when her swollen eye was still the black and purple color of an overripe avocado, she had rearranged them after she polished them.
The title of her book can be used to represent the abuse she has witness as stated, "... her swollen eye was still the black and purple color." Do you think the title is an indication of what she was used to seeing or symbol of eventually overcoming such abuse?
She spent at least a quarter of an hour on each baller-dancing figurine. There were never tears on her face
Is cleaning the figurines how the mother copes with abuse?
each time I heard the sounds from their room, like something being banged against the food, her rubber slippers never made a sound on the stairs, but I knew she went downstairs when I heard the dining room door open
This shows the act of violence that she has grown up around.
I meant to say I am sorry Papa broke your figurines, but the words that came out were “I’m sorry your figurines broke, Mama.”
She seems to have conflicting views on her father, and typically these views are caused by abuse or violence.
I imagine myself at the landward rail of that boat searching for the last sight of a hand.
She is describing here the need to actually feel needed by her daughters as stated, "Searching for the last sight of a hand."
on everything they had to leave? And would love forever?
The author questions why her daughters had to leave and leave questionable love.
where love dissembles itself as landscape:
The author compares love is a free but longing emotion like a landscape. A landscape can be a never-ending open space.
I have two daughters. They are all I ever wanted from the earth. Or almost all. I also wanted one piece of ground: One city trapped by hills. One urban river. An island in its element. So I could say mine. My own.
The author states, "I also wanted one piece of ground/ One city trapped by hills. One urban river" This is indicating that they are all located different places but she wants them all under one household or common place.
Pale?
I like how the author leaves us with this one word. Pale. How this word revolved and embedded into colored individuals heads for decades. A simple word with such a strong meaning.
There was nothing about us at all
This line is dominant because it is emphasizing in everything they do or learn has nothing involving their own background.
How those pale northern eyes and aristocratic whispers once erased us How our loudness, our laughter debased us. There was nothing left of ourselves Nothing about us at all
It can be hard to accept and learn about oneself after decades of learning not to.
Borrowed images willed our skins pale muffled our laughter lowered our voices let out our hems dekinked our hair denied our sex in gym tunics and bloomers harnessed our voices to madrigals and genteel airs yoked our minds to declensions in Latin and the language of Shakespeare Told us nothing about our selves There was nothing at all
Colored individuals has been robbed of their culture, looks, and education to carry on the needs and wants of European standards.
In the country of the free
Browning evokes here the sense of freedom, Were Americans really free and particularly children? If this is what America calls freedom, then she describes America with hate and despicable views.
And we young ones stand without, in our bewildering, And the graves are for the old !”
Browning states the many children dying from the labor. She finds it sickening that they are supposed to be set for a long duration of time instead given a shorter expectancy rate from the work placed on them.
Ask the old why they weep, and not the children,
We usually do not associate children with going through hardships instead more of wiser and older people.
The young lambs are bleating in the meadows ; The young birds are chirping in the nest ; The young fawns are playing with the shadows ; The young flowers are blowing toward the west— But the young, young children, O my brothers, They are weeping bitterly !
Browning is comparing how children belonging to different species to those of human-beings. The children of other animals is living a life filled with comfort and play, while human-beings are working there on as full-fledged adults.
All evil men intent on evil thing falter, for in their cold unready ears bells in the town alight with spring make clear the fresh and ancient sound they sing.
Throughout the poem, spring is described as a cleanse that rids the air of evil and toxicity that was left previously to welcome fresh and viable air.
Even he on his eyes feels the caressing finger of Persephone, and her voice escaped from tears make clear the fresh and ancient sound they sing.
As Morelt19 states, the greek goddess of spring is coming about to welcome the presence.
Bird feels the enchantment of his wing and in ten fine notes dispels twenty cares. Bells in the town alight with spring
Nature itself is welcoming the presence of spring. It is a time where animals tends to migrate towards warmer weather.
Bells in the town alight with spring converse, with a concordance of new airs make clear the fresh and ancient sound they sing. People emerge from winter to hear them ring, children glitter with mischief and the blind man hears bells in the town alight with spring.
People are welcoming the presence of spring.
Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.
This poem was her rant that she used to express her hatred and now finding her peace. I am happy to see the words "I'm through." The words of realization and hopefully seeking peace.
If I’ve killed one man, I’ve killed two—— The vampire who said he was you And drank my blood for a year,
Plath is referring to here, the husband most likely and father. It is truly sad that she compares the husband as sucking the life out of her body like a vampire.
With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo. And your neat mustache And your Aryan eye, bright blue. Panzer-man, panzer-man, O You—— Not God but a swastika
This was Hitler's idea of a perfect race: Blond hair and blue eyes. I agree with Morelt19, there is a lot of reference to the holocaust.
