Zubin Shourie
7Y


"Urban legend, (n), a humorous or horrific story or piece of information circulated as though true, especially one purporting to involve someone vaguely related or known to the teller. " (Google dictionary). In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, urban legends are used to develop characters, and progress the plot. There are several different fables, about certain people in the book. One, Boo Radley is thought of as a scary pet eater, but in reality he is just a old man with mental health issues. The rest of this essay is about how urban legends have shaped how these three people are viewed. Dolphus Raymond, Donald Trump, and Ted Cruz.

The first urban legend is about another man in To Kill a Mockingbird named Dolphus Raymond. Dolphus is a man who had a white wife who killed herself for an unknown reason, and after that married a black women. People think he drinks a lot, because he is not welcome in either the white community or the black one. He has mixed children, and no one understands him. Everyone thinks he drinks whisky in his brown paper bag, but he really is just drinking Coca-Cola. This is a secret that only Dill, Jem and Scout know because Dolphus knows if the other people in the community knew, they wouldn't understand that it is a lifestyle choice, and he does it because he wants to. This is interesting because everyone is always talking about how he is “in the clutches of whisky”(p155 Harper Lee). When he tells the kids this it is revealed that he is a kind person who is just misunderstood.

The second person whose urban legend changes people’s view of him is Donald Trump. There are several different fables about Donald Trump, but a major one is that he has tiny hands. The story starts with people making fun of him for his allegedly small hands. People made memes and jokes about him. Other people got in on the fun too, including another presidential candidate running against Trump, Marco Rubio. When this happened, Trump defended himself by stating that “ And, he referred to my hands -- 'if they're small, something else must be small.' I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee". This may be a bit of an inappropriate remark, but in a way it shows his insecurity. The truth is Donald Trump actually has average sized hands, but people are just trying to insult him because he is the leading candidate for the republican candidacy. People will keep making fun of him, and try to make him ineligible for the presidency, but who knows, maybe one day we will all bow to him.

The last urban legend is about Ted Cruz. People think because he resembles the serial killer that he is the Zodiac Killer. The Zodiac Killer has been linked to 5 murders in the Bay Area from 1968-1969. It is also suspected that he was involved in more murders as well. He first killed two people, claiming "it was fun", but then went on to more. At one point, he was seen and had sketches drawn of him, and the sketch resembles the image of the Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz. This is an interesting story because of how openly the killer admitted to his murders. He was never found, but almost always sent letters to the San Francisco newspaper admitting to his crimes, and threatened to do more if the letter was not published in the paper. This is a fun story but definitely untrue since Cruz was born in 1970, and the attacks started happening in 1968. Unless there was an unborn fetus running around killing people, it was definitely someone else.
All of these people have had their reputations changed because of urban legends. All of these legends are false, and that is why they're in some way are wrong, but the reason people make them is people ether don't like or don't understand what they make the legend about. These are just three of the thousands of urban legends in the world, and they all just are jokes that provide a quick laugh.

Pacific Palisades is a rich luscious town. In the sunny weather, the streets turn to golden bars, the plants bloom and grow abundantly. The

Starbucks in the Village is the center of the world for all of the rich Brentwood girls and those of Pacific Palisades. The the birds chirp and sing

because they don't have to live in pollution of downtown. All the cars are Teslas, Lexus and Porsche. They prepare their engines because they

will soon be driving all the way to Mexico when Donald Trump becomes president. Everyday, men come home in their black blazers and

dress pants with Benjamins in their pockets. Their wives walk around in thousand dollar outfits, holding a Starbucks Very Berry Hibiscus

Refresher. They go to spin class, and expansive stores. Their makeup covers up their imperfections, and the botox fixes what they don't like.

They often look like dolls with all of the plastic in their bodies. Everyone moves slowly and acts as if they have nowhere to go. They walk their

dogs and check their Apple watches, always expecting a new message, even though there is none. When it is time to eat, Nobu is the go to

destination. The $400 omakasi is delicious, and a must for everyone. Overall my town is a very close and very nice community.

Zubin Shourie
Of Mice and Men Essay
Dowling English


God is thought of as being a force in human life, but in Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, God seems nearly nonexistent. No one in the story prays, worships, or pleads, but instead they accept their situation, and attempt to make the best of it. Everything that happens in the book is based on fate. No matter the circumstances, fate always prevailes. Throughout the novella, Steinbeck shows that no one their escapes fate and how we deal with our fate shows our humanity.
Lennie's fate was to die because he couldn't control his strength and didn't understand the world around him. This sounds dark, but frankly it is true. Throughout the book, the reader is lead to believe he will go on to have a farm, and tend the RABBITS. Lennie somehow escaped his destiny in Weed, when he held the girl's dress and couldn't let go. That would have been the end for him then and there, but it wasn't, because of George. Lennie then waited for four short weeks until he got to see Aunt Clara and all the mice again in heaven. Lennie couldn't control his actions because of his mental disability. But he could control who he was around, and that was George. George saved Lennie's childish head many times, and took care of him as well. Even in death, George picked the right path for Lennie.
George's fate was much more simple, but harder to bear. From the beginning he was destined to be a lone wolf, and after endless conversations about much better it would be without Lennie, he finally got what he wished for. Even Lennie knew how much he wanted to be alone. Near the end of Lennie's life, he declared,"George gonna give me hell,"..."George gonna wish he was alone an' not have me botherin' him"(Steinbeck 99). Even though George didn't give Lennie hell he had done it enough times to get it engraved in Lennie's quickly forgetting brain. He told Lennie about the fanciful farm, right before he pulled the trigger. George had to shoot his best friend to save him from a more painful death. George couldn't control his wealth, or place in society, but he could control his choices. For example, he could have let Lennie live, but go on to a painful life, or get him out of his misery.
Crook's fate was to live alone, and not have friends. Similar to other characters in the book, he was lonely, but he had one distinguishing trait. He was an African American man living in a mostly white ranch, and a racist society. The extent of racism at the time was shown when Curly's wife says ""Listen N*****" you know what I can do to you if you open your trap?"..."I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny"(Steinbeck p80). He unfortunately couldn't control how people treated and thought of him. In addition, he couldn't control his hurt back, which was kicked by a horse. Despite all of this he could control his mind. He was constantly reading and using his brain power to waste his time.
Of Mice and Men is a book about fate, and the choices you make in the situation you are in. George made the best decision for his friend, and himself by killing him. There were things that people in the book could control, and things they couldn't, and Lennie's death was an unavoidable event. George could control that his death was as pleasant as possible, by telling Lennie about the farm, before he died. In real life, the wheel of fate continues to churn, like the windmill on the imaginary farm.