Matthew Arnold Is Self-Reliant

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How was your high school experience? Did you get picked on? Were you different from everyone else? Well, for Arnold this is his whole life, not only in his school, but his community as well. This was not the end of his torment either; he had only one friend, moved schools and lost that friend, he also had alcoholic parents and an absent sister. For Arnold, life was difficult and it did not seem to work out for him, however he was successful in the end due to his own hard work. This essay will attempt to prove that Arnold’s success is internal because; he has the self-drive, he looks on the bright side, and he is self-reliant. In this ever changing world, you either have the drive to succeed or you do not ; plain and simple. Arnold has that drive to succeed in life, which continues to benefit him. Arnold displayed the drive to succeed all throughout this book. The first time he displayed the perseverance was the surgery he underwent at a very young …show more content…

His parents are alcoholics and barely help him; his sister either sat in her room or wasn't even in the city; his grandmother is helpful but she is only good for reassuring him; and his teachers are most likely being paid much less less than any other office worker and don't have the energy to help him with anything. Arnold is a wise person and he picks up on conditions and adapts easily. When Arnold went to his new school, he did not have any friends and he was different, but he adapted to the situation and took matters into his own hand by using his background knowledge of fighting and ‘made a name for himself.’ After that he had even more knowledge of the social hierarchy and how to react at this new school. Arnold made a lot of friends because of his personality, which like everyone, he tweaked a bit to fit the social norm and skyrocketed from there. He picked it up by

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