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Rob Gregg
Honors English II- Period G
Mr. Heyman
11/2/15
Finals Essay
Vitamin C has and always will be a vital nutrient to humans. For years it has
helped sustain sailors as they travel the world making discoveries. Another important use of the
vitamin is; a cure for scurvy. It is an undoubtedly useful, and necessary nutrient for anyone at
sea.
One of the top causes of death of sailors before the discovery of vitamin C was
Scurvy. Scurvy was a terrible disease that people with a deficiency of vitamin C would develop.
In the short story Making History with Vitamin C, authors Penny LeCouter and Jay Burrenson
write, Over 90% of his crew didnt survive Magellans 1519-1522 circumnavigation of the
world-in large part, due to scurvy, a devastating disease caused by a deficiency of the ascorbic
acid molecule vitamin C. Some of the symptoms as listed in Making History with Vitamin C are,
Exhaustion and weakness, swelling of the arms and legs, softening of the gums, excessive
bruising, hemorrhaging from the nose and mouth, foul breath, diarrhea, muscle pain, loss of
teeth, lung and kidney problems. This litany of brutal symptoms would usually kill infected
sailors in weeks or less. Along with the initial symptoms, most people would develop pneumonia
and depression.

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One of the main reasons that scurvy was so prevalent in sailing crews, was their
diet. A sailors diet as told in Making History with Vitamin C, was salted beef or pork and ships
biscuits known as hardtack. Hardtack, as explained in Making History with Vitamin C, are a
mixture of flour and water without salt that was baked rock hard and used as a substitute for
bread. The reason sailors had a quiet simple un-nutritious diet was because it was simply hard to
take fresh food to sea. As told in Making History with Vitamin C, Aboard wooden ships it was
extremely important to keep anything including food, dry and mold free. Water was absorbed
through wooden hulls, as the only water-proofing material available was pitch, obtained as a byproduct of charcoal. Since water proofing pitch was so expensive and hard to come by, ship
captains had to make a decision between making an investment in keeping fresh nutritious food,
and saving money for the trip, most chose the latter.
Once ship captains started to realize the benefits of a healthy, well-nourished
crew, the world started to see a decline in rates of people infected with scurvy. One of the first
captains to take hold of and control their ship crews diet was Captain James Cook of the British
Royal Navy. Along with his crews new and improved diet, he also insisted upon keeping
hygiene. This meant bathing, brushing teeth, and washing clothes at all times possible. As told in
Making History with Vitamin C, Cook touched land at every possible opportunity to replenish
stores and gather local grasses (Celery Grass, scurvy grass) or plants from which he brewed
teas. Though many of the sailors did not particularly enjoy this new diet that Captain James
Cook had begun to enforce, it in fact was a well-known, and proven truth that a healthy ship
crew could accomplish more of the multitude of tedious tasks that would arise on a voyage, than

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a sickly ship crew infected by scurvy. As explained in Making History with Vitamin C, For
twenty-three hours straight they manned the pumps as sea water leaked inexorably into the hold,
hauling desperately on cables and anchor in attempt to plug the hole by fathering a temporary
method of mending a hole by drawing a heavy sail under the hull. Incredible effort, superb
seamanship, and good fortune prevailed. The ship eventually slid off of the reef and was beached
for repairs. It had been a very close call- one that an exhausted, scurvy-inflicted crew could not
have summoned the energy to answer.
In conclusion, without vitamin C the lives of many more sailors could have been
lost. For hundreds of years, even back to the times of ancient Scandinavian Vikings, sailors have
fallen victim to the deadly and brutal disease that today we know as Scurvy. Though in large part
it was in fact due to the sailors own, and their ship captains poor choices in regards to their very
own diets. It wasnt until intelligent, caring ship captains, like Captain James Cook, of the British
Royal Navy, started to enforce strict dietary regulations on their ship crews, that the world started
to see a decrease in the amount of people infected with scurvy.

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Rob Gregg
Honors English II- Period G
Mr. Heyman
11/11/15
Finals Essay 2
In the story Occupation: Conductorette, by Maya Angelou, her mother gives her
many aphorisms, or old sayings. They mean many different things, and relate to her trials and
tribulations in becoming a street car conductorette. Some help, and some harm her cause.
One of the first aphorisms Angelous mother gives her is, They dont accept
colored people on streetcars. This means that most minorities arent welcome to ride street cars,
let alone work on one. Though this aphorism slashes, Angelous hopes a bit, it also motivates her
even more to get the job. To quote Angelou, she says, I would like to claim an immediate fury,
that was followed by the noble determination. This shows that her mothers low expectations
disappoint her, but also give her motivation to prove them wrong.
Another aphorism was, Cant do is like dont care. The meaning of this
aphorism is that there is nothing you cant do in life, and everything is worth caring about. This
helps her on her journey to becoming a conductorette. Though Mayas mother doesnt, in her
opinion, think she can be a conductorette, she also does not think that she should tell Maya she
cant do something. This gives Maya the sense of encouragement she had been yearning for.

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This encouragement is represented in Mayas mothers belief in the fact that Maya can
accomplish what others think she cant.
The third aphorism is, God helps those who, help themselves. This means that
God will assist those who live in a way that betters themselves. He will never strike a man or
woman, who is out trying to find work, and do what they love but, rather strike those who sit
back, leech off of others, and dont support themselves. This gives Maya a mental support on her
quest. Now, she knows God is on her side. With God on her side, she can now have the
confidence to be even more relentless and persistent in applying for the conductorette job.
All in all, Mayas mothers aphorisms help her. Though she may not instantly
realize what they are doing for her, she knows that her mother will always say what is best for
her to hear. These aphorisms provide many different types of support in Mayas journey to
become a street car conductorette. Some ways are assurance of her mothers support, assurance
of her own ability, and lastly assurance of Gods support. In the end all of these aphorisms enable
her more, and she ends up getting her dream job.