The Stranger #3

Meursault's feelings toward the external world continue to be very indifferent. His values are his own; he does not allow society to dictate them. For example, Meursault views religion with this indifference. During Meursault's murder trial, when the magistrate waves a crucifix in Meursault's face, Meursault reports to the reader that the magistrate speaks very "quickly and passionately" of his profound faith in God (68). While Meursault's narration is usually fairly bland, these two adverbs create a clear image of the magistrate that contrasts strongly with the relaxed and measured movements of Meursault. As a result, the magistrate appears juvenile in his proclamation of his faith. By making a mockery of a man of faith, Meursault communicates his disinterest in religion and its lack of rationality and reason. He follows his own code of morals rather than that of any organized religion.

"Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost

Thesis: The speaker of Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay" conveys a tone of resigned acceptance through his use of alliteration, allusion, and selection of diction.

The speaker employs alliteration in order to convey his tone of resignation.  In line 2, four of the five words in the line begin with the letter "H".  As a result, the line sounds and feels breathy and fleeting.  These feelings represent the speaker's view of youth.  This line suggests that the speaker sees youth as too short and as hazy and obscure.  The speaker softly acknowledges here that youth and life do not last as long as one may wish.  Furthermore, the tone created by the soft phonemes of the second line is further accentuated by the hard "G" sound of "green" and "gold," which immediately precede that line (1).  The contrast of these consonant sounds enhances the speaker's resigned tone.

The Stranger #2

Meursault is very detached from the external world, particularly from the world’s cultural expectations.  Meursault recounts his tale in the format of a sequence, showing very little emotion and using short sentences with no flow.  For example, Meursault begins Chapter Three, “I worked hard at the office today.  The boss was nice” (25).  One sentence has seven words, and the next has four.  They reveal no more than they need to for the reader to know the most basic plot of the chapter.  In fact, these sentences state so little that they do not even explicitly tell the reader that there is a connection between his hard work and the way his boss treats him.  As a result of this lack of cause and effect, while Meursault works hard, he does not seem to see any reason to, and so his work has no psychological or emotional experience behind it.  It is simply an action that is happening to him.  Similarly, his involvement with Marie is strikingly devoid of any emotion or intimacy.  When she asks Meursault if he loves her, he tells her that “it didn’t mean anything but that [he] didn’t think so” (35).  Marie expects because of the standards of her culture that Meursault will tell her either yes or no.  To the contrary, society’s expectations do not concern Meursault, and he chooses not to search for the specific emotion that his culture has arbitrarily named “love.”  Instead, he chooses simply to feel what he feels, and if his wishes can work in harmony with hers then so be it.  By responding indifferently to Marie’s love, Meursault does not make an effort to fit into one of society’s most universal and enduring structures.

"For a Lamb" by Richard Eberhart

Richard Eberhart’s “For a Lamb” has a tone of resigned tragedy.  The speaker describes the lamb using the word “putrid”, which contrasts sharply with the traditional innocent and peaceful connotations of a lamb (1).  This contrast creates a shocking image and therefore a tragic mood.  The speaker uses “sleep” as a euphemism for death, enhancing the sense of tragedy by understating it (2).  In the second stanza, the speaker asks, “Where’s the lamb?” (5). Like the “sleep” euphemism, this questions adds to the tragic tone because of its innocence.  This innocence contrasts with the “putrid” death of the lamb, making it seem more tragic.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #8

At the end of the book, Dorian has finally begun to see his evil nature.  When he walks with Lord Henry, and he tells Dorian more and more of his epigrams as he usually does.  However, Dorian reacts differently in this scene than he ever has before.  He does not accept them as fact, and he becomes skeptical of Lord Henry’s central philosophy.  When Lord Henry mocks the romantic relationship Dorian has with a country girl for example, Dorian reacts with a paragraph-long monologue, telling Lord Henry, “I can’t bear this, Harry! You mock at everything, and then suggest the most serious tragedies” (155).  Dorian has finally learned to think critically and objectively, to question Lord Henry’s convincing epigrams, and to stand up for himself.  Later, as Dorian observes two men gossiping about him, he reflects that “He was tired of hearing his name now” after recalling “how pleased he used to be when he was pointed out, or stared at, or talked about” (161).  Dorian sees now what other people think of him, and he has come to realize that he is not the man he would like to be.  He has become cruel and vane, and the people who used to adore him have noticed and have begun to hate him and gossip about him.  Dorian is disappointed in himself, and he realizes in the final chapters of the novel that he must distance himself from Lord Henry and reform his ways.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #7

Dorian continues to stray away from his initial innocence in this section of the novel. He continues to succumb to the influence of Lord Henry, who is rather unpopular among all of Dorian's acquaintances. Last Narborough, for example, is quick to voice her disgust of Lord Henry's lateness, indicating her impatience with him (129). Dorian is also at this party, which he finds extremely bored without Lord Henry's company. This boredom is evident when he sees "some consultation that Harry was to be" at the party (129). Even after almost twenty years of friendship with Lord Henry, Dorian cannot help but be heavily dependent upon him for friendship and influence.

