Nt1310 Unit Six Metaphors

In the first paragraph, Twain explains that the river became a large part of his life and he dedicated much of his time to learning everything about it. He compares it to a book, writing that the river “was not a book to be read once and thrown aside…” This description is included to show that Twain never got bored of the river. The reader learns that at first, he thought the river was beautiful and full of interesting things to learn. The use of the words “absorbing”, “unflagging”, and “sparklingly renewed” all have very positive connotations; these words help give the first paragraph a very positive connotation.

Mark Twain encounters a river in which he originally was astounded by. He describes the river and its importance to him in different ways over time. It's visible how he once enthusiastic perception of the river changes. Upon this river, he encounters different experiences that affect his perception. The once astounded point of view river visibly changes throughout the passage to a more un-amused, almost annoyed tone.

In the excerpt, Mark Twain carries descriptive language to describe his viewpoint of the river throughout the first paragraph. In the first sentence of paragraph 1, Mark says, “The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book--a book that was a dead language to the uneducated passenger”. By this, he means that the river was something that he could study. He then continues this description later in paragraph 1 saying that the book is therefore “not to be read once and thrown aside”. Mark says this to tell us that

The metaphor is solidified by recurrent parallels drawn between the river and the way in which people read books; just as a book offers more than just narration to the perceptive mind, the river caters more to those versed in the art of reading it. However, this metaphor dissipates with the revelation that the protagonist’s intimacy with the river had abated his ability to appreciate it as he had before. He claims that the naïve awe with which he regarded the river was eroded and replaced with habituation. Twain cleverly switches to an elaborate description in flashback to accentuate the importance of what he had compromised in his pursuit to understand the river. A sentence occupying a majority of the second paragraph is dedicated to his perception of the river before he made “the valuable acquisition” of learning it entirely. The protagonist then narrates how his relationship with the river has become mechanical and quotidian, lacking the charm he

He first shows how his viewpoint changes when he states “ But as I have said, a day came when i began to cease from noting the glories and the charms which the moon and sun and the twilight wrought upon the river’s face, another day came when i ceased altogether to note them.” When Mark Twain tells the reader that, your able to that his viewpoint is changing from only seeing the rivers beauty to learning more about it. One can see that now that the charm has gone away and now the river is much more than just a marvelous sight to see. Mark Twain. Also shows the change in his view when he quotes “ But I had lost something, too. I had lost something which could never be restored to me while i lived. All the grace, the beauty, the poetry, had gone out of the majestic river!” Since the author said that , we can see he is learning much more about the river and the way he sees it is changing. It is not just about the beauty anymore it is much deeper and more then that. We can also see that he sees the river as more than a sight to see and he sees it as something with many dimensions and that changes often as if it were a human. He shows that to the reader when he says “This sun means that we are going to have wind tomorrow: that floating log means the river is rising…” Mark Twain starts to see the

In paragraph 2 he claimed , “A broad expanse of the river was turned to blood; in the middle distance the red hue brightened into gold , through which a solitary log came floating , black and conspicuous.” The reader might think that the blood would represent something bad but that is false. He continued to say “ there were graceful curves , reflected images , woody heights , soft distances , and over the whole scene , far and near , the dissolving lights drifted steadily , enriching it every passing moment with new marvels of coloring. The descriptive words helped the reader realize that Twain viewed the river in a positive way so

River was viewed as a book to Twain, because he was new to this experience, but his feelings were soon lost. About a month into the new journey Twain is feeling regretful of the job he’s taken on. The author states,“But I had lost something, too”. “I had lost something which could never be restored to me while I lived”. “All the grace, the beauty, the poetry, had gone out of the majestic river! I still kept in mind a certain wonderful sunset which I witnessed when steamboating was new to me”. These quotes show explains how & why Twain’s view of the river changed.

