A Message To Garcia

    “A Message to Garcia” is an essay written by Elbert Hubbard about taking initiative and excellence. While I understand what Elbert Hubbard is saying in the essay, where people should do what they are told without questioning, I do not agree with it. In the essay, Elbert Hubbard says that if you were to ask a clerk to look up Corregio in an encyclopedia, they would greet your request with lots of questions, and in the end it would be easier to just look up Corregio yourself. In the essay, Rowan does exactly what he is told to do by President McKinley without asking him any questions. While I find it can be annoying when people ask too many questions, I would rather ask many questions to assure that I did what was asked correctly. Rowan did eventually do what was asked of him while knowing little details about his quest, however, it took him three weeks to do so and it was probably very stressful for him. As discussed in class, Elbert Hubbard can seem like a very grumpy old man throughout the essay. I agree with this because he complains about the fact that people from a younger generation question things too much and are lazy. I think young people ask more questions because there is so much stress on us to make sure everything is perfect, and when we ask questions we are ensuring that we know the information and will make our assignment as perfect and accurate as possible. 

    I can use this essay to help me throughout high school to remind myself to take initiative in things that affect me. As many teachers and my parents like to remind me, high school and middle school are very different. My mom can no longer email the teacher for me when I forget what my homework is, or when I have questions about a grade I received. This essay reminds me that I have to remember that it is my job to do somethings and to take initiative.