Storm of Axes Forward the axe flew like lightning through the air, it’s spinning vortex leering at me as it seeks to cull my life. I raise my shield, a thundering THOOM! echoing across the battle as the axe sinks it’s teeth into the bulwark of my defense. I step forward my arm of sixty seven years wielding my broadsword like one would hold a lover’s hand and then the hymn of Asgard fills my soul. The gods accept my victory as they have many times before. My foe falls to my feet, life-less in this realm, but more alive than he ever has been in another. I am Vunrdum, warrior elite to Jarl Tyrnarion and legend for shield and blade. All my life I have fought, I have stood upon the ruins of the Paris wall. I have taken a life from all of the kingdoms …show more content…
I look upon the old warped tree the seer abides in. A rotting hallowed tower said to be as ancient as the stars. I step within the shaman’s domain, pushing back a curtain crafted of string and bones. The rattle reflects as I step forward. “I wish to ask the gods for a quest.” I speak clear and bold. I have seen the seer many times in my day, and the seer before him, and know well how to honor the eyes into the realm of the gods. I know not to waste their time. The seer peers forward, his eyes unseeing of the material around him. It is said that the blind can gaze not unto our world, but the realm of the gods. Their eyes beckon to the golden halls of Valgarde, and the roots and bark of our own. “A quest..” the seer exhumes from his throat like he is releasing a foul fume. The blind seer holds his hands up, waving them about the air as though he is tethering some ethereal rope. A thread from this world to theirs. With the glare of black smiling teeth, I knew I had an answer. “The gods have such a challenge, and they will agree to send you. Far away, to a shadow giant’s realm known as Shadow Crown. Deep in the northern mountains. Go now, Odin shall grant you vision on your …show more content…
I struggle each step, four weeks I have walked, and the cold drenching flood of exhaustion hangs at my heels. The crow urges me on and onwards I go. Sometimes I stumble, and sometimes I fall, and the crow calls again and I raise. I refuse to die like this, I will not fall to the weary. I will not die from the frigid cold. Only by blade will I accept death, and so, I continue. Over mountains I tread, my beard growing long bushy and white, shielding my wrinkled skin from the elements. Bounding over ice-frozen streams with walking stick in hand. Soon, the land loses it’s green, and becomes painted in only black ice and grey stone. The chill of the winter changes in feeling. Not only was my body cold, but this dark land chilled the very essence of my soul. The ice loses it’s reflection and instead shows the bones of the damned. Lost bodies entrapped to frost prisoners of their fate. Their skulls empty of emotion aside from the layers of preserved flesh in the snow. Yet, I continue on. I know well that I may be among these bones soon. Be it either the shadow giant, or one of its beasts. I cross over a frejold of black muck once had been snow. It clasps at my wolf-fur boots as though it desires a great hunger, and with each tearing step forward I grow
Now!.../ I-- I am going to be a storm--a flame--/ I need to fight whole armies all alone;/ I have ten hearts; I have a hundred arms; I feel/ Too strong to war with mortals-- (Rostand
In ''Sinners in the hands of an angry god ' by Jonathan Edwards , the author utilize different rhetorical techniques to persude his audience to follow the word of god. some of the rhetorical techniques he uses are anology , repetion , and pathos. Jonathan Edwards persudes his audience through the use of anology . Jonathan Edwards states, '' The God that holds you over the pit of hell ,...holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire''. This quote suggest how anology is use to compare two different things by comparing an insect to a human.
In the short story, Cathedral by Raymond Carver, the word “blind” acquires different meanings. The unnamed narrator is metaphorically blind; he can look at the surface of everything but not see what is inside. Although the narrator can listen to conversations, he cannot understand the deeper emotional context the conversation might hold, compared to Robert, who is visually impaired but can truly listen and understand. It is not until the end of the story that the narrator metaphorically opens his eyes, with assistance from Robert.
We were all encouraged to choke down as much food as possible. Any kind of energy was essential. A melancholy atmosphere hung heavy as the journey progressed. Minutes walking slowly progressed into hours, the sky seemed to darken steadily. All of us were oblivious to the danger shrouded by the dim evening. Only moments after scaling a rather steep ledge did nature dice to turn sour. A deafening rumble made each climber perk up. Snow began to descend at an alarming rate. Thunder began to mic the steady beating of a drum, causing more concern among the ranks of climbers. The powdery snow became more of a risk than ever, climbing under pressure and leaving nothing to stand on. Third base was more than three hours away. Three hours wasn't possible at the rate. Snowfall this bad could be detrimental to the climb’s success. Snow obscured vision and numbed faces. Shouts and orders deemed lost in the screaming wind; people’s figure became shapeless blurs frantically shifting, hoping if they struggled against the wind hard enough, they might find someone. Of course, this was to no avail. Not a single person doubted their demise would come at this point: the stakes were high and no-one could play too well against Mother Nature. The snow crept up to knee-level, