Pencils

This poem by Carl Sandburg is very direct; right away it gives the message of the poem. During the poem Carl is comparing life and death to writing. Through his poem he is trying to say that he has never seen the world come to an end, nor has he seen the procreation of men stop. As long as the world continues there always be those who write. Until the world comes to a complete stop there will be new stories told and new pieces of literature to read from. The "stars never stop moving" is a form of symbolism because in the same way that they are constantly on the move in this same way pencils are constantly writing. There are always new stories that need to be told. Men are filled with vast imaginations and because of this we always have novels to write.

Ars Poetica

Archibald MacLeish's poem is a very controversial and bewildering one. Of course everyone has their different point of view on what the author means by this poem, but the one thing that is clear is that Archibald was trying to compare what a poem should be like to things that we can see and touch, to things that are solid and just are because they are. In my interpretation of Archibald’s poem I believe that the last line is the strongest because he says, "A poem should not be, but mean." This means that the meaning of a poem is not only to entertain the reader but to make the reader interpret the poem in their own way, according to their own life situations. Behind every poem is a great poet with a significant meaning.

The Emperor of Ice-Cream

Wallace Stevens, “The Emperor of Ice Cream” is an open text poem. The author wrote this poem in such a way that there are many interpretations. To me the poem is comparing life and death to an ice cream. The emperor of ice cream is death. In the first stanza the author mentions kids and little girls and childhood crushes. These are all thing that happen when one is alive. In the second stanza however the author mentions that a girl is cold and her face is covered. This is an allusion to death. When one is dead they are covered and their feet get cold. In the same way that ice cream is cold but can melt and disappear we are solid but with time we also disappear. The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream is death.

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

Walt Whitman’s, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” is a poem that captivates me intensely. The poem is trying to say that to learn how to appreciate something we have to go and see it or do it. The author in the poem says that his professor’s lecture though factual was boring. It was not till he went outside and saw the stars that he appreciated them. This is true in very aspect of life. To appreciate something we have to be it, live it, see it, touch it and breathe it. Personally, it is not enough for someone to tell me how to do something they have to teach it to me and this is exactly what the author was trying to portray through his essay.

Viva La Vida Vs. Violet Hill

The second essays were we had to compare two poems or two songs was a huge challenge for me. At first I didn’t know what to choose and after much thinking I came up with “Annabelle” and “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. But after a lot of searching I decided to change my poems into two songs. “Viva la Vida” and “Violet Hill” by Coldplay were the two songs that I chose to do my second essay on. These two songs have a deep meaning to them. Violet hill talks about religion and war while Viva la Vida only talks about religion. It was interesting for me to research these songs because of the different interpretations that I found. Viva la Vida talks about religion and it mentions Juan the baptize and the act of cutting his head off. On the other hand, Violet hill talks about religion and war and as we all know those are two controversial topics. After all my research I found that religion and war do in someway connect to each other.

Hamlet

“Hamlet” by William Shakespeare is a play that we are all commonly familiar with. This novel is also based upon the idea of revenge. Hamlet’s father has been killed and his mother has married Claudius, the new king of Denmark. One night Hamlet’s father’s spirit comes to him and tells him that he has been murdered in the most treacherous of ways by his brother, Claudius. Hamlet’s father tells his son to seek revenge so that his spirit can roam freely. Hamlet does precisely this, he begins to seek revenge. Hamlet causes the death of Ophelia his love, his mother and Polonius as well as two other innocent men. Finally the ending is a tragic one because Hamlet also dies.

This play though not written in our time has deep meaning. The play as well as the movie try’s to show us that revenge only causes more pain. We can never be at peace after we have been hurt even if we hurt those who hurt us in the first place. Revenge is a human characteristic that we all have in common but we should all strive to empower this horrible characteristic. Revenge does us no good it only hurts us.

The Thief and the Dogs

“The Thief and the Dogs” by Naguib Mahfouz is a novel that can easily be tied to others such as “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare. The entire novel is based on revenge. Said was incarcerated in jail for four years because of his best friends and his wives fault. Throughout the entire novel we see that Said is solemnly seeking revenge. Because of the fact that he can’t let he looses his daughter Sana, he looses Nur, he kills innocent people and he ends up dying at the end of the story. Revenge always brings out the worst in us.

Revenge is a twisted idea. It is human nature to seek revenge after someone has hurt us or someone dear to us. But forgiveness is one of the steps that let us forget about the past and not make us want to seek revenge. It is crucial to forgive rather then hurt because we have been hurt. If we seek revenge there will be a never ending cycle of revenge because if someone hurts us and we seek revenge then the person that was close to that person will also want to seek revenge. Revenge is never a good thing it only makes us do horrible things.

Oedipus Rex

The play “Oedipus Rex” written by Sophocles is a very tragic one. The story begins with tragedy and ends with disaster. It was said that Oedipus Rex parents had received a message from Tyresias the blind prophet who had been told by the God’s that Oedipus Rex would kill his father and marry his mother. After this horrible prophecy the King and Queen decided to kill his son. Years later a new prince of Corinth arrives. The original prince was killed in a road that meets. Throughout the play there is a lot of foreshadowing. It is not till the end of the play that we begin to realize that Oedipus Rex was never killed and he had murdered his father and slept with his mother. This story makes it as if “knowing too much is always bad.”

In my particular case I would rather always know the truth rather then be lied to. I think that the truth is always better then a lie. Knowing too much can never us hurt us because knowing too little can also cause the same amount of pain. There are those who of course would rather be lied to their entire lives but personally I am not one of those. At the end of the day the truth will be known one way or another and its always better to know sooner than later.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

Ernest Hemingway’s story, “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” is one that makes us realize how cruel and insensitive some people are towards others feelings, and on the other hand how there are those who truly care for others. The story takes place in a Café. “It was late and every one had left the Café except an old man.” This old man was deaf and he had nowhere to go. Throughout the narration we see that this mans escape was that Café. There are two waiters in the narration; one young and the other old. The young one is selfish; we see that he keeps complaining because he waned to get home to his wife because he had a life. On the other hand the older man knew that the old man that went to the Café had no real significance to life and he wanted to keep his mind busy because he had considered suicide before. Throughout the narration we see the comparison in the personalities of the two protagonists. One of the key points of the story is when the old waiter tells the other one that he has three things that are essential in life, youth, confidence and I job. In my personal opinion, I think that this story serves as an experience to see how sometimes we are insensitive to others feelings. Of course on the other hand, there are those who do care for others feelings.

The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World: A Tale for Children

“The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World: A Tale for Children” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a very strange one. The story begins when a few children who spot a drowned man ashore. The author gives us this mans description and states that he was huge and weighed possibly more then a horse. Right away we begin to see that this man was not like any other, he was not normal. This man was the tallest, more virile, and best build men anyone in the village had ever seen. There was no room in these peoples imagination because he was more then what they had ever imagined. To them this dead man was like a god. The woman in the town decided to stay with him and they fell in love with him. They even gave him a name, “Esteban,” because it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. These women even began to fantasize with this dead man, thinking of how their lives would be if they were married to someone like Esteban.

The town decided to have a funeral for Esteban, the biggest funeral they had ever held. Neighboring villages were welcomed to come to see this man and all his glory. They send Esteban deep into the ocean. These people in the village realized that now everything would be different. The ceilings would be made taller, wider doors and stronger floors so that the memory of Esteban could never leave, and so that they could all remember who this handsomest drowned man was. In my personal opinion I believe that this story is trying to teach us that it’s ok to be different. Everyone in the village was the same and their lives were full of routine but because Esteban came into their lives he changed them all. They looked up to him because even though he was dead he brought a sense of fire into this village because he was different. We should all be grateful that we are all unique and different in our own ways. We bring our own fire everywhere we go.

