep up the good work, and remember: life is beautiful.

Hello! Welcome to my Blog StudyParagraphs.co. My name is Angelina. I am a college professor. I love reading writing for kids students. This blog is full with valuable knowledge for all class students. Thank you for reading my articles.

"Life is Beautiful": Finding Beauty Amidst Adversity

Categories: Adversity Film Analysis

About this sample

Words: 655 |

Published: Sep 5, 2023

Words: 655 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Themes and genre, conveying the message, impact and message, conclusion: embracing the beauty of life.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Verified writer

Expert in: Life Entertainment

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

4 pages / 1612 words

2 pages / 843 words

1 pages / 1270 words

2 pages / 982 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Film Analysis

Crafton, D. (1999). The talkies: American cinema's transition to sound, 1926-1931. University of California Press.Koszarski, R. (2009). An evening's entertainment: The age of the silent feature picture, 1915-1928. University of [...]

Watching a good movie is one of my favorite pastimes. After a long day of school or work there is on other sensations such as curling up on the couch and watching a great movie. Epic stories throughout our history our best [...]

Silver Linings Playbook is a 2012 American romantic-comedy-drama film written and directed by David O.Russell. The film was based on Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel The Silver Linings Playbook. It stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer [...]

Inside out is a film that revolves around Riley and takes us on an emotional journey she experiences throughout the entire film. There are three main psychological principles that are very evident to me in the reading as well as [...]

In China, the name Hua Mulan (???) has been connected with the term ‘heroine’ for hundreds of years. Hua Mulan has become a symbol of heroic behavior. Her character has inspired many Chinese women to defy traditional gender [...]

The belief that “men and women should have equal rights and opportunities is pure feminist. This movement is based on the desire to become a better version, is more as a fight for freedom and to belong somewhere. A [...]

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

Instructions Followed To The Letter
Deadlines Met At Every Stage
Unique And Plagiarism Free

Speech on Life Is Beautiful

Life is a beautiful journey, filled with unending surprises and lessons. Every day, you encounter new experiences, each adding a unique hue to your existence.

Life’s beauty doesn’t just lie in joyous moments, but also in the challenging ones. They shape you, making your life’s painting even more vibrant.

1-minute Speech on Life Is Beautiful

Good day, everyone! When we say “Life is Beautiful”, what does it mean? It means to find joy in the small things, to feel hope in tough times, and to believe in the power of dreams.

Life is beautiful because it’s full of surprises. Imagine if everything was predictable, wouldn’t it be boring? It’s the unexpected moments that add excitement to our lives. It’s like opening a surprise gift every day!

Life is beautiful because it’s full of love. Love is not just about hearts and roses. It’s about caring for each other, helping each other, and sharing happiness and pain together. It’s the warmth of love that makes life beautiful.

Life is beautiful because it’s full of dreams. Dreams give us a reason to wake up every morning, a reason to try something new, and a reason to keep going. It’s the pursuit of dreams that makes life interesting and beautiful.

In conclusion, life is a beautiful journey. It’s a journey of colors, surprises, love, and dreams. It’s not always easy, but it’s always beautiful. So let’s celebrate this beautiful journey and remember, no matter how tough the path is, always keep believing that life is beautiful!

Also check:

2-minute Speech on Life Is Beautiful

Good day everyone! I am here to talk about a simple, yet profound idea – Life is beautiful. I truly believe that if we stop for a moment, look around us and breathe in the world, we will see how wonderful life really is.

Let’s begin by thinking about nature. Picture a sunrise, the way the sky changes colors from dark to light, the warmth of the sun touching your skin, and the peaceful sound of birds singing. Isn’t that beautiful? Or imagine the sight of an open field, filled with flowers of every color, swaying gently in the breeze. These are the simple things around us that show us the beauty of life.

Finally, think about love and kindness. Imagine a world where everyone helps each other, where everyone shares and cares. Isn’t that a beautiful thought? And the best part is, you can help make that world a reality. By being kind to others, by showing love and compassion in all that you do, you can make life beautiful not just for yourself, but for others as well.

In conclusion, life is beautiful in so many ways – through the natural world around us, the people who love us, the experiences that help us grow, and the love and kindness we can spread. So, let’s celebrate the beauty of life. Let’s appreciate the simple joys. Let’s cherish the love we receive and give love in return. Let’s be grateful for each day and make the most of it. Because life, my friends, is truly beautiful. Thank you!

Essay on Life for Students and Children

500+ words essay on life.

First of all, Life refers to an aspect of existence. This aspect processes acts, evaluates, and evolves through growth. Life is what distinguishes humans from inorganic matter. Some individuals certainly enjoy free will in Life. Others like slaves and prisoners don’t have that privilege. However, Life isn’t just about living independently in society. It is certainly much more than that. Hence, quality of Life carries huge importance. Above all, the ultimate purpose should be to live a meaningful life. A meaningful life is one which allows us to connect with our deeper self.

Why is Life Important?

One important aspect of Life is that it keeps going forward. This means nothing is permanent. Hence, there should be a reason to stay in dejection. A happy occasion will come to pass, just like a sad one. Above all, one must be optimistic no matter how bad things get. This is because nothing will stay forever. Every situation, occasion, and event shall pass. This is certainly a beauty of Life.

Many people become very sad because of failures . However, these people certainly fail to see the bright side. The bright side is that there is a reason for every failure. Therefore, every failure teaches us a valuable lesson. This means every failure builds experience. This experience is what improves the skills and efficiency of humans.

Probably a huge number of individuals complain that Life is a pain. Many people believe that the word pain is a synonym for Life. However, it is pain that makes us stronger. Pain is certainly an excellent way of increasing mental resilience. Above all, pain enriches the mind.

The uncertainty of death is what makes life so precious. No one knows the hour of one’s death. This probably is the most important reason to live life to the fullest. Staying in depression or being a workaholic is an utter wastage of Life. One must certainly enjoy the beautiful blessings of Life before death overtakes.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

How to Improve Quality of Life?

Most noteworthy, optimism is the ultimate way of enriching life. Optimism increases job performance, self-confidence, creativity, and skills. An optimistic person certainly can overcome huge hurdles.

Meditation is another useful way of improving Life quality. Meditation probably allows a person to dwell upon his past. This way one can avoid past mistakes. It also gives peace of mind to an individual. Furthermore, meditation reduces stress and tension.

Pursuing a hobby is a perfect way to bring meaning to life. Without a passion or interest, an individual’s life would probably be dull. Following a hobby certainly brings new energy to life. It provides new hope to live and experience Life.

In conclusion, Life is not something that one should take for granted. It’s certainly a shame to see individuals waste away their lives. We should be very thankful for experiencing our lives. Above all, everyone should try to make their life more meaningful.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

Travelling Essay
Picnic Essay
Our Country Essay
My Parents Essay
Essay on Favourite Personality
Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
Essay on Knowledge is Power
Essay on Gurpurab
Essay on My Favourite Season
Essay on Types of Sports

Download the App

Social Justice
Environment
Health & Happiness
Get YES! Emails
Teacher Resources

Give A Gift Subscription
Teaching Sustainability
Teaching Social Justice
Teaching Respect & Empathy
Student Writing Lessons
Visual Learning Lessons
Tough Topics Discussion Guides
About the YES! for Teachers Program
Student Writing Contest

Follow YES! For Teachers

Eight brilliant student essays on what matters most in life.

Read winning essays from our spring 2019 student writing contest.

For the spring 2019 student writing contest, we invited students to read the YES! article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age” by Nancy Hill. Like the author, students interviewed someone significantly older than them about the three things that matter most in life. Students then wrote about what they learned, and about how their interviewees’ answers compare to their own top priorities.

The Winners

From the hundreds of essays written, these eight were chosen as winners. Be sure to read the author’s response to the essay winners and the literary gems that caught our eye. Plus, we share an essay from teacher Charles Sanderson, who also responded to the writing prompt.

Middle School Winner: Rory Leyva

High School Winner: Praethong Klomsum

University Winner: Emily Greenbaum

Powerful Voice Winner: Amanda Schwaben

Powerful Voice Winner: Antonia Mills

Powerful Voice Winner: Isaac Ziemba

Powerful Voice Winner: Lily Hersch

“Tell It Like It Is” Interview Winner: Jonas Buckner

From the Author: Response to Student Winners

Literary Gems

From A Teacher: Charles Sanderson

From the Author: Response to Charles Sanderson

Middle School Winner

Village Home Education Resource Center, Portland, Ore.

The Lessons Of Mortality

“As I’ve aged, things that are more personal to me have become somewhat less important. Perhaps I’ve become less self-centered with the awareness of mortality, how short one person’s life is.” This is how my 72-year-old grandma believes her values have changed over the course of her life. Even though I am only 12 years old, I know my life won’t last forever, and someday I, too, will reflect on my past decisions. We were all born to exist and eventually die, so we have evolved to value things in the context of mortality.

One of the ways I feel most alive is when I play roller derby. I started playing for the Rose City Rollers Juniors two years ago, and this year, I made the Rosebud All-Stars travel team. Roller derby is a fast-paced, full-contact sport. The physicality and intense training make me feel in control of and present in my body.

My roller derby team is like a second family to me. Adolescence is complicated. We understand each other in ways no one else can. I love my friends more than I love almost anything else. My family would have been higher on my list a few years ago, but as I’ve aged it has been important to make my own social connections.

Music led me to roller derby. I started out jam skating at the roller rink. Jam skating is all about feeling the music. It integrates gymnastics, breakdancing, figure skating, and modern dance with R & B and hip hop music. When I was younger, I once lay down in the DJ booth at the roller rink and was lulled to sleep by the drawl of wheels rolling in rhythm and people talking about the things they came there to escape. Sometimes, I go up on the roof of my house at night to listen to music and feel the wind rustle my hair. These unique sensations make me feel safe like nothing else ever has.

My grandma tells me, “Being close with family and friends is the most important thing because I haven’t

always had that.” When my grandma was two years old, her father died. Her mother became depressed and moved around a lot, which made it hard for my grandma to make friends. Once my grandma went to college, she made lots of friends. She met my grandfather, Joaquin Leyva when she was working as a park ranger and he was a surfer. They bought two acres of land on the edge of a redwood forest and had a son and a daughter. My grandma created a stable family that was missing throughout her early life.

My grandma is motivated to maintain good health so she can be there for her family. I can relate because I have to be fit and strong for my team. Since she lost my grandfather to cancer, she realizes how lucky she is to have a functional body and no life-threatening illnesses. My grandma tries to eat well and exercise, but she still struggles with depression. Over time, she has learned that reaching out to others is essential to her emotional wellbeing.

Caring for the earth is also a priority for my grandma I’ve been lucky to learn from my grandma. She’s taught me how to hunt for fossils in the desert and find shells on the beach. Although my grandma grew up with no access to the wilderness, she admired the green open areas of urban cemeteries. In college, she studied geology and hiked in the High Sierras. For years, she’s been an advocate for conserving wildlife habitat and open spaces.

Our priorities may seem different, but it all comes down to basic human needs. We all desire a purpose, strive to be happy, and need to be loved. Like Nancy Hill says in the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” it can be hard to decipher what is important in life. I believe that the constant search for satisfaction and meaning is the only thing everyone has in common. We all want to know what matters, and we walk around this confusing world trying to find it. The lessons I’ve learned from my grandma about forging connections, caring for my body, and getting out in the world inspire me to live my life my way before it’s gone.

Rory Leyva is a seventh-grader from Portland, Oregon. Rory skates for the Rosebuds All-Stars roller derby team. She loves listening to music and hanging out with her friends.

High School Winner

Praethong Klomsum

Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, Calif.

Time Only Moves Forward

Sandra Hernandez gazed at the tiny house while her mother’s gentle hands caressed her shoulders. It wasn’t much, especially for a family of five. This was 1960, she was 17, and her family had just moved to Culver City.