Dorian is still unable to confess of his murder of Basil, even when he comes across more perfect opportunities to do so. When Lord Henry shows concern about Dorian's suspicious behavior at Lady Narborough's party, Dorian responds dismissively, "I am quite well, Harry. I am tired. That is all" (133). At this point, Lord Henry is the one man who may still be able to empathize with Dorian for anything; as both Basil and the reader can observe, Lord Henry is the closest thing to friend that Dorian has left. Even so, Dorian is still unable to confide in Lord Henry. The fact that he is unwilling to tell his most trusted friend, in the one situation in which he is least likely to be the subject of the intense judgment of his peers, is evidence that Dorian is still unwilling to take responsibility for and learn from his crime.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #5

After Dorian begins to read the book and continues to hide the portrait, his corruption grows, and his relationship with Basil dwindles as Lord Henry's influence takes over. In Chapter IX, Dorian completely alienates Basil; he refuses to let Basil see the portrait into which he poured his soul. During Basil's visit, Dorian takes advantage of him: "instead of having been forced to reveal his own secret, he had succeeded, almost by chance, in wrestling a secret from his friend!" namely that Basil is afraid that he exposes too much of his personal emotions in his masterpiece (85). Dorian does not feel the slightest guilt in this turn of events, but only relief and satisfaction. Basil has professed his love and adoration for Dorian, and instead of motivating Dorian to return to being the Dorian that Basil misses, his confession only feeds Dorian's arrogance and expedites his corruption. He alienates Basil not only by becoming less and less of the man Basil loves, but by treating Basil as a tool to be used and exploited. Furthermore, when Dorian hides the portrait from his own sight, he further serves both ends of accelerating his corruption and pushing Basil away. Not only does he hide away the only gauge he has that measures the degradation of his soul, but he also shoves aside the masterpiece through which Basil expresses his profound love for Dorian.

Emily Dickinson's Poems on Faith

Thesis: Emily Dickinson offers two approaches to the idea of faith in her poems “I never saw a Moor” and “‘Faith’ is a fine invention”.

Both poems discuss religious faith and support it in different ways.

• In “I never saw a Moor”, the speaker says that she is “certain” of the existence of God and Heaven even though she has never seen them, just as she is certain of the existence of the sea (7).  The speaker of this poem proclaims her faith, defining it as the knowledge of the existence of God without physical evidence.

• “‘Faith’ is a fine invention” acknowledges that “‘Faith’ is a fine invention / When Gentlemen can see” (1-2).  The italicized “see” contrasts with the italicized word “Microscopes” in line 3; microscopes are made for a specific type of focused sight, while simply “seeing” is more generic.  The speaker of the second poem acknowledges that faith provides a good outlook on life, even if it is not always useful for when Gentlemen must do, that is, do more than merely see.

While both speakers acknowledge that faith can be good, the speaker of “‘Faith’ is a fine invention” acknowledges that faith is not perfect.

• The speaker of the latter focuses on the uses of faith and concrete reality rather than the beauty of them.  She adds at the end of the poem that “Microscopes are prudent / In an Emergency” (3-4).  While faith and religion feed the spirituality of humanity, something else must look after the physical world.  When the concrete world is in need of attention or help, Microscopes, which represent study, focus, and purpose, can prove to be extremely useful.  Both religion and science are essential to humanity, but for different reasons and different situations.

• The speaker of “I never saw a Moor” speaks highly of her own faith, using the analogies of a Moor and the Sea to describe her certainty of the existence of God.  However, the speaker of this poem does not address faith in general as the other one does.

These poems offer different but not conflicting viewpoints.

• “‘Faith’ is a fine invention” suggests that faith is good but not perfect because it can be practiced but not utilized.  She speaks of faith objectively in the third person.

• “I never saw a Moor” testifies of the beauty and completeness that faith can have, but does not discuss faith objectively.  Instead, she provides a personal, first person testimony of her own faith, stating simply that she is faithful.

