“In the darkness the fields / defend themselves with fences / in vain: / everything / is getting in” (Atwood, 28-33). The man in Margaret Atwood’s poem “Progressive Insanities of a Pioneer” is in a situation similar to the stranger in Douglas LePan’s poem “A Country Without a Mythology.” The man in Atwood’s poem as well as the stranger in LePan’s poem are both unsure of where they are. In “Progressive Insanities of a Pioneer” the man tries to separate himself from his environment; however, in “A Country Without a Mythology” the stranger tries to adapt himself to his environment. By analyzing the content, structure, and meaning of “A Country Without a Mythology” the reader will understand that if the stranger openly accepts his surroundings …show more content…
When the stranger describes the weather the descriptions makes him seem more like an outsider because the Natives do not know the difference between Canadian and European weather making it illogical for the Natives to describe the weather in the way the stranger describes the weather. During the summer months the stranger’s word choices change from harsh words such as “violent” to relaxing words such as “passion” and “lovely” (16-19). The change in word choice indicates that the stranger is feeling more comfortable and accepting of his surroundings. Not only does the stranger’s feelings towards his environment change but LePan’s feelings towards the stranger changes as well. There is no evident emotion in the poem from LePan towards the stranger until LePan refers to the stranger as a “passionate man” who must travel across the fire-ridden land (20). At this point in the poem the stranger is desperate to find a spiritual connection believing he will find “sanctities of childhood” (23) and “a golden-haired Archangel” (28), but in reality all he finds is chaos and destruction. The stranger is so preoccupied with his own ideals of spiritual connection and religion that he is oblivious to the Native’s spirit: the manitou. The stranger sees the manitou as merely a clumsy, dirty, unsteady carving made by the savages (34-36). If the stranger became more accepting and
Starts with 'I love a sunburnt country ', which is the exact wording of the second stanza in the original poem by Dorothea Mackellar. This particular stanza (from the original) is the most oem by Oscar Krahnvohl like environmental issues, humanity issues, cultural issues and politicwell-known, and by Oscar starting with this particular line, he exposes the brilliance of the previous poem, but the next few lines start as a parody from the influence of the previous poem.
In “America the beautiful” the author’s use of diction creates an uplifting spiritual tone in the poem.The author uses the same words “oh beautiful for…”focusing not on America's flaws but on the beauty. For instance the start of stanza 4 she writes “o beautiful 4 heroes proved in liberty strife who more than self her country loved and marymor than life”.She apads for the people who believe in freedom of america by sacrificing their lives for their
The novel “Into the Wild”, by Jon Krakauer, is an excruciating story about a young man facing off against the dangers of nature. The main protagonist, Chris McCandless faced off against many internal and external obstacles that stood in his way of achieving his goal of successfully surviving on his own in the wilderness of North America. McCandless clashed with many lethal and perilous obstacles as he travelled all the way across the continent. The challenges he faced varied from surviving in the harsh wilderness, the difficulties of young manhood, and also the challenge of person versus society.
In the essay, “A Literature of Place”, Barry Lopez expresses the importance of nature as it applies to human life. Through this he states that humans’ imagination are inspired by the scenery around them. Lopez revolves around a central perspective; Ancient american literature has always been rooted in nature. By acknowledging that modern human identity has been interpreted by nature, Lopez describes how the landscape of an area can shape the structure of the communities and how it can help with spiritual collapse. Nature writing has often been summarised by being one of the oldest threads in american literature. With our nation's aging one needs to reflect on their literary past; therefore, Lopez insists that we find our path to nature that
Damon Knight’s “The Country of the Kind” follows a narrator who the audience at first knows little about, who lives in a society that is different from the norm, but is also initially left ambiguous. This sense of the unknown exists up until the narrator stumbles upon a pamphlet which opens up new viewpoints to the reader. The pamphlet serves to create three new perspectives in particular, all of which significantly shift the reader’s understanding of the story. First, it gives the reader a chance to understand the narrator and sympathize with him. Second, it offers a new perspective on society and their overall conception of what defines a utopia. The third and final perspective is that of the people who live within this society, and their interactions with the main characters. These three new perspectives prove to be formative in understanding the main character, his interactions with other characters in the story, and the role of society.
In this essay, I will be discussing the book The Abandonment written by Peter Rock. This paper will detail the facts and feelings behind the argument and in my conclusion; I will discuss the fascination in regards to Book cover #5. I actually took the time to read the material twice the information provided became more educational the further into the novel. I will say that I had to free myself to immerse in a journey of exploration that I probably did not know existed. The reading of the Abandonment put me face to face with the unfamiliar.