I never could talk to you. The tongue stuck in my jaw. It stuck in a barb wire snare. Ich, ich, ich, ich, I could hardly speak. I thought every German was you. And the language obscene An engine, an engine Chuffing me off like a Jew. A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen. I began to talk like a Jew. I think I may well be a Jew. The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Vienna Are not very pure or true. With my gipsy ancestress and my weird luck And my Taroc pack and my Taroc pack I may be a bit of a Jew. I have always been scared of you,
The holocaust is taking place during this time and she is comparing how she feels about her father like how Germans poorly treat Jews. And she sounds a bit conflicting as she states, "I may be bit of a Jew." Here she seems to be acknowledging her heritage, If she is a Jew, then maybe her hate spurs from this realization of how he can participate in such an act.
You do not do, you do not do Any more, black shoe In which I have lived like a foot For thirty years, poor and white, Barely daring to breathe or Achoo. Daddy, I have had to kill you. You died before I had time——
Plath compared her life as living in an unhappy shoe that she finally has had enough of.
; in almost all of these classes, again, subordinate gradations
According to Dictionary. Cambridge. Org, Subordinate means having a lower or less important position. Marx is showing within every social class, there is always a rank created to remain low and taken advantaged of.
we find almost everywhere a complicated arrangement of society into various orders, a manifold gradation of social rank
Marx shows this ideology of social rank is not new, but it is a concept that should be broken moving forward.
The modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with class antagonisms. It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones.
The bourgeois is not exactly considered as the rich social class, but they are the class that owns the businesses and proletarians works under. He finds it astonishing how they are making conditions for the working class harder to move forward and grow. He is showing the clash of social classes.
Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed,
Marx seems to enjoy getting his point across through the act of comparison.
Tonight, he noticed how the women’s eyes Passed from him to the strong men that were whole. How cold and late it is! Why don’t they come And put him into bed? Why don’t they come?
This is continued proof that people only help when it is beneficial towards themselves or when the help is not needed the most. In life, some people would view those that are disable as worthless as opposed to those that are healthy. In the mind of some, helping those that are disabled or helpless requires more effort and time that people do not want to waste themselves.
And soon, he was drafted out with drums and cheers. Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer Goal. Only a solemn man who brought him fruits Thanked him; and then enquired about his soul. Now, he will spend a few sick years in institutes, And do what things the rules consider wise,
Throughout the poem, he realizes that no one is really there to support each other through thick and thin. People are there for the moment, and then disappear when the support is really needed.
Legless, sewn short at elbow.
This is a tragic way to leave the army, disabled, He went in perfectly fine to live life as a different person. He came back to reality changed and damaged.
ghastly
According to Dictionary.Cambridge.Org, Ghastly means frightening and shocking.
Until the colour of a man’s skin Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes –
He explains how people makes a big deal over the color of one's skin but never the color of the eyes? And I believe that is a truly powerful statement as everyone has different color eyes, but it is never discriminated rather appreciated.
And we know we shall win As we are confident In the victory
He is confident that peace can conquer the fuel of hatred and negativity among his people in his country and globally.
ignoble
According to Oxford Dictionary, the word ignoble means not honourable in character or purpose.
And another Inferior Is finally And permanently Discredited And abandoned – Everywhere is war – Me say war.That until there no longer First class and second class citizens of any nation Until the colour of a man’s skin Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes – Me say war.That until the basic human rights Are equally guaranteed to all, Without regard to race – Dis a war.That until that day The dream of lasting peace, World citizenship Rule of international morality Will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued, But never attained – Now everywhere is war – war.
The use of repetition is an dominant aspect- the word war.
This collective unconscious does not develop individually, but is inherited.
I believe the collective unconscious could be developed as well through life experiences and memories. And the character we grow into as one gets older and wiser perhaps.
Just as some kind of analytical technique is needed to understand a dream, so a knowledge of mythology is needed in order to grasp the meaning of a content deriving from the deeper levels of the psyche….
I never realized how mythology can help us to deeper understand levels of the psyche. I look as mythology as stories filled with fun adventures with hidden meanings in most. I never realize it can be used beyond basic story telling.
These influences are nothing but unconscious, introspective perceptions of the activity of the collective unconscious. Just as the constellations were projected into the heavens, similar figures were projected into legends and fairy tales or upon historical persons.
Do you think our collective unconscious influence our everyday behaviors?
collective unconscious
According to GoodTherapy.org, collective unconscious is a collection of knowledge and images given to every human at birth.
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
The statue was a work of art that is now meaningless. The person who made the statue seemed to have put in alot of effort, but this is undermined because the type of person the king was did not hold the same values as he was described as "cold".
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
He did not sound like a good king with the phrases "shattered visage lies" and "sneer of cold command"
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Nothing is really left of the statue. The statue that was once known to be superior is now seen as a pile of remains on heaps of sand. His power is no longer appreciated or greatness. He probably was not a good person if one's power gets taken away and no one cares to acknowledge him anymore. Everyone remembers someone greatness whether they are in power or not.
I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
A once powerful king statue is now mocked by a traveler in a desert.
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Another big concept, Icarus fell from the sky and a man saw but did not care. The fall was not important enough for him to stop what he was doing and help. It shows that despite who is suffering, we always tend to focus on ourselves. As long as we are not going through the pain, it is like nothing else matters.
