serenity57

Part 1 -Reflection

In "Pomegranate" by Eavan Boland, the author tells the myth of Persephone as a life experience in which she has previously gone through. She writes "Pomegranate" using herself and her daughter as comparison with Ceres and Persephone. However, in the poem, Boland writes about a pomegranate that Persephone has pulled "She could have come home and been safe and ended the story and all our heart-broken searching but she reached out a hand and plucked a pomegranate". Boland used and titled the poem "Pomegranate" that represents the significance of the myth Persephone where Persephone was abducted by pulling a flower in the earth that opened up the gate of hell. As the poem goes on, she acts as though she is Ceres and that her daughter is Persephone. Although that is the intention, her thoughts were different compared to what a normal mother would have done. Near the end of the poem Boland writes "I could warn her. There is still a chance." meaning to say that she could still save her daughter from being taken away. However, as the poem goes on until the last line, Boland writes "If I defer the grief I will diminish the gift [...] I will say nothing." In the end, Boland believes that one must go through many hardships in order to have their own myth pass on and their story be told and if Persephone wouldn't have plucked the "Pomegranate" the myth would have never been created.

"Persephone, Falling" by Rita Dove is a short poem about the myth Persephone. Unlike Boland, Dove heads straight to the point as if the myth "Persephone" is a life lesson that is meant for young people. She tells the process of Persephone's abduction, again with the plucking of a flower, in a few short lines and at the end of "Persephone, Falling" Dove writes "Remember: go straight to school. This is important, stop fooling around! Don't answer to strangers." Dove goes straight to the point that it is important for young people to know that there are dangers around every corner and they should always keep an eye out to their surrounding. Contrary to Boland's idea of grief before gift, Dove warns her readers to go straight into the safer road or one might get their "foot sinks into the ground".


Part 2 -Looking Ahead

"In Greek mythology, Icarus (the Latin spelling, conventionally adopted in English; Greek: Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, Etruscan: Vikare[1]) is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. The main story told about Icarus is his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. He ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and the melting wax caused him to fall into the sea where he drowned."
Work Cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icarus

W.H. Auden uses the myth of Icarus to further explain his writing as though to say that people will always have their courses in life to take. For example he mentions "Even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course" saying that even people who prefer death must do something to achieve it. Auden uses the story of Icarus meaning to say that even though it is an extraordinary thing to see that "a boy is falling out of the sky" into the water, the sail boat must continue calmly on. In comparison to Ceres and Persephone, Icarus also give readers a life lesson in being careful the path in which one must take in order to continue on with their lives. In the myth of Icarus, by refusing to listen to his father's advice not to fly too close to the sun, Icarus suffered death by drowning into the ocean because his wings has melted. Similar to Icarus, Persephone, out of curiosity, also pluck the flower out of the earth and ended up in the underworld with Hades.

Part 1:

In "The Writer" by Richard Wilber, the author writes about the process of growing up using an extended metaphor that are recognized throughout the poem. Wilber writes about an event where he is standing outside of his daughter's room listening to her describing the ways in which she has grown up. Wilber mentions in the third stanza "Young as she is, the stuff of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy". In these two lines, Wilbur is saying that his daughter has gone through many things like a grown up although she is still at a young age in her life. Furthermore into the poem, Wilbur tells a story of a starling that was trapped in his daughter's room two years ago and how he watched it escape through a hard, long process "And how for helpless hour, through the crack of the door, we watched the sleek, wild, dark and iridescent creature batter against the brilliance". In the end, through many tries to escape the young bird was finally able to escape through the window. For half of the poem, Wilbur compares his daughter to the starling having to go through many hardship in order to get to the outside world so similarly his daughter has also had a great load of burden before she could become a grown up. At the end of the poem he wishes his daughter what he had wished for her before in the third stanza a "lucky passage" in which represents the transition into adulthood.
"Packing for the Future" by Lorna Crozier is also about the process of growing up in life. In the first three stanzas, the author writes about a pair of socks that accompany one's walking path. It's almost like the author is comparing the socks you put on your feet represents the place you came from and the people that help you take your first steps "you cannot go without the hope socks bring you, the way they hold you to the earth. At least one pair must be new, must be as blue as a wish hand-knit by your mother in her sleep." The following stanzas also talk about things one must bring on their journey in life that reminds them of where they came from even though they could be for no practical uses "Perhaps the key you've kept though it doesn't fit any lock you know, the photograph that keeps you sane." Crozier continues on giving advice to a person who is leaving their home using the things that they could bring with them not necessarily for any survival needs but instead reminding them that they must not forget who they are and should carry their heritage, memories and dreams wherever they might go.

Part 2:

Sylvia Plath was born in October 27, 1932 and died in February 11, 1963 when she was only 30 from a carbon monoxide gas suicide. According to wikipedia, she was only eight when her father died; however, in the poem "Daddy" it is mentioned that they buried her dad when she was ten which is inaccurate information. But it is true when she mentioned that she had tried to kill herself during the age of twenty. Sylvia Plath has always suffered from depression which lead to her death later in life. Her poem let out a tone of anger towards her father. She probably chose to write about her life that way because she has always been on the down side of emotions and the way she expresses herself due to the loss of her father. In the poem it is almost like she is very angry with her father for dying " They are dancing and stamping on you. They always knew it was you. Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through." Plath would probably not agree with Winterson since according to "Daddy" it seems like what Plath writes about her life is one hundred percent the truth.

