STUDENTS’ ESSAYS

Dear Caroline,

How have you been? I haven’t heard of you in ages. I hope you are doing well. I am writing to you not only because it has been so long since we last interacted but also to inform you about an inconceivable, terroristic event in France.

I am quite sure however, that you have already heard about this bloodcurdling incident since it has been in the vanguard of the global news and is propagated rapidly. Perhaps you have configured an opinion concerning the attack. I firmly believe that the gendarme who sacrifised himself to guarantee the victim’s safety and save intrepidly their lives without second thoughts, has exceeded the confines of simply being a governmental official. He has now become a universal figure of a stout-hearted, mettlesome man, eager to concede himself for the commonweal. Truly inspiring, isn’t it?

Bravery and mental dignity are depicted through the poem ‘‘Thermopylae’’ by K.P Kavafis, a future-proof and stirring masterpiece. It actually designates the honor of dying in the line of duty and defend fearlessly your instrumental morals. To be more precise it features principles we should espouse in order to protect what is sacred to us and define ourselves by not deviating from our objective. Immovable and insusceptible, we ought to embrace rightness and the precept of justice, to show compassion and sympathy indiscriminately, to be generous enough under any condition and always have sincerity without being resentful. Those who adhere to such morals, are commendable and deserve profound respect for defending undetteredly their duty, despite the adversities that might occur consequently. They are not afraid to lose everything, even though they might encounter a stalemate, by having faith. The gendarme is one of those heroes who prefered to stay constant to his duty by giving up his life for another. Saying he is honorable would be an understatement.

If you haven’t already read the poem, I strongly recommend you to. It is really uplifting and will knock you off your feet. So overwhelming it is, that you will desire for more. I hope I left you a positive impression with my interpretation. I’m looking forward to your response.

Kisses,

Melina

Dear Emma,

I am writing to you due to the fact I have just learned about the tragic incident in France which I imagine you are already aware of. To be honest this incident made me think about the poem Thermopile, by Kavafis, in which the poet describes and praises the same virtues and beliefs the policeman served and died for. More specifically in the poem Kavafis, says that “Honor to those who in their lives keep watching Thermopylae”, that is, honor those who fight for the things someone is worth fighting for and adds that “even more honor is due to them when they foresee (as many do foresee) that Ephialtis will turn up in the end, that the Medes will break through after all”, which means more honor should be attributed to those who stick in their principles even when they predict that their battle is going be betrayed and fail. Moreover, the poet expresses his awe for the high moral values those people express in conjunction with their human nature. In other words, the poet honors those who serve and stay fateful to their morals despite the temptations and the obstacles they meet as the policeman did. Thus, as Kavafis did, we should honor him instead of mourning him and be inspired by his actions.

What about you? What is your opinion about this matter? I look forward to hearing from you

                                                                                                                                    Love, Mary

Dear Chris, How are you? I hope you are well I guess you’ve heard about what happened in France, the supermarket siege and the gendarme’s heroic action. Personally, I think it’s scary that we live in a word that things like that can happen, but it makes me feel safer that people like that gendarme live among us, ready to sacrifice themselves in order to save someone else’s life. I can’t help but admire these people’s courage and heroism. In fact, this incident reminds me of a very famous poem written by Kavafis, named “Thermopylae”. If you haven’t read it yet, you defiantly should. It talks about those people who die in the line of duty, defending their principals and beliefs. It also emphasizes on the fact that these heroes deserve everyone’s respect, especially those who made an heroic action, even though they know that there are going to face some difficulties and even failure. But what do you think? I would really like to hear your opinion on the matter. I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Take care,

John