What does an essay do?/not do?

Read the excerpt from "perseus." fate willed it—or perhaps zeus, who up to now had done little for his love and his child—that they should be discovered by a good man, a fisherman named dictys. he came upon the great box and broke it open and took the pitiful cargo home to his wife who was as kind as he. they had no children and they cared for danaë and perseus as if they were their own. this excerpt best shows that the ancient greeks valued beauty and gracefulness. intelligence and hard work. kindness and generosity. independence and action.