Julie Lechevsky's Poem 'Dandelion'

Explain (tell me what image the poem brings to mind)She begins by describing the "death of winter's leaves".

The poet uses personification by describing the nettles with the human quality of being ‘fierce’. This makes them seem like the enemy’s army which has been destroyed by the father. The poet ends the stanza using an enjambment to possibly show the continued struggles in his son’s life, leading the readers to connect emotionally to the father’s devotion to his son’s happiness.

The purpose of the plant's mention in the poem is to be the ironic stage for what is soon to occur. To complete the image, the speaker declares that this white spider on a white plant "hold[s] up a moth / [l]ike a white piece of rigid satin cloth" (2-3). White again, the moth also represents innocence, just as the spider and heal-all do. This model is ironic: an innocent spider on an innocent heal-all holds up an innocent dead moth. The simile in which the speaker describes the moth, "[l]ike a white piece of satin cloth" (3), refers to a piece of a torn wedding dress, symbolizing the vulnerability of things considered to be holy, such as holy matrimony. Frost designates the spider, heal-all, and moth as "[a]ssorted characters of death and blight" (4), suggesting that all three had a part in the moth's fatality. Ironically, Frost uses the word "blight" inferring the heal-all's backward influence, such as if aloe were to cause an infection. Frost again uses irony proclaiming that these characters are "[m]ixed ready to begin the morning right" (5), as though they are ‘part of a balanced breakfast,' a ritualistic practice which ensues good health. In this line, the poet implies that the death scene and others like it must occur in order for life to continue on each morning for particular creatures; this spider's breakfast is an occurrence of Darwinist natural selection. The poet then conveys this breakfast

Ain't no man ought to eat his women's food year in and year out, and see his children running wild. Ain't nothing right about that.” Maybelle responds, “Honey, you took good care of us when you had it. Ain't nobody got nothing nowadays.” This conversation between the mother and father contrasts the differences between the parents personalities and displays, just like the differences between childhood Lizabeth and women Lizabeth. Similarly to how Lizabeth's mother finds happiness in her family, Lizabeth found happiness in destroying other people's happiness. This consequently led to her loss of innocence by destroying Miss Lottie's yard, but because of this she gained compassion in others and through poverty. Marigolds represent happiness that sometimes have to be destroyed in order to lose innocence and gain compassion, but also the small feeling of hope and joy when the whole world around you is dark and sinister. The author uses the technique of symbolism of the marigolds to display how when people are so deep in depression and poverty, they look for something hopeful and happy to put or “plant” in their

A shift in focus from the students to himself creates an interesting structure in the poem. Collins began discussing his disinterest of his students and their laughable yet pathetic lifestyle. Then toward the end, the author shifts to speak about himself. He expresses the impact of being a long time teacher and the loneliness that comes along with it. Collins creates the detailed image of his colonial house, the deflated car, and vines growing on the porch swing, revealing his depression and sense of being trapped. Therefore, the author connects how past students have driven him to insanity and caused him to create a false reality in his head.

The imagery in the poem, specifically natural imagery, helps use the reader’s senses to develop a vivid depiction of the speaker’s connection to nature and dissatisfaction with the surrounding reality. The speaker’s continued use of the “moon” reflects her attribution of feminine identity and idolistic character to the moon. As opposed to referencing herself and her personal insomnia, she uses the imagery of the moon “beyond sleep” to convey her internal struggles with insomnia and her reality. Throughout the poem, the speaker also refers to shining, reflective surfaces, such as “a body of water or a mirror”, to describe the inverted reality in which the speaker experiences reciprocated love. Reflective surfaces often invert the image that is projected into them, seemingly distorting the true nature and reality of the projected image. The speaker’s reference to this reflective imagery highlights her desire to escape the burden of a patriarchal society and assume an independent and free feminine identity. Specifically, the use of natural imagery from the references to the “moon” and “a body of water” convey the speaker’s desire to take refuge within the Earth or in the feminine identity of the Earth, Mother Earth. Feminine identities are often related and associated with aspects of nature due to the natural cycle of the menstrual period and the natural process of procreation. The speaker takes advantage of these connotations to suggest Earth and natural imagery as an escape from the man-made terrors of male dominated society. In the second stanza, the speaker uses extensive imagery to develop metaphors conveying the speaker’s experience of jealousy of the moon

Lastly, the final simile used, "And cancer, simple as a flower, blooms." compares something beautiful and full of life, with something horrible, an instrument of death. This is a very unusual simile; it is almost an oxymoron. It is almost sickening to think of cancer as a flower, as if something pure has been twisted into something perverse, this, however, is the poet's intention, to make the reader stop and think. In the

Lena is arguably the most determined character in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. She works tirelessly to support her family’s dreams, and refuses to leave anyone behind. Not even a feeble dying houseplant. Her hopes for the future of her family illustrate the classic idea of “the American Dream”, indicating that anyone can achieve success if they work hard enough. Lena’s withering plant represents her will to survive, the dreams she has for her children, and her loyalty to the ones she loves. While Lena hasn’t had an easy life, she refuses to give up, just like the plant that continues to grow without proper nutrients and sunlight.