Flash forward to 2019. Sandra sits in a rocking chair, knitting a blanket for her latest grandchild, in the same living room. Sandra remembers working hard to feed her eight children. She took many different jobs before settling behind the cash register at a Japanese restaurant called Magos. “It was a struggle, and my husband Augustine, was planning to join the military at that time, too.”

In the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” author Nancy Hill states that one of the most important things is “…connecting with others in general, but in particular with those who have lived long lives.” Sandra feels similarly. It’s been hard for Sandra to keep in contact with her family, which leaves her downhearted some days. “It’s important to maintain that connection you have with your family, not just next-door neighbors you talk to once a month.”

Despite her age, Sandra is a daring woman. Taking risks is important to her, and she’ll try anything—from skydiving to hiking. Sandra has some regrets from the past, but nowadays, she doesn’t wonder about the “would have, could have, should haves.” She just goes for it with a smile.

Sandra thought harder about her last important thing, the blue and green blanket now finished and covering

her lap. “I’ve definitely lived a longer life than most, and maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I hope I can see the day my great-grandchildren are born.” She’s laughing, but her eyes look beyond what’s in front of her. Maybe she is reminiscing about the day she held her son for the first time or thinking of her grandchildren becoming parents. I thank her for her time and she waves it off, offering me a styrofoam cup of lemonade before I head for the bus station.

The bus is sparsely filled. A voice in my head reminds me to finish my 10-page history research paper before spring break. I take a window seat and pull out my phone and earbuds. My playlist is already on shuffle, and I push away thoughts of that dreaded paper. Music has been a constant in my life—from singing my lungs out in kindergarten to Barbie’s “I Need To Know,” to jamming out to Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” in sixth grade, to BTS’s “Intro: Never Mind” comforting me when I’m at my lowest. Music is my magic shop, a place where I can trade away my fears for calm.

I’ve always been afraid of doing something wrong—not finishing my homework or getting a C when I can do better. When I was 8, I wanted to be like the big kids. As I got older, I realized that I had exchanged my childhood longing for the 48 pack of crayons for bigger problems, balancing grades, a social life, and mental stability—all at once. I’m going to get older whether I like it or not, so there’s no point forcing myself to grow up faster. I’m learning to live in the moment.

The bus is approaching my apartment, where I know my comfy bed and a home-cooked meal from my mom are waiting. My mom is hard-working, confident, and very stubborn. I admire her strength of character. She always keeps me in line, even through my rebellious phases.

My best friend sends me a text—an update on how broken her laptop is. She is annoying. She says the stupidest things and loves to state the obvious. Despite this, she never fails to make me laugh until my cheeks feel numb. The rest of my friends are like that too—loud, talkative, and always brightening my day. Even friends I stopped talking to have a place in my heart. Recently, I’ve tried to reconnect with some of them. This interview was possible because a close friend from sixth grade offered to introduce me to Sandra, her grandmother.

I’m decades younger than Sandra, so my view of what’s important isn’t as broad as hers, but we share similar values, with friends and family at the top. I have a feeling that when Sandra was my age, she used to love music, too. Maybe in a few decades, when I’m sitting in my rocking chair, drawing in my sketchbook, I’ll remember this article and think back fondly to the days when life was simple.

Praethong Klomsum is a tenth-grader at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California. Praethong has a strange affinity for rhyme games and is involved in her school’s dance team. She enjoys drawing and writing, hoping to impact people willing to listen to her thoughts and ideas.

University Winner

Emily Greenbaum

Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

The Life-Long War

Every morning we open our eyes, ready for a new day. Some immediately turn to their phones and social media. Others work out or do yoga. For a certain person, a deep breath and the morning sun ground him. He hears the clink-clank of his wife cooking low sodium meat for breakfast—doctor’s orders! He sees that the other side of the bed is already made, the dogs are no longer in the room, and his clothes are set out nicely on the loveseat.

Today, though, this man wakes up to something different: faded cream walls and jello. This person, my hero, is Master Chief Petty Officer Roger James.

I pulled up my chair close to Roger’s vinyl recliner so I could hear him above the noise of the beeping dialysis machine. I noticed Roger would occasionally glance at his wife Susan with sparkly eyes when he would recall memories of the war or their grandkids. He looked at Susan like she walked on water.

Roger James served his country for thirty years. Now, he has enlisted in another type of war. He suffers from a rare blood cancer—the result of the wars he fought in. Roger has good and bad days. He says, “The good outweighs the bad, so I have to be grateful for what I have on those good days.”

When Roger retired, he never thought the effects of the war would reach him. The once shallow wrinkles upon his face become deeper, as he tells me, “It’s just cancer. Others are suffering from far worse. I know I’ll make it.”

Like Nancy Hill did in her article “Three Things that Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” I asked Roger, “What are the three most important things to you?” James answered, “My wife Susan, my grandkids, and church.”

Roger and Susan served together in the Vietnam war. She was a nurse who treated his cuts and scrapes one day. I asked Roger why he chose Susan. He said, “Susan told me to look at her while she cleaned me up. ‘This may sting, but don’t be a baby.’ When I looked into her eyes, I felt like she was looking into my soul, and I didn’t want her to leave. She gave me this sense of home. Every day I wake up, she makes me feel the same way, and I fall in love with her all over again.”

Roger and Susan have two kids and four grandkids, with great-grandchildren on the way. He claims that his grandkids give him the youth that he feels slowly escaping from his body. This adoring grandfather is energized by coaching t-ball and playing evening card games with the grandkids.

The last thing on his list was church. His oldest daughter married a pastor. Together they founded a church. Roger said that the connection between his faith and family is important to him because it gave him a reason to want to live again. I learned from Roger that when you’re across the ocean, you tend to lose sight of why you are fighting. When Roger returned, he didn’t have the will to live. Most days were a struggle, adapting back into a society that lacked empathy for the injuries, pain, and psychological trauma carried by returning soldiers. Church changed that for Roger and gave him a sense of purpose.

When I began this project, my attitude was to just get the assignment done. I never thought I could view Master Chief Petty Officer Roger James as more than a role model, but he definitely changed my mind. It’s as if Roger magically lit a fire inside of me and showed me where one’s true passions should lie. I see our similarities and embrace our differences. We both value family and our own connections to home—his home being church and mine being where I can breathe the easiest.

Master Chief Petty Officer Roger James has shown me how to appreciate what I have around me and that every once in a while, I should step back and stop to smell the roses. As we concluded the interview, amidst squeaky clogs and the stale smell of bleach and bedpans, I looked to Roger, his kind, tired eyes, and weathered skin, with a deeper sense of admiration, knowing that his values still run true, no matter what he faces.

Emily Greenbaum is a senior at Kent State University, graduating with a major in Conflict Management and minor in Geography. Emily hopes to use her major to facilitate better conversations, while she works in the Washington, D.C. area.

Powerful Voice Winner

Amanda Schwaben

Wise Words From Winnie the Pooh

As I read through Nancy Hill’s article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” I was comforted by the similar responses given by both children and older adults. The emphasis participants placed on family, social connections, and love was not only heartwarming but hopeful. While the messages in the article filled me with warmth, I felt a twinge of guilt building within me. As a twenty-one-year-old college student weeks from graduation, I honestly don’t think much about the most important things in life. But if I was asked, I would most likely say family, friendship, and love. As much as I hate to admit it, I often find myself obsessing over achieving a successful career and finding a way to “save the world.”

A few weeks ago, I was at my family home watching the new Winnie the Pooh movie Christopher Robin with my mom and younger sister. Well, I wasn’t really watching. I had my laptop in front of me, and I was aggressively typing up an assignment. Halfway through the movie, I realized I left my laptop charger in my car. I walked outside into the brisk March air. Instinctively, I looked up. The sky was perfectly clear, revealing a beautiful array of stars. When my twin sister and I were in high school, we would always take a moment to look up at the sparkling night sky before we came into the house after soccer practice.

I think that was the last time I stood in my driveway and gazed at the stars. I did not get the laptop charger from

my car; instead, I turned around and went back inside. I shut my laptop and watched the rest of the movie. My twin sister loves Winnie the Pooh. So much so that my parents got her a stuffed animal version of him for Christmas. While I thought he was adorable and a token of my childhood, I did not really understand her obsession. However, it was clear to me after watching the movie. Winnie the Pooh certainly had it figured out. He believed that the simple things in life were the most important: love, friendship, and having fun.

I thought about asking my mom right then what the three most important things were to her, but I decided not to. I just wanted to be in the moment. I didn’t want to be doing homework. It was a beautiful thing to just sit there and be present with my mom and sister.

I did ask her, though, a couple of weeks later. Her response was simple. All she said was family, health, and happiness. When she told me this, I imagined Winnie the Pooh smiling. I think he would be proud of that answer.

I was not surprised by my mom’s reply. It suited her perfectly. I wonder if we relearn what is most important when we grow older—that the pressure to be successful subsides. Could it be that valuing family, health, and happiness is what ends up saving the world?

Amanda Schwaben is a graduating senior from Kent State University with a major in Applied Conflict Management. Amanda also has minors in Psychology and Interpersonal Communication. She hopes to further her education and focus on how museums not only preserve history but also promote peace.

Antonia Mills

Rachel Carson High School, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Decoding The Butterfly

For a caterpillar to become a butterfly, it must first digest itself. The caterpillar, overwhelmed by accumulating tissue, splits its skin open to form its protective shell, the chrysalis, and later becomes the pretty butterfly we all know and love. There are approximately 20,000 species of butterflies, and just as every species is different, so is the life of every butterfly. No matter how long and hard a caterpillar has strived to become the colorful and vibrant butterfly that we marvel at on a warm spring day, it does not live a long life. A butterfly can live for a year, six months, two weeks, and even as little as twenty-four hours.

I have often wondered if butterflies live long enough to be blissful of blue skies. Do they take time to feast upon the sweet nectar they crave, midst their hustling life of pollinating pretty flowers? Do they ever take a lull in their itineraries, or are they always rushing towards completing their four-stage metamorphosis? Has anyone asked the butterfly, “Who are you?” instead of “What are you”? Or, How did you get here, on my windowsill? How did you become ‘you’?

Humans are similar to butterflies. As a caterpillar

Suzanna Ruby/Getty Images

becomes a butterfly, a baby becomes an elder. As a butterfly soars through summer skies, an elder watches summer skies turn into cold winter nights and back toward summer skies yet again. And as a butterfly flits slowly by the porch light, a passerby makes assumptions about the wrinkled, slow-moving elder, who is sturdier than he appears. These creatures are not seen for who they are—who they were—because people have “better things to do” or they are too busy to ask, “How are you”?

Our world can be a lonely place. Pressured by expectations, haunted by dreams, overpowered by weakness, and drowned out by lofty goals, we tend to forget ourselves—and others. Rather than hang onto the strands of our diminishing sanity, we might benefit from listening to our elders. Many elders have experienced setbacks in their young lives. Overcoming hardship and surviving to old age is wisdom that they carry. We can learn from them—and can even make their day by taking the time to hear their stories.

Nancy Hill, who wrote the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” was right: “We live among such remarkable people, yet few know their stories.” I know a lot about my grandmother’s life, and it isn’t as serene as my own. My grandmother, Liza, who cooks every day, bakes bread on holidays for our neighbors, brings gifts to her doctor out of the kindness of her heart, and makes conversation with neighbors even though she is isn’t fluent in English—Russian is her first language—has struggled all her life. Her mother, Anna, a single parent, had tuberculosis, and even though she had an inviolable spirit, she was too frail to care for four children. She passed away when my grandmother was sixteen, so my grandmother and her siblings spent most of their childhood in an orphanage. My grandmother got married at nineteen to my grandfather, Pinhas. He was a man who loved her more than he loved himself and was a godsend to every person he met. Liza was—and still is—always quick to do what was best for others, even if that person treated her poorly. My grandmother has lived with physical pain all her life, yet she pushed herself to climb heights that she wasn’t ready for. Against all odds, she has lived to tell her story to people who are willing to listen. And I always am.