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer’s horse Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.
This concept is similar to the child and adult. It is like the dog knows what is going on, but since the torture is not happening to them, they do not care.
For the miraculous birth, there always must be Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating On a pond at the edge of the wood: They never forgot
He is comparing the lives between the young and old. One is aware of human death, while the other frolics along minding their own business.
About suffering they were never wrong, The old Masters: how well they understood Its human position: how it takes place While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along; How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting For the miraculous birth, there always must be Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating On a pond at the edge of the wood: They never forgot
This is basically saying no one really notices suffering until it actually happens to them, and when it does happen no one really cares.
“You are old, Father William,” the young man said, “And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head – Do you think, at your age, it is right? “In my youth,” Father William replied to his son, “I feared it might injure the brain; But, now that I’m perfectly sure I have none, Why, I do it again and again.” “You are old,” said the youth, “as I mentioned before, And have grown most uncommonly fat; Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door — Pray, what is the reason for that?” “In my youth,” said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, “I kept all my limbs very supple By the use of this ointment — one shilling a box — Allow me to sell you a couple?” “You are old,” said the youth, “and your jaws are too weak For anything tougher than suet; Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak — Pray, how did you manage to do it?” “In my youth,” said his father, “I took to the law, And argued each case with my wife; And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw, Has lasted the rest of my life.” “You are old,” said the youth, “one would hardly suppose That your eye was as steady as ever; Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose — What made you so awfully clever?” “I have answered three questions, and that is enough,” Said his father. “Don’t give yourself airs! Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? Be off, or I’ll kick you down stairs.”
Carroll version involved Father William in a more serious tone. Father William was not sympathetic with giving any form of advice to the youth. He seems more offended about his age in this poem.
How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail And pour the waters of the Nile On every golden scale How cheerfully he seems to grin How neatly spreads his claws And welcomes little fishes in With gently smiling jaws!
The same meaning as the original, but it is presented in a more child-like matter. The crocodile could be representing the devil preying on the weak, which are the fishes.
You are old, Father William, the young man cried, The few locks which are left you are grey; You are hale, Father William, a hearty old man, Now tell me the reason I pray. In the days of my youth, Father William replied, I remember’d that youth would fly fast, And abused not my health and my vigour at first That I never might need them at last. You are old, Father William, the young man cried, And pleasures with youth pass away, And yet you lament not the days that are gone, Now tell me the reason I pray. In the days of my youth, Father William replied, I remember’d that youth could not last; I thought of the future whatever I did, That I never might grieve for the past. You are old, Father William, the young man cried, And life must be hastening away; You are chearful, and love to converse upon death! Now tell me the reason I pray. I am chearful, young man, Father William replied, Let the cause thy attention engage; In the days of my youth I remember’d my God! And He hath not forgotten my age.
The moral of the poem is do not take your youth for granted. Father William is telling the youth to enjoy being young while it lasts, as stated, "I remember'd that youth could not last; I thought of the future whatever I did, That I never might grieve for the past."
In books, or work, or healthful play, Let my first years be passed, That I may give for every day Some good account at last.
Maybe the poem is implying, if we do not try to control our own lives, someone else will.
How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour, And gather honey all the day From every opening flower! How skilfully she builds her cell! How neat she spreads the wax! And labors hard to store it well With the sweet food she makes. In works of labor or of skill, I would be busy too; For Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do.
If one does not keep busy, the devil always finds a way to step into one's life to take control.
This piece of rudeness was more than Alice could bear: she got up in great disgust, and walked off; the Dormouse fell asleep instantly, and neither of the others took the least notice of her going, though she looked back once or twice, half hoping that they would call after her: the last time she saw them, they were trying to put the Dormouse into the teapot.
Alice walked into a tea party with March Hare, the Hatter, and Dormouse. It party filled with unsolvable riddles, which upset Alice. Eventually causing her to leave. This dramatic exit led her the original door that she has been wanting to enter- the beautiful garden.
‘A likely story indeed!’ said the Pigeon in a tone of the deepest contempt. ‘I’ve seen a good many little girls in my time, but never one with such a neck as that! No, no! You’re a serpent; and there’s no use denying it. I suppose you’ll be telling me next that you never tasted an egg!’
The mushrooms turned Alice into a snake.
Then it got down off the mushroom, and crawled away in the grass, merely remarking as it went, ‘One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.’
The caterpillar gave Alice a mushroom to make her taller or shorter.
queer
According to English Oxford Dictionary, queer means, "Strange; odd."
‘I wish I hadn’t mentioned Dinah!’ she said to herself in a melancholy tone. ‘Nobody seems to like her, down here, and I’m sure she’s the best cat in the world! Oh, my dear Dinah! I wonder if I shall ever see you any more!’
All the animals were frightened by the conversation of Alice's cat, so they abandoned her
Here was another puzzling question; and as Alice could not think of any good reason, and as the Caterpillar seemed to be in a very unpleasant state of mind, she turned away. ‘Come back!’ the Caterpillar called after her. ‘I’ve something important to say!’ This sounded promising, certainly: Alice turned and came back again.
Alice did the same actions the other animals did to her, which was walking away when offended but turning back whenever there is something promising to say.
‘I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, sir’ said Alice, ‘because I’m not myself, you see.’ ‘I don’t see,’ said the Caterpillar.
Alice begins to forget who she is. Before she came into this world, she was confident about herself. Now the constant changing of her size and loneliness contributed to losing herself .
comfits
According to English Oxford Dictionary, comfits are referred to as, "A sweet consisting of a nut, seed, or other centre coated in sugar."
thimble
According to Cambridge Dictionary, thimble is defined as, "a small, hard cover, shaped like a cup, that fits over the end of a finger to help you push a needle through material when sewing."
o she called softly after it, ‘Mouse dear! Do come back again, and we won’t talk about cats or dogs either, if you don’t like them!’ When the Mouse heard this, it turned round and swam slowly back to her: its face was quite pale (with passion, Alice thought), and it said in a low trembling voice, ‘Let us get to the shore, and then I’ll tell you my history, and you’ll understand why it is I hate cats and dogs.’
Alice made friends with a mouse after the rabbit abandoned her.
s she said these words her foot slipped, and in another moment, splash! she was up to her chin in salt water. Her first idea was that she had somehow fallen into the sea, ‘and in that case I can go back by railway,’ she said to herself. (Alice had been to the seaside once in her life, and had come to the general conclusion, that wherever you go to on the English coast you find a number of bathing machines in the sea, some children digging in the sand with wooden spades, then a row of lodging houses, and behind them a railway station.) However, she soon made out that she was in the pool of tears which she had wept when she was nine feet high.
Alice shrunk down to a smaller size due to excessively fanning herself. Now she is swimming in her own tears that she produced when she was a giant.
‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself,’ said Alice, ‘a great girl like you,’ (she might well say this), ‘to go on crying in this way! Stop this moment, I tell you!’
She also likes encouraging herself to remain positive.
in fact she was now more than nine feet high, and she at once took up the little golden key and hurried off to the garden door.
Cake- Made Alice bigger Potion- Made Alice smaller
and sometimes she scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into her eyes; and once she remembered trying to box her own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet
I notice that Alice likes to compare her past situations with to the ones she is faced with presently.
After a while, finding that nothing more happened, she decided on going into the garden at once; but, alas for poor Alice! when she got to the door, she found she had forgotten the little golden key, and when she went back to the table for it, she found she could not possibly reach it: she could see it quite plainly through the glass, and she tried her best to climb up one of the legs of the table, but it was too slippery; and when she had tired herself out with trying, the poor little thing sat down and cried.
Alice drank a potion that made her smaller so she can fit through the door. But she has forgotten the key on top of the table that is not reachable for her height anymore.
‘it would be of very little use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope!
Alice cannot fit through the little rabbit door, so she wishes that she can be folded up like a telescope to go through.
Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment: she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight,
The fall ended and Alice is still following the rabbit.
she did not like to drop the jar for fear of killing somebody, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it.
The fall described as a deep, but occupied well.
t flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it,
Alice wanted adventure and her wish was granted by this rabbit.
“For there is no friend like a sister
Laura is telling her children about her and Lizzie's past with the goblins. She was telling them how the fruits was tasty, but dangerous. And how Lizzie stood up the the goblins to help Laura. She is telling them that there is nothing more better than a sister's bond.
Swift fire spread through her veins, knock’d at her heart, Met the fire smouldering there And overbore its lesser flame;
Laura begins to heal from the goblin's fruits because she is overcome by the lesser flame as opposed to before. The fruits do not appeal to her like before.
She cried, “Laura,” up the garden, “Did you miss me? Come and kiss me. Never mind my bruises, Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices
Again, this is implied to have Laura lick the goblins fruit juices off her but it still is sexual.
At last the evil people, Worn out by her resistance,
She won the battle of resistance against the goblin's fruits.
In a hoary roaring sea, Sending up a golden fire,— Like a fruit-crown’d orange-tree White with blossoms honey-sweet Sore beset by wasp and bee,— Like a royal virgin town
The goblins are taking Lizzie's virginity, and this is described by comparing her body to an tree that is getting pollinated by wasps and bees.
Their tones wax’d loud, Their looks were evil. Lashing their tails They trod and hustled her, Elbow’d and jostled her, Claw’d with their nails, Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking, Tore her gown and soil’d her stocking, Twitch’d her hair out by the roots, Stamp’d upon her tender feet, Held her hands and squeez’d their fruits Against her mouth to make her eat. White and golden Lizzie stood,
Rossetti is describing how the goblins are getting violent with Lizzie for not trying their fruit, so now they are forcing her to eat it.
Hugg’d her and kiss’d her: Squeez’d and caress’d her: Stretch’d up their dishes, Panniers, and plates: “Look at our apples Russet and dun, Bob at our cherries, Bite at our peaches, Citrons and dates, Grapes for the asking, Pears red with basking Out in the sun, Plums on their twigs; Pluck them and suck them,
The goblins is telling Lizzie to try their fruits, which is described in a more sexual matter as well.
Cat-like and rat-like, Ratel- and wombat-like, Snail-paced in a hurry, Parrot-voiced and whistler, Helter skelter, hurry skurry, Chattering like magpies, Fluttering like pigeons, Gliding like fishes,
Rossetti is comparing the goblins to many different animals.
She thought of Jeanie in her grave, Who should have been a bride; But who for joys brides hope to have Fell sick and died
Lizzie thinking of Jeanie dying from the tasting of the fruit.
She no more swept the house, Tended the fowls or cows, Fetch’d honey, kneaded cakes of wheat, Brought water from the brook: But sat down listless in the chimney-nook And would not eat.
Laura stopped doing the tasks she normally accomplished because she cannot taste the fruit anymore. The withdrawal from eating the fruits is eating her alive.
Her hair grew thin and grey; She dwindled, as the fair full moon doth turn To swift decay and burn Her fire away.
Laura is suffering from not being able to taste the fruit again. She seems to be withering away like a dying flower.
Laura turn’d cold as stone To find her sister heard that cry alone, That goblin cry, “Come buy our fruits, come buy.” Must she then buy no more such dainty fruit? Must she no more such succous pasture find,
Laura is in shocked that she cannot hear the globin's cries for the fruits, while Lizzie can. She is addicted to the fruit and she does not seem to know how to handle herself anymore. A simile is used to describe Laura's state of shock like a stone.
At length slow evening came: They went with pitchers to the reedy brook; Lizzie most placid in her look, Laura most like a leaping flame.
Rossetti is showing Laura's excitement of the getting more fruits from the goblin by comparing her to a leaping flame.
Lizzie with an open heart, Laura in an absent dream, One content, one sick in part; One warbling for the mere bright day’s delight, One longing for the night.
Rossetti was previously comparing the two, but now she starts to describe that they're not the same anymore. It seems that the tasting of fruit has changed each of their perspectives.
Golden head by golden head, Like two pigeons in one nest Folded in each other’s wings, They lay down in their curtain’d bed: Like two blossoms on one stem, Like two flakes of new-fall’n snow, Like two wands of ivory
Rossetti is comparing the two sisters.
You cannot think what figs My teeth have met in, What melons icy-cold Piled on a dish of gold Too huge for me to hold, What peaches with a velvet nap, Pellucid grapes without one seed: Odorous indeed must be the mead Whereon they grow, and pure the wave they drink
Laura describing the fruits that she ate to Lizzie. She is amazed and pleased to have tasted them
While to this day no grass will grow Where she lies low: I planted daisies there a year ago That never blow.
Basically implying that Jeanie never recovered from the situation with the Goblins and if the girl continues to see them, then she will end up like Jeanie.
But ever in the noonlight She pined and pined away; Sought them by night and day, Found them no more, but dwindled and grew grey; Then fell with the first snow,
Lizzie is still referring to the Jeanie story. It seemed as if Jeanie lost her virginity to the men because it is saying that she repeatedly sought out these men. And the word, "fell" can shown as Jeanie losing her sexual purity.
“Dear, you should not stay so late, Twilight is not good for maidens; Should not loiter in the glen In the haunts of goblin men. Do you not remember Jeanie, How she met them in the moonlight, Took their gifts both choice and many,
Lizzie reminding the girl that the goblins are bad company. And staying outside too late is not safe for an unmarried woman. This still seems to refer to sexual matter because why would Lizzie get upset of the girl being around them for "fruit"?
She suck’d and suck’d and suck’d the more Fruits which that unknown orchard bore; She suck’d until her lips were sore;
This has sexual intention which pertains to the adult aspect of the poem.
One tramp’d at a rat’s pace, One crawl’d like a snail, One like a wombat prowl’d obtuse and furry, One like a ratel tumbled hurry skurry. She heard a voice like voice of doves
A plethora of similes and metaphors.
Their offers should not charm us, Their evil gifts would harm us.”
rhyme scheme. Rossetti refers to the Goblins as creatures that should not be associated with, especially for the purchasing of fruits.
Crab-apples, dewberries, Pine-apples, blackberries, Apricots, strawberries;— All ripe together
I notice that Christina Rossetti uses a rhyme scheme when talking about the fruits
ave ye leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm? Or what is it ye buy so dear With your pain and with your fear? The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps
I notice Shelley uses a rhyme scheme to question whether the tyrants treatment was a satisfying aspect of their lives. Did they enjoy being treated as such? Why are they not revolting against their oppressors?
Sow seed—but let no tyrant reap: Find wealth—let no imposter heap: Weave robes—let not the idle wear: Forge arms—in your defence to bear. Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells—
In this poem, I notice he uses repetition to display the actions tyrants need to take to defend their rights.
n old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King; Princes, the dregs of their dull race, who flow Through public scorn,—mud from a muddy spring; Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know, But leechlike to their fainting country cling
I noticed Shelley emphasized rhythm when describing the nobility as opposed to the tyrants that was described in a more calming tone. The description and comparative metaphors sounds as one catchy rhythm.
An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King; Princes, the dregs of their dull race, who flow Through public scorn,—mud from a muddy spring; Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know, But leechlike to their fainting country cling Till they drop, blind in blood, without a blow. A people starved and stabbed in th’ untilled field; An army, whom liberticide and prey Makes as a two-edged sword to all who wield; Golden and sanguine laws which tempt and slay; Religion Christless, Godless—a book sealed; A senate, Time’s worst statute, unrepealed— Are graves from which a glorious Phantom may Burst, to illumine our tempestuous day.
This poem is implying that those of higher power are not appealing to the people's needs or concerns. Instead the people has suffered with unequal rights that progressed into starvation and death. While those of higher power who has never experienced suffering, turn a blind eye to the majority seeking help. Shelley implies towards the end that the people will soon fulfill these basic rights.
Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear? Wherefore feed and clothe and save From the cradle to the grave Those ungrateful drones who would Drain your sweat—nay, drink your blood? Wherefore, Bees of England, forge Many a weapon, chain, and scourge, That these stingless drones may spoil The forced produce of your toil? Have ye leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm? Or what is it ye buy so dear With your pain and with your fear? The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears. Sow seed—but let no tyrant reap: Find wealth—let no imposter heap: Weave robes—let not the idle wear: Forge arms—in your defence to bear. Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells— In hall ye deck another dwells. Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see The steel ye tempered glance on ye. With plough and spade and hoe and loom Trace your grave and build your tomb And weave your winding-sheet—till fair England be your Sepulchre.
Shelley is describing the hard-work ethics of tyrants. He wants them to fight for their rights because it is unfair that a person cannot reap benefits of their own work. Workers deserves to be rewarded and recognized, but instead the nobility takes these basic rights that are needed for survival. An individual without a reward such as money would eventually begin to live a life of suffering.
The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears.
Tyrants are worked to the core without fair pay and representation. The items they produced was unfairly made for people in the upper class.
Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear?
Shelley is exclaiming that the tyrants wore poorly made clothes, while the nobility enjoys the rich fabric made by the tyrants.
You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being.
He wants a companion that is just like him. Someone who he can relate to and live life with. He does not want to live in this world alone. He was surrounded by people who constantly interacted with each other. These people were happy and lived peacefully. The monster considered the experience of interaction to be perfect.
Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. S
So the creator created the monster to display how life treated him?
My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination? These questions continually recurred, but I was unable to solve them.
He did not know how to describe himself since he did not accurately fit the criteria of a human.
ne was old, with silver hairs and a countenance beaming with benevolence and love; the younger was slight and graceful in his figure, and his features were moulded with the finest symmetry, yet his eyes and attitude expressed the utmost sadness and despondency.
The monster is admiring the looks of a human between young and old. He finds that fascinating since, for the most part, was produced as a full-fledged adult.
It was a lovely sight, even to me, poor wretch who had never beheld aught beautiful before. The silver hair and benevolent countenance of the aged cottager won my reverence, while the gentle manners of the girl enticed my love. He played a sweet mournful air which I perceived drew tears from the eyes of his amiable companion, of which the old man took no notice, until she sobbed audibly; he then pronounced a few sounds, and the fair creature, leaving her work, knelt at his feet.
The monster, day by day, starts to experience new feelings. In this case, he expressing his feeling of pleasure from the sounds of music.
The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped to the open country and fearfully took refuge in a low hovel, quite bare, and making a wretched appearance after the palaces I had beheld in the village.
The monster describing his first horrid encounter with humans.
I found that the berries were spoiled by this operation, and the nuts and roots much improved.
The monster is learning about what the world around him had to offer and how he can use it for survival.
Sometimes I wished to express my sensations in my own mode, but the uncouth and inarticulate sounds which broke from me frightened me into silence again.
The monster was scared of himself. This is another reason as to why he grew depressed. He did not understand why he could not fit in with the surrounding animals and humans around him.
Soon a gentle light stole over the heavens and gave me a sensation of pleasure. I started up and beheld a radiant form rise from among the trees. [The moon] I gazed with a kind of wonder. I
The monster function best in the night with the moon as his source of light.
The light became more and more oppressive to me, and the heat wearying me as I walked, I sought a place where I could receive shade.
He is referring to the sun. The monster cannot function well in the sun.
For the first time, also, I felt what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness.
Dr. Frankenstein now feels ashamed of judging his creation actions. His duty as a creator was to try to give him all the happiness in the world. He failed at doing this job so he cannot judge how he proceeded to act in the world.
Listen to my tale; when you have heard that, abandon or commiserate me, as you shall judge that I deserve.
He really wants Dr. Frankenstein to understand what he has gone through ever since the abandonment. From this story, he will accept if Dr. Frankenstein is going to leave or stay.
Believe me, Frankenstein, I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? They spurn and hate me. The desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man does not grudge. These bleak skies I hail, for they are kinder to me than your fellow beings.