Everyone inherits something during life, whether it be money from a recently deceased relative or physical features from parents. Throughout the poem “Heritage” by Linda Hogan, the narrator remembers all the traits and lessons that she has garnered from her kin. A superficial reader of the poem might assume that the narrator is simply reflecting on said traits and lessons, but in reality she is actually attempting to illuminate and reconcile the differences in her life.
Social and physical environments are an integral part of a well developed story. The physical environment is a stage for the introduction of characters. The Stage will immerse the characters within a story and give it context. Social environments are defined by external social constraints. These constraints are used to build and define a culture. The social constraints of a culture will place bounds and limits to the actions of it’s members. This paper will briefly discuss the importance of Social and physical environments, within “Paul’s Case “by Willa Cather and “Death by Landscape” by Margret Atwood
After a Greek Proverb is an eloquent poem written by A.E. Stallings in 1968. It’s a villanelle that expands a Greek proverb that translates into: “nothing is so enduring as the accidental”. The only thing that is consistent in life is the inconsistent; emotions, objects, thoughts, etc. This notion is merely revealed with more sophisticated diction through the original Greek proverb. Yet many can pull positivity from this lesson, having a better understanding of the things around them and how living a life of none attachment can be rewarding if everything will continue to disappear before them. The proverb starts the conversation but the poem goes deeper and illustrates it by pointing out the negative side if we are to flip over the coin. It’s through this analysis of a positive and negative side, do both the poems and proverb gradually begin to differ, in both structure and focus. Consequentially the poem delves into the tragic cost of seeing nothing more permanent than the temporary.
People live with inherent problems; the choices they make define their identity. William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” and John Milton’s “Sonnet 19: When I consider how my light is spent” both deal with speakers displeased by their conditions. While “The World…” follows a speaker troubled by his contemporaries’ indifference of nature, “Sonnet 19…” chronicles a speaker’s struggles with his blindness and servitude to God. Through these poems’ similar point of view and structure, the speakers of Wordsworth’s and Milton’s poems create characters with control over their choices. However, they stem from fundamentally different complaints about God in contrast to nature (or the lack thereof), and result in distinctive metaphors.
In the poem “America” penned by Claude McKay in 1921, the speaker explains that even though America seems to be sucking the life out of him, and hates him, he still loves the country as it plunges itself towards certain death. The 1920’s were a very exciting time but also full of struggles. The recent invention of the automobile and subsequent lack of paved roads are a good example of an excitement and struggle, these struggles and excitements could help us determine the meaning of McKay’s interpretation of America. He sites many examples and gives his thoughts about American society, like how it treats its citizens, how it acts, and its dismal future. So, what does this poem mean when you discuss the life of an average 1920’s American?
Unlike the wandering narrator, the seafaring narrator focuses his descriptions of the community that is present in nature. The seafarer the utterly rejects the notion that a “sheltering family / could bring consolation for his desolate soul” (25-26). This “sheltering family” (25) that the seafaring narrator alludes to in this line is the exact form of close-knit family that the narrator in “The Wanderer” laments for desperately. While the seafaring narrator offers striking similar descriptions of the landscape being “bound by ice” (9), he does not focus on these descriptions to dwell on the loss of an earthly community. Instead, the narrator in “The Seafarer” finds the landscape that he inhabits wonderfully abundant with natural — even spiritual — elements that are commonly associated with an earthly community. In the barren landscape, the seafaring narrator discovers “the wild swan’s song / sometimes served for music” (19-20) and “the curlew’s cry for the laugher of men” (20-21). These vibrant and vivid descriptions of the natural world that the narrator discovers in the harsh,
Creating a masterful poetic movement through the American mythos, Atwood skewers "manifest destiny" by embodying the voice of the Other, the discarded "I am."
In the poems “The Wanderer” and “The Dream of the Rood,” anonymous authors give way to the idea that an Almighty God will solve every problem a person has by doing two things: 1) drawing upon the memories of a warrior who has lost everything near and dear to him due to war, and 2) entering the dream of a man who has been exiled and isolated. Each piece takes its reader through the trials and tribulations that one may not relate to in this era, yet the reader is still there alongside the character wanting them to find peace with their world and themselves. Initially, it is believed that the characters will overcome their hardships and achieve the happiness they seek. However, as the reader delves deeper into the character’s story, there is an overwhelming sense of incompleteness. What actually happens at the end of each piece is not written in stone - telling us the story is not whole - nor has a conclusion been reached. The intrapersonal thoughts being shared with the reader reveal the obstacles that keep an overall wholeness from occurring.
The simple sentences in The Stranger reveal Meursault’s emotional detachment from society, while the more complex sentences are assigned to objects with authority. Throughout the entire novel, Meursault’s simplicity and disinterest in the world can be identified with the incorporation of his simple statements. Especially in this particular passage, Meursault finds it unimportant to challenge himself in a way that makes sense. Although Meursault recognizes the sensibility of walking