Compare And Contrast Traveling Through The Dark By Mary Oliver

As the snake “drew back his head and [the man] raised [his] weapon” they both were ready for their last fight. Both felt threatened by each other; thus, both felt the necessity to become defensive. However, neither one saw the situation as an immediate threat, so they did not immediately strike. When the narrator “made an unprovoked attack,” the snake performed “a little song of death.” The reader’s sympathy for the snake once again returns because the snake did nothing wrong. The “little song of death” depicts an image of the snake’s last effort to live. However, there is nothing “little” in death, but rather displays the snake’s submissiveness to the man. The “ominous” situation with “poison dripping from [the snake’s] fangs” is reminiscent of the tragedy that just occurred. The author reminds the reader of the necessity to rid the world of the danger from a snake. It lessens the reader’s grief towards the snake, bringing a more neutral tone to the

In literature, themes shape and characterize an author’s writing making each work unique as different points of view are expressed within a writing’s words and sentences. This is the case, for example, of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” Both poems focus on the same theme of death, but while Poe’s poem reflects that death is an atrocious event because of the suffering and struggle that it provokes, Dickinson’s poem reflects that death is humane and that it should not be feared as it is inevitable. The two poems have both similarities and differences, and the themes and characteristics of each poem can be explained by the author’s influences and lives.

The main theme in the book, The Dark is Rising, is obviously the conflict between the dark and light. It is one of the many suspenseful fantasy books about the battle between good and evil, Susan Cooper wrote about the dark, light, and the mystical powers.

The author’s diction heightens the intensity and power the snake brings as it also aids in describing the inner thoughts of the protagonist. When the main character saw that the snake was “waiting for him”, he “stopped short” and the snake continued to “[hold] his ground”. The snake created anticipation as he completed these actions, therefore causing the man to feel curious and uneasy. Like a “live wire” the snake “drew his head back,” preparing to strike, this action seemed effortless and almost as if it was a “mechanical reflex”. The reptile is seen as being extremely lethal due to its quick and natural reflexes. Snakes similar to this one are born with the same instinct as their hominid adversaries; to survive. The diction in “The Rattler” effects the tone that is understood by the audience. Detail is another key factor when trying to convey the deeper meaning within the narrative.

The quote "Character is what you are in the dark" - Dwight Lyman Moody has a few meanings. Mostly it means that you're different when you're alone. When you're around people they are influences of some sort. If you get into a situation when you're with people you might react differently than if you were alone, resulting in a different outcome. A lot of the time people aren't their true self around friends, or family, or whoever it may be for many reasons. A big reason is they don't want to be judged. Maybe they wanna look "cool" or get popular for something. Maybe they think they'll be looked at differently for being who they truly are. So basically fear of what others think keeps us from being who we really are. Fear can make us act different,

It is apparent from the first line of the poem that author is in a state of overriding fear travelling through the unknown: likening the road to an “old snake shedding its skin.” A snake is a clear representation of childhood fear and youthful paranoia, due to its intimidating nature. Walcott compares the path to a snake because he fears it just like a snake, to him the path is daunting and potentially deadly at first. The author not only compares the road to a snake but a snake shedding its skin. This paints a grotesque image for readers and illustrates how he views his initial journey with anything but enthusiasm. The author is in the unfamiliar wilderness searching for not only the storyteller’s house but himself. His state of childhood terror is only counterbalanced by his encounter with the storyteller.

Most children are not very fond of reading books in school. I was one of those children until I read a novel called, “The Other Side of Dark” written by Joan Lowery Nixon in the 4th grade. My school had held a book fair during the week of open house. As a child, all children want the toys and games they had at the book fair, not bothering to even glance at the books. My mother told me to look for a book that was not only easy for me to read but something that I would enjoy. I walked around our petite library, which was where the book fair was being held, and scanned the various novels that were displayed until one caught my eye. I was only 10 years old looking for a book without the knowledge of what types of literature that interested me. As I turned the corner at the end of the library I caught a glimpse of a hardcover novel called “The Other Side of Dark”. On the back of novel I read the synopsis which was about a 13 year-old girl who was shot and put into coma until she was 17 years old waking up to discovering that her family was also murdered by the same person who shot her 4 years ago. I was quickly captivated by this summary on the back of the novel and persuaded to read further. Open house was coming to an end and my family and I headed back to our house in La Mirada, California. One of our homework assignments was to read at least 20 minutes a night to improve our reading skills. We quickly arrived at our home and I

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson’s poetry is very different; however death seems to be a familiar topic amongst both poets. Opposites attract, and you could say the same for Whitman and Dickinson because though they have different writing styles both repeatedly write about death. Once more, although both Whitman and Dickinson have many different feelings about death, they also share many similar feelings about it as well. Although Walt Whitman's poetry is rather long and quite simple and Emily Dickinson's are often short and complex, the theme of death strongly ties their works together.