Part 1: Reflection

The most useful and interesting aspect of studying literature so far in this term is that from getting through with all of the stories that the class has offered, family dynamic is a topic that definitely stands out in everything that we have gone through. It’s an interesting topic to be learning about because it gives real scenarios that could happen in a real life situation to anyone. For example, the events that the main characters have to go through in our most recent story “Borders” by Thomas King has a lot to do with knowing one’s family and its traditional culture. Literature is appealing in a way that can only be seen thoughtfully through the consumption of time and dedication towards the subject. Most of the time literature is in relation to subjects that either happened in real life or are based on real events that many learners can sometimes relate completely to. The methods done so far in this term are definitely being used to the fullest considering it is an online class. The most useful techniques that we currently practice are the commentaries and discussions of fellow student’s blog entries. Not only that we get to share our ideas with our class, these methods sometimes help us think more clearly on the subjects that we are learning leading to new thoughts. I believe there are more life lessons that could be learned from literature whether it’s something that I have gone through or maybe events that could happen in the future. The biggest concern I have now is to have everything done one hundred percent and turned in on time. I also developed a fear that if the final paper only has one week to be completed like our midterm paper because it could give a lot of stress dealing with many finals at once in a short amount of time.

Part 2: Looking Ahead

1. Hamartia: tragic flaw: the character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall
Ex. Creon's pride in being king led to the death of his son and wife.

2.Hubris: overbearing pride or presumption, often manifests itself as a high opinion of one's nation, ethnicity, or appearance and abilities.
Ex. Creon refuses advice from the prophet because of his pride in being the ruler of Thebes and believe that the laws protect his unjust actions.

3.Catharsis: Greek word meaning "purification" or "cleansing", purging of emotional tensions
Ex. When Antigone is able to fulfill her goal and bury her brother.

4. Peripeteia: a sudden and unexpected change of fortune or reverse of circumstances
Ex. When Creon wanted to release Antigone; however, she has already hung herself in the cave.

5. Anagnorisis: The moment in the plot of a drama in which the hero makes a discovery that explains previously unexplained events or situations.
Ex. When Oedipus finds out that the person who killed King Laius was actually himself.

Part 1:
"The Boat" uses intertextuality in order to foreshadow the similar events that would eventually happen in both the main story and the texts that were referenced. There is a similar theme that there are deaths of drowning from every story and there are also similarities between each character's life. The character Eustacia Vye is used to be compared to the narrator's mother in the story. They were both smart and beautiful women who failed to lead the life they wanted although they knew exactly what they wanted from their husband and family. Knowing that they could never find happiness, the women also was not able to escape their fate. The narrator's mother from The Boat is unhappy with the fact that her husband is an untidy sailor and she also hates that her daughters started reading and became waitresses instead of being the traditional housewife like she is. Eustacia, similarly, was never happy with her husband because he couldn't take her places like she wanted to and in the end blame her for the death of his mother.Also in "David Copperfield", the character Ham Peggoty can be compared to the narrator's father in "The Boat" because they share similar death, although the narrator's death was caused by an accident and Ham Peggoty died because he heroicly wanted to save the lives of stranded people. The sea in these stories symbolizes the ending of many character's lives.

Part 2:
By the way the author "bracket" beginning and ending of the story with peaceful images filled in the reader's mind, his point of view enhances the expressing of forgiveness towards his father because even though he experienced everything negative his father has to offer growing up, he never understood the real reason why his father has acted like that ever since he came back from the war. Like mentioned in the story " Cy didn't answer for a moment and then he said: 'Dieppe'. I didn't understand. I thought it was a new disease." It can be argued that the narrator forgives his father by the fact that, maybe he was too young to understand what was going on, but he never really blamed his father for the things that he did. Another example would be that the narrator completed his father's last wish by spreading his ashes in Dieppe among his father's fallen comrades thinking that they have also forgiven him.

“This Be the Verse” by Phillip Larkin is an introspective poem describing the hatred he once had for his parents which the majority of the population can relate too. However, because the definition of “great literature” is based on each person’s perspective, determining whether a poem is considered to be a “great literature” can be controversial. To my understanding, “great literature” usually revolves around a novel length story, either non-fiction or having relations to actual events. Though “This Be the Verse” is not a novel but a short poem and it holds truth. From the sarcastic but sadistic tone, the poet writes of how parents doom their own children by their antiquated ideals and fail to raise the children righteously. Larkin then concludes by warning the reader not to bear children themselves. Parenting is a sensitive topic most will never express out loud or on paper, thus categorizing this poem to be “great”. The poem’s other “greatness” comes from the author’s ability to attract a wide audience. Usually profanity and “mum and dad” collide, and is never used in the same sentence, but Larkin uses this to an advantage. The poet also keeps his readers’ attention by writing on a topic people are able to relate to, the troubles between the parents and children, a “universal theme”, rather, a “great literature”.