The monster is telling Dr.Frankenstein how his soul was filled with love until he started to encounter reality. The humans did not understand his existence so how can gain acceptance? He felt that nature surrounding him was his escape from the bleak world of humans. He wants Dr.Frankenstein to know that he is terrified of the world like the humans are of him.
And, oh! That I could, with the extinction of your miserable existence, restore those victims whom you have so diabolically murdered!”
I feel as if these murders could have been prevented if Dr.Frankenstein raised him instead of abandoning him to perceive the world on his own terms.
I suddenly beheld the figure of a man, at some distance, advancing towards me with superhuman speed.
I feel as if Dr.Frankenstein overreacts a lot for something he created. I actually find this situation more depressing than fearful. He abandoned a creature that relied on him for guidance.
I nearly sank to the ground through languor and extreme weakness. Mingled with this horror, I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a space were now become a hell to me; and the change was so rapid, the overthrow so complete!
Victor Frankenstein is described as a hard-working individual, but his response is cowardly. He could not own up to his creation. He was scared instead of proud. He did not want to be held responsible for a creature he felt was a "disappointment."
? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.
Victor Frankenstein gave him beautiful features but it did not fit well with the creature which formed a "horrid contrast"
I continued walking in this manner for some time, endeavouring by bodily exercise to ease the load that weighed upon my mind. I traversed the streets without any clear conception of where I was or what I was doing. My heart palpitated in the sickness of fear, and I hurried on with irregular steps, not daring to look about me:
Victor Frankenstein is abandoning his new species in fear without a care of what the species is capable of doing or leaving any sort of explanation to the species of its existence.
My limbs now tremble, and my eyes swim with the remembrance;
He is described as very focused and dedicated. He is no longer taking care of his physical appearance.
One secret which I alone possessed was the hope to which I had dedicated myself; and the moon gazed on my midnight labours, while, with unrelaxed and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding-places.
Frankenstein spent restless nights trying to make his new species.
ardour
According to the OED, ardour is another word for passion.
A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs
Victor Frankenstein goal was to create a new species that he can be a father to.
A woman who has lost her honour, imagines that she cannot fall lower, and as for recovering her former station, it is impossible; no exertion can wash this stain away. Losing thus every spur, and having no other means of support, prostitution becomes her only refuge,
I feel that Wollstonecraft believes a woman reputation by having sex before marriage is ruined because it is the one value they can really cherish in life. It is considered an accomplishment to keep pure till marriage to many of these women. They do not have jobs or brain stem research to value. All these woman have to offer is their virginity. And to lose their virginity before marriage means they degraded the meaning of a pure sensible woman for this generation.
To rise in the world, and have the liberty of running from pleasure to pleasure, they must marry advantageously, and to this object their time is sacrificed, and their persons often legally prostituted.
Marriage was considered a women's only job in this society.
Girls, who have been thus weakly educated, are often cruelly left by their parents without any provision; and, of course, are dependent on, not only the reason, but the bounty of their brothers.
It is sad that women had to rely on their brothers to teach them. So what if they did not have a brother, who did they rely on besides the parents?
“Educate women like men,” says Rousseau, “and the more they resemble our sex the less power will they have over us.” This is the very point I aim at. I do not wish them to have power over men; but over themselves
Wollstonecraft implies that women should be able to feel worthy and proud of their duties. Women were not proud of staying confined in rooms to pleasure men. In this sentence, Wollstonecraft shows that women wants to feel accomplished just like men do with their duties. It is not a competition with others rather a competition with oneself. To better improve and grow with oneself was what she wanted women to acquire.
when I see a man start with eager, and serious solicitude to lift a handkerchief, or shut a door, when the LADY could have done it herself, had she only moved a pace or two.
Women were not given the ability to do many situations, in fact, basic situations mainly because they were viewed as "weak." Men contributed to this norm by performing these tasks for women.
Pleasure is the business of a woman’s life, according to the present modification of society, and while it continues to be so, little can be expected from such weak beings. Inheriting, in a lineal descent from the first fair defect in nature, the sovereignty of beauty, they have, to maintain their power, resigned their natural rights, which the exercise of reason, might have procured them, and chosen rather to be short-lived queens than labour to attain the sober pleasures that arise from equality.
By pleasure, Wollstonecraft can be referring to women actually doing prostitution to get money or viewing their marriages as prostitution. Since women were viewed as "weak beings" the only value they have going for them is their beauty. Wollstonecraft remarks on beauty, "in a lineal descent from the first fair defect in nature, the sovereignty of beauty, they have, to maintain their power." In other words, beauty can define a women's wealth by marrying a man with power and wealth.
homage
Means - respect/ honor.
Men, they further observe, submit every where to oppression, when they have only to lift up their heads to throw off the yoke; yet, instead of asserting their birthright, they quietly lick the dust, and say, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. Women, I argue from analogy, are degraded by the same propensity to enjoy the present moment; and, at last, despise the freedom which they have not sufficient virtue to struggle to attain.