• The two poems do not disagree over faith; they simply discuss it in different ways.  Therefore, the poems can complement each other rather than conflicting with one another.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #4

Dorian proves yet again to be unable to resist the influence of Lord Henry.  When he comes to call on Dorian in Chapter VIII, he informs Dorian of Sibyl Vane’s death.  At first, Dorian sees tragedy in his ex-fiancé’s death, “stammer[ing] in a stifled voice” several short and unfinished sentences and questions, indicating that he is emotionally overwhelmed (72).  Lord Henry, however, sees the situation differently.  He sees remarkable beauty in Sibyl’s death, and adds that humans are angered not by the tragedy of death but by the crudeness of it.  That way, he claims, “a tragedy that possesses artistic elements of beauty […] simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect” (74).  Dorian, just as in the garden, takes Lord Henry’s words to heart.  He thanks Lord Henry profusely, saying, “You have explained me to myself” (76).  He even concludes that his love affair with Sibyl “has been a marvelous experience” (76).  Dorian’s tone has changed drastically over the course of Henry’s visit, from frantic and overwhelmed to calm and satisfied.  Even though Dorian promises himself that he “would not, at any rate, listen to those subtle poisonous theories that had in Basil Hallward’s garden had first stirred within him the passion for impossible things”, once again, he falls prey to Henry’s aggressive aesthetic epigrams (67).

The Picture of Dorian Gray #3

In this section of Wilde's novel, many of the characters, particularly those in the Vane family, reflect the aestheticism in which Wilde strongly believed throughout his life. For example, when Jim Vane enters his house during Sibyl's conversation with her mother, Sibyl "felt a little disappointed that [Jim] had not joined the group. It would have increased the theatrical picturesqueness of the situation" (46). Sibyl remarks that she wishes the situation to resemble a play; she wishes that an ordinary scene in her life can be beautiful enough to be worthy of display before an audience. Her disappointment that her everyday life is not this beautiful is evidence of her own aesthetic philosophy similar to Wilde's, that life should always resemble art. Similarly, when Jim is on his way out the door to embark on a voyage by sea, his mother is moved by the "exaggerated folly of the threat [to kill Dorian if he mistreats Sibyl], the passionate gesture that accompanied it, [and] the mad melodramatic words" because the combination "made life seem more vivid to her" (52). Because the whole situation is hyperbolic and overly emotional, Mrs. Vane is actually more emotionally moved than she would be if she and her children were speaking at a more normal emotional level. Mrs. Vane has a similar worldview to her daughter in that she also believes that her life is better lives when it resembles dramatic theatre.

The view of Sibyl's brother Jim contrasts strongly with that of his mother and sister. When he says his goodbyes to Sibyl before his long journey, he makes a point of doing so away from his mother because "She would surely make a scene, and he detested scenes of every kind" (51). The word "scene" takes on a double meaning, meaning both a hyperbolic display of emotion and a situation in a play. Jim hates the exaggerated emotion that his mother tends to display, and at the same time, Wilde hints at Jim's symbolic dislike of theatre. This hidden meaning suggests that Jim rejects the aesthetic philosophy of the rest of his family.

"'Out, Out—'" by Robert Frost

Robert Frost uses several literary techniques to emphasize the tragedy of the death of the young boy in his poem, “‘Out, Out—’”

• The speaker of the poem evokes strong feelings of sadness and grief with concise allusion.

• In his title, the speaker alludes to the death of Lady Macbeth, the final scene of Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth.  In his monologue, Macbeth cries, “Out, out, brief candle!” comparing his late wife to a candle that has been extinguished suddenly and unexpectedly

• Macbeth’s monologue has a tone of pain and intense grief.  The speaker, by alluding to this monologue, evokes all the emotions it contains in a two-word title.

• Immediately after the boy’s accident, the speaker directly quotes the boy.

• The boy fearfully tells his sister, “Don’t let him cut my hand off” (25).  The boy believes that losing his hand is the worst that could happen to him.  This belief, however, is dramatically ironic because the boy dies at the end of the poem.  This dramatic irony enhances the tragedy of the boy’s death because it displays the boy’s naïve innocence.

• Moreover, direct quotation makes the incident feel more real.  Telling the reader exactly what the boy cries is more effective than narrating in the third person.  The boy’s first person plea intensifies this moment of the poem above any other moment.

• The end of the poem is rather cold; as soon as the boy dies, the scene appears to return to normal disturbingly quickly.

• The shift in tone happens in line 32, literally the exact same line in which the boy dies.  The speaker, referring to the boy’s heartbeat, narrates, “Little—less—nothing!” and, without even starting a new line, continues, “and that ended it.”  This fast shift is disconcerting because the reader may feel as though the boy’s loved ones do not have enough time or room to grieve over him.

