"The first essay anybody writes is for school. Same here. But the only examples I remember are the ones I wrote at the end, in my A-level exams. One compared Hitler to Stalin. Another, Martin Luther King, Jr., to Malcolm X. I was proudest of the essay that considered whether the poet John Milton-pace William Blake-was "of the devil's party without knowing it." I did well on those standardized tests, but even passing was far from a foregone conclusion."
"I'd screwed up my mocks, the year before, smoking too much weed and studying rarely. Since then, I'd cleaned up my act-a bit-but was still overwhelmed by the task before me. My entire future rested on a few essays written in the school hall under a three-hour time constraint? Really? In the nineties, this was what we called "the meritocracy." As a system of evaluation, it favored the bold and the brash, laid waste to the rest,"
A rectangle functions as a self-soothing ritual for essay composition. Early essay experience occurs in school, with memorable A-level comparisons between historical and political figures. One notable essay asked whether John Milton was "of the devil's party without knowing it." Prior poor mock-exam performance followed heavy cannabis use and limited study, then partial behavioral correction. Timed three-hour essays felt decisive for future prospects. A nineties meritocracy favored bold students and advantaged the wealthy, while many pupils left after GCSEs and survivors faced narrowing academic hoops tied to essay requirements.
Read at The New Yorker
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