I asked my grandmother, “What are three things most important to you?” Her answer was one that I already expected: One, for everyone to live long healthy lives. Two, for you to graduate from college. Three, for you to always remember that I love you.

What may be basic to you means the world to my grandmother. She just wants what she never had the chance to experience: a healthy life, an education, and the chance to express love to the people she values. The three things that matter most to her may be so simple and ordinary to outsiders, but to her, it is so much more. And who could take that away?

Antonia Mills was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and attends Rachel Carson High School. Antonia enjoys creative activities, including writing, painting, reading, and baking. She hopes to pursue culinary arts professionally in the future. One of her favorite quotes is, “When you start seeing your worth, you’ll find it harder to stay around people who don’t.” -Emily S.P.

Powerful Voice Winner

Isaac Ziemba

Odyssey Multiage Program, Bainbridge Island, Wash.

This Former State Trooper Has His Priorities Straight: Family, Climate Change, and Integrity

I have a personal connection to people who served in the military and first responders. My uncle is a first responder on the island I live on, and my dad retired from the Navy. That was what made a man named Glen Tyrell, a state trooper for 25 years, 2 months and 9 days, my first choice to interview about what three things matter in life. In the YES! Magazine article “The Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” I learned that old and young people have a great deal in common. I know that’s true because Glen and I care about a lot of the same things.

For Glen, family is at the top of his list of important things. “My wife was, and is, always there for me. My daughters mean the world to me, too, but Penny is my partner,” Glen said. I can understand why Glen’s wife is so important to him. She’s family. Family will always be there for you.

Glen loves his family, and so do I with all my heart. My dad especially means the world to me. He is my top supporter and tells me that if I need help, just “say the word.” When we are fishing or crabbing, sometimes I

think, what if these times were erased from my memory? I wouldn’t be able to describe the horrible feeling that would rush through my mind, and I’m sure that Glen would feel the same about his wife.

My uncle once told me that the world is always going to change over time. It’s what the world has turned out to be that worries me. Both Glen and I are extremely concerned about climate change and the effect that rising temperatures have on animals and their habitats. We’re driving them to extinction. Some people might say, “So what? Animals don’t pay taxes or do any of the things we do.” What we are doing to them is like the Black Death times 100.

Glen is also frustrated by how much plastic we use and where it ends up. He would be shocked that an explorer recently dived to the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean—seven miles!— and discovered a plastic bag and candy wrappers. Glen told me that, unfortunately, his generation did the damage and my generation is here to fix it. We need to take better care of Earth because if we don’t, we, as a species, will have failed.

Both Glen and I care deeply for our families and the earth, but for our third important value, I chose education and Glen chose integrity. My education is super important to me because without it, I would be a blank slate. I wouldn’t know how to figure out problems. I wouldn’t be able to tell right from wrong. I wouldn’t understand the Bill of Rights. I would be stuck. Everyone should be able to go to school, no matter where they’re from or who they are. It makes me angry and sad to think that some people, especially girls, get shot because they are trying to go to school. I understand how lucky I am.

Integrity is sacred to Glen—I could tell by the serious tone of Glen’s voice when he told me that integrity was the code he lived by as a former state trooper. He knew that he had the power to change a person’s life, and he was committed to not abusing that power. When Glen put someone under arrest—and my uncle says the same—his judgment and integrity were paramount. “Either you’re right or you’re wrong.” You can’t judge a person by what you think, you can only judge a person from what you know.”

I learned many things about Glen and what’s important in life, but there is one thing that stands out—something Glen always does and does well. Glen helps people. He did it as a state trooper, and he does it in our school, where he works on construction projects. Glen told me that he believes that our most powerful tools are writing and listening to others. I think those tools are important, too, but I also believe there are other tools to help solve many of our problems and create a better future: to be compassionate, to create caring relationships, and to help others. Just like Glen Tyrell does each and every day.

Isaac Ziemba is in seventh grade at the Odyssey Multiage Program on a small island called Bainbridge near Seattle, Washington. Isaac’s favorite subject in school is history because he has always been interested in how the past affects the future. In his spare time, you can find Isaac hunting for crab with his Dad, looking for artifacts around his house with his metal detector, and having fun with his younger cousin, Conner.

Lily Hersch

The Crest Academy, Salida, Colo.

The Phone Call

Dear Grandpa,

In my short span of life—12 years so far—you’ve taught me a lot of important life lessons that I’ll always have with me. Some of the values I talk about in this writing I’ve learned from you.

Dedicated to my Gramps.

In the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” author and photographer Nancy Hill asked people to name the three things that mattered most to them. After reading the essay prompt for the article, I immediately knew who I wanted to interview: my grandpa Gil.

My grandpa was born on January 25, 1942. He lived in a minuscule tenement in The Bronx with his mother,

father, and brother. His father wasn’t around much, and, when he was, he was reticent and would snap occasionally, revealing his constrained mental pain. My grandpa says this happened because my great grandfather did not have a father figure in his life. His mother was a classy, sharp lady who was the head secretary at a local police district station. My grandpa and his brother Larry did not care for each other. Gramps said he was very close to his mother, and Larry wasn’t. Perhaps Larry was envious for what he didn’t have.

Decades after little to no communication with his brother, my grandpa decided to spontaneously visit him in Florida, where he resided with his wife. Larry was taken aback at the sudden reappearance of his brother and told him to leave. Since then, the two brothers have not been in contact. My grandpa doesn’t even know if Larry is alive.

My grandpa is now a retired lawyer, married to my wonderful grandma, and living in a pretty house with an ugly dog named BoBo.

So, what’s important to you, Gramps?

He paused a second, then replied, “Family, kindness, and empathy.”

“Family, because it’s my family. It’s important to stay connected with your family. My brother, father, and I never connected in the way I wished, and sometimes I contemplated what could’ve happened. But you can’t change the past. So, that’s why family’s important to me.”

Family will always be on my “Top Three Most Important Things” list, too. I can’t imagine not having my older brother, Zeke, or my grandma in my life. I wonder how other kids feel about their families? How do kids trapped and separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border feel? What about orphans? Too many questions, too few answers.

“Kindness, because growing up and not seeing a lot of kindness made me realize how important it is to have that in the world. Kindness makes the world go round.”

What is kindness? Helping my brother, Eli, who has Down syndrome, get ready in the morning? Telling people what they need to hear, rather than what they want to hear? Maybe, for now, I’ll put wisdom, not kindness, on my list.

“Empathy, because of all the killings and shootings [in this country.] We also need to care for people—people who are not living in as good circumstances as I have. Donald Trump and other people I’ve met have no empathy. Empathy is very important.”

Empathy is something I’ve felt my whole life. It’ll always be important to me like it is important to my grandpa. My grandpa shows his empathy when he works with disabled children. Once he took a disabled child to a Christina Aguilera concert because that child was too young to go by himself. The moments I feel the most empathy are when Eli gets those looks from people. Seeing Eli wonder why people stare at him like he’s a freak makes me sad, and annoyed that they have the audacity to stare.

After this 2 minute and 36-second phone call, my grandpa has helped me define what’s most important to me at this time in my life: family, wisdom, and empathy. Although these things are important now, I realize they can change and most likely will.

When I’m an old woman, I envision myself scrambling through a stack of storage boxes and finding this paper. Perhaps after reading words from my 12-year-old self, I’ll ask myself “What’s important to me?”

Lily Hersch is a sixth-grader at Crest Academy in Salida, Colorado. Lily is an avid indoorsman, finding joy in competitive spelling, art, and of course, writing. She does not like Swiss cheese.

“Tell It Like It Is” Interview Winner

Jonas Buckner

KIPP: Gaston College Preparatory, Gaston, N.C.

Lessons My Nana Taught Me

I walked into the house. In the other room, I heard my cousin screaming at his game. There were a lot of Pioneer Woman dishes everywhere. The room had the television on max volume. The fan in the other room was on. I didn’t know it yet, but I was about to learn something powerful.

I was in my Nana’s house, and when I walked in, she said, “Hey Monkey Butt.”

I said, “Hey Nana.”

Before the interview, I was talking to her about what I was gonna interview her on. Also, I had asked her why I might have wanted to interview her, and she responded with, “Because you love me, and I love you too.”

Now, it was time to start the interview. The first

question I asked was the main and most important question ever: “What three things matter most to you and you only?”

She thought of it very thoughtfully and responded with, “My grandchildren, my children, and my health.”

Then, I said, “OK, can you please tell me more about your health?”

She responded with, “My health is bad right now. I have heart problems, blood sugar, and that’s about it.” When she said it, she looked at me and smiled because she loved me and was happy I chose her to interview.

I replied with, “K um, why is it important to you?”

She smiled and said, “Why is it…Why is my health important? Well, because I want to live a long time and see my grandchildren grow up.”

I was scared when she said that, but she still smiled. I was so happy, and then I said, “Has your health always been important to you.”

She responded with “Nah.”

Then, I asked, “Do you happen to have a story to help me understand your reasoning?”

She said, “No, not really.”

Now we were getting into the next set of questions. I said, “Remember how you said that your grandchildren matter to you? Can you please tell me why they matter to you?”

Then, she responded with, “So I can spend time with them, play with them, and everything.”

Next, I asked the same question I did before: “Have you always loved your grandchildren?”

She responded with, “Yes, they have always been important to me.”

Then, the next two questions I asked she had no response to at all. She was very happy until I asked, “Why do your children matter most to you?”

She had a frown on and responded, “My daughter Tammy died a long time ago.”

Then, at this point, the other questions were answered the same as the other ones. When I left to go home I was thinking about how her answers were similar to mine. She said health, and I care about my health a lot, and I didn’t say, but I wanted to. She also didn’t have answers for the last two questions on each thing, and I was like that too.

The lesson I learned was that no matter what, always keep pushing because even though my aunt or my Nana’s daughter died, she kept on pushing and loving everyone. I also learned that everything should matter to us. Once again, I chose to interview my Nana because she matters to me, and I know when she was younger she had a lot of things happen to her, so I wanted to know what she would say. The point I’m trying to make is that be grateful for what you have and what you have done in life.

Jonas Buckner is a sixth-grader at KIPP: Gaston College Preparatory in Gaston, North Carolina. Jonas’ favorite activities are drawing, writing, math, piano, and playing AltSpace VR. He found his passion for writing in fourth grade when he wrote a quick autobiography. Jonas hopes to become a horror writer someday.

From The Author: Responses to Student Winners

Dear Emily, Isaac, Antonia, Rory, Praethong, Amanda, Lily, and Jonas,

Your thought-provoking essays sent my head spinning. The more I read, the more impressed I was with the depth of thought, beauty of expression, and originality. It left me wondering just how to capture all of my reactions in a single letter. After multiple false starts, I’ve landed on this: I will stick to the theme of three most important things.

The three things I found most inspirational about your essays:

You listened.

You connected.

We live in troubled times. Tensions mount between countries, cultures, genders, religious beliefs, and generations. If we fail to find a way to understand each other, to see similarities between us, the future will be fraught with increased hostility.

You all took critical steps toward connecting with someone who might not value the same things you do by asking a person who is generations older than you what matters to them. Then, you listened to their answers. You saw connections between what is important to them and what is important to you. Many of you noted similarities, others wondered if your own list of the three most important things would change as you go through life. You all saw the validity of the responses you received and looked for reasons why your interviewees have come to value what they have.

It is through these things—asking, listening, and connecting—that we can begin to bridge the differences in experiences and beliefs that are currently dividing us.

Individual observations

Each one of you made observations that all of us, regardless of age or experience, would do well to keep in mind. I chose one quote from each person and trust those reading your essays will discover more valuable insights.

“Our priorities may seem different, but they come back to basic human needs. We all desire a purpose, strive to be happy, and work to make a positive impact.”

“You can’t judge a person by what you think , you can only judge a person by what you know .”