• Immediately, the people who witnessed the boy’s death “turned to their affairs”, as if they are finished grieving.  The lack of sentimentality at the end of the poem makes the reader uncomfortable because of the human need to grieve the loss of a loved one. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray #1

When the reader meets Harry and Basil in the first chapter of The Picture of Dorian Gray, the two men are foils as they see beauty in opposite ways. This is evident in the way both men speak of Dorian Gray. Basil sees beauty as strictly physical, particularly that of Dorian. Basil's view correlates with the fact that the first time Dorian's name is mentioned, it is Basil who refers to his "good looks" (3). Basil most values beauty as a physical property, and it appears to be the attribute that he values most in Dorian.  In contrast, Harry knows Dorian only by his "beautiful nature" and does not even expect Dorian to have physical beauty at first (10). Harry sees beauty as an attribute of character rather than one of the body, the opposite of the opinion of his painter companion. The two ways in which these men see Dorian's beauty represent the two schools of thought regarding beauty that Wilde presents in the first chapter of his novel.

The Picture of Dorian Gray Preface

Oscar Wilde states in his Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray that art should not resemble nature, but vice versa.  When he states that “The nineteenth century dislike of Realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass”, he means that the human race is frustrated by its own imperfection (vii).  Art should not always be created with the intention of frustrating its viewers, and therefore it should not resemble the imperfections of real life.  Wilde adds at the end that people must never see art-like beauty in their utilitarian creations because art is created with the purpose of being beautiful, and anything created outside the realm of art is not art (viii).  Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy is unconventional because it challenges the traditional belief that beauty must have a higher moral purpose than simply “beauty for beauty’s sake.”

Wilde’s intends for his tone toward his audience to be blunt and shocking.  Throughout his preface, he uses no language ‘softeners’ such as “it is a not unjustifiable assumption that” or “in my opinion.”  As a result, everything he says is very direct and sounds strong and purposeful.  Wilde sounds much more confident and sure of himself because of his direct and concise language.  Moreover, Wilde states epigrams that the reader may have never considered before or with which the reader may have previously disagreed.  The reader may therefore reluctantly question the rationality of his or her own opinions, which may in fact be more superficial and less insightful than the points Wilde makes.

"The History Teacher" Outline

Thesis: The speaker of Billy Collins' "The History Teacher" warns the reader that it is unrealistic and shortsighted to attempt to protect innocence for too long.

The understatement that the teacher in the poem uses develops from lighthearted and humorous to questionable and dangerous when the topics being understated become more and more serious.

• The first two topics of study in this history class are the Ice Age and the Stone Age, two eras that are not associated with human suffering.  It is therefore acceptable to joke that there periods were simply "the Chilly Age" and "the Gravel Age" respectively (3, 5).
• The subjects soon become more serious, but the teacher continues to understate the scope of the events in question.  The speaker attempts to make the reader feel uncomfortable by referring to the Spanish Inquisition as "an outbreak of questions" because the Inquisition is associated with hatred, murder, and torture, and its historical significance should not be underestimated (7).  Similarly, it is a conventional belief that it is important to educate the public about the hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians murdered by "one tiny atom" (12)
• After the second stanza, the reader begins to question the merit of protecting innocence when the history teacher naïvely hides significant historical events from his students.

The irony behind the history teacher's intentions is that his students are much less innocent than he realizes.

• The speaker reveals in the fifth stanza that the students are bullies, habitually "torment[ing] the weak / and the smart" on the playground (14-15). 
• This situation is dramatically ironic because the title character of the poem is unaware that the children have no innocence to protect.
• The teacher only sets them up for failure because, without necessary knowledge of the past, these children may grow up to repeat the mistakes of history.

The selection of detail in the final stanza reveals a final piece of situational irony about the history teacher.

• The speaker describes the "flower beds and white picket fences" of the teacher's neighborhood (19).  The upper middle class, American Dream style scene that the speaker creates gives the impression that perhaps the history teacher is truly the one that is sheltered, rather than his students.
• When, at the end of the poem, the speaker adds one last instance of understatement of an important historical event, the irony of the situation comes full circle.  The history teacher wonders if his students will believe his white lies, and yet he may actually be the one who does not understand the significance of what is happening in the world beyond his white picket fence.

