7/28/2019 SAT Essay (Sample)

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Essay Prompt:-

Existentialist Jean Paul Sartre believed in personal freedom, holding that man is free

to "write the script" for his own life: He can blame no one else if his life is a "poor

performance." On the other hand, William Blake and others in the Romantic movement felt

that the expectations and restraints of society severely limit a person: They believed that

schooling, organized religion, and other social institutions imprison a person's mind and

spirit.

Assignment:-

What is your opinion of the claim that there is no such thing as free choice, that to

some degree, we are always bound by the rules of society? Plan and write an essay in which

you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and

examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Essay:-

Nowadays, free choice is becoming a hot issue. Proponents of human rights argue

that humans should have the liberty to dictate their own paths, without constraints from

the rules of society. Today, we are given the illusion that we are approaching success. The

enfranchisement of the people of Hong Kong by 2017 and the breakdown of Communism in

many countries for more capitalistic ideologies are both commonly cited as advances in

human rights. The question is, are our free choices still being bound by society? My answer

is yes.

To put it on a small scale, let us first look at our schooling institutions. When we

were small, many of us did not want to attend school. Did we have a choice? Well, no. Our

parents would have dragged us to school despite our pleas. Of course, now as educated

people, we understand their benevolent intentions, but then again, was free choice offered?

No! In that way, we have somehow disproved Jean Paul Sartres statement that a man is

free to write his own script. In the example above, our scripts were already written.

7/28/2019 SAT Essay (Sample)

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To put it on a larger scale, let us look at a historical viewpoint. We have heard of the

English proverb, you cannot have your cake and eat it too. That alone, my fellow readers, is

proof enough. Yes, the choice is ours to make, but the terms and conditions are not ours to

make. They are determined by the rules of the other party. Let us look at the Treaty of

Versailles signed after World War I. Germany, in return for survival, was forced to pay

billions of dollars to the Triple Entente. It was the rules of the British and French ruling

societies which dictated the penalty for Germany. In a sense, a part of their survival was

already dictated.

What about in literature? Well, the story of the Prince and the Pauper by Mark

Twain brings this into view. One can clearly remember the pauper, Tom Canty, who was

restricted by social stratification. Hence, when he wanted to meet the Prince, or even have a

glance at him, he was indeed punished cruelly by being beaten up. How was he free to write

his own script when the rules of society were already prejudiced against him?

Indeed this proves that the rules of society do indeed bind us, and sadly, there are

still times in which we cannot dictate our own path.