In Mary Oliver’s poem “The Black Snake,” the narrator contemplates the cycle of life with the unpredictability of death. Mary Oliver’s work is “known for its natural themes and a continual affirmation of nature as a place of mystery and spirituality that holds the power to teach humans how to value one’s life and one’s place” (Riley). In the poem, The Black Snake, the narrator witnesses a black snake hit by a truck and killed on a road one morning. Feeling sympathy for the snake, the narrator stops, and removes the dead snake from the road. Noting the snake’s beauty, the narrator carries it from the road to some nearby bushes. Continuing to drive, the narrator reflects on how the abruptness of death ultimately revealed how the

His previous “cold reprieve” has been warmed by the leaves that “burn red” before dying in nature. The short but beautiful life of the leaf is a metaphor for what life should be - beautiful regardless of the time given. This juxtaposition of life as a “cold reprieve” changing into the image of a leaf burning “red” shows how the voice’s view on life is changing throughout the poem by the echo’s prompting. Realizing that nature is beautiful in death, he now understands that life is a beautiful journey leading up to death that should be cherished in all of its beauty. Dying is a process that can bring “ecstasy” in its wake. Waiting for death is not so bad when a beautiful life surrounded by joyful experiences is so readily available to all that are willing to think positively. Regardless of the beauty that can come with life, it can seem to become a burden that people suffer through until death. The grief that comes with “life’s long disease” will be resolved in death. Death is not an “enemy” to be feared, but a natural part of life that must be accepted. In contrast, the worst enemy of the voice is himself - his own uncertainty and worry have caused all of his pain. All of the rhetorical questions that he asks display the extent of his worry about the unknown future, but his subconscious begins to soothe his worries and comfort him with the

One main way the theme of death is illustrated is through symbolism of the deer, canyon, and river. The deer is a roadblock which must be dealt with before the man can continue on his journey. He cannot simply push death to the side of the road. Here, the deer would rot and fester; instead, as Stafford states in the first stanza, " it is usually best to roll them into the canyon" (line 3). The way to deal with this problem is to discard of it immediately and to not hesitate at all. Literally, this is true for the safety of other motorists. Furthermore, it is necessary to deal properly with this problem so one can continue on their path in life. The canyon, and river at the bottom, therefore come to symbolize the depth of our individual souls; we push problems into our souls, and slowly deal with them. By doing this, our problems and death, may be symbolically washed away.

The power of the poet is not only to convey an everyday scene into a literary portrait of words, but also to interweave this scene into an underlying theme. The only tool the poet has to wield is the word. Through a careful placement and selection of words, the poet can hopefully make his point clear, but not blatantly obvious. Common themes of poems are life, death, or the conflicting forces thereto. This theme could never possibly be overused because of the endless and limitless ways of portraying life or death through the use of different words.

Emily Dickinson, who lived from 1830 to 1886, also had a large impact in the American Romantic period. However, she would never know of the impact she had due to the fact that her writings were not published until after her death. The subject of her poetry ranged from religion to nature, which both are large influences to this time. One poem that fits in very well with this era is “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.” The poem begins by saying, “Because I could not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality.” This poem deals with human immortality and what occurs after we die. The desire for knowledge and wanting to understand what we currently do not are influences in American Romanticism. Dickinson seemed to be consumed with death and what happens to humans after death, she even wrote to a priest to ask what the state of mind was of a friend she had while he was on his deathbed. Her fascination with death played a major role in many of her

“In a Dark time” by Theodore Roethke gives a retrospect into the inner turmoil’s of finding oneself through a haze of doubts in till reaching a moment of clarity. Each section of the poem describes a different emotion, or inner thought that spirals from fear of death, to emotions of desire. The use of imagery between nature and uncertainties of the narrator give a glimpse into Roethke’s own mind during the time he wrote this poem. Without hundreds of pages Roethke created a poem that connects readers to their own self-doubts and struggles of finding ones way again.

In “Traveling through the Dark,” William Stafford uses the speaker and framing of the poem to contribute to the theme that when confronted with troubles, it is better to deal with them than let them ruin someone else. “Traveling through the Dark” is a narrative about one individual. This poem is a monologue because there is one speaker. The speaker uses an internal voice that is calm and informal to create an unfiltered admission of that night. Being written in past tense, the speaker seems to be reflecting on his actions.