“Crossing the Bar”

“Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, uses metaphor to talk about death. He uses a sand bar to describe the barrier between life and death. He is living life, and hopes to avoid death. He says "And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea." This says that while he is living his daily life, he hopes not to die. While death is on his mind, he does not seem to fear it. He doesn't want any one to fear for his safety, though he knows he may die. At the end of the poem, he seems to take a christian stance on death. He hopes to meet his pilot, who represents God. The story uses the metaphor of a sand bar to represent the wall between life and death. It uses a real life scenario to show the intricacies of life and death. I like the use of metaphors to more easily explain complicated subjects.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas, uses repetition to bring home his message. He uses the phrases "Do not go gentle into that good night," and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" repeatedly. These say that one should never choose to die, rather doing all in his will to stay alive. What I got  from this poem, is that man has too much to still do, and achieve to simply give up to death. One must fight death, with all his might, so he can make his mark on the world. It seems that the poet himself felt this way, wanting to leave a lasting influence of his own. This poem has a powerful message, not to allow death to take  one, for one has too much still to do. I agree with this poem, because I think there is always more life to live. No matter how great a life one lives, or how old one lives to be, there will always be more that one could have done. One should always live life to the fullest, and never accept the blows life deals.

"Death, be not proud"

"Death, be not proud," by John Donne is a very interesting poem. It talks about death in a way that is not often heard. It speaks on how death is really not all that powerful. It is not something to fear, it is something to embrace, though it has little power. Death holds no power, the poem says "Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men." This means that death's power is overshadowed by the actions of the great like kings, and the lowly such as the desperate. This all makes sense as one reads the poem. The one thing that is confusing, however; is when the poet mentions sleep. I didn't really understand where he was going with that, and am puzzled as to what he means. I think he is saying that death and sleep are essentially the same thing, which I don't quite get, and because of that one ought want death, for it would bring the same  good tidings that sleep does. Overall, I enjoyed the message of the poem, but likely because of the dated diction, part of his message was lost to me.

A Rose for Emily

While reading William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," one thing I noticed was the narrator. It was not told in the typical fashion, of a single first or third person narrator, it is instead told in that of the first person plural point of view. This allows the reader to get an insight not usually seen in stories, that of a community rather than a single person. This can even be seen in the key quote of the story, "Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair." A group of people has found this hidden room, rather than a single person. The quote shows how Emily had been recently sleeping with a long deceased Homer Barron, leading to thoughts of whether or not she murdered him. While the form of narration may  not have been completely essential to the telling of this story, I think it made it more interesting, and different. It helps to take the reader away to another world, through it's use of words like "we", and "our". This story is interesting, and ends with a twist, making an overall enjoyable read. 

The Lottery

"The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson tells the story of a lottery. It is not the lottery one would expect, however; for instead of a cash reward for being chosen, one receives the end of one's life. While reading the poem, one does not pick up on Jackson's hints throughout the story, but after rereading, it all becomes clear. She eloquently uses foreshadowing in this story. From the beginning, she hints at the "winner's" reward. She talks about how the children are collecting rocks in the town square. While this may seem trivial, for children often do things like this, it shows they are preparing for the lottery. Even the name of the postmaster who is mentioned is Mr. Graves, showing a grave ending to this story. One man mentions that the people in the north are considering ending their lotteries. One wonders why the people are ending their lotteries, though it becomes clear at the end. The one comment that gives some insight into the lottery is by the oldest man in town, who says "Lottery in June, corn to be heavy soon." While one has no idea what this means at first, we come to learn he is speaking of ritual sacrifice in hopes of plentiful crops. Shirley Jackson's foreshadowing warrants this short story a second reading, which one will likely find even better than the first.

The Glass Menagerie Tone

Tennessee Williams "A Glass Menagerie" is defined by it's tone. "Laura Wingfield... having failed to establish contact with reality, continues to live vitally in her illusions" (1234).Williams presents a very bleek, and gloomy. No one in the story is truly happy. Not a one of the characters has what they truly want. From the beginning, the audience is introduced to a fatherless home. The mother lives in the past, while the son lives only for the future. Amanda relives her days of greeting gentleman callers, which makes the audience feel sorrow for the mother whose only positive experiences are in her past. Just as Amanda hates the present, so does Tom. He dreams for escape of the present, hoping that someday he can pursue his dreams of excitement and adventure. The fact that these two resent their present makes the audience feel the tension between the members of the family. Also, the sadness and frustration of the characters is put upon the audience instilling the characters feelings upon them. Tennessee Williams truly makes this story through his sad bleek tone.

The Glass Menagerie First Person Point of View

First person point of view is vital to the development of the plot of Tennessee Williams "The Glass Menagerie". Williams writes "Memory takes a lot of poetic license. It omits some details  others are exaggerated..." (1235). Throughout the play, the audience sees the story through Tom Wingfield's eyes. His views bring us a unique narration to the story, and help the play to stand out. Tom's view does not make this story a positive one, nor did it make the story more enjoyable, but it did help to make the story more interesting. Showing a character living bleakly in a world that he despises, makes the audience want Tom to find an escape. The audience hopes that Tom will be able to achieve his poetic dreams, but rather he finds no release, or escape from his family. Tom is forced instead of moving up, to simply move out. This made sense to me, because of how his mother treated him, and how fragile his sister was. Tom provides a unique view, that ultimately creates the mood of the story.

Glass Menagerie Thoughts

Overall, I must admit I didn't especially enjoy Tennessee Clinton's "The Glass Menagerie." I didn't especially enjoy the bleek tone of the story. Also, I did not find the characters especially relatable. None of the characters actions or words make the audience like them especially. The audience feels sympathy for all the characters, though does not feel enough sympathy to make the audience feel overemotional. I found I felt little emotion for the characters and their trials. I think Williams wrote what he himself was feeling. I'm sure those going through a situation like the Winfield family agree with certain characters, though I found they all had their own wrongs. Tom, rather than making the best of his situation, simply abandons his family. Amanda cares more for finding a suitor for Laura than supporting Tom and his dreams, and Laura is simply a nervous wreck who pukes everywhere when in social settings. The story could have used more humor to make the dark tone a little more manageable.  Williams one example of humor says "No--I remember her perfectly now. Her hands shook so that she couldn't hit the right keys! The first time we gave a speed-test, she broke down completely--was sick at the stomach and almost had to be carried into the wash-room." (1242). While I didn't like the play, I did think it was well written and developed.

Glass Menagerie Connections

Tennesse Williams' "The Glass Menagerie"  reminded me heavily of the other stage piece I have read this year, "A Raisin in the Sun". Both of these poems show a family that has hopes that are greater than what is currently possessed. Tom wants to live adventure; Walter wants to own a liquor store. Amanda wants her daughter to get married, and to live her life vicariously through her daughter: Mama simply wants to own her own house. Both of these families have dreams, though in Raisin a happy ending comes, Glass Menagerie shows a bleaker outcome. While the Younger family is kept strong through their trials, The Wingfields are driven apart. Tom abandons his family in an effort to be happy. "I didn't go to the moon, I went much further--for time is the longest distance between two places--not to long after I was fired for writing a poem on the lid of a shoe-box.I left Saint Louis." I found myself relating the plays to eachother, focusing on their similarities and differences.

The Glass Menagerie Symbol

Throughout the "Glass Menagerie," Tennessee Williams uses symbolism to show real people and events through objects. Williams explicitly describes the physical representations of the symbols he uses. The first symbol presented is that of the fire escape. Williams writes "The apartment faces an alley and is entered by a fire-escape, a structure whose name is a touch of accidental poetic truth, for all those huge buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation" (1235). The fire escape represents Tom's escape. His soul is burning with desperation, for his need to escape the family. Tom deeply resents his family, making him yearn to leave the family. He often goes out on the fire escape to escape the family. The other example of symbolism is that of the glass menagerie itself. All of Laura's glass figures represent her. They exemplify her personality perfectly. They are delicate, and in the right light extremely beautiful. Laura is a very nervous and delicate young lady. She is very shy, and is not good around people. While this would turn off many people, when she is platformed well and gets all dressed up, she can become beautiful. Rather than the bland person she usually is, she becomes more colorful, and is more acceptable to the outside world.