This poem by Deborah Pope contains many metaphors and similes to portray the meaning of life through this poem. All of the examples presented in this poem are things every person experiences as they continue on throughout their life. The title is meant to be read before reading the poem. When this done, the lines come together and fortify a stronger meaning to the poem. The main meaning of this poem is that life continues on no matter what happens and people will make it through. Every person is "like a train off its track," (19) at some point in their life where they have lost sense of direction. This poem serves the purpose of portraying this human blight to the common people. People can relate to these experiences, which is why I personally liked the poem. It captures an image of life and misdirection.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" p339
This poem is about a person who becomes enlightened by the teachings of an astronomer. This poem shows the result and views of the transcendentalists of the time. Walt Whitman shared these views. The speaker becomes "tired and sick," (5) from the teachings which are alien to him. At the end of the poem, he looks up at the stars and becomes awestruck. The speaker's views about the stars is different from before he entered the lecture hall. This poem symbolizes how an act of nature that can appear to be so simple is actually shrouded behind a cloud of confusion. This poem also serves the purpose of representing the views of the transcendentalist which is to obtain a better understanding of the world around us. The world is universal and all humans can understand the same meaning from these phenomonons. Whitman uses parallel syntax to provide the story for why the speaker contains the views which he possesses. The parallel sentences contain, "When I," (1-4).
I personally liked this poem because it shows the different ways that you can view the world around you. I am also personally shocked and inspired by the universe and this poem speaks to me because of that sense.
I personally liked this poem because it shows the different ways that you can view the world around you. I am also personally shocked and inspired by the universe and this poem speaks to me because of that sense.
Friday, November 11, 2011
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Hope is a major concept throughout this story. Atwood writes this story very well creating an attachment between Offred and the reader. Offred as a character can offer a person hope and inspiration as Offred lived through the society. Offred starts to lose hope but somehow still manages to hold onto a sliver of this human emotion. Offred loses her sense of hope and will to survive through this dystopian society. Nick, however, changes Offred's mind about the society as a whole and she starts to believe that Gilead is not as bad as she had originally thought. Nick does not do this on purpose but is a result of Offred's hope.
"A chair, a table, a lamp. Above, on the white ceiling, a relief ornament in the shape of a wreath, in the center of it a blank space, plastered over, like the place in a face where the eye has been taken out. There must have been a chandelier, once. They've removed everything you could tie a rope to," (Atwood 7). This quote explains the condition of the society. The aunt's have removed anything that the women can use to commit suicide and escape from this society. Suicide is the only means of escape for the women and they are oppressed to the extent of not even containing the ability to use this as their escape. The quote also shows the flaws of the society. Many women would rather commit suicide than live in this dystopian society.
"A chair, a table, a lamp. Above, on the white ceiling, a relief ornament in the shape of a wreath, in the center of it a blank space, plastered over, like the place in a face where the eye has been taken out. There must have been a chandelier, once. They've removed everything you could tie a rope to," (Atwood 7). This quote explains the condition of the society. The aunt's have removed anything that the women can use to commit suicide and escape from this society. Suicide is the only means of escape for the women and they are oppressed to the extent of not even containing the ability to use this as their escape. The quote also shows the flaws of the society. Many women would rather commit suicide than live in this dystopian society.
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
In this novel, the citizens of OneState are stripped of their basic rights that were once used to express creativity and freedom. The idea of oppresion is a very prominent one in this novel. All of the citizens are stripped of all creative freedoms creating a population of mindless slaves that are easily brainwashed into believing they live in a utopian society, instead of the dystopian society in which they actually live. Without a creative outlet, D-503 expresses the confusion that may surround the entire population. The Benefactor, who is merely just a figurehead, controls all of the citizens by stripping them of their freedoms. If D-503 is against this dystopian society, then the assumption can be made that many others in the society agree with his thoughts.
"I'm in front of a mirror. And for the first time in my life, I swear it, for the very first time in my life, I get a clear, distinct, conscious look at myself; I see myself and I'm astonished, like I'm looking at some 'him,'" (Zamyatin 59). This quote explains how D-503 feels like a completely different person. He is confused about his own internal feelings regarding I-330. He cannot use mathematics to explain his internal feelings and therefore cannot recognize his own reflection. I like the latter quote because it describes how people can become confused so easily and cause conflict with their external and internal qualities. This is just another downfall of human life.
Overall I liked this novel. The way Zamyatin uses the choppy sentences to transfer D-503's confusion is brilliant. These sentences without an end cause confusion within the reader and therefore help the reader to understand the confusion and conflict with external and internal qualities of D-503. Also, the general idea of being against the government or any figure is one that any person can easily relate to, as most people have had some conflict within there lives.
"I'm in front of a mirror. And for the first time in my life, I swear it, for the very first time in my life, I get a clear, distinct, conscious look at myself; I see myself and I'm astonished, like I'm looking at some 'him,'" (Zamyatin 59). This quote explains how D-503 feels like a completely different person. He is confused about his own internal feelings regarding I-330. He cannot use mathematics to explain his internal feelings and therefore cannot recognize his own reflection. I like the latter quote because it describes how people can become confused so easily and cause conflict with their external and internal qualities. This is just another downfall of human life.
Overall I liked this novel. The way Zamyatin uses the choppy sentences to transfer D-503's confusion is brilliant. These sentences without an end cause confusion within the reader and therefore help the reader to understand the confusion and conflict with external and internal qualities of D-503. Also, the general idea of being against the government or any figure is one that any person can easily relate to, as most people have had some conflict within there lives.
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