I believe Wollstonecraft is saying, men and women both suffer oppression from the aristocracy. But, men do not feel degraded because they do not struggle to attain basic freedom rights like women. Men receives the education, jobs, and wealth, whereas women fight for those common human values.
Little Lamb God bless thee. Little Lamb God bless thee.
It seems as if Blake wants to thank God for the creation of the lamb. The lamb is constantly referred to in this poem as a "delight, bright, tender voiced" creation. And he seems proud on God's placement of this animal perhaps.
As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight! That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack, Were all of them locked up in coffins of black; And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he opened the coffins & set them all free; Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run, And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.
In a sense, I feel like this reminds me of the book, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas By John Boyne. This is because the dream reminds me of the boy (Bruno) who was free, while the boy (Shmuel) who was imprisoned in the concentration camps represented reality. Shmuel yearned to live like Bruno and act like a kid. Instead Shmuel was treated as an adult with overbearing labor. Whenever Bruno visited Shmuel at the fence, it was like Shmuel was able to act like a kid and escape his horrid reality.
When the stars threw down their spears And water’d heaven with their tears: Did he smile his work to see?
It seems as if the sight of this tiger has star strucked the viewer or even God himself on the creation of this animal.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand, dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, & what art,
In comparison to the Lamb, Blake is describing the animal's fierce features such as the eyes, firmness of the art, and overall the tiger itself. The lamb was more gentle and soft.
Who make up a heaven of our misery.”
It is sad that this child had to think, act, and work like an adult at such a young age. We usually associate most adults as wise human beings with experiences to explain their life story. This child is very wise for their age.This child know there is no gimmick except for the sad reality as a chimney worker that awaits him.
scarcely
According to Dictionary.com, Scarcely means, "barely; hardly; not quite."
Little Lamb who made thee Dost thou know who made thee Gave thee life & bid thee feed. By the stream & o’er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing wooly bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice!
Even though there is no question mark, these lines sounds as if God or someone is asking the Lamb, "Who made you?" , "Who gave you life and freedom?" , "who gave you this wonderful bright fur?"
meek
According to Dictionary.com, Meek means to be " Obsolete. gentle; kind."
They make one story become the only story
This was well said. It was short but very powerful. No one ever bothers to seek out the truth themselves or question if there was more to the story. Like Adichie mentioned earlier, people are spoon fed the "truth" from those of higher power. Therefore, people would not bother to question or deny the single story. The form of persuasion used here is best described as ethos - those of higher power such as news outlets and government control in what citizens see, believe, and hear.
And for many years afterwards, I would have a desperate desire to taste ginger beer.
Adichie had many examples of pathos in her speech but this example should be included as well. She is desiring to taste ginger beer because the British characters in her books always advertised it. It was considered a norm to the British, while Adichie who lives on a different continent yearns to taste the beverage. Adichie could not relate to these characters, but she desired certain aspects carried by them.
Now, what if my roommate knew about my friend Funmi Iyanda, a fearless woman who hosts a TV show in Lagos, and is determined to tell the stories that we prefer to forget? What if my roommate knew about the heart procedure that was performed in the Lagos hospital last week? What if my roommate knew about contemporary Nigerian music, talented people singing in English and Pidgin, and Igbo and Yoruba and Ijo, mixing influences from Jay-Z to Fela to Bob Marley to their grandfathers.
Adichie is using logos because she is showing the positive information about Nigerians that is usually not talked about or covered in a daily news segment. She is voicing about empowering Nigerians who are doctors, Musicians, and TV show hosts. Adichie is showing that people in the continent of Africa can be thriving successful individuals as well.
Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.
I agree that many stories matter. I think it is important to always view both the good and bad of every story. Every story does not need to be perfect. But every story should be heard.
If I had not grown up in Nigeria, and if all I knew about Africa were from popular images, I too would think that Africa was a place of beautiful landscapes, beautiful animals, and incomprehensible people, fighting senseless wars, dying of poverty and AIDS, unable to speak for themselves and waiting to be saved by a kind, white foreigner. I would see Africans in the same way that I, as a child, had seen Fide’s family.
. Adichie's roommate is not necessary wrong for her one-sided thinking of Africa. This is because the continent of Africa is typically portrayed in the media as a place that is very poor, war-driven, and uneducated people. Adichie herself mentions, "I would see Africans in the same way that I, as a child, had seen Fide's family." She is not holding a grudge towards her roommate, but instead trying to understand her perception of Africans. Her roommate made these perceptions based on what she was told or saw. No one has yet to educate her roommate further besides Adichie about Africa. Furthermore, it can be easy to be influenced especially on a subject that is rarely mentioned to begin with.
I realized that people like me, girls with skin the color of chocolate, whose kinky hair could not form ponytails, could also exist in literature. I started to write about things I recognized.
Literature should always appeal to a wider audience. It is sad that people of color cannot picture themselves in literature because they are not mentioned. As Adichie said, "I started to write about things I recognized." If she is only aware of the European standards of beauty and culture, then she will only be subjected to those standards. The representation of all scopes of life in literature is important, so people can relate and be aware of other cultures.