Oddly Normal By John Schwartz: Poem Analysis

Have you ever wonder how people survive and thrive in Antarctica? In the excerpt from the story Alone by Richard E. Byrd the narrator explains how a man lives in Antarctica for 5 months during the winter alone in -83°F weather. Being alone changes a person’s attitude and state of mind. When you are alone people tend to start to become more negative and have a gloomy mindset.

The protagonist of the poem is Rosa Parks, a seamstress and an active member in the local NAACP, who refused to give up her seat for a white man. Parks was arrested, which led to a boycott against Montgomery bus system. As a result of more than one year of boycott, the segregation law was announced unconstitutional.

The poem titled Boss’s son, by Michael Cleary, is a poem about a young man who works for his father while attending college. This poem is written in first person, and the narrator feels that working for his father is hard work. He acknowledges, “The first few weeks were the worst… among beer drinking, beer trucking men” (Cleary 429). Through the voice of the narrator, Cleary describes how difficult it is to be the boss’s son; therefore, Cleary claims that to be accepted by the workers is strenuous, but to become independent while seeking his father’s affection is even more challenging.

Jim Stevens’ poem, Schizophrenia, gives readers an insight of how the mind of a schizophrenic operates and how the disorder affects an individual. Stevens creatively reveals the main idea through his use of the elements of imagery, diction, and style. He does so, specifically, by his heavy use of metaphors. To demonstrate imagery, Stevens links the devices, extended metaphor and personification, and also relies on onomatopoeia, which make it easier for Stevens’ audience to visualize and understand the mind of a schizophrenic individual. Moreover, he heightens his level of diction through creating double meanings out of common words, which begin to symbolize the symptoms of a schizophrenic. By his short sentences and the way that each stanza

The speaker then moves to a restaurant where he picks up a chicken noodle soup and gets his want across to the staff by simply pointing at it. The stanza ends with the line “I am adjusting well to the new way”(10), showing that according to the speaker the new law is working fine for him and he is able to live a normal life. However, with the entrance into the third stanza we begin to question whether the speaker naturally only acted this way towards the phone call and the staff in the restaurant, without using any words or he was actually saving them for his lover. The second reason is more likely to be true, due to his statement in the next verse “I call my long distance lover, proudly say I only used fifty-nine today. I saved the rest for you”(11/13). Here, the second character is introduced in the poem – the long distance lover. It becomes obvious that the speaker, who is most probably a man, is in a long distance relationship with a woman and the way communicate is via phone call. The speaker tells his lover proudly he has only used fifty-nine words today and has saved the rest for her. This shows the speaker’s devotion towards his lover because he has chosen to use most of his words on her.

Poets have the power to present their perspectives of the human experience through their poetic voice. Gwen Harwood, Judith Wright, and Bruce Dawe, all Australian poets have all expressed common ideas expressed by their unique poetic voice.They also speak for those who have no voice, such as the soldiers in Bruce Dawe’s poem Homecoming and in Gwen Harwood's poem Mother Who Gave Me Life where she gives a voice to the Mothers. A key theme resinating through all of these poets poems would be their common ideas on society and the role of a mother.

From writing thoughtful poems to research papers, I have experienced composing a diverse portfolio of literary analysis and criticisms throughout the school year. I started out the year writing minimally. By the end of the year, I noticed I was able to express my ideas and thoughts in a more clear and concise way on paper. Ultimately, each composition allowed me to widen my horizons as a writer and see how I could improve as a writer.

Jim Stevens left this poem up to interpretation. The title “Schizophrenia” sticks out because it is a mental disorder that affects how a person feels thinks and acts; thus, it leads the reader to believe this poem has a dark undertone. Each line gives a story of how a family deals with the issues of two people in a relationship. For instance, in the last line of the poem, "It was the House that suffered the most" (Stevens line 1), Stevens indicates the relationship was not a happy one and the house suffered for it. He sets up the image with this opening line and repeats it in the close of the poem. Throughout the poem the house transforms in to a person.

The 2016 census reported that 14% of the United States population was living below the poverty line. And sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures. Leading people to go as far as committing a crime just to feed their family. This was the theme of Cage The Elephant’s song, “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked,” written by Matt Schultz. In the song, Schultz utilizes personal experiences and an emotional appeal to address the issues of poverty to the upper classes and to justify how people in poverty or “the Wicked” handle their situation by the means of crime and immoral ways.

My first point follows analyzes his tone, which allows for the effectiveness multiple writing techniques to help validate his intent. His tone is informal and very lax, allowing for the use of colloquial expressions in his work. These expressions allow the language of his work to take the form of a casual everyday conversation: this is what dictates the format of his work to his readers. The use of expressions makes his point much clearer, allowing readers to understand the authors meaning within the text. Notice also the shift in tone to a more aggressive to a more hands-off style. Schwartz says that “I am not here to judge…being civil” (16) and that “you must make that choice for yourself” (16). These quotes show his

In Percy B. Shelley essay, “A Defense of Poetry,” he states he view of how men take everything they are given, and use it to their best of their abilities. While in the novel, Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer talks about, how men go out to nature and treat it right; also how they incorporate integrity, dignity, and balance, when they do something in nature. Both men, state in their work, that men use what they are given and use these aspects to treat nature well. These aspects are what makes these two pieces of literature have some of the same meaning, and why they are so closely connected. Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer, and “A Defense of Poetry”, by Percy B. Shelley, have various correlations to which men show integrity, dignity and balance towards the aspect of nature; and how Chris embodies Shelley’s definition of poets.

How would you like to learn English nursery rhymes in a foreign language? Well, that was my introduction to poetry, as a Sinhalese child, chanting ‘Humpty Dumpty’ in a kindergarten classroom. It meant little though the picture of the fat little egg-man did make me laugh. But… the rhythm, rhyme, and repetition were sweet to my ears, and something I will always remember. They linked me to my new culture, much later, in an English speaking Primary school and gave me a sense of belonging.

In the third section of the book, Stephen King talks about more about the writing process. In this part, he describes how he feels about writing. Immediately, King establishes the fact that writing is a tedious and time consuming process. However, it is a portion of his life that brings him happiness and healing. To King, writing is a form of magic; something that is a creative outlet for him. In the first segment, labeled C.V., King says, “Life isn’t a support-system for art. It’s the other way around. Here, King opens up to speak more about his sentiments towards the art.

While reading the poem “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins sends a message to the readers that they should be patient and impartial when it comes to analyzing a poem in order to see the true meaning behind the without being over analytical. There is a revieting situation that takes place because Billy Collins is delivering his message to all readers about the way that one should be able to read a poem. This poems educates the reader on how to be able to read and plunge into a poem, through using many techniques like mood, tone, and literary devices to do so. In the first two lines Collins demands that we tackle a poem with a invigorating eye. There should be an exploration of what the poem means to us. How does this poem apply to our

Are drugs really the answer to anyone’s problems? “Comfortably Numb,” a song, written by Roger Waters of the band Pink Floyd is about depression, mental health and drug use in the music culture. They write about a person who focuses on escaping his own mind because he can’t bear what is going on in the outside world. The band mate retreats to his inner self and is having conflict with the physical world. “Comfortably Numb” is a song (in it’s generation) that most people, who were having problems, could relate to by taking drugs to dull the pain.