When Carlos Williams writes that a reader must “complete what the poet has began” means to feel and understand from the poet point of view. When reading “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by W.B yeats I try to imagine going to a idyllic lake isle of innisfree by envisioning what he envision as he day dreams. W.B describes his happy place where he wants to escape in detail “Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;” he wants readers to understand where he wants to live and what it would be like.
Shanice Brown
10 posts
My idea of poetry is the same I’m more in the middle depending on the poem. Some has broadened my ideas by triggering emotions while others made it more difficult to interpret because of the word choices used. Some poems are more cryptic instead of blunt because the use of literary device such as metaphor and symbols. When reading Emily Dickson metaphorical poem “The Wife” it made me feel different kinds of emotions when she expressed how married women were repressed and unhappy.
My research paper will focus on the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. A young boy who faces emotional pressure to be saved by his aunt and church members. The irony of this is that he wasn’t saved and lost faith in God. My thesis statement is: “Hughes uses an ironic twist between dramatic and situational irony to show a young boy’s disillusionment with faith.” After looking over the secondary sources on BMCC I have learned how to view a story from different people’s points of view of what the story means to them or the message they got from the story. When reading the secondary sources I learned Langston was a famous black American poet who expressed how he felt through his work.
The theme of the poem “The Wife” by Emily Dickinson talks about what she as a woman has to sacrifice “playthings In her life” when becoming a married woman. Emily does not want to get married but has to follow society norms. In “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard was in an unhappy marriage. When her husband dies her perception of life changes she finds her true self. She realized how much freedom she has “there would be no powerful will bending hers” she felt relief knowing she could live for herself and not nobody else. Emily’s poem relates to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state because both women are unhappy married women who had to play the role of a wife living by a man’s expectation taking away their freedom. Both stories show how women back then had to live up to society’s norm of women living up to men’s expectations.
In the story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by O’Connor. The interior is about suspense and humor. The suspense is built around the old lady’s survival from the killing of the misfit. The misfit scares the old lady causing her to lose faith in believing she will survive. She begins to persuade him to let her live but the opposite of what she expected happened. The old lady has this self-righteous and manipulating humor. She decides to manipulate her son into not traveling to Florida by trying to act like it’s for the safety of the family. When in reality she just wanted to travel to visit family in Tennessee. She uses logic when using fear and guilt to try and convince her son to do what she wants. The old lady selfish manipulated ways caused her family to go on a detour that led them to death and her in the hands of the misfit. The old lady tries to manipulate everyone around her to get what she wants but in the end, it does not work with the misfit.
Oedipus the King has many timeless human experiences. One is the mother and son relationship between Oedipus and his mother. Oedipus killed his father Laios to marry his mother Jocasta. Oedipus had a sexual relationship with his mother who created this unconscious love for her him. Jocasta accepted the fact that they both created this sexual desire for each other. This shows the love of a mother and son relationship and incest that occurs between family members today. Some people across the world have created this normality to have sexual relations and marry relatives. Another example is when Oedipus realizes he killed his father which causes him to change by accepting it and owning up to what he did by blinding himself. In today’s society, this shows people could change over time by owning up to what they have done.
In the passage “Oedipus King Sophocles” by David Grene. Sung by the chorus, I have selected to discuss line (718-719) “His words are wise, king, if one fears to fall. Those who are quick-tempered are not safe.” The chorus warns Oedipus to be careful of Creon, who argues he didn’t kill Laius the king. Oedipus blames Creon for trying to overthrow him and blames him for the death of Lauis. Creon disliked rumors being spread about him in the murder “I heard deadly words spread about me, that the king accuses me. I cannot take that from him.” (591-595) Oedipus started blaming everyone for the death of his father to take the guilt off his mind. The chorus is the citizens of Thebes who create suspense by foreshadowing upcoming events. The chorus is foreshadowing when warning Oedipus and readers that Creon should not be trusted. The chorus refers to eyes throughout the text that symbolizes being blind to the truth “I have no eyes to see” (608-610) Oedipus covered up that he killed king Lauis, married his mother, and blamed the murder on everyone. Oedipus was blinded by his truth but the blind prophet knew he committed the murder. In the end, Oedipus removes his eyes after finding the light and seeking the truth.
“Araby” is a short story written by James Joyce. The story is about a young religious boy who falls in love with his friend Mangan’s sister. His friend’s sister and him don’t talk much but He’s obsessed with her. He would do anything to make her happy. When he does daily activities he begins to think about the girl. The boy is scared to express his true feelings to her because he barely knows. Mangan’s sister announces she couldn’t attend the trip to Araby due to her going to a retreat at her school. The boy took this opportunity to attend the Araby for the girl to impress her with a gift. When arriving at the Araby the boy felt disappointed with what he saw and wasn’t able to buy her anything. The author uses situational irony when showing how the narrator envisioned Arabys to be this amazing place to gift the girl with an item but in reality, it was the opposite of what he expected. In the end, the message of this story is about the coming of age and becoming an adult. The boy started seeing things for what they truly are instead of what he fantasized about. He realized his mistaken belief of love was false and began rethinking his love for Mangan’s sister when being left alone in the bazaar.
In the short story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, the narrator gives the reader insight into children who grew up in poverty and how their perspective changes when traveling to an expensive toy store. In the beginning, the narrator Sylvia is a smart, rebellious child who doesn’t like Miss Moore because of her proper speech. Sylvia refuses to listen to anyone but herself because she’s big on independence.When Miss Moore brings Sylvia to the toy store she hesitates to walk in .“So I and Sugar turn the corner where the entrance is, but when we got there I kinda hung back”. Sylvia and Sugar were uncomfortable being in a new environment. Sylvia started questioning the prices of the toys and realized that amount of money could buy her family more things. Sylvia tried to make the other children misbehave but they were more interested in the $1000 toys which made her mad. When Sylvia arrives home she reflects on her day after learning about economic inequality. Sylvia refused to accept that Miss More had taught them an important lesson about social class and where they stand in society from other who could afford those expensive toys. Miss Moore was described as this serious educated woman, who teaches children in Harlem. She and a group of students went on a trip to Fifth Ave. Most of the students did not like Ms.Moore in the beginning. One student that popped out to her was Sylvia and they both did not get along. When they arrive at the toy store Miss More questions the students on “What things cost and what their parents make and how money ain’t divided right in this country”. The students believed she was doing this in a way to be funny. Ms Moore uses this method to […]
At the beginning of “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, he uses imagery to make readers picture a young boy named Lanston attending a church revival to be saved by Jesus. His aunt told him to be saved, you must see light. Lanston couldn’t wait to get saved like all the young people in the church. As time passed he got anxious about seeing Jesus. He lied about being saved to avoid embarrassment. The irony is Lanston begins crying and his aunt believes it’s the “holy spirit”. When in reality it’s guilt from sinning. Lanston lies about being saved to his aunt to avoid feeling shame from those who had been saved. In the end, Lanston questioned his belief on if Jesus is real and why he hadn’t been saved by Jesus. Hughes’ message is we shouldn’t force religion on children; the pressure can affect a child. Causing them to lose faith in Jesus.