1984 #9: War Is Peace, Ignorance Is Strength

186. War is no longer fought with the purpose of victory, but it is still just as hysterical and bloody if not more

187. Each country is so big that the other two would never be able to conquer it, and that they would never need to for any material/economic purpose

187. Cycle of more territory -> more labor -> more arms

188. Boundaries constantly fluctuating

188. "the object of waging war is always to be in a better position in which to wage another war"

188. "The primary aim of modern warfare ... is to use up the products of the machine without raising the general standard of living"

189. The world stopped progressing after the revolution because critical and independent thinking became undesirable

190. Final phase of capitalism - 1920-1940 (refers to Great Depression?)

190. Goal is to control supply but not production

192. You need to have destruction to maintain this certain kind of order and structure, and war justifies that destruction

192. War makes it easy to maintain a wartime mentality in all citizens

193. Innovation is not allowed unless it is used by the Party to combat the humanity of society

195. All three countries have similar atomic siege schemes,

none of which will ever work

196. Countries don't push boundaries too much because they can't have contact with foreigners

196. All 3 superstates have similar tyrannical omnipotent governments, even though everyone in a given country is taught of the barbarism of the other two

197. Therefore conquering a superstate would not accomplish anything because there is nothing one could gain

197. Reference to 2+2=5

1984 #3

The Party that rules the world of 1984 attempts to convince the reader that “IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”, which is one of the Party’s three major slogans (4).  Winston’s first personal encounter with ignorance is with the family of a fat and boyish Parsons.  He speaks proudly of his two children who have recently had a man killed because “he was wearing a funny kind of shoes” (57).  Since the Party keeps children like these in ignorance, they remain fiercely loyal to Big Brother; they have become the Party’s single most abundant and most useful domestic fighting force.  If anyone thought to question what Big Brother asked of the Children of Oceania, the force of young Spies would not be nearly as powerful or as threatening to the generation above it because the entire nation would not be united.  Similarly, the Party controls the memories of his subjects, which allows it to control the thoughts and emotions of everyone in Oceania.  The Party encourages celebration when they “raise” the ration of chocolate to twenty grams, when in objective reality they have just lowered it to twenty grams from thirty (58).  Since no one knows any better, this history-changing announcement joyfully brings the nation together.  If one person decides what an entire nation does and does not know, then ignorance is strength because ignorance is union.

1984 #1

Orwell writes in more than one of his publications about the direct relationship between the scope of a society’s vocabulary and the capacity of that society to think independently.  In a 1946 essay titled “Politics and the English Language”, Orwell warns that “if thought can corrupt language, language can also corrupt thought.”  He cautions his readers of the vicious circle of certain usages becoming too familiar and as a result losing or altering their connotations.  Orwell predicts that this effect on language could either limit or expand the consciousness of a civilization.  Naturally, Orwell utilizes this tactic in the very etymology of his new language, Newspeak.  In the appendix of 1984, which Orwell wrote two years after writing his essay, Orwell describes the language that he invents in order “to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc, or English Socialism” (299).  Orwell portrays this Socialist society as dangerous and imprisoning, so it follows that “The purpose of Newspeak was…to make all other modes of thought impossible” (299).  The language accomplishes this by taking broad concepts and groups of terms that Ingsoc would like to do away with and condensing them into simple compound words.  For example, “All words grouping themselves round the concepts of liberty and equality…were contained into a single word crimethink,” the word crimethink meaning ‘heretical and forbidden thought’ (305).  Newspeak disposes of freedom by making it literally impossible to ponder; when a child does not grow up knowing a word associated with the concept of having the ability to do what you wish, it would be too difficult for the child to think of that concept without words, and the child could live his entire life never pondering the possibility of freedom.  The Party that rules Oceania can therefore control its people’s thoughts by limiting their vocabulary and abbreviating any concept that might be dangerous to the Party’s power, thereby limiting the thoughts that it is even possible to think.

Winston, the protagonist of 1984, is often caught up in the waves of passionate hatred toward people who deviate from the Party.  However, Winston sometimes catches glimpses of independent thought during which he can see the way the Party has brainwashed the people of Oceania.  During one of these short instances of independent thought, he makes eye contact with O’Brien, a fascinating and mysterious government agent.  At this moment, from this simple exchange of glances, Winston knows he is not alone.  An entire conversation passes between their eyes, one that says, “I know precisely what you are feeling.  I know all about your contempt, your hatred, your disgust [of the Party].  But don’t worry, I am on your side!” (17).  This instantaneous conversation is the antithesis of the way the Party uses abbreviated thought.  It shows how abbreviated thought can not only suppress thought, but serve as a vehicle for more abstract thought.  Instead of hiding the connotations of Winston’s thoughts of dissent, his eye contact with O’Brien carries them further than they could ever get with words.

