Open Fields Of Grace Analysis

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)

In the final stanza, he makes the reader sad as he assumes the inevitable will happen and she will die. He expresses this through metaphors such as a “black figure in her white cave”, which is a reference to the bright white hospital rooms and although he is the black figure he thinks she just sees a shadow which could be the grim reaper or even death himself, coming to end her journey. No one wants to deal with the sorrow of losing a loved one for good, as

Often, we think of older people as being smarter, wiser, and generally more mature, but this is not always the case. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger gives a number of examples that shatter this generalization, offering an alternative to age as the primary factor in one’s level of maturity. Ordinary Grace shows how maturity is a result of circumstance and does not necessarily correlate with age.

A Grace Disguised written by Jerry Sittser, is one of the most heart felt and transparent books I have ever read. The idea that our purpose and who we are is shaped through our suffering and loss, puts one in perspective to understand that our pain lies a blessing, even at times we don't understand. Jerry Sittser, a husband, son, and father of four is a true witness to what its like to experience loss and even feel hopelessness in times of despair. In the fall of 1991, him and his families lives were changed forever. Driving back home from a Native American reservation in rural Idaho, an incoming car driving extremely reckless and fast, jumped its lane and smashed head-on into their families mini-van. Rescuing his daughter Catherine and two sons David and John, Jerry Sittser had to endure seeing the lives of his wife Lynda, mother Grace, and four year old daughter Diane flash before his eyes (Sittser, 1998 pg. 26). Three generations instantly gone without any signs or warnings. Letters of comfort that was sent by mail frequently asked Jerry the question, “Why did this have to happen to your family? Y'all were the ideal family to model. If bad things can happen to good people like the Sittser’s then we’re all in trouble (Sittser, 1998 pg. 30).” In this book Jerry Sittser highlights many different aspects of how to differentiate our view of loss from both a carnal and spiritual perspective. Yes, its no debate that loss is a terrifying and dreadful event to experience, but

“The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo” is a fictional novel based on true events written by the popular American author, Kent Nerburn. Nerburn connected the reader to the ways of the Native Americans and non-Natives. Many non-Natives believe they have a basic understanding of the Native Americans, and what they have dealt with the US government. However, Nerburn provides a different perspective in comprehending the irritation the Native Americans thought of Americans not fully realizing they are heckling the Natives in this manner. Kent Nerburn had some issues with the Natives in not thinking through his decisions when confronting a Native about any questions he may have resulting in mounts of annoyance of the Natives.

The Grace That Keeps This World, by Tom Bailey, is an enthralling novel about the Hazen family who have lived in Lost Lake their whole lives. In this novel Kevin Hazen, a young man of 19, is searching for where he belongs in the world and in his own family. He wants more for his life than the life of survival that his parents have lived their whole lives. The story of the Hazen family is centered around the first day of deer season. For the Hazens, this hunt is more than just a sport. They use the meat of every deer they shoot to help them survive through the winter.

Similarly, the phrase ‘the next moment, you are no longer there’ is perhaps suggesting that he was shocked at seeing her go so suddenly. However, the fact that when she next reappears she is ‘perfectly framed shows us that the joy of seeing her after thinking she has gone for good is a surprise to him. ‘Fragrant survivors of last night’s frost’ shows us that the flowers are strong, which is a suggestion that their love is strong. In the fourth verse the phrase ‘my heart misses a beat at love for you’ shows us that the love was so intense that time seemed to stop too. ‘Knowing a time will come when you are no longer there’ shows us that he is not looking forward to that time and that he knows it is inevitable. ‘Meanwhile let us make sure we clasp each shared moment’ shows us that he wants to make sure they use their time together wisely, and ‘in cupped hands, like water we dare not spill’ shows us they know that their time together is precious.