The Tell-Tale Heart

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe to me is one of his greatest stories. The tone at the beginning of the story sets the mood for the rest of the narration. “True- nervous-very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” Since the beginning of the story we notice that something has triggered the authors mind and because of it he is dreadfully nervous. Right away we see what the whole story revolves around. The author points out that he loved this old man who he knew which had done no fault to him, but he hated his eye. Edgar Allan Poe is very descriptive and passionate about this evil eye. Finally he mentions it is inconceivable how the idea got to him, but once in his head it haunted him day and night so he set out a mission to destroy this eye in killing the old man. Throughout the story the author talks as a first person and he mentions all the steps that were involved to execute this old man without any consequences.

After much planning and carefully getting into the old mans house he destroyed the evil eye. It was a quick death the one that the old man went through. What happens next in the story is what captivates me the most. The author decided to put the old man under the floor, so if anyone arrived they wouldn’t see the crime he had committed. Surprisingly enough, some cops show up at the old mans house and begin to speak to the author asking him if all was fine. The author sure of himself because he had left no track of his crime reassures the policemen that all is good and that they should come in and check. The peculiar thing is that the author begins to hear a tapping noise and at first he ignores it but it begins to grow louder and louder until it bothers him to the point that he himself confesses the murder of the old man with the evil eye.

In my particular case I believe that the story teaches us something very important. Whether we like to admit it or not we all have a conscious that tells us right from wrong. Our conscious accuses and excuses us. If we have done something wrong even though we might not get caught our conscious will forever be martyred until we confess what we have done.

The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s story, “The Lottery” is ironic. The story begins with a calm description of a sunny day. It describes the flowers, the weather and the people in the village. This village was very small made up of only three hundred people. It was a ritual every year around the same time that the village participated in a lottery that took less then two hours. The story describes all the procedures that were necessary to complete this lottery. The lottery was conducted by Mr. Summers. It was necessary that all the family members of the village participated, from the youngest one to the oldest ones. Characters that are seen during the story are Mr. and Mrs. Delacroix, Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson and old man Warner. The lottery was called out alphabetically which meant that the family whose last name began with an A was to go first and pick up their lottery tickets, then the family whose last name began with a B and so on and so forth.

We begin seeing something weird during the story when old man Warner begins to talk about the neighboring village and how they want to stop the ritual of the lottery. Old man Warner replies saying, “pack of crazy fools.” He didn’t understand why anyone would want to stop this tradition that had been going on since their ancestors. Finally, after all the families were called up everyone began to search around looking to see who had gotten the lottery ticket. It was Bill Hutchinson. The story’s mood begins to change. Mrs. Hutchinson says, “it isn’t fair.” This is peculiarly weird because where we live the lottery is a good thing. To win the lottery is one out a million chances, only if your lucky will you win this lottery. On the contrary in this village the winners of the lottery where scared. Finally at the end of the story we see that the prize of the lottery was someone’s life. To win the lottery meant to die. Who ever had gotten the ticket a second time would be stoned to death. In my particular case I would hate to live in this village. No one was held captive in this village, nor where they held at gun point to stay. But the reality is that no one ever thinks its going to be them. When they played this game they wouldn’t think that they were the one’s who were going to die because they figured that there were so many family’s that they wouldn’t be unfortunate enough to pick out the lottery ticket with their names on it.

I found this story to be ironic but very good. Twists at the end of a story are always good.

Cathedral

Cathedral by Raymond Carver is an “open text” narration. It is clear as we read the story that the author wanted his audience to interpret the ending in their own personal way. There is no real ending to this narration and personally that is what caught my attention the most. For this specific story we need to think of different outcomes; brining many different conclusions to the table. Also, Cathedral is a story that has a double meaning. This essay is more then what meets the eye; there is a moral to the story. The double interpretation is seen at the end. The protagonist and his wife were having a “blind man” over their house. The protagonist had never been associated with anyone with this type of disability thus categorizing him as indifferent.

