Chase Twichell Self Portrait

A significant event in one's life forces a person to reevaluate their current situation and decide how they will adapt to a new situation, or cause them to look back on the steps they took to get into that situation. In life as well as in the literature Crosswalk In The Rain, and THE TENT DELIVERY WOMAN’S RIDE, people have to adapt to what is happening in their lives, despite conditions they may have been through in the past. In life at some point there will be crossroads that a person must cross, they can either look back at what they have done to end up in that position or they can look forward and see what they must do to continue moving forward.

The Past, an ever growing pool of time, is always biting at the heels of a person. It reminds him of what they have done wrong, done right, or when he did nothing. For most people, recalling the past leads to loose ends and blanks where memories should be. No matter how much a person may want to return to the past, it is not possible. It is lost forever. These forgotten moment lead to uncertainties and confusion in the present, and chaos in the future. Forgetting the past leads to spirals, spinning downwards as people look to what they have lost. They retrace their steps hoping to find a sliver of who they are and what may become of them. In the poem, Itinerary, Eamon Grennan shows how an individual searches through his past, but can never return to it. Through the poem and with a personal experience I will explain how individuals deal with uncertainties in their pasts.

“We know we cannot live in the past but the past lives in us.” I believe that the quote taken from the Australian Inspiration website relates to the past of Indigenous Australians and the fact that although the past is in the past, it will always be remembered. Sir Douglas ‘Ralph’ Nicholls was one of many individuals who achieved change for Indigenous Australians, Nicholls’ efforts impacted on the Australian society and changed the way Aboriginals were treated and viewed.

However the gileadean society, values the aspect of present events more than us, being an indication of Atwood to return into the present as to be scared by the future before it is too late. As time is relative, our perception of it can change aswell. Resulting in the sorrowful comprehension that we missed a great part of our lives. “ Live in the present, make the most of it, it's all you've got.”

In the poem, the main character is a young girl, who seems to be unhappy with her father’s words towards women.

The speaker is the voice of the poem, since “I” is used alot in this poem, it is in first person. I imagined the speaker’s

He focuses on the struggle of human beings to achieve their goals by both transcending and re-creating the past. Yet humans prove themselves unable to move beyond the past.

“every generation , every man is a part of his past. He cannot escape it, but he may

The poem takes place within the mind of the former boy, reflecting on his time among

By adding this phrase in the poem, the persona implies that whatever he is saying in the poem is not his own. However, the lack of quotation marks and the repeated use of the pronoun “I” in the poem implies that the persona “owns” whatever he is saying. Therefore, the persona attempts to own and disown the experiences narrated in the poem at the same time, a paradox. Yes, the persona is the boy. However, as he recalls the time when he first learned English, he tries to separate himself from his experiences during the war. The girl being shot in the last stanza, although the boy wasn’t physically present, is indicative of a turning point in the boy’s life—it ruined the innocence of the boy. And in the poem, this turning point is symbolized by way of the persona’s detachment to what he is narrating; to his former

An enormous wave crashes into your boat nearly tipping it. The howling wind tosses the boat from side to side. Lightning strikes the stern sending you into darkness. The next morning you wake up to a calm, quiet sea ready for smooth sailing. Somedays the water is perfectly still making for easy travel, yet other days you have to endure a restless, unforgiving sea. This is how the road of life is perceived. The seas my father has conquered has taught me that life isn’t always smooth sailing.

And, the writer covers his eyes and imagines while his mind stays awake, what picture his life shall convey when it encompasses a true producing society. Hence, the piercing tune spirals in his last proximate sea of time; running across his interminable waves.

Throughout the piece, Faulkner works to show the conflict that exists between the future and the past and the tension that is felt by those involved. Rather than evidently telling us, Faulkner presents this idea more broadly by including several important symbols for us to recognize and understand as the story develops.

This is a complete contrast within the poem. At the beginning she was travelling South, was pregnant and was relatively happy, now she is returning North, isn't pregnant and is depressed.

As Emerson perceived the world, “Man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the present, but with reverted eye laments the past, or, heedless of the riches that surround him, stands on tiptoes to foresee the future. He cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the present, above time” (“Self-Reliance” 833-834). Even if a man finds himself with both self-trust and originality, he may never realize his true potential if he is preoccupied with past events or future fortunes. Emerson finds these obsessions to be utterly useless: “Discontent is the want of self-reliance; it is the infirmity of will. Regret calamities, if you can thereby help the sufferer; if not, attend to your own work, and already the evil begins to be repaired” (838). In contemporary society, a willingness to “live in the moment” is highly regarded, especially among youth, yet this acceptance seems to wane with age. Nevertheless, excessive anxiousness and nostalgia are a waste of the potential that can be realized when the truths of the present are