Emily (referencing your interviewee, who is battling cancer):

“Master Chief Petty Officer James has shown me how to appreciate what I have around me.”

Lily (quoting your grandfather):

“Kindness makes the world go round.”

“Everything should matter to us.”

Praethong (quoting your interviewee, Sandra, on the importance of family):

“It’s important to always maintain that connection you have with each other, your family, not just next-door neighbors you talk to once a month.”

“I wonder if maybe we relearn what is most important when we grow older. That the pressure to be successful subsides and that valuing family, health, and happiness is what ends up saving the world.”

“Listen to what others have to say. Listen to the people who have already experienced hardship. You will learn from them and you can even make their day by giving them a chance to voice their thoughts.”

I end this letter to you with the hope that you never stop asking others what is most important to them and that you to continue to take time to reflect on what matters most to you…and why. May you never stop asking, listening, and connecting with others, especially those who may seem to be unlike you. Keep writing, and keep sharing your thoughts and observations with others, for your ideas are awe-inspiring.

I also want to thank the more than 1,000 students who submitted essays. Together, by sharing what’s important to us with others, especially those who may believe or act differently, we can fill the world with joy, peace, beauty, and love.

We received many outstanding essays for the Winter 2019 Student Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we’d like to share some excerpts that caught our eye:

Whether it is a painting on a milky canvas with watercolors or pasting photos onto a scrapbook with her granddaughters, it is always a piece of artwork to her. She values the things in life that keep her in the moment, while still exploring things she may not have initially thought would bring her joy.

—Ondine Grant-Krasno, Immaculate Heart Middle School, Los Angeles, Calif.

“Ganas”… It means “desire” in Spanish. My ganas is fueled by my family’s belief in me. I cannot and will not fail them.

—Adan Rios, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

I hope when I grow up I can have the love for my kids like my grandma has for her kids. She makes being a mother even more of a beautiful thing than it already is.

—Ashley Shaw, Columbus City Prep School for Girls, Grove City, Ohio

You become a collage of little pieces of your friends and family. They also encourage you to be the best you can be. They lift you up onto the seat of your bike, they give you the first push, and they don’t hesitate to remind you that everything will be alright when you fall off and scrape your knee.

— Cecilia Stanton, Bellafonte Area Middle School, Bellafonte, Pa.

Without good friends, I wouldn’t know what I would do to endure the brutal machine of public education.

—Kenneth Jenkins, Garrison Middle School, Walla Walla, Wash.

My dog, as ridiculous as it may seem, is a beautiful example of what we all should aspire to be. We should live in the moment, not stress, and make it our goal to lift someone’s spirits, even just a little.

—Kate Garland, Immaculate Heart Middle School, Los Angeles, Calif.

I strongly hope that every child can spare more time to accompany their elderly parents when they are struggling, and moving forward, and give them more care and patience. so as to truly achieve the goal of “you accompany me to grow up, and I will accompany you to grow old.”

—Taiyi Li, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

I have three cats, and they are my brothers and sisters. We share a special bond that I think would not be possible if they were human. Since they do not speak English, we have to find other ways to connect, and I think that those other ways can be more powerful than language.

—Maya Dombroskie, Delta Program Middle School, Boulsburg, Pa.

We are made to love and be loved. To have joy and be relational. As a member of the loneliest generation in possibly all of history, I feel keenly aware of the need for relationships and authentic connection. That is why I decided to talk to my grandmother.

—Luke Steinkamp, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

After interviewing my grandma and writing my paper, I realized that as we grow older, the things that are important to us don’t change, what changes is why those things are important to us.

—Emily Giffer, Our Lady Star of the Sea, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.

The media works to marginalize elders, often isolating them and their stories, and the wealth of knowledge that comes with their additional years of lived experiences. It also undermines the depth of children’s curiosity and capacity to learn and understand. When the worlds of elders and children collide, a classroom opens.

—Cristina Reitano, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif.

My values, although similar to my dad, only looked the same in the sense that a shadow is similar to the object it was cast on.

—Timofey Lisenskiy, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, Calif.

I can release my anger through writing without having to take it out on someone. I can escape and be a different person; it feels good not to be myself for a while. I can make up my own characters, so I can be someone different every day, and I think that’s pretty cool.

—Jasua Carillo, Wellness, Business, and Sports School, Woodburn, Ore.

Notice how all the important things in his life are people: the people who he loves and who love him back. This is because “people are more important than things like money or possessions, and families are treasures,” says grandpa Pat. And I couldn’t agree more.

—Brody Hartley, Garrison Middle School, Walla Walla, Wash.

Curiosity for other people’s stories could be what is needed to save the world.

—Noah Smith, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

Peace to me is a calm lake without a ripple in sight. It’s a starry night with a gentle breeze that pillows upon your face. It’s the absence of arguments, fighting, or war. It’s when egos stop working against each other and finally begin working with each other. Peace is free from fear, anxiety, and depression. To me, peace is an important ingredient in the recipe of life.

—JP Bogan, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

From A Teacher

Charles Sanderson

Wellness, Business and Sports School, Woodburn, Ore.

The Birthday Gift

I’ve known Jodelle for years, watching her grow from a quiet and timid twelve-year-old to a young woman who just returned from India, where she played Kabaddi, a kind of rugby meets Red Rover.

One of my core beliefs as an educator is to show up for the things that matter to kids, so I go to their games, watch their plays, and eat the strawberry jam they make for the county fair. On this occasion, I met Jodelle at a robotics competition to watch her little sister Abby compete. Think Nerd Paradise: more hats made from traffic cones than Golden State Warrior ball caps, more unicorn capes than Nike swooshes, more fanny packs with Legos than clutches with eyeliner.

We started chatting as the crowd chanted and waved six-foot flags for teams like Mystic Biscuits, Shrek, and everyone’s nemesis The Mean Machine. Apparently, when it’s time for lunch at a robotics competition, they don’t mess around. The once-packed gym was left to Jodelle and me, and we kept talking and talking. I eventually asked her about the three things that matter to her most.

She told me about her mom, her sister, and her addiction—to horses. I’ve read enough of her writing to know that horses were her drug of choice and her mom and sister were her support network.

I learned about her desire to become a teacher and how hours at the barn with her horse, Heart, recharge her when she’s exhausted. At one point, our rambling conversation turned to a topic I’ve known far too well—her father.

Later that evening, I received an email from Jodelle, and she had a lot to say. One line really struck me: “In so many movies, I have seen a dad wanting to protect his daughter from the world, but I’ve only understood the scene cognitively. Yesterday, I felt it.”

Long ago, I decided that I would never be a dad. I had seen movies with fathers and daughters, and for me, those movies might as well have been Star Wars, ET, or Alien—worlds filled with creatures I’d never know. However, over the years, I’ve attended Jodelle’s parent-teacher conferences, gone to her graduation, and driven hours to watch her ride Heart at horse shows. Simply, I showed up. I listened. I supported.

Jodelle shared a series of dad poems, as well. I had read the first two poems in their original form when Jodelle was my student. The revised versions revealed new graphic details of her past. The third poem, however, was something entirely different.

She called the poems my early birthday present. When I read the lines “You are my father figure/Who I look up to/Without being looked down on,” I froze for an instant and had to reread the lines. After fifty years of consciously deciding not to be a dad, I was seen as one—and it felt incredible. Jodelle’s poem and recognition were two of the best presents I’ve ever received.

I know that I was the language arts teacher that Jodelle needed at the time, but her poem revealed things I never knew I taught her: “My father figure/ Who taught me/ That listening is for observing the world/ That listening is for learning/Not obeying/Writing is for connecting/Healing with others.”

Teaching is often a thankless job, one that frequently brings more stress and anxiety than joy and hope. Stress erodes my patience. Anxiety curtails my ability to enter each interaction with every student with the grace they deserve. However, my time with Jodelle reminds me of the importance of leaning in and listening.

In the article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age” by Nancy Hill, she illuminates how we “live among such remarkable people, yet few know their stories.” For the last twenty years, I’ve had the privilege to work with countless of these “remarkable people,” and I’ve done my best to listen, and, in so doing, I hope my students will realize what I’ve known for a long time; their voices matter and deserve to be heard, but the voices of their tias and abuelitos and babushkas are equally important. When we take the time to listen, I believe we do more than affirm the humanity of others; we affirm our own as well.

Charles Sanderson has grounded his nineteen-year teaching career in a philosophy he describes as “Mirror, Window, Bridge.” Charles seeks to ensure all students see themselves, see others, and begin to learn the skills to build bridges of empathy, affinity, and understanding between communities and cultures that may seem vastly different. He proudly teaches at the Wellness, Business and Sports School in Woodburn, Oregon, a school and community that brings him joy and hope on a daily basis.

From The Author: Response to Charles Sanderson

Dear Charles Sanderson,

Thank you for submitting an essay of your own in addition to encouraging your students to participate in YES! Magazine’s essay contest.

Your essay focused not on what is important to you, but rather on what is important to one of your students. You took what mattered to her to heart, acting upon it by going beyond the school day and creating a connection that has helped fill a huge gap in her life. Your efforts will affect her far beyond her years in school. It is clear that your involvement with this student is far from the only time you have gone beyond the classroom, and while you are not seeking personal acknowledgment, I cannot help but applaud you.

In an ideal world, every teacher, every adult, would show the same interest in our children and adolescents that you do. By taking the time to listen to what is important to our youth, we can help them grow into compassionate, caring adults, capable of making our world a better place.

Your concerted efforts to guide our youth to success not only as students but also as human beings is commendable. May others be inspired by your insights, concerns, and actions. You define excellence in teaching.

Get Stories of Solutions to Share with Your Classroom

Teachers save 50% on YES! Magazine.

Inspiration in Your Inbox

Get the free daily newsletter from YES! Magazine: Stories of people creating a better world to inspire you and your students.

Forgotten password

Please enter the email address that you use to login to TeenInk.com, and we'll email you instructions to reset your password.

Poetry All Poetry Free Verse Song Lyrics Sonnet Haiku Limerick Ballad
Fiction All Fiction Action-Adventure Fan Fiction Historical Fiction Realistic Fiction Romance Sci-fi/Fantasy Scripts & Plays Thriller/Mystery All Novels Action-Adventure Fan Fiction Historical Fiction Realistic Fiction Romance Sci-fi/Fantasy Thriller/Mystery Other
Nonfiction All Nonfiction Bullying Books Academic Author Interviews Celebrity interviews College Articles College Essays Educator of the Year Heroes Interviews Memoir Personal Experience Sports Travel & Culture All Opinions Bullying Current Events / Politics Discrimination Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking Entertainment / Celebrities Environment Love / Relationships Movies / Music / TV Pop Culture / Trends School / College Social Issues / Civics Spirituality / Religion Sports / Hobbies All Hot Topics Bullying Community Service Environment Health Letters to the Editor Pride & Prejudice What Matters
Reviews All Reviews Hot New Books Book Reviews Music Reviews Movie Reviews TV Show Reviews Video Game Reviews Summer Program Reviews College Reviews
Art/Photo Art Photo Videos
Summer Guide Program Links Program Reviews
College Guide College Links College Reviews College Essays College Articles

Summer Guide

College Guide
Song Lyrics

All Fiction

Action-Adventure
Fan Fiction
Historical Fiction
Realistic Fiction
Sci-fi/Fantasy
Scripts & Plays
Thriller/Mystery

All Nonfiction

Author Interviews
Celebrity interviews
College Articles
College Essays
Educator of the Year
Personal Experience
Travel & Culture

All Opinions

Current Events / Politics
Discrimination
Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
Entertainment / Celebrities
Environment
Love / Relationships
Movies / Music / TV
Pop Culture / Trends
School / College
Social Issues / Civics
Spirituality / Religion
Sports / Hobbies

All Hot Topics

Community Service
Letters to the Editor
Pride & Prejudice
What Matters

All Reviews

Hot New Books
Book Reviews
Music Reviews
Movie Reviews
TV Show Reviews
Video Game Reviews

Summer Program Reviews

College Reviews
Writers Workshop
Regular Forums
Program Links
Program Reviews
College Links

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!

Favorite Quote: "You ONLY LIVE ONCE" "RUMORS ARE SPREADED BY HATERS, CARRIED BY FOOLS AND ACCEPTED BY IDIOTS!" "EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL"

Life is beautiful, but not always. It has lots of problems you have to face everyday. Don't worry though! All these problems make you strong, it gives you courage to stand alone in future. Life is full of moments of joy, pleasure, success and comfort punctuated by misery, defeat, failures and problems. There is no human being on Earth, strong, powerful, wise or rich, who has not experienced, struggle, suffering or failure. You have to work hard to reach to the highest position. Life is full of paths, you just have to choose the right one. Life is interesting and amazing like the stars up in the skies. With no doubt, Life is beautiful and full of celebrations. However you should always be ready to face adversity and challenges. There are difficult situations in life as well.Be careful!! You might get hurt too hard. Life is sometimes too selfish to think about yourself. Then life is too hard to handle. Falling in love! People tend to fall in love nowadays but i personally think the right time has to come... You might also get hurt in Love. You might be broken-hearted as the people say. Life is the place where people treat everyone differently, racism exists as well as bullying. People tend to say bad stuff behind people's back. There are millions of people using horrible words to call people, People use people everyday. Life is not that easy in my view. Sometimes, all you want to do is sit alone and question yourself with hundred of questions . Am I ugly as the people say? Why don't i have any friends? Why is the world so hard to live in? What do i look like in other peoples eyes? Why don't i have the same colour of the skin as everyone else? :'( :'( How can i make others happy? The questions does not stop. You ask those questions over and over again. When you don't have any answers, you want to scream out loud or cry. Bullying? Racism? What are all these?, I don't understand what people get from making others unhappy and upset. Every single one of you there in the world have your own beauty. EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL! So don't sit there saying i'm ugly say i'm PRETTY or HANDSOME, Damnn care about what people say. "RUMORS ARE SPREADED BY HATERS, CARRIED BY FOOLS AND ACCEPTED BY IDIOT!" Treat people the way they treat you! Be strong and face these saddo people around the world. Haters are always around you. but it doesn't matter cause they are the ones who make you famous. So what? If you're not beautiful, pretty, you have life and thats the most of it. Not everyone gets to live and those who do are sooo lucky! People die, life changes, people come and go but guess what you have to go with it however much it hurts . You miss people who were in your life, that's the way they remind you that they still exist in your life. I know the feeling of that, I miss my handsome uncle as well but i know we can never meet again. I know he is not here anymore, So what i will still love him the most in my life. People say forget the past, life in present and save the future for tomorrow. I think that is true, but i cannot forget my past, it has all those beautiful moments which mean the world to me. It is the hardest thing but i just try try try and try. Don't give up or lose hope on anything. Live your life however you want Have fun! Dance as much you want! Take risks.. Trust yourself. Believe in yourself.... Damn care about haters! There is so much to do so stop faffing about. Life is too short to save it for tomorrow. Don't give up and Hope always! Love Forever!! Do what your heart says... DREAM AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE AND MAKE IT TRUE! YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE SO MAKE THE MOST OF IT ! <3 Learn lessons from the mistakes.... From this i learned awful a lot things. I started to enjoy life instead of listening to sad songs and sitting alone. Happiness came into my life but there is sadness as well. Everyday i used to dress in dull clothes now i love colours i used to hate going out of my house but guess what all these sound outside sounds attractive than sad songs. Rock music is what i listen to now, sometimes sad as well All things in life depends on what your mood and the situation.

Share this on

Send to a friend.

Thank you for sharing this page with a friend!

Tell my friends

Choose what to email.

Which of your works would you like to tell your friends about? (These links will automatically appear in your email.)

Send your email

Delete my account, we hate to see you go please note as per our terms and conditions, you agreed that all materials submitted become the property of teen ink. going forward, your work will remain on teenink.com submitted “by anonymous.”, delete this, change anonymous status, send us site feedback.

If you have a suggestion about this website or are experiencing a problem with it, or if you need to report abuse on the site, please let us know. We try to make TeenInk.com the best site it can be, and we take your feedback very seriously. Please note that while we value your input, we cannot respond to every message. Also, if you have a comment about a particular piece of work on this website, please go to the page where that work is displayed and post a comment on it. Thank you!

Pardon Our Dust

Teen Ink is currently undergoing repairs to our image server. In addition to being unable to display images, we cannot currently accept image submissions. All other parts of the website are functioning normally. Please check back to submit your art and photography and to enjoy work from teen artists around the world!

Life Is Beautiful Essays

Reaction paper— “life is beautiful”, popular essay topics.

American Dream
Artificial Intelligence
Black Lives Matter
Bullying Essay
Career Goals Essay
Causes of the Civil War
Child Abusing
Civil Rights Movement
Community Service
Cultural Identity
Cyber Bullying
Death Penalty
Depression Essay
Domestic Violence
Freedom of Speech
Global Warming
Gun Control
Human Trafficking
I Believe Essay
Immigration
Importance of Education
Israel and Palestine Conflict
Leadership Essay
Legalizing Marijuanas
Mental Health
National Honor Society
Police Brutality
Pollution Essay
Racism Essay
Romeo and Juliet
Same Sex Marriages
Social Media
The Great Gatsby
The Yellow Wallpaper
Time Management
To Kill a Mockingbird
Violent Video Games
What Makes You Unique
Why I Want to Be a Nurse
Send us an e-mail

“Life is Beautiful”

The absurdities and atrocities of the Nazi and Fascist regimes that dominated Europe in the late 30s and 40s, and the world-engulfing conflict they spawned provide rich fodder for movie makers and other artists.

Following a tradition of laughing because it is less painful than weeping, Life is Beautiful (1998) addresses with whimsical humor as well as clear-sighted pathos the incarceration and execution of millions, for no reason other than their difference from the majority (whether because they were Jewish, or Romany, or disabled, or have a different gender preference).

The humorous approach seems to help to offset the horror, and permit it to be examined in full without causing the viewer to turn away in disgust. In the case of the movie Life is Beautiful , the protagonist’s use of humor to shield his son from the worst psychological wounds of the Nazi death machinery allows the film maker to set the scene, to reveal character, and show truly horrifying situations without alienating the audience, and as such it is both effective and appropriate.

While a number of directors have endeavored to capture the events, the mood, and impact of this era in dramatically serious works such as Casablanca (1942), several movies treat the subject humorously, including Catch 22 (1953), and The Great Dictator (1940), joined more recently by Life is Beautiful . Life is Beautiful uses humor to show, subtly, the absurdity of a world in which this evil could blossom and flourish.

Humor is also used to reveal the protagonist’s pluckiness and resilience and his response to the absurdity of his surroundings. Humor also conveys the message of the horror of the concentration camp system and the essential idiocy of the Nazi regime, while never sugarcoating its evil. The humor is also a reminder that life goes on, and thus, by its persistence, asserts the beauty claimed in the movie’s title.

Humor in Life is Beautiful provides a way for the director to subtly paint a backdrop that is oppressive and frightening but not overtly war-torn or totalitarian…yet. For example, in the opening sequences, the protagonist’s vehicle runs away with no brakes, a fitting image of Europe on the edge of totalitarianism and conflict. Guido finds himself acclaimed by a flag-waving crowd, misled into thinking that he is their expected leader because his clownish efforts to disperse them and avoid running them over inadvertently resemble the Fascist salute.

The actual leader is a tiny fellow with massive mustaches, medals, and a plus-sized consort, whose official car just happened to share the road just happened to be behind Guido in his official car. The theme of the threatening shadow of such bombastic dictatorial power is emphasized by the ludicrous posters covering the walls of the town. Later on, the movie hints at the absurd environment in which the protagonist is operating when Dora’s school has scheduled a visiting lecturer on racial superiority.

He responds with an appropriately absurd rant about his own body parts. This use of humor, like the previous examples, foreshadows the gathering storm of racism that threatens the protagonist’s family and so many others. It is thus entirely appropriate in helping to set the stage for the atrocities of the Holocaust.

Humor in this film also reveals a great deal about the character of the protagonist, and his resistance and resilience in the face of the nightmare around him and his son. For example the protagonist gives a hint of the way that he deals with the world when he calls Dora ‘princess’, and claims to be working for a ‘prince’. This silliness shows that this fellow is quite willing to use fantasy to model a world he would prefer. Later on, he portrays the camp as a game with the prize being a real operating tank.

This nonsense allows the child to tolerate the camp without collapsing in tears. It also reveals that the protagonist will do or say almost anything to offset the impact on his beloved son of the abyss that they are facing in the camp. In the process, Guido’s humor points up the hideousness of the concentration camp system.

His humorous antics with the radio transmitter in the ‘Funkraum’ contrast sharply with his real feelings of despair and pain from the unaccustomed work of carrying anvils (a fitting symbol of the absurdity of the camp system). The humor actually demonstrates that the character is not naturally a clown or buffoon.

This silliness is all for his son, all to help him survive the crushing evil of the camp. The contrast between his loving character and this evil makes a powerful statement both about parental love, and the sins that were perpetrated in the name of Nazism.

Finally, the humor allows the director to show things that are really too horrible to bear. Later in the movie, for example Dora’s desperate search for her loved ones’ clothes, after the viewer has seen the inside of the gas chambers, is too painful to show without the leavening of Guido’s fabrications for Joshua. Guido’s mistranslation of the guard’s bellowed instructions as rules of the ‘game’, and his recounting of ring-around-the-rosy, which are all funny scenes, also point up the foul nature of the Nazi establishment.

The only reason Guido needs to promulgate his fantasies with Joshua is that the reality is so ghastly. Even as his own situation deteriorates, the protagonist never stops trying to keep up his son’s spirits. Even on his way to death, he manages to parody his captors’ goose-stepping to keep his son’s attention focused on the ‘game’. The casual brutality that kills Guido would be very hard for viewers to see if it were not for his heroic satire up the very end.

However, because of movie’s humor, the audience can tolerate this inside peek at the daily life of that hell on earth. In fact, Guido’s effort to create some sort of order, and even, as the movie’s title suggests, some sort of beauty, out of the chaos that they are experiencing is his expression of love. It is the movie’s triumph, largely due to Guido’s humor (his way of showing love), that the viewer can accept that he succeeds at making life beautiful in spite of suffering, humiliation, and loss.

Life is Beautiful focuses truthfully on some of the most heinous atrocities perpetrated on fellow humans. This is offset throughout the movie by humor. Humor sets the scene, spotlights what is lovable about the hero, and softens the shock of the true gruesomeness of the era just enough so the audience can keep watching. The film uses humor to allow the audience to share in the protagonist’s experience without being overwhelmed.

As such, each of these functions helps to preserve and recall the Holocaust in a way that is truthful, and effective. Without the movie’s humor and hopeful message that love persists, that life can go on, and even display the very beauty that the title asserts (in spite of the evil actions of fellow humans), viewers might simply shut down mentally, and the world might begin to forget the Holocaust entirely.

Cite this paper

Chicago (N-B)
Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2020, May 11). “Life is Beautiful”. https://studycorgi.com/life-is-beautiful/

"“Life is Beautiful”." StudyCorgi , 11 May 2020, studycorgi.com/life-is-beautiful/.

StudyCorgi . (2020) '“Life is Beautiful”'. 11 May.

1. StudyCorgi . "“Life is Beautiful”." May 11, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/life-is-beautiful/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "“Life is Beautiful”." May 11, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/life-is-beautiful/.

StudyCorgi . 2020. "“Life is Beautiful”." May 11, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/life-is-beautiful/.

This paper, ““Life is Beautiful””, was written and voluntary submitted to our free essay database by a straight-A student. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it to write your assignment.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: May 11, 2020 .

If you are the author of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal . Please use the “ Donate your paper ” form to submit an essay.