Baym et al.’s (2012) gives us a poets writing that is entitled “Heaven.” Cathy Song is an Asian American poet who is the speaker in this first person poem. Song exemplifies the romantic spirit by evoking reminiscence and separation. In the poem, a woman who is disconnected from her Chinese heritage longs for her familial homeland that she has never seen. She is amused by her son’s notion that "when we die we’ll go to China." She expresses her disbelief of where she currently resides but wants to imagine that she is in China where her ancestors are from. This is seen in lines 12-15:

This shows the love that her mother had and how she was always caring for her child. The coffin and the number “82” symbolises the age that mother was upon her death, shown in lines 21 and 22 which state “You left the world so, having lived nearly thirty thousand days”, the daughter wanted her mother to live a longer life, which is why she says “I prayed you would live to see Halley’s comment a second time.” on lines 17 and 18. The last image of the hands clasped together symbolises the strength of their relationship and strong bond between mother and daughter.The two photos of the women crying and the quote “After all this time… I still miss you every day” show that although the mother has died the strong bond that exists between a mother and her daughter will never die and that she still remains very much alive in her daughters memory. Lines 25, 26 and 27 “At our last meeting I closed the ward door of heavy glass between us…”, symbolises the end of their time together on earth and this was the last time she saw her mother

Grace’s school performance suggests that she is capable of learning. This is confirmed by her scores on Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, and Processing Speed scores from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition. The Woodcock-Johnson III Test of Achievement further demonstrates these abilities with scores in the average range for Letter-Word Identification, Reading Fluency, Calculation, Writing Fluency and Writing Samples.

Roger Waters starts off the song by posing several stacked rhetorical questions which also make use of juxtaposition. The first of which “heaven and hell” is one of the most common juxtapositions found in literature. the speaker is framing his initial question and all the questions that follow around the idea of telling something good from something bad. this idea echoes throughout the whole first verse with our sense of connotation and the speaker's parallel syntax cluing us in, as to which thing is good and which is bad. That is, the image with the positive connotation always comes first and the image with the negative connotation always comes second. Heaven, blue skies, green field and a smile are all by their nature things to be embraced. On the other hand, hell and pain are intrinsically things to be rejected. A cold steel rail and a veil only take on a negative connotation when they are juxtaposed with a green field and a smile. The sense of Industry and progress

A whole phrase in the middle of the song is a repetition of the two lines, “Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think? And yet it dominates the things I seek,” this is a representation of the struggle of trying to find peace in our souls with God and our desire for earthly happiness. To entirely understand the theme of “White Blank Page,” we must understand the metaphor of Christ as the “groom” to His people, the Church, and the Church as His “bride.” Mumford writes a passionate lyrical metaphor, to paint the picture of the crucifixion of Christ, the Son of God. I believe Marcus Mumford is using this moment in history to explain why the greatest commandment we as Christ followers have been given to follow: “Love the Lord your God with all your soul with all your mind and with all of your strength.” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version 724: ch12, verse 30). The song starts out with the Father of Christ, God, talking to His son, Jesus Christ. Marcus Mumford begins the song with “Can you lie next to her and give her your heart, you heart?” When he writes “her,” he is making a reference to the “bride,” Christ’s followers. This first verse is a depiction of God talking to his Son, asking if he is now ready to give His people, the Church, his “heart” and “body.” Marcus Mumford writes in the second verse, “But tell me now where was my fault, in loving you with my

Although the lyrics are not very specific, they are nevertheless about a sense of connection and overcoming barriers: "Love is all and love is everyone". This again mirrors what James describes: "In mystic states (....) we become aware of our oneness"(320). While the song does not explicitly refer to a deity, it is about a larger, all-encompassing being or an absolute. Moreover, the phrases that particularly stand out are "it is knowing" and "it is believing". This would accord to the belief of the sincerity of the experience that the many people have.

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

I was really excited when people told me there was romance, action, and adventure because they’re my favorite genres. But, I was disappointed when I read the first page. It’s 3rd person limited. I thought it would be a little harder to connect with the characters. However, as I kept rereading some lines and questioning the characters, it became easier for me to understand them. For example, Katsa, the main character of Graceling, written by Kristin Cashmore, musters up her courage to defy Randa because she could no longer tolerate him even though she was afraid to imagine what would happen next. Randa wanted others to fear him and to do that, he had Katsa torture people who didn’t listen to his orders. According to Susan Fisk, “empathy for another’s happiness and suffering depends fundamentally on recognizing that the other has a mind-that is, the same capacities for thought, emotion, desire, intention, and self-awareness as ourselves. I empathize with Bitterblue as she is strong facing hardships throughout the book.