Heart of Darkness - Section 5: Kurtz's Intended

When Marlow calls on Kurtz's Intended to speak with her, it appears as though she had forced herself to believe that Kurtz is the man of her dreams, and in doing so, she has turned her back on the true Kurtz.  Kurtz's Intended seems to have no idea that Kurtz becomes deranged during his time in the Congo.  She speaks nostalgically of her fianceé's admirability, as though she believes that he still has the charisma and gravitas that Marlow imagines Kurtz to have before actually meeting him (161).  She also describes Kurtz (or her impression of him) in greater detail than Marlow does.  It is as if she believes that she has been with him the entire time, when in fact Marlow has seen Kurtz more recently and probably more intimately than she ever has.  However, she does not let Marlow guide the conversation about Kurtz.  She continually cuts Marlow's sentences short, finishing them with words Marlow would clearly not use, such as her claim that it is impossible not to love Kurtz if you ever meet him (161).  In this way, Marlow says that Kurtz's Intended "talked as thirsty men drink" (161).  By using this diction, Conrad gives the impression that Kurtz's Intended is searching frantically for descriptions of Kurtz that will make her more at ease about her feelings for him.  Since her neighbors evidently do not approve of her relationship with Kurtz, she feels the need to find a way to justify that relationship, namely through a man who actually has had a first person encounter with Kurtz.  She is scrambling for proof that her Intended was worthy of love, even if she has to prevaricate that proof herself.

Heart of Darkness - Section 4

The more the reader learns about Mr. Kurtz throughout Part II of Heart of Darkness, the less perfect Kurtz becomes.  When Marlow first learns of Kurtz, all we know is that Kurtz is “a first-class agent” who “Sends in as much ivory as all the other [agents] put together” (85, 86).  Since all the reader knows of him are the effects of his actions and awed perceptions of the other men involved in the Belgian Congo campaign, Kurtz is initially an enigma, a mysteriously omnipotent Wizard of Oz figure.  However, as Kurtz’s character develops during Part II, Marlow’s story exposes Kurtz’s flaws and imperfections.  As Marlow continues on his treacherous journey to reach Kurtz’s stronghold in central Africa, he compares Kurtz to “an enchanted princess sleeping in a fabulous castle” (117-118).  This concrete image of effeminate helplessness is unlike anything the reader has heard thus far pertaining to Kurtz.  It paints Kurtz as inert, impatient, and even spoiled, contrasting sharply with the glorious stories Marlow has heard over the course of his journey.  Later, Marlow points out that, according to Kurtz, “everything belonged to him [Kurtz]” (126).  The apparent sarcasm of Marlow’s comment displays his apparent annoyance with the way Kurtz perceives the world around him.  This is the first time Marlow directly points out one of Kurtz’s imperfections, the first time the reader sees Marlow admit that the man with whom he has been fascinated all this time may not be the deity he is expecting.  As Marlow comes closer and closer to Kurtz, he begins to realize that he may finally be forced “pay…attention to the man behind the curtain.”

Heart of Darkness - Section 3

As Marlow continues to catch glimpses of Kurtz’s subordinates as he ventures farther down the river, he and the reader continue to see the lawless nature of Europe-occupied Africa.  As he eavesdrops on the conversation of one manager, Marlow overhears the man’s description of “a pestilential fellow” who steals precious ivory from native tribes (104).  The word “pestilential” invokes images of death and disease, creating a hostile and inhospitable mood that the reader associates with a man who appears to be rather high in Kurtz’s chain of command.  This manager suggests soon after that he arbitrarily hang a native to assert his power of this “pestilential fellow” (104).  Without hesitation, the man with whom he is speaking to “grunt[s]” in reply that hanging a native would be an excellent idea.  The impulsive urge to murder at random speaks clearly to the entitlement that the Europeans wreak upon native African people.  The responsive “grunt” of the manager’s companion further raises doubts that the colonists have any semblance of a conscience, since the word has a strongly primitive and nasty connotation.  The primitive connotation of the word also ironically points out the way the Europeans view the “savages” who are native to Africa, when the colonists themselves are no less human.  Many simple conversations such as this one that Marlow overhears exemplify the way the colonists of Europe feel that they are entitled to stroll into Africa and treat the land and the people as subhuman property.

Heart of Darkness - Section 1

In the first several pages of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the narrator uses several contrasting images to set Marlow apart from the other men on the ship.  The narrator describes Marlow as having “an ascetic aspect”, connoting religious or spiritual absorption, devotion, meditation, and concentration (66).  This image contrasts sharply with, for example, the description of the Lawyer, who is reclining on a pillow and rug.  As the Lawyer indulges in comfort, Marlow relaxes more simply, as the word “ascetic” suggests, casting off the pleasures of Earthly possessions.  Similarly, the Accountant plays with dominoes that he brought onto the yacht, “toying architecturally” with them (66).  The word “toying” gives the impression that the Accountant’s means of entertainment is almost childish or trivial.  This apparent immaturity also contrasts with the image of Marlow in the same paragraph, a straight-backed, cross-legged, meditative pseudo-Buddha (66).  Marlow also feels differently about the sea than do the other passengers on the Nellie.  The narrator describes him as a “seaman” and a “wanderer”, noting that Marlow is “the only of [the group] who still ‘followed the sea’” (67).  Marlow’s passion for sea travel does not match up with the simple Thames pleasure cruise on which the other gentlemen have embarked.  Furthermore, when Marlow begins his story, the narrator notes that the story “was accepted in silence.  No one took the trouble to grunt even” (68).  Here, Marlow has a sort of gravitas that separates him from the apparent triviality of the others.  Finally, Marlow is the only one on the ship whom Conrad gives a name.  This ties together the image of the mysteriously charismatic Marlow, giving him concrete validity that the captain and the other passengers have yet to acquire.