Search Please fill out this field.
Manage Your Subscription
Give a Gift Subscription
Newsletters
Sweepstakes

Entertainment
Scripted TV Shows

My So-Called Life Creator Reveals How Barbra Streisand Inspired the Beloved High School Show (Exclusive)

Writer Winnie Holzman reflects on the iconic TV show's decades-long legacy and its powerful impact on viewers on the 30th anniversary of the premiere

JP Mangalindan is a Senior Writer for TV at PEOPLE. He joined PEOPLE in May 2023. JP's work has previously appeared in publications like Fortune , Business Insider , TechCrunch , GQ , Teen People and Entertainment Weekly.

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment/getty

When Winnie Holzman looks back on My So-Called Life , it’s with fondness and gratitude. Only 19 episodes aired before the show was canceled in 1995, but its effect on viewers and pop culture runs deep.

That idea was partially inspired by the 1973 Barbra Streisand movie The Way We Were. "As a Jewish woman, a lot of times the way Jewish women have been depicted on TV has been in a very stereotyped way, and historically not with a lot of complexity or depth. And when I saw a movie like Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were , here's a Jewish woman, she's in a romance, she's considered beautiful by Robert Redford , who was the hunk of the day She's being treated with respect and being shown to be beautiful, being shown to be worthy of admiration, and still be intelligent and express herself. That blew my mind when I was a young woman."

She continues, "It's always stayed with me, the power of putting people on screen who maybe haven't been depicted — or haven't been depicted fairly — with respect," she says. "I was doing that in general with teenagers. I'm not saying I'm the only person who ever did that, but I wanted to show respect for these people who were that age."

Despite only lasting one season, the show lived on in syndication and is now streaming, earning a new generation of fans. Holzman says she's "grateful” that people "still feel connected" to the show.

“You want to feel that you moved people, that they felt connected to the characters, that they maybe even loved the characters. ... I love that it's resonated for people, that it stayed with people. That makes me very happy.”

One character many fans feel connected to is Rickie Vasquez (played by Wilson Cruz , 50), Angela's big-hearted half-Puerto Rican, half-Black gay best friend — and the first openly gay teen on primetime TV.

Rickie faced hardships, including homophobia and homeless, but remained positive. For Holzman, Cruz was a “beacon of light” who instantly snagged the part. “You just felt his goodness and kindness,” she shares.

Thirty years later, Holzman admits she often hears from fans of the show — many being members of the LGBTQ+ community — who have thanked her for her work.

“It's people who've come up to me and said, ‘I used to watch the show with my mom, and that was how I was able to come out to my mom,’” she adds. “Something like that makes you feel so, so good that you could have played a small part in helping that conversation to happen, or just people who imparted to me that they felt less alone, that they could see [themselves in] Rickie.”

For more on Winnie Holzman and My So-Called Life , pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here .

Mark Seliger/Abc Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

The show unequivocally had an enormous impact on viewers, but it also helped launch the careers of cast members including Golden Globe winner Danes, 45, and Oscar winner Jared Leto , 52. Cruz has continued starring in prominent roles on TV and uses his visibility to champion LGBTQ+ rights. He now serves as Chair of GLSEN's board , an organization that ensures LGBTQ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

For Holzman, success boiled down to one thing: "This is really the big lesson of My So-Called Life — it didn't need to be a huge hit. It didn't need to be a ratings juggernaut. It didn't need to have more than 19 episodes to affect people. It just was what it was. And in its own small way, it did make this positive effect. So that became something that really taught me what success looks like."

Adding, "I think My So-Called Life taught me that it's all about being true to myself, knowing that I put 100% of myself into it, and so did all of us together. It was such a group effort. Nobody was phoning that in. Nobody. We cared about every moment of that show. If you do that, that's success."

All 19 episodes of My So-Called Life are available to stream on Hulu.

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

As a Teenager in Europe, I Went to Nudist Beaches All the Time. 30 Years Later, Would the Experience Be the Same?

Image may contain Princess Antonia of Luxembourg Sandro Botticelli Art Painting Adult Person and Wedding

In July 2017, I wrote an article about toplessness for Vogue Italia. The director, actor, and political activist Lina Esco had emerged from the world of show business to question public nudity laws in the United States with 2014’s Free the Nipple . Her film took on a life of its own and, thanks to the endorsement from the likes of Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevingne, and Willow Smith, eventually developed into a whole political movement, particularly on social media where the hashtag #FreeTheNipple spread at lightning speed. The same year as that piece, actor Alyssa Milano tweeted “me too” and encouraged others who had been sexually assaulted to do the same, building on the movement activist Tarana Burke had created more than a decade earlier. The rest is history.

In that Vogue article, I chatted with designer Alessandro Michele about a shared memory of our favorite topless beaches of our youth. Anywhere in Italy where water appeared—be it the hard-partying Riviera Romagnola, the traditionally chic Amalfi coast and Sorrento peninsula, the vertiginous cliffs and inlets of Italy’s continuation of the French Côte d’Azur or the towering volcanic rocks of Sicily’s mythological Riviera dei Ciclopi—one was bound to find bodies of all shapes and forms, naturally topless.

In the ’90s, growing up in Italy, naked breasts were everywhere and nobody thought anything about it. “When we look at our childhood photos we recognize those imperfect breasts and those bodies, each with their own story. I think of the ‘un-beauty’ of that time and feel it is actually the ultimate beauty,” Michele told me.

Indeed, I felt the same way. My relationship with toplessness was part of a very democratic cultural status quo. If every woman on the beaches of the Mediterranean—from the sexy girls tanning on the shoreline to the grandmothers eating spaghetti al pomodoro out of Tupperware containers under sun umbrellas—bore equally naked body parts, then somehow we were all on the same team. No hierarchies were established. In general, there was very little naked breast censorship. Free nipples appeared on magazine covers at newsstands, whether tabloids or art and fashion magazines. Breasts were so naturally part of the national conversation and aesthetic that Ilona Staller (also known as Cicciolina) and Moana Pozzi, two porn stars, cofounded a political party called the Love Party. I have a clear memory of my neighbor hanging their party’s banner out his window, featuring a topless Cicciolina winking.

A lot has changed since those days, but also since that initial 2017 piece. There’s been a feminist revolution, a transformation of women’s fashion and gender politics, the absurd overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction in New York, the intensely disturbing overturning of Roe v Wade and the current political battle over reproductive rights radiating from America and far beyond. One way or another, the female body is very much the site of political battles as much as it is of style and fashion tastes. And maybe for this reason naked breasts seem to populate runways and street style a lot more than they do beaches—it’s likely that being naked at a dinner party leaves more of a permanent mark than being naked on a glamorous shore. Naked “dressing” seems to be much more popular than naked “being.” It’s no coincidence that this year Saint Laurent, Chloé, Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Gucci, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, and Valentino all paid homage to sheer dressing in their collections, with lacy dresses, see-through tops, sheer silk hosiery fabric, and close-fitting silk dresses. The majority of Anthony Vaccarello’s fall 2024 collection was mostly transparent. And even off the runway, guests at the Saint Laurent show matched the mood. Olivia Wilde appeared in a stunning see-through dark bodysuit, Georgia May Jagger wore a sheer black halter top, Ebony Riley wore a breathtaking V-neck, and Elsa Hosk went for translucent polka dots.

In some strange way, it feels as if the trends of the ’90s have swapped seats with those of today. When, in 1993, a 19-year-old Kate Moss wore her (now iconic) transparent, bronze-hued Liza Bruce lamé slip dress to Elite Model Agency’s Look of the Year Awards in London, I remember seeing her picture everywhere and feeling in awe of her daring and grace. I loved her simple sexy style, with her otherworldly smile, the hair tied back in a bun. That very slip has remained in the collective unconscious for decades, populating thousands of internet pages, but in remembering that night Moss admitted that the nude look was totally unintentional: “I had no idea why everyone was so excited—in the darkness of Corinne [Day’s] Soho flat, the dress was not see-through!” That’s to say that nude dressing was usually mostly casual and not intellectualized in the context of a larger movement.

But today nudity feels loaded in different ways. In April, actor and author Julia Fox appeared in Los Angeles in a flesh-colored bra that featured hairy hyper-realist prints of breasts and nipples, and matching panties with a print of a sewn-up vagina and the words “closed” on it, as a form of feminist performance art. Breasts , an exhibition curated by Carolina Pasti, recently opened as part of the 60th Venice Biennale at Palazzo Franchetti and showcases works that span from painting and sculpture to photography and film, reflecting on themes of motherhood, empowerment, sexuality, body image, and illness. The show features work by Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Louise Bourgeois, and an incredible painting by Bernardino Del Signoraccio of Madonna dell’Umiltà, circa 1460-1540. “It was fundamental for me to include a Madonna Lactans from a historical perspective. In this intimate representation, the Virgin reveals one breast while nurturing the child, the organic gesture emphasizing the profound bond between mother and child,” Pasti said when we spoke.

Through her portrayal of breasts, she delves into the delicate balance of strength and vulnerability within the female form. I spoke to Pasti about my recent musings on naked breasts, which she shared in a deep way. I asked her whether she too noticed a disparity between nudity on beaches as opposed to the one on streets and runways, and she agreed. Her main concern today is around censorship. To Pasti, social media is still far too rigid around breast exposure and she plans to discuss this issue through a podcast that she will be launching in September, together with other topics such as motherhood, breastfeeding, sexuality, and breast cancer awareness.

With summer at the door, it was my turn to see just how much of the new reread on transparency would apply to beach life. In the last few years, I noticed those beaches Michele and I reminisced about have grown more conservative and, despite being the daughter of unrepentant nudists and having a long track record of militant topless bathing, I myself have felt a bit more shy lately. Perhaps a woman in her 40s with two children is simply less prone to taking her top off, but my memories of youth are populated by visions of bare-chested mothers surveilling the coasts and shouting after their kids in the water. So when did we stop? And why? When did Michele’s era of “un-beauty” end?

In order to get back in touch with my own naked breasts I decided to revisit the nudist beaches of my youth to see what had changed. On a warm day in May, I researched some local topless beaches around Rome and asked a friend to come with me. Two moms, plus our four children, two girls and two boys of the same ages. “Let’s make an experiment of this and see what happens,” I proposed.

The kids all yawned, but my friend was up for it. These days to go topless, especially on urban beaches, you must visit properties that have an unspoken nudist tradition. One of these in Rome is the natural reserve beach at Capocotta, south of Ostia, but I felt a bit unsure revisiting those sands. In my memory, the Roman nudist beaches often equated to encounters with promiscuous strangers behind the dunes. I didn’t want to expose the kids, so, being that I am now a wise adult, I went ahead and picked a compromise. I found a nude-friendly beach on the banks of the Farfa River, in the rolling Sabina hills.

We piled into my friend’s car and drove out. The kids were all whining about the experiment. “We don’t want to see naked mums!” they complained. “Can’t you just lie and say you went to a nudist beach?”

We parked the car and walked across the medieval fairy-tale woods until we reached the path that ran along the river. All around us were huge trees and gigantic leaves. It had rained a lot recently and the vegetation had grown incredibly. We walked past the remains of a Roman road. The colors all around were bright green, the sky almost fluorescent blue. The kids got sidetracked by the presence of frogs. According to the indications, the beach was about a mile up the river. Halfway down the path, we bumped into a couple of young guys in fanny packs. I scanned them for signs of quintessential nudist attitude, but realized I actually had no idea what that was. I asked if we were headed in the right direction to go to “the beach”. They nodded and gave us a sly smile, which I immediately interpreted as a judgment about us as mothers, and more generally about our age, but I was ready to vindicate bare breasts against ageism.

We reached a small pebbled beach, secluded and bordered by a huge trunk that separated it from the path. A group of girls was there, sharing headphones and listening to music. To my dismay they were all wearing the tops and bottoms of their bikinis. One of them was in a full-piece bathing suit and shorts. “See, they are all wearing bathing suits. Please don’t be the weird mums who don’t.”

