Reading literature is a difficult task for many people. Most of the time, people have their own idea as to what they may think a specific work of literature means. Interpretations can vary from person to person because of their background, experiences, etc. The poem I chose for myself and two others to interpret is “Two Old Women” by Lydia Howard Huntley Sigourney. I have never read any work from this specific author which is one of the reasons I chose this poem. I thought it would be refreshing to interpret a poem that was outside of the authors that I learned about in class. According to the textbook’s footnote, this text is from Gleanings. The poem has 20 lines and about ten stanzas. Overall, the poem is about two older women having a conversation about life and they both state their view on what they believe their life has been like and what they think it will be like in the future. Here’s some background information about myself: I am 19 years old, I am a Christian, and this is my Sophomore year of college. In the poem, two older women are talking about their views on life. The significant thing about their conversation is the fact that they both have two different ideas as to what life has left to offer them. They both agree that in the beginning life was sweet. I believe they were referring to how life was when they were younger women. They felt that life was rich and pure during those specific years. The first woman then goes on to say that life eventually grew
Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival is an Inuit legend, or a story that has been passed down through many generations by word of mouth, and has been popularly accepted as true. In this tale, two elderly women named Ch'idzigyaak and Sa' are left behind by their tribe due to a brutal winter famine, but are determined to survive to prove their capability and resourcefulness to themselves and their People. Over the course of about a year, Ch'idzigyaak and Sa' use their hunting and survival skills, as well as determination and courage, to withstand nature. In the end, the tribe comes back to find that the two old women are in better condition than themselves, and learn that they
As Wendy Martin says “the poem leaves the reader with painful impression of a woman in her mid-fifties, who having lost her domestic comforts is left to struggle with despair. Although her loss is mitigated by the promise of the greater rewards of heaven, the experience is deeply tragic.” (75)
This poem is basically about being thankful for having the simple cherished things in life, and how it could be different. It is in two
The short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, by Joyce Oates, (1966), and the poem, “What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl”, by Patricia Smith, (1991), are both about the coming of age of young girls and the conflicts that they encounter. The two pieces explore issues that most young girls have with their bodies and others during their puberty years. The literary elements that will be compared in this essay is imagery and symbolism. The main conflict in both pieces that will be explored is individual versus self. These literary elements and conflict will help us to explore the issues that these two individual young girls
Elements within literature make a story unique and admirable.. In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”, the short story exemplifies several usages of literary elements. The author of the 1930 classic, Katherine Anne Porter, made irony very prevalent throughout the story. For instance, Porter’s masterpiece includes an immense percentage of it being written around an ironic situation. In this essay, I am going to elaborate with you, the reader, examples and the premises as to why the author used literary elements in her work.
Power and control plays a big role in the lives many. When power is used as a form of control, it leads to depression and misery in the relationship. This is proven through the themes and symbolism used in the stories Lesson before Dying, The fun they had, The strangers that came to town, and Dolls house through the median of three major unsuccessful relationship: racial tension between the African Americans and the caucasians in the novel Lesson before Dying, Doll’s House demonstrates a controlling relationship can be detrimental for both individuals and The Stranger That Came To Town along with The Fun They Had show that when an individual is suppressed by majority they become despondent.
In the first lines of the poem Yeats describes this woman as “old and grey and full of sleep” (Yeats). The speaker of the poem addresses his beloved saying that when she is aged she should read a particular book which will remind her of her youth. She will remember the
The jealous tone disappears at the end, however, and the poem ends wistfully and resigned stating that, “It’s an old/story—the oldest we have on our planet--/the story of replacement” (16-18). The speaker realizes that aging is part of the continuous life process, which starts at birth and ends at death. She understands that each phase of life has a specific purpose for maintaining the species. Her daughter must mature so she can create new life, just as the speaker did ten years ago. She knows that eventually her daughter will replace her and that the life process will continue to repeat itself for generations to come.
Death is the major speaker of this poem, its persona shows how cruel and violent it can be, however she also speaks of getting everything out of life you can before death. Starting with line twenty three of the poem she begins talking about living a full life before death, "When it 's over, I want to say all my life/I was a bride married to amazement/I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms." (23-25). Being a bride married to amazement is a comparison to commitment, being with the same person every day. However in this case with a lifestyle instead. Doing amazing and memorable things every possible day you can, not letting life pass you by. This also fits perfectly with the next few lines
For millions of immigrants, America has been seen as the land of opportunity where anyone could become anything he or she wanted to be. A family that believes strongly in the American dream can be found in Amy Tan’s short story, “Two Kinds.” The story centers around the daughter of a Chinese immigrant who desperately wants her daughter to become successful. In the story, the author shows the difficult lives immigrants face when moving to a new culture. In this short story, the theme shows the protagonist’s conflict with her mother on the type of daughter her mother wants her to be. The author establishes the theme of how difficult mother-daughter relationships can be through characterization, setting, and symbolism.
The poem is opened by a country woman discovering a dramatically changed woman that used to work beside
I interpreted this poem as a very sad one. A love unrequited by the pursued. In the first two lines the poem tells you to forget about the love you share and hear a tale of this. Not to literally forget, but possibly put aside. The man is a winter breeze, cold and rough and sort of roams the land. The woman is a window flower, shut off from the outside. This sets up the separation.
Shen had order all five guards and Zhing to keep their mouth shut about the Empress Dowager’s death and proceed with business as usual.
I personally love this poem. It leaves me with a feeling of contentment, just thinking that someone with a little age, and all alone can look back upon her life and keep smiling until it is her time to be united with her soul-mate. Usually when we consider the elderly, it is in a
The reader can hear her voice through her descriptive words, it shows how the author feels. These descriptive words show us the voice and the voice seems sad and lonely with no help in sight. “Her body was wrapped round the pain as a damp sheet is folded over a wire.”(Woolf pg.124) This synonym also shows how much pain Mrs. Grey's body is in that she feels like her body is being bent in half and weak. The synonym shows the reader of the essay that it sounds sad and painful. Also when Woolf used the word “marionette” you can kinda hear the voice of pain and how she feels like a puppet and not being able to do much at all. When woolf compared Mrs. Grey to a rook on a barn door with a nail through but still leaving I could kinda hear some determination from the essay because it shows how she's been through so much and lost so much but made it through it and still leaving.