The idea that is associated with this portrayal is that of transformation, but also maturation. The refusal to blossom is a denial of her right of independence and individuality and most importantly the refusal to give her any equal standing

The poem describes the weather and its effect on cotton flower by pointing out the dying branches and vanishing cotton. The image of insufficiency, struggle and death parallel the oppression of African American race. The beginning of the poem illustrates the struggle and suffering of the cotton flower; which represent the misery of African Americans and also gives an idea that there is no hope for them. But at the end the speaker says “brown eyes that loves without a trace of fear/ Beauty so sudden for that time of year” (lines 13-14). This shows the rise of the African American race, and their fight against racism. The author used mood, tone and

Harwood revolves this poem around change, through the use of a motherly character she is able to construct a life style that has dramatically changed from free to a fairly constricted. Harwood uses the conversations of two people to get this message across, with the conversation discussing life’s progression with an old lover. “But for the grace of God…” suggests that the ex-lover is somewhat thankful for not ending up as a father figure to these children, as he can see the effect it has taken on her from when he used to know her. “Her clothes are out of date” shows her appearance has altered in the bid to live as a mother, her children are now her identity and that is what she will live to be. This poem is revolved around the negativity of losing yourself through mother-hood and the factors that slowly show that it.

Linda Pastan made this poem include various forms of figurative language to hide the literal message that it's trying to portray. Figurative language is using figures of speech to make the text be more powerful, persuasive, and meaningful. Figures of speech such as, similes and metaphors, go beyond the literal meanings to give the readers a new way of looking at the text. It can come in multiple ways with different literacy and rhetorical devices such as: alliteration, imageries, onomatopoeias, and etc. With the usage of the literary devices Pastan has used, it introduced the relationship between the mother and the daughter. It shows the memories of how the mother helped her daughter grow from a little girl to a young adult getting ready to go her own way in life.

. . should burn and rave at the close of day”(2). This means that old men should fight when they are dying and their age should not prevent them from resisting death. Another example of personification in the poem is “Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay”(8). This line personifies the men’s frail deeds by saying that they could have danced. This means that the potential actions of the men could have flourished and contributed greatly to their lives. The metaphor “. . . words had forked no lightning. . .”(5) is about how the men had done nothing significant with their lives. They had not achieved anything great or caused a major change. The simile “Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay” is about how even grave and serious men will fight against death for as long as they can. Another notable example of figurative language within the poem is “. . . blinding sight”(13). This oxymoron details how the men can see very well and it is very obvious to them that they will die soon, but they know that they can control how they will leave this world. There is an abundance of imagery within this poem, a few examples of which are “. . . danced in a green bay”(8), and “. . . caught and sang the sun in flight”(10) . These examples of imagery are both appealing to the sense of sight by using descriptive words such as “Green” and “danced” in the first example and words such as “caught” and “flight” among others. The second example also appeals to the sense of sound by

Purity has many different meanings in society with varied connotations from person to person. Whether it symbolizes righteousness, pride, innocence, or nothing at all to us, it definitely meant the world to the females in Ovid. Within the text, purity was thought of as life defining and the determining factor to who the characters were as people. It was represented in many different ways through the eyes and different scenarios of certain female primary figures in Ovid to bring about change, a principal theme in the text. In Apollo and Daphne, Daphne changed her physical being forever in order to retain and preserve her purity after being sought after by Apollo.

The Child of Dandelions by Shenaaz Nanji provides IB students with a deeper understanding of the meaning of the IB Learner Profile trait, caring. “A beautiful, touching story of a child caught between two worlds, in a country caught in the grip of a brutal army dictator” said M. G. Vassanji. This is a quote from two-time Giller Prize winner, M. G. Vassanji, who explains the book, Child of Dandelions. A few examples are when Sabine cared for her family/friends and saved their lives, when Lalita cared for Sabine and Munchkin by staying with them in Uganda, and when Sabine helped innocent Indians escape the country.