At this point, it was a matter of principle. My friend and I decided to take our bathing suits off completely, if only for a moment, and jumped into the river. The boys stayed on the beach with full clothes and shoes on, horrified. The girls went in behind us with their bathing suits. “Are you happy now? my son asked. “Did you prove your point?”

I didn’t really know what my point actually was. I think a part of me wanted to feel entitled to those long-gone decades of naturalism. Whether this was an instinct, or as Pasti said, “an act that was simply tied to the individual freedom of each woman”, it was hard to tell. At this point in history, the two things didn’t seem to cancel each other out—in fact, the opposite. Taking off a bathing suit, at least for my generation who never had to fight for it, had unexpectedly turned into a radical move and maybe I wanted to be part of the new discourse. Also, the chances of me going out in a fully sheer top were slim these days, but on the beach it was different. I would always fight for an authentic topless experience.

After our picnic on the river, we left determined to make our way—and without children—to the beaches of Capocotta. In truth, no part of me actually felt very subversive doing something I had been doing my whole life, but it still felt good. Once a free breast, always a free breast.

This article was originally published on British Vogue .

Vogue Daily

By signing up you agree to our User Agreement (including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions ), our Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement and to receive marketing and account-related emails from Vogue. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: A Printable List

By The New York Times Books Staff Aug. 26, 2024

Share full article

Print this version to keep track of what you’ve read and what you’d like to read. See the full project, including commentary about the books, here.

A PDF version of this document with embedded text is available at the link below:

Download the original document (pdf)

The New York Times Book Review I've I want THE 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY read to it read it 1 My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante 26 26 Atonement, by lan McEwan 2 The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 27 Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 3 Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel 28 Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell 4 The Known World, by Edward P. Jones 29 The Last Samurai, by Helen DeWitt 5 The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen 30 Sing, Unburied, Sing, by Jesmyn Ward 6 2666, by Roberto Bolaño 31 White Teeth, by Zadie Smith 7 The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead 32 The Line of Beauty, by Alan Hollinghurst 8 Austerlitz, by W.G. Sebald 33 Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward 9 Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro 34 Citizen, by Claudia Rankine 10 Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson 35 Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel 11 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Díaz 36 Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates 12 The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion 37 The Years, by Annie Ernaux 13 The Road, by Cormac McCarthy 38 The Savage Detectives, by Roberto Bolaño 14 Outline, by Rachel Cusk 39 A Visit From the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan 15 Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee 40 H Is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald 16 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon 41 Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan 17 The Sellout, by Paul Beatty 42 A Brief History of Seven Killings, by Marlon James 18 Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders 43 Postwar, by Tony Judt 19 Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe 44 The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin 20 Erasure, by Percival Everrett 45 The Argonauts, by Maggie Nelson 21 Evicted, by Matthew Desmond 46 The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt 22 22 Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo 47 A Mercy, by Toni Morrison 23 Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, by Alice Munro 48 Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi 24 The Overstory, by Richard Powers 49 The Vegetarian, by Han Kang 25 25 Random Family, by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc 50 Trust, by Hernan Diaz I've I want read to it read it

The New York Times Book Review I've I want THE 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY read to it read it 51 Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson 52 52 Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson 53 Runaway, by Alice Munro 76 77 An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones 78 Septology, by Jon Fosse Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin 54 Tenth of December, by George Saunders 55 The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright 56 The Flamethrowers, by Rachel Kushner 57 Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich ཤྲཱ རྒྱ སྐྱ A Manual for Cleaning Women, by Lucia Berlin The Story of the Lost Child, by Elena Ferrante Pulphead, by John Jeremiah Sullivan. Hurricane Season, by Fernanda Melchor 58 Stay True, by Hua Hsu 83 When We Cease to Understand the World, by Benjamín Labatut 59 Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides 84 The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee 60 Heavy, by Kiese Laymon 85 Pastoralia, by George Saunders 61 Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver 86 Frederick Douglass, by David W. Blight 62 10:04, by Ben Lerner 87 Detransition, Baby, by Torrey Peters 63 Veronica, by Mary Gaitskill 88 The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis 64 The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai 89 The Return, by Hisham Matar 65 The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth 90 The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen 66 We the Animals, by Justin Torres 91 The Human Stain, by Philip Roth 67 Far From the Tree, by Andrew Solomon 92 The Days of Abandonment, by Elena Ferrante 68 The Friend, by Sigrid Nunez 93 Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel 69 59 The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander 94 On Beauty, by Zadie Smith 10 70 All Aunt Hagar's Children, by Edward P. Jones 95 Bring Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel 71 The Copenhagen Trilogy, by Tove Ditlevsen 96 Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, by Saidiya Hartman 72 22 Secondhand Time, by Svetlana Alexievich 97 Men We Reaped, by Jesmyn Ward 73 The Passage of Power, by Robert A. Caro 98 Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett 74 Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout 99 How to Be Both, by Ali Smith 75 15 Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid 100 Tree of Smoke, by Denis Johnson I've I want read to it read it

Life is Beautiful

by Roberto Benigni

Life is beautiful summary and analysis of part i.

The film opens with an atmospheric shot of a silhouetted figure wandering through dense dust and debris. "This is a simple story," the narrator says, "but not an easy one to tell. Like a fable, there is sorrow, and like a fable, it is full of wonder and happiness." The shot then brightens, and we see a simple country road. It is 1939, and we are in Abrezzo, Italy. Two men drive along in a car, and the driver animatedly recites a poem to his friend. Finally, he yells out, "the brakes are gone!" The passenger thinks it is merely another line in the poem, but the driver declares, "No, they're really gone! The brakes are gone!" The car barrels down the road, through the woods, and into a parade, where the passengers' desperate arm movements to the waiting crowd appear to be "Heil Hitler" gestures. The crowd eagerly responds, raising their right arms in kind. When the army official who was actually supposed to be honored in the parade passes the crowd, everyone falls silent in confusion.

The driver, Ferruccio, attempts to fix the car with little success. Finally, he tells our hero, Guido Orefice , to go for a walk, or they will be there forever. Guido says that he will go wash his hands, and he heads towards a little farmhouse. There, he sees a little girl and inquires about the items that she has piled onto a cart, telling her that her display is lovely. He introduces himself as a prince and tells her that everything around her belongs to him. He says that he is going to call the place Addis Ababa--and he will replace the cows with camels. Guido then announces that he is off to meet with his princess. At that moment there is a ruckus, and a woman falls out of a window, directly onto Guido and a pile of hay. "Good morning, princess!" Guido says, grinning. The woman says that she has been stung by a wasp, and Guido begins sucking the venom out of her leg. The little girl, Elenora, tells the woman that Guido is a prince, and the woman offers him some eggs in thanks. Taking half a dozen eggs, Guido makes his exit.

Next, it is night, and Ferruccio and Guido are approaching a grand old house. As they walk to the front door, there is a loud crash, and two men run out. Inside, Guido's uncle Eliseo is on the floor. He says that the men were "barbarians" and that he did not cry out for help because "silence is the most powerful cry." Ferruccio introduces himself as a poet and upholsterer, and Eliseo says that they are welcome to stay in the house, which has been converted into a storage facility. Eliseo also says that Guido can work as a waiter at the hotel where he is employed. Eliseo walks around the room, pointing out the oddities contained there, and then leaves. His horse, Robin Hood, whinnies in greeting.

The next day, Guido and Ferruccio walk through the piazza, visibly excited about their new life. They pass a man standing on the sidewalk, who calls out, "Maria! The key!" An unseen woman tosses a key out of a window, very nearly missing Guido and Ferruccio. They then go to meet Oreste , who is employing Ferruccio as an upholsterer. Guido compliments Oreste on his hat, attempting to switch it for his own. Guido asks Oreste what his political views are, but Oreste does not hear him; Oreste is too busy chastizing his boys, Benito and Adolfo. Guido quickly excuses himself, but not before switching the hats once again. Oreste declares that he will get his revenge.

Guido argues with a woman about his application to open a bookshop. She tells him that the department head, Amico Rodolfo , has to sign the loan, but when Amico walks thorugh the room he refuses to do so since his substitute, he says, will be there in an hour. Guido is irritated; all Amico had to do was give him a signature, and now he has to wait an hour! In his frustration, he knocks a flowerpot off of the windowsill, and it hits Amico on the head as he passes below. Guido runs down to help him, but Amico says that Guido will never get his loan now. He takes a hat from Guido and jams it onto his head, but Guido flinches--earlier, he had put the six eggs into the hat, and they are now shattered all over Amico. "I'll kill you!" he screams, and Guido jumps onto his bike to make an escape.

Guido bicycles frantically through the piazza, trying to navigate around a group of schoolchildren. Suddenly he collides with a woman--the woman from the farm. "Good morning, princess!" he says. "I wonder if we'll ever bump into each other standing up!" He bids her farewell and runs off, leaving her standing in the piazza, watching him go with a slight smile on her face.

The moody, evocative opening of the film, with a shadowy character struggling through dense fog, provides a sharp contrast to the cheerful, boisterous scene that follows, which depicts Guido and Ferruccio barreling down a country road in an open-air car. Indeed, the first scene is so at odds with the entire first half of the film that viewers may forget about it entirely until the horrors of the second half begin. Yet, the first scene alerts us to the true complexity of Life is Beautiful : this is a lighthearted comedy, for certain, but it has a dark side that must be reckoned with.

Indeed, an attentive viewer will catch glimpses of the darker side of the film throughout the first half, hidden though they may be by Benigni's brilliant comedic talents. Before the credits even begin, the audience is alerted to the pervasive prevalence of fascism: when Guido, trapped in the runaway car, frantically gestures to the crowd to move out of the way, they interpret his wild flailings as a fascist salute and eagerly respond in kind. Later, Guido asks Oreste what his political views are, and he receives enough of an answer when Oreste chastizes his two children, calling them Benito and Adolfo. Guido's trouble with Amico seems to have an anti-Semitic reason. And even though Life is Beautiful is not an overtly political film--politics are only directly discussed a handful of times--Benigni's political inclinations are quite clear from the outset.

The first few scenes of the film not only introduce several major characters (including Guido, Dora, Ferruccio, Eliseo, Oreste, and Amico), but they also incorporate additional elements that return later in the tale. For example, Dora's gift to Guido of half a dozen eggs later incites Amico's anger, and Guido's and Ferrucio's discovery of the man who daily cries out, "Maria! The key!" will prove instrumental later in the development of Guido's and Dora's romance.

Furthermore, Eliseo's explanation of why he did not cry out when he was being attacked, "Silence is the most powerful cry," informs the second half of the film. While Guido is not "silent" in his attempts to combat the fascists who entrap him and his family in the second half of the film (consider his later use of the loudspeaker), he is politically silent, focusing instead on laughter and on the joy of human experience.

Right away, the audience realizes that they are dealing with a truly unique individual. Guido himself is a masterful storyteller, able to manipulate his surroundings so that they make his fanciful tales come to life. (Consider Benigni himself in this regard.) When Guido meets the young Elenora at the farm, he takes pleasure in bringing a smile to the child's face by telling her that he is a prince and that he plans to bring in camels to replace the cows. "No!" she cries. "Camels?!" When Dora, the woman who is to become his wife, seemingly falls out of the sky and into his arms, Guido immediately figures out a way to work this development into his story: "Good morning, princess!" he says, thereby lending credence to his tale.

Thus, Life is Beautiful is an almost magical tale. Situations arise that seem so coincidental as to have been directed by a supernatural force, but Benigni is very careful to convey that each seemingly extraordinary occurrence has its natural causes-even if the coincidence is orchestrated by the hand of an extraordinary man or some larger fate. Magic, Benigni suggests, comes primarily from human agency-if only one is willing to see the vast possibilities that life offers.

GradeSaver will pay $15 for your literature essays

Life is Beautiful Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Life is Beautiful is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Artist/ song name?

