Island Man and Blessing

Steven Herrick’s verse novel “By the River” is very successful in conveying the significant ideas about human nature. He uses key themes such as grief, environmental influence and coming of age to explore these ideas. To convey the themes Herrick uses multiple techniques such as imagery, repetition, personification and positive and negative influence throughout his text.

The autobiographical-novel maintains its poetic form through repetition, alliteration, and rhythm. As Kincaid writes, “…for no real sunset could look like that; no real seawater could strike that many shades of blue at once; no real sky could be that shade of blue…” This charm lulls and immobilizes the reader, such that Kincaid’s narration graduates from the victim of such transformative power to a practitioner in her own right. The mystical form powerfully mixes with historical content, opening up new possibilities for discussions that extend the political argument beyond the metaphysical. Indeed, the deceptive simplicity of diction and the finely controlled syntax examine Antigua’s clouded process of existence with incisive clarity. An emotionally truthful, intimate, and poignant piece, A Small Place demonstrates the author’s conflicting attitudes of love and disappointment towards her birthplace. As Covi praises, “Reading A Small Place is like looking at the sea: the message is carried by the tide, but it is impossible to say upon which particular

In the work of African descended writers’, water is used as a common symbol. In Edwidge Danticat's Krik? Krak!, Jacques Roumain’s Masters of the Dew, and Paule Marshall’s Praisesong for the Widow, tears, rivers, the sea and other forms of water are used to symbolize change. More specifically, it symbolizes the change between life and death; freedom and confinement. The three writers use water as an ironic symbol, representing life, liberty, and their contradictions.

The appreciation of nature is illustrated through imagery ‘and now the country bursts open on the sea-across a calico beach unfurling’. The use of personification in the phrase ‘and the water sways’ is symbolic for life and nature, giving that water has human qualities. In contrast, ‘silver basin’ is a representation of a material creation and blends in with natural world. The poem is dominated by light and pure images of ‘sunlight rotating’ which emphasizes the emotional concept of this journey. The use of first person ‘I see from where I’m bent one of those bright crockery days that belong to so much I remember’ shapes the diverse range of imagery and mood within the poem. The poet appears to be emotional about his past considering his thoughts are stimulated by different landscapes through physical journey.

It’s hard to imagine someone’s personal experience without actually being the one enduring it; however, Jamaica Kincaid’s use of language contests other wise.Through intense imagery and emotional response, Jamaica Kincaid utilizes rhetorical appeals such as logos, pathos, and ethos, which successfully convinces her audience by creating a conversation between herself and the reader. Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place is an expression of her inner feelings on the transformation her hometown, Antigua, and the everlasting postcolonial impact that occurs. Kincaid reacts to the feelings she had as a young girl and compares that mindset to the opinions she holds today as an adult. Kincaid’s piece evaluates the foreignness, race, and power that consumes Antigua. While she descriptively explains the circumstances she faced in Antigua, Kincaid incorporates historical background which provides logical support to her purpose. Notably, the author’s first hand experiences gives her credibility, ethos, and allows the audience to clearly understand the context from her perspective. Not only does Kincaid effectively describe her experiences, but she also makes her audience feel as though they are looking through her eyes. Her purpose demonstrates the difficulty and impossibility of returning to origin after crucial influences. A Small Place proves that the effects of racism and racial inequality are long term and culture cannot simply return exactly how it once was in that specific culture,

At the beginning of Le Thi Diem Thuy’s novel, The Gangster We Are All Looking For, water provides a refuge to the narrator and her family by functioning as a pathway to a new and secured life. This water signifies a new beginning and becomes a dwelling place where the narrator retreats when searching for answers. As the narrator progresses in the story, her understanding of life also develops, and water in the story becomes a barrier; it never truly provides the answers or fixes the issues that engulf the narrator’s family like a surf on the beach. Instead, the water reflects the traumatic reality within the narrator’s life, whether she realizes it or not. Essentially, in The Gangster We Are All Looking For, water functions as a pathway and a barrier which illuminate the trauma that the narrator and her family experience in their lives after Vietnam’s colonization.

The mood of this poem is very soothing and is a sense of relaxation and security. Grace Nichols is showing that the island mans first home is the Caribbean. “the steady breaking and wombing.” The word “wombing” is a made up word by the writer. It has many associations but it makes us the readers imagine a place of comfort and security but more importantly a sense of home and belonging. The reason why this image is put in to the readers mind is because babies grow in the mothers’ womb, so we could say that the womb is everyone’s “first home”. The word ‘wombing’ can also mean his mother land.

