Identity In Joseph Pulitzer's The Ice Twins

The day was chill and somber.  Overhead was a gray expanse of cloud, slightly stirred, however, by a breeze; so that a gleam of flickering sunshine might now and then be seen a its solitary play along the path (159).

The scene is first set up through the personification of the sun. The poet uses interesting diction and phrases, such as “dipping” and “geometries” to describe nature. The sun is described with human characteristics, “build[ing]” these “geometries and orchids” and “riding/The last tumultuous avalanche”. It is like an almighty being that is capable of anything, including the controlling of nature. The poet wants to portray nature as a hidden yet powerful force that should not be seen as a simple concept. Contrasts,

The writer makes us envision a scene of beauty and only something we can dream of. The scene is also revealed as precious to the island man. “small emerald island” portrays that the island is an emerald. An emerald is very hard to get and in many cases people could only dream of getting one. The writer uses a technique called a metaphor. The reason why the writer uses this technique is because it allows the reader to imagine the scene better. For example the writer compares an ‘emerald’ with the ‘island’. Emeralds can be green this then represents green tress and most islands usually have a lot of trees.

“For the first time on the expedition the vista was primarily sky rather than earth. Herds of puffy cumulus raced beneath the sun, imprinting the landscape with a shifting matrix of shadow and blinding light.”

He did not use the flint and steel until the remains of the day were only the fugitive heat in the ground beneath him and a sardonic orange line on the monochrome western horizon. He watched the south patiently, toward the mountains, not hoping or expecting to see the thin straight line of smoke from a new campfire, but merely watching because that was a part of

As we started back across the field hundreds of colorful birds, with crowns of yellow feathers, fluttered toward the dusky sky. The breeze smelled like crushed pine needles and wild flowers. Then we crested a hill and I spotted a herd of majestic half-men, half-horse centaurs galloping across the meadow, bows at the ready as they hunted for dinner. The scene was lit with floating flameless orbs of light, augmented by a jamboree of swirling fireflies their flickers blotting out the moon.

Higher and higher he soars, through and above the colorful patches and swirls. It is here that the most delicate and tender leaves kiss the sun.

He describes it in such detail because he wants to describe the setting in a way that appeals to the reader. Opinions may vary, but when I read the first page I automatically thought of a place abundant in greenery and animals. Maybe even a forest with a running river. But then later on in the book he describes the setting in a very opposite manner.

The authors have two clearly different environments and describes them in diverse ways. Abbey writes about his surroundings as a bright, clear, calm April morning. He changed his description in the afternoon as “the wind begins to blow, raising dust and sand in funnel-shaped twisters that spin across that desert briefly, like dancers, and then collapse-elements under stress” (52). While Leopold writes about his experience with on a mountain as a “deep chesty ball echoes from rimrock to rimrock, rolls down the mountain, and fades into the far blackness of the night” (49).

The tarped field awaits the love of sun. Breezes sought grudges like stormy kiss endure. Silently pleasant, skies gently reveal a tender smile. Though it's now more blue and less sweet.

There are many separate elements of environment that have ties to the theme in Shutter Island; the physical appearance of the island, the weather, the mental institution, and the darkness level are all important to the novel. The first aspect of environment that helps the reader’s understanding of the theme is the physical appearance of the island. “The beach looked to have been lashed by the sea in recent nights; it was strewn with shells and driftwood, mollusk skeletons and dead fish half eaten by whatever scavengers lived here” (17). The description that the author gives of the beach gives the reader the idea that the island is very visually unappealing, as well as it looking like it is a source of intense evil and corruption. This scene incorporates many themes from Shutter Island, the most apparent is the theme of appearance versus reality, although the island is visually unappealing with many negative connotations added to it, a lot of good work is done on the island for the inmates/patients, both ethically and morally. A second aspect of the environment of the island that ties to a theme from the novel is the weather. "This has just been upgraded from a tropical storm to a hurricane. Winds are coming in at around a hundred miles an hour right now. By midnight, they're expected to hit a hundred

In the case of “Snow in Midsummer” we may notice a somewhat paradoxical view on

The sun was still below the horizon but the clouds above the mountains were tainted the color of pomegranates. Around me the shadows seemed empty. I tried not to look into the brush as I walked down the driveway. I had stopped before, looking to see the back of the shadows; staring hard, only to have them retreat from my eyes indefinitely. Invisible birds called from within. Their sound followed me down the driveway and onto the road.

Through intricate construction the poem, Moffett’s form and tone reveals the timeless nature of the power of Earth and its elements. “Route 62” is a free verse poem, reflecting how nature is free from any patterns mankind may want to impose on it. Moreover, the first few lines of the poem establishes a tranquil tone as the mountains are “lying slumbering,” evoking a peaceful image (2). As the mountains sleep, little action occurs, allowing them to match the static image many people would contemporarily associate mountains with. Furthermore, the heat of the landscape drapes its own “spines and ribs” (5). The metaphor of a skeleton reflects how the mountains are merely a shell of what they once were, as described in their formation. Nevertheless, this is not to say they are invariable nor no longer powerful. In a line that transitions between the mountains being described in the present with a serene tone, and the fierce tone that follows, the author says, “history has folded these ranges” (6). The personification of a powerful force like

The sunset was not spectacular that day. The vivid ruby and tangerine streaks that so often caressed the blue brow of the sky were sleeping, hidden behind the heavy mists. There are some days when the sunlight seems to dance, to weave and frolic with tongues of fire between the blades of grass. Not on that day. That evening, the yellow light was sickly. It diffused softly through the gray curtains with a shrouded light that just failed to illuminate. High up in the treetops, the leaves swayed, but on the ground, the grass was silent, limp and unmoving. The sun set and the earth waited.