The name of the song is Barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffman by Offenbach.

Dora is disappointed because she wants to go out for ice-cream, but she and Amico have to go the the Prefect's for dinner instead.

I'm sorry, this is a short-answer "literature" forum designed for text specific questions. We are unable to assist students with questions about film unless otherwise noted in the text.

Study Guide for Life is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful study guide contains a biography of Roberto Benigni, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Life is Beautiful
Life is Beautiful Summary
Character List

Essays for Life is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Life is Beautiful.

Comparative on Life is Beautiful and Mr Pip
Overcoming the Ultimate Tragedy: Understanding 'Life Is Beautiful' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'
The Implications of War: A Comparison of The Book Thief and Life is Beautiful

Wikipedia Entries for Life is Beautiful

Introduction

IMAGES

An essay on the analysis of Life is Beautiful Free Essay Example
Life Is Beautiful: A Summary Essay Example
Free Life Is Beautiful Essay Examples and Topic Ideas
5 Essays on Life is Beautiful
Essay on Life for all Class in 100 to 500 Words in English
The Most Beautiful Day In My Life Essay Free Essay Example

VIDEO

life so beautiful long version
Naturally life so beautiful
❤️😍villege life so beautiful 😍❤️

COMMENTS

Short Essay on Life: Life is Beautiful
41. on Short Essay on Life: Life is Beautiful. The beauty of life essay is an opportunity to explore the many facets of life and to appreciate the beauty that exists in each of them. It can be a reflection on the joys of life, the struggles of life, or the lessons learned from life.
Essay on Life Is Beautiful
In conclusion, life is beautiful in its entirety. Its beauty lies not just in joyous moments and achievements, but also in challenges and failures. The diversity of human experiences, the bonds we form, and the lessons we learn all contribute to the beauty of life. Furthermore, the transience of life serves as a reminder to appreciate every moment.
5 Essays on Life is Beautiful
5 Essays on Life is Beautiful. Life is really wonderful. Its whole new experience of wonder, happiness, sorrow, fear, love and anxiety. Life is beautiful. There is no other way to say it. It's amazing, wonderful, and miraculous. Each day is a gift, and we should take advantage of every moment. There are so many things to enjoy in life: the ...
"Life Is Beautiful": A Lesson in the Perception of Life Essay
Life is Beautiful is a 1997 film that focuses on the challenges of the Holocaust caused by the Nazi movement on the Jews. Achieving the purpose of the film is done in a soft manner, with the film being dominated by the positive element of humor (Benigni, p. 22). Based on a traditional setting, the human elements that make life beautiful, as the ...
Essay On Life is Beautiful For Students
So go ahead and take a deep breath - life is beautiful, after all! 2. Contradictions. Life can be beautiful and perfect, or it can be harsh and terrible. It all depends on your perspective. We all have our own set of beliefs and opinions, which can make our lives seem either great or terrible.
The Art of Finding Joy in The Face of Life Adversity
"Life is beautiful and yet life is not a bed of roses. Though it is full of ups and downs it has many facets of blessings and successes. To some people, life is hard, cruel and merciless. These set of people see life as punishment throughout their entire lives. They therefore resigned themselves to fate, believing all is finished.
"Life is Beautiful": Finding Beauty Amidst Adversity
The phrase "life is beautiful" takes on profound meaning in the context of the critically acclaimed film bearing the same name. Directed by Roberto Benigni, "Life is Beautiful" is a powerful exploration of resilience, hope, and love set against the backdrop of World War II. This essay delves into the themes and genre of the movie, examining how ...
Speech on Life Is Beautiful
Essay on Life Is Beautiful; 2-minute Speech on Life Is Beautiful. Good day everyone! I am here to talk about a simple, yet profound idea - Life is beautiful. ... In conclusion, life is beautiful in so many ways - through the natural world around us, the people who love us, the experiences that help us grow, and the love and kindness we can ...
Short Essay On Life Is Beautiful
899 Words4 Pages. Life is beautiful. Yet, much of the beauty is lost in our unfulfilled desire. In this short life we want to achieve too many things. We want money, we want gold, we want fame - quite often without thinking whether it is within our reach or not. Often our ambition is out of bound to our available resource, ability and capability.
Life is Beautiful Essays
Life is Beautiful. Markus Zusak's narrative The Book Thief and Roberto Benigni's film Life is Beautiful use historical perspective to explore the impact of war. Zusak's The Book Thief uses the narration of death to follow the life of a young girl in war torn... Life is Beautiful literature essays are academic essays for citation.
Essay on Life for Students and Children
500+ Words Essay on Life. First of all, Life refers to an aspect of existence. This aspect processes acts, evaluates, and evolves through growth. Life is what distinguishes humans from inorganic matter. Some individuals certainly enjoy free will in Life. Others like slaves and prisoners don't have that privilege.
Eight Brilliant Student Essays on What Matters Most in Life
He suffers from a rare blood cancer—the result of the wars he fought in. Roger has good and bad days. He says, "The good outweighs the bad, so I have to be grateful for what I have on those good days.". When Roger retired, he never thought the effects of the war would reach him.
Life is Beautiful Study Guide
Life is Beautiful literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Life is Beautiful. Life is Beautiful study guide contains a biography of Roberto Benigni, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
Life is Beautiful Themes
Bravery. Bravery is an ubiquitous theme throughout Life is Beautiful. The pressures of anti-Semitism, cruelty, and prejudice affect everyone in the film, and each character's reaction to these pressures is highly indicative of his or her personal beliefs and proclivities. Dora is a paragon of bravery, and her dilemmas in the film mirror the ...
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!
Life is beautiful, but not always. It has lots of problems you have to face everyday. Don't worry though! All these problems make you strong, it gives you courage to stand alone in future. Life is ...
Life Is Beautiful Essay
765 Words. 4 Pages. Open Document. Life is beautiful: I found it! Just a couple week or before, I was hovering around the streets of Kathmandu and was gyrating around a top of my house with a heavy brain box. Every of those 24 hours of my days used to be spent on finding the meaning of life, death and the reason I am here on this planet.
Essay On Beauty Of Life
Essay On Beauty Of Life. 880 Words4 Pages. Life is beautiful but not always easy, it has problems, too, and the challenge lies in facing them with courage, letting the beauty of life act like a bomb, which makes the pain bearable, during trying times, by providing hope. Happiness, sorrow, victory, defeat, day-night are the two sides of the me coin.
Life Is Beautiful Essay Examples
Reaction Paper— "Life Is Beautiful". Life is Beautiful is a thrilling film that features interesting events during the Holocaust. It gives account of three people—a Jewish father, his son, and his wife— who find themselves detained and sent to a concentration camp. The son is extremely young, which makes his father concerned that he ...
"Life is Beautiful"
Life is Beautiful uses humor to show, subtly, the absurdity of a world in which this evil could blossom and flourish. Humor is also used to reveal the protagonist's pluckiness and resilience and his response to the absurdity of his surroundings. Humor also conveys the message of the horror of the concentration camp system and the essential ...
Life Is Beautiful Essay
Life Is Beautiful Film Analysis Life is Beautiful Movie Analysis Life is Beautiful, directed by Italian director Roberto Benigni, released in 1997, is a film about love, war and death. Set just before and during WWII, the main character, Guido falls in love with the woman of his dreams, they have a child but they get separated by the horrors of ...
Trump Reposts Crude Sexual Remark About Harris on Truth Social
Last month, Mr. Trump questioned Ms. Harris's identity as a Black woman, suggesting at a convention of Black journalists that Ms. Harris had used her racial profile as a way to gain a political ...
My So-Called Life Creator Reveals How Barbra Streisand Inspired the
'My So-Called Life' castmembers Devon Gummersall, Jared Leto, Devon Odessa, Claire Danes, Lisa Wilhoit, A.J. Langer, Tom Irwin, Bess Armstrong and Wilson Cruz. Mark Seliger/ABC/Getty Images
-Caught My Wife Cheating on Video So I Left. Came Back to ...
-Caught My Wife Cheating on Video So I Left. Came Back to Find Her Having a Mental. - reddit Stories-#reels #reddit #redditreadings #redditor #aita...
Life is Beautiful Essay Questions
1. Is Life is Beautiful principally a comedy or a tragedy? Answer: Life is Beautiful is set against the tragic backdrop of the Holocaust, but tragedy is not its primary focus. The film has many comedic elements, from Benigni's antics to the myriad humorous interactions. At the end, Guido overcomes the adversity of the concentration camp to save ...
The 30 best small towns in America
America is an enormous country with many beautiful big cities that are world famous. Names like Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco come to mind. With that being said, not everyone is a fan ...
As a Teenager in Europe, I Went to Nudist Beaches All the Time. 30
Indeed, I felt the same way. My relationship with toplessness was part of a very democratic cultural status quo. If every woman on the beaches of the Mediterranean—from the sexy girls tanning on ...
Harris explains in exclusive CNN interview why she's shifted her
Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday offered her most expansive explanation to date on why she's changed some of her positions on fracking and immigration, telling CNN's Dana Bash her ...
The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: A Printable List
The New York Times Book Review I've I want THE 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY read to it read it 51 Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson 52 52 Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson 53 Runaway, by Alice ...
Life is Beautiful Part I Summary and Analysis
Life is Beautiful Summary and Analysis of Part I. The film opens with an atmospheric shot of a silhouetted figure wandering through dense dust and debris. "This is a simple story," the narrator says, "but not an easy one to tell. Like a fable, there is sorrow, and like a fable, it is full of wonder and happiness."
Kolkata doctor's rape case: Parents remember daughter who was ...
The crime took place on the night of 9 August, when the woman, who was a junior doctor at the city's RG Kar Medical College, had gone to a seminar room to rest after a gruelling 36-hour shift.

5 Essays on Life is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful Essay Summary:

What is Life For You Essay:

Life is Beautiful Explained:

What is the Message of Life is Beautiful:

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

“Life Is Beautiful”: A Lesson in the Perception of Life Essay

Essay On Life is Beautiful For Students

Life is Beautiful Essay For Students

Why Life is Beautiful?

Related Posts:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

"Life is Beautiful": Finding Beauty Amidst Adversity

Table of contents

Cite this Essay

Related Essays

Still can’t find what you need?

Related Essays on Film Analysis

Related Topics

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

Speech on Life Is Beautiful

1-minute Speech on Life Is Beautiful

2-minute Speech on Life Is Beautiful

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Essay on Life for Students and Children

Why is Life Important?

How to Improve Quality of Life?

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Download the App

Follow YES! For Teachers

The Winners

Literary Gems

Middle School Winner

The Lessons Of Mortality

High School Winner

Time Only Moves Forward

University Winner

The Life-Long War

Powerful Voice Winner

Wise Words From Winnie the Pooh

Decoding The Butterfly

Powerful Voice Winner

This Former State Trooper Has His Priorities Straight: Family, Climate Change, and Integrity

The Phone Call

“Tell It Like It Is” Interview Winner

Lessons My Nana Taught Me

From The Author: Responses to Student Winners

From A Teacher

The Birthday Gift

From The Author: Response to Charles Sanderson

Get Stories of Solutions to Share with Your Classroom

Inspiration in Your Inbox

Forgotten password

Summer Guide

All Fiction

All Nonfiction

All Opinions

All Hot Topics

All Reviews

Summer Program Reviews

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!

Similar Articles

Share this on

Tell my friends

Send your email

Pardon Our Dust

Life Is Beautiful Essays

“Life is Beautiful”

My So-Called Life Creator Reveals How Barbra Streisand Inspired the Beloved High School Show (Exclusive)

Related Articles

As a Teenager in Europe, I Went to Nudist Beaches All the Time. 30 Years Later, Would the Experience Be the Same?

More Great Living Stories From Vogue

Vogue Daily

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: A Printable List

Download the original document (pdf)

by Roberto Benigni

Life is Beautiful Questions and Answers

Study Guide for Life is Beautiful

Essays for Life is Beautiful