Figurative Language in "Mind"

In Richard Wilbur’s poem Mind, the speaker compares the mind to a bat in order to portray the mind’s instinctual knowledge and awareness.  Wilbur’s bat, for example, is perfectly aware of all of its surroundings, discerning them “by a kind of senseless wit” (line 3).  It finds its surroundings not through thought, but through instinct, without having to struggle.  The bat “beats about in caverns all alone”; these caverns represent the confusing and distracting world in which the body dwells (line 2).  However, despite this dark and confusing cavern, the bat can easily navigate its path as soon as it gets its bearings, "And so it may weave and flitter, dip and soar / in perfect courses through the blackest air" (7-8).  The speaker asserts here that, despite these distractions or obstacles, the mind has an innate ability to find truth and knowledge by digging deeper and avoiding the obstacles.  Even when the air is at its blackest, that is, when the world is at its most hostile or confusing, the mind is inherently able to navigate its intellectual environment and to freely imagine and explore.

Analysis of "35/10"

Thesis: In Sharon Olds’s poem “35/10”, the speaker’s opinion shifts from mournful of her own childhood to hopeful for that of her daughter.

The title of the poem suggests that a thirty-five-year-old mother reflects nostalgically on her own childhood.

• Upon reading the first three lines of the poem, it is evident that the title refers to the ages of the mother and her daughter, respectively.  This is clear essentially as soon as the reader hears mention of the daughter from the point of view of the mother
• The title suggests that the main focus of the poem is the relationship between an aging mother and her maturing daughter, although it is unclear from the title what that relationship may be.

In the beginning of the poem, the speaker focuses on her own negative features.

• The author ends the first line by describing the daughter’s hair as “brown,” which, while not explicitly ugly, is not a particularly exciting color.  This lack of excitement allows the word “servant” to stand out amidst the diction surrounding it.  The speaker uses the word to describe herself, and the word connotes the mother’s submission to an aging process that she cannot control.
• The mother continues to point out her own flaws, such as the increasingly defined wrinkles in her neck and the drying of her skin (lines 6-9).

As the poem progresses, the tone shifts from pessimism to optimism.

• Instead of focusing on her own negative features, the speakers attention turns toward her daughter, a “moist / precise flower on the tip of a cactus” (lines 10-11).  This image may represent the daughter’s youth, a flower, emerging from the body of her mother, whose body is, like a cactus, externally rough and pointy, even though it is filled with precious water under the surface.
• The mother likens her daughter’s maturing ovaries to “hard-boiled yolks”, which symbolize new life and energy.  Her depiction of her daughter’s youth displays her newfound positive outlook on what it means to grow older.

Analysis of Linda Pastan's Poem "Ethics"

Thesis: In her poem "Ethics," Pastan leads the reader through an uncomfortable struggle with a value-testing philosophical question.

Pastan uses the structure of her poem to bend the questions so that they are not as easy to answer.

• By leaving "a Rembrandt painting" on the end of line 4, and by enjambing "years left anyhow" in line 6, Pastan highlights the value of one option while devaluing the other.  Since Pastan weighs the nonhuman option more heavily than the human, even though it should seem obvious to value human life over a painting, the reader may struggle with what could otherwise be a very easy question.
• When the speaker's teacher explains that the answerer of the question is solely responsible for the fate of both the woman and the painting, she brings "the burdens of responsibility" onto a separate line, making those burdens more present and more ominous (line 16).  This line break makes the responsibility starker, invoking the immense pressure felt by someone entrusted with the decision to save or end someone's life.

Pastan uses different academic levels of language throughout her poem to simulate growth.  However, the question does not become any easier to answer at the end of the poem.  Pastan portrays the difficulty of answering ethical questions such as this one.

• Toward the beginning of the poem, Pastan uses fairly simple sentence structure, as well as colloquial words such as "anyhow" in order to portray a younger speaker (line 6).
• Later in the poem, Pastan's language becomes more complex; for example, she uses more commas to separate fragments of thought within the same sentence.  The question, however, remains as difficult despite the speaker's increased maturity.

