In "General Apache,"the author, Dick Harrington, reflects on his experience with an old student that changed his point of view on war and life. Harrington seems to really respect and admire his old student, General Apache. He states, "What's so special about him, given his history, is his capacity to make peace with the world and his tremendous desire to communicate his experience." General Apache enlightened Harrington by showing him a new kind of person that Harrington had not seen before. Someone who was able to flip his life around and make it for the better. Someone who has been through so much in their life and has been able to overcome obstacles that many cannot. Harrington also reflects on how he gets "much more and better writing these days by learning what stimulates them to think and write," when talking about his students. They inspire him to write more and he realizes that now. Harrington even took his experiences with General Apache and wrote a poem about him. This shows how much his students' lives affect and impact his own.
I liked the essay "Simplicity" a lot more than "General Apache." I found it easier to read and I could relate to it a lot more. The author, William Zinsser, made good points in stating that writing has become too complicated and people never want to just put out what's on their mind. They feel as if they must complicate things in order to seem more sophisticated or to make their writing seem important. He also brings up the point that, "The man or woman snoozing in a chair with a magazine or a book is a person who was being given too much unnecessary trouble by the writer," he reflects that people do not need extra words and complication to enjoy a piece of writing. It's actually better to have simplicity; it keeps your audience on track and does not usually frustrate them like long, drawn out, unnecessary language can. Zinsser makes a good point that writing is hard and that clear sentences are difficult to write, but it's worth it.