When he becomes educated, his sense imagery about the river takes a negative tone. He now is able to see certain aspects of the river he didn’t notice before. Strong diction such as dead and kill emphasize the change in his tone. Twain fills the second stanza with imagery about the river, but in a different perspective. Instead of compliments about the overall beauty, he describes the river using skills he learned in his trade. The educated Twain goes on to correct his previous description of the river. He adds “...sun means there's going to have wind...log means river is rising...slanting mark… is going to kill somebody’s steamboat one of these nights”(Line 57). All of these instances correct Twain’s previous view of the river in which he describes all of the events above in a positive light. This correction serves as a direction example of how his trade has changed his life; it forces him to perceive realistically unlike the passenger who only sees the outer beauty. Twain lost his innocence as he stated how he was unable to recall his beautiful memories of his encounter of the river before he was a steamboat pilot. Similar to the maturation of a child into an adult, when Twain matures into a pilot, he views the river , life, through a different but more realistic and practical lenses. Twain can be compared to a child at his first glance at the river, and when he matures in

I also recognized a few responses from the girl to her mother’s warnings. Some of these responses are ignored by the mother, but the mother does reply one of them in a interesting way. She says, “you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?” (Kincaid). This sentence shows not only the encouragement the mother gives to her daughter, but also reveals the mother’s expectations to her daughter.

The mother reinforces the feminine gender role by showing her daughter what behaviors and things were appropriate for her. She used repetitive voice to encourage her daughter to learn how to become a lady, a housewife, and how to deal with relationships, and how to grow food, because this is how the mother managed to survive under her living circumstances. Jamaica Kincaid, demonstrates this idea when the mother said, “On Sunday walk like a lady..., this is how to sew on a button.., this is how to grow okra.., this is how to make a bread...”( Shreve &Niguyen, 2006, p. 183-184). Back in society girls at a young age needed to learn how to conduct themselves as ladies and the basic duties of a housewife. These components were necessary in order to be seen as a respectful woman in society. This idea shows us that Jamaica Kincaid uses the character of his story “Girl” to demonstrate the influence that time and place have on gender roles in society.

Literature Review Critics generally agree Mark Twain utilizes the river to represent the importance of nature. Leo Marx describes Twain's “theme” throughout Huckleberry Finn, “the observer's sense of beauty and harmony of nature” (Marx). Marx highlights Twain use of imagery

One thing that has always been wonderful about us human beings is that we all do not share the same perspective. In “Two Ways of Seeing a River” by Mark Twain, Twain describes a river he once found very beautiful and endearing until he began learning how to be a river steamboat pilot. Twain vividly describes the beauty of the river in the first paragraph of “Two Ways of Seeing a River”. He refers to the sunset as “wonderful” and says that the “red hue brightened into gold,”. The author continually uses phrases that express how he finds the river as well as nature to be beautiful such as “radiating lines”, “graceful lines”, “graceful curves”, “shone like silver”, “that glowed like a flame”, and “enriching” to name a few.

The river was beautiful while Twain went over the Mississippi. He had never seen anything like this, and to the passenger’s eyes that haven’t seen it, it was astonishing to the eye that hasn’t been trained with such majesty. Since he was a steamboat pilot, he had to experience the river and learn it, and there were many different features and secrets that had to be discovered. This meant that people were able to dig deeper and see straight through the river’s deep, dark secrets. Not a single man or woman has found out about the Mississippi’s truth.

With his new skills and experience has been lost to him to him. The training for the it river would be essential to safely navigate the river. He learned to read the signs of the river that untrained sailors could would not understand. Sadly with all the new found knowledge and experience he would never know again while living the breathtaking beauty and tantalizing scenery. In whist he states this, “ I stood like one bewitched. I drank it in,in a speechless rapture”(200) While upon Twain's first few experiences while working on steamboats he get constantly bombarded by breathtaking scenery, but also with everything something gained is always has something lost . He stated this by,”All the grace, the beauty, the poetry, had gone out of the majestic river,”(200) The need to recognize and appreciate beauty in surroundings in any career is a strong and insightful ability that is essential to and person. Twain recalls a sunset journey where he revels in the brilliance of the river surrounding him, showing every small detail including the glow of the water; the simple, yet memorable passing uniqueness; and the darkened, crowded

Critics generally agree Mark Twain intentionally uses nature, more specifically the river, to demonstrate the benevolent traits and developing moral judgments in which individuals gain while in nature. Critic T. S. Eliot explains how the entrance into nature allows individuals to create a “kinship of mind” between each other, such as the “boy outcast” or the “negro fugitive,” a relationship in which individuals could not create while under the