The essay ends with the protagonist seeing as the blind man did. Not only is there a moment of epiphany and realization of the stereotypical remarks that he was making against the blind man but he saw what “Bub” saw. Also, I believe that this essay has a lot to do with religion. This is because the protagonist was not very religious and after he painted the Cathedral he saw that even though we can’t see things sometimes it doesn’t mean its not there. Faith is the expectative of the things we can not see. The protagonist could not see God thus making him believe God didn’t exist. This essay teaches us two things, one that we can not make remarks against people even though they have certain disabilities. The second thing this narration teaches us is that even though we can’t see things certain times that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Richard Corey

Edwin Arlington Robinson described human life in his poem, "Richard Corey." This poem is basically about a perfect man who is envied, honored and looked up to. This man was the closest thing to perfection since Jesus. He was educated, good looking and he was rich. Everyone wanted to be Richard Corey because in their eyes he was the best of the best. This poem's tone is soothing and relaxing. In no way or matter can the auidence depict what happens is soon to come. Drastically, Richard Corey put a bullet throught his head on a perfect day. The author did a great job in writting this essay because what happens at the end is inexpected.

I believe Edwin A. Robinson was trying to tell the story of human life through this man called Richard Corey and those who envied him. Though the Constitution of the U.S. tells us we are all equal it is evident that we are not. There are those you are leaders and those who are followers. Those who are envied and those who envy. We are sorrounded by what people categorize as "big-shots" daily, and by people who are just another face in the crowd. The reality is that just because someone seems perfect that doesnt mean thier life is perfect. In this poem everyone looked up to Richard Corey because of the way he carried himself about, but they didnt necesarilly know what his life was all about. That is why we see in the tv that celebritys kill themselves sometimes or that they overdose on pills, because eventhough there life seems perfect it isnt; looks are decieving.

The Story of an Hour

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is both ironic and controversial. At the very beginning of the story we clearly see that Mrs. Mallard has heart trouble, this is a sign of foreshadowing. The story basically revolves around four characters, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, Josephine and Richard. Richard is Mr. Mallard's close friend, he is the one that tells Josephine, Mrs. Mallard's sister, about the death of his friend. The plot in the story evolves when Mrs. Mallard is told that her husband has died. Any one's initial reaction would be that of agony, pain and sorrow. I can only imagine the pain that one could feel when they are notified of a death of a relative. The first thing one naturally could do is mourn that persons death. In the story we see a sense of sadness from Mrs. Mallard, but this only lasts for a couple of minutes. This is where the conflict begins in the story.

After being notified of her husband's death Mrs. Mallard quickly begins to speak of freedom. She mentions that now she can do all the things that she's always wanted to do but could'nt for whatever reason. Now she would begin "living for herself." This is controversial because as the readers we can only interpret what is said. At least in my case this meant jumping to conclusions and believing that her husband did not love her or he treated her bad, thus taking her to feel a sense of relief now that her husband is dead. Finally, the story becomes ironic at the ending. At the very ending of the story we find out that her husband, Mr. Mallard is not dead. The irony becomes when Mrs. Mallard dies of a "joy that kills." As the audience we can interpret it in two separate ways. One, Mrs. Mallard died because she was happy and then she found out her husband wasnt dead so she died because she began thinking of all the things she would now miss out on. Or two, she died because she was happy that her husband was not dead. But, once again the ending is not too specific rather its vague because the author wanted us to interpret it in our own way.

My Reflection on Invisible Cities

Italo Calvino's 7 short stories on invisible cities seems bewildering at first. Particularly the city of Zobeide caught my attention because of the message it sends. Zobeide was a city created by men who followed their dreams. These men created the city to catch a woman that they saw in their dreams but they rearranged the city so that if the woman appeared she would be trapped and she would forever stay in that city. As time passed the men gave up on their dream, they became hopeless. With this new sense of hopelessness they carried on with their lives and forgot about that dream that drove them to create the city. New men arrived with hopes of following their dreams, but now these men were looked at differently because no one could think of any reason as to why anyone would want to live in that city that was now considered a trap.

The city of Zobiede to me can be compared to the U.S. Men with dreams of a place where one could be free all came together to create this "city." At first they thought that this "city" would give them liberty and freedom, but when they realized that things were hard on them they decided to give up. New men then arrived with the same hopes and dreams of living the American Dream, and the people who had originally come with hopes of bettering their lives were now bewildered at the fact that anyone would want to come to the U.S. because they saw nothing but hardship and struggle.