Throughout the poem, Pastan provides detailed images of the two savable objects in question.  By allowing the reader to get to know both the painting and the woman, Pastan makes it hard for the reader to be forced to choose to terminate one of them.

• Sometimes Pastan imagines the old woman to be her own grandmother (line 10).  As the reader pictures his own grandmother, he would never think to end the life of a woman he loves so dearly in favor of some expensive artwork.
• But at the end of the poem, Pastan describes the Rembrandt: she describes its vivid colors, and how it seems to jump out of the canvas and pull the speaker into the world of the painting.  As the reader depicts it, he would rather not allow this beautiful work of art to burn into ashes.
• Pastan further enhances the reader's love for the painting by separating her description of it from the image of her grandmother by a whopping 9 lines.  This allows the image of the reader's grandmother to fade slightly, just as the beautiful image of the painting comes into view.

Analysis of Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Eagle"

Thesis: In his poem "The Eagle", Alfred Lord Tennyson portrays the eagle as a creature of superiority and power.

• Tennyson paints this picture by depicting the eagle's purposeful actions

o   The eagle “clasps” the perch on which it sits (1).  This word has a deliberate and intense connotation.

o   Even when the eagle “falls,” it does so “like a thunderbolt” (6).  A thunderbolt is unfathomably fast and has a highly concentrated and dangerous route as it “falls” from the sky, just as an eagle is fast, focused, and deadly.

• He also enhances the eagle's position in relation to the world around it

o   “The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls” (4).  “Crawl” is a word with a submissive connotation, and the word “wrinkle” is associated with disfigurement and possibly even discomfort.  These carefully chosen words suggest that even an entity as mighty as the sea grovels before the noble eagle.

o   The eagle perches “Close to the sun” (2).  Not only is the sun the source of all life on Earth, but it is also the highest object in the daytime sky.  Therefore, aside from the sun, Tennyson places the eagle to be the highest thing in the sky, paralleling its power over everything around it.

o   The eagle stands “Ringed with the azure world” (3).  Tennyson places the eagle at the center of the world, further enhancing the image of the eagle’s central power.

Analyzing Prospero

In the final scene of The Tempest, Prospero shows that he finally learns forgiveness and empathy for those who are trapped on his island. In the first few lines of the scene, Prospero acknowledges his promise to Ariel and announce that he will free Ariel right away.  This behavior contrasts with the way Prospero treats Ariel earlier in the play; when Ariel asks Prospero for freedom in Act I, Prospero questions Ariel’s gratitude and guilt-trips Ariel into continuing to serve him.  Now, Prospero acknowledges that Ariel has done his work diligently and at last deserves his freedom.  Prospero also mentions to Ariel that, just as Ariel’s “affections / Would become tender” for the noblemen wandering the island, so too would Prospero’s own affections (V.1.23-27).  Prospero is no longer filled with rage and vengeance toward his brother, but instead he realizes that it is time to forgive Antonio and return to Milan with him.  Prospero solidifies this conclusion by breaking his staff, representing an end to the major agent of separation between Prospero and the civilized society that he hopes to rejoin.

Elements of Shakespearean Comedy in The Tempest

Sometimes it is difficult to sympathize with Prospero, the protagonist of William Shakespeare’s comedy, The Tempest.  Prospero, after all, appears to be something of a hypocrite. He remembers the usurpation of his dukedom by his brother, Antonio, as brutal and unfair.  However, the audience understands that Prospero in fact was not doing his job properly, as he distracted distracted himself with his constant magic and study. Furthermore, although he feels that he was exiled from Milan and imprisoned on an island, Prospero unreservedly treats everyone on the island,with the exception of his daughter, as his personal subjects and prisoners.  In particular, he treats Caliban as less than human, and while this is understandable given the way Caliban violated Miranda,the reader may struggle to sympathize both with Caliban and Prospero simultaneously.  Prospero deceives himself into believing that his behavior is justified, even when the reader might be unsure.

However, self deception is a crucial element of Shakespearean comedy.  The situation of a comedy is based on the protagonist’s self-deception.  In this case, Prospero is a sympathetic character because his brother exiled him from Milan.  As a result, he struggles over the course of the play to come to terms with this deception and overcome it.  This plotline, along with a parallel hyperbolic love story, is the framework of a comedy: cumulating in the last act, the comic individual wipes away his self deception and is usually able to rejoin the world he left.  Prospero becomes a sympathetic character when he understands that he should not be taking prisoners the way he himself has been a prisoner all this time on his island.