“Far on the sands” is a reflective poem that emphasizes Smith’s heartache. Smith expresses her feelings of anguish through her interpretation of the landscape. The beautiful image of “The sighing summer wind forgets to blow. / As sinks the daystar in the rosy West, / The silent wave, with rich reflection glows;” (ll. 3-5). should inspire some feeling of serenity. Instead, Smith feels bitter that even this beautiful scene cannot soothe her. She states, “Alas! Can tranquil Nature give me rest, / Or scenes of beauty, soothe me to repose?” (ll. 7-8). The focus on Smith’s feelings of torment when viewing the

Kincaid, Jamaica.“Girl”. In The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 541-542. Print.

Elaine Potter Richardson, more famously known as Jamaica Kincaid, is recognized for her writings that suggest depictions of relationships between families, mainly between a mother and daughter, and her birth place, Antigua, an island located in the West Indies. She is also familiarized with Afrocentrism and feminist point of views. Kincaid’s work is filled heavily with visual imagery that produces a mental picture in readers that helps them connect stronger to the reading. An example of this really shines through in her short story piece, “Girl.” This short story describes the life of a lower class woman living in the West Indies, and also incorporates thick detailing between the relationship between her and her mother. Jamaica Kincaid structures the story as if her mother is speaking to her. She writes broad, but straight to the point, allowing readers to imagine to picture her experience. Kincaid uses visual imagery and repetition consistently throughout “Girl” to reveal the theme and tone of the story; conflictual affair between a mother and daughter.

Many poems are mind bubbling that needs something more than just reading plain text to know main idea of the poem. Also, the use of complex language and reflection of text from poem to something meaningful is great tactics used by poets. The use of literary devices makes poem more appealing to the readers. In this poem “Natural Bridge/Rogue River Canyon”, Paul Halupa uses literary devices like imagery and tone to deliver the theme of poem i.e. life.

Much as these are both related to water, they differ greatly in their impact on societies - while one brings hope and life to weary travelers, the other brings struggle accompanied by death. Throughout most of literary history, writers have explored this idea of poly-indicative-identity, whether that be with the vast depthness of water or some other symbol, and William Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying is no exception to this idea. From rivers to the fish that inhabit them, As I Lay Dying is composed with a symphony of different symbols, however, one of the more persistent ones is that of the river. By incorporating certain aspects of the Yoknapatawpha River, Faulkner is able to allow the work to flow more smoothly, more easily incorporate ideas about the themes of death and barriers, as well as enhance the characterization of certain figures.

Poetry has a role in society, not only to serve as part of the aesthetics or of the arts. It also gives us a view of what the society is in the context of when it was written and what the author is trying to express through words. The words as a tool in poetry may seem ordinary when used in ordinary circumstance. Yet, these words can hold more emotion and thought, however brief it was presented.

The poem “Blessing” is about an unfortunate group of people who miraculously find clean water because of a pipe bursting. This is seen as a blessing because of the inadequate amount of water they get in addition to the hot weather conditions and constant droughts. Imtiaz Dharker sets the poem “Blessing” in a shanty town near Mumbai. She starts the poem with a powerful simile describing the state of these people whilst setting the scene. “The skin cracks like a pod”. The word “skin” could demote metaphorically to the earth. Immediately an image of drought and dry soil comes to mind. The phrase “cracks” highlights how hot the country is. This is effective because it allows the reader to envision the scene. The use of onomatopoeia exemplifies the noise of the ground exemplifies the noise of the ground. On the other hand the poem. “Island Man” is about a Caribbean man who one morning woke up in London. This anonymous character is used live in the Caribbean island but wakes up every morning to the sounds and blissful memories of the Caribbean. The Caribbean Scenario that he thinks he has woken up to contrasts harshly with the reality of his existence in London. The sentence “wakes up to sounds of blue surf” proves that Island Man sees the Caribbean as a calm and relaxing location however the poet describes London as a “grey metallic soar”. This usage of language is an illusion compared to the

These lines use enjambment for the effect of the lines flowing into each other to make it seems like the sea. The first half flows smoothly, as does the second half, except for the final word. The letter "S" is used in both halves to bring them together - to remind the readers of Islands Man closeness to the sea. The letter "H" ("head") is a break from the "S's" and therefore the rhythm is lost. The third line ("to the sound of blue surf") has alliteration of the letter "S". The sound of this letter is very much like that of the waves to remind the reader of the sea. To insure that this comes across to the readers there is emphasis on these letters. There is also an emphasis on the word "head" here to make the readers realize that it is only in Island Man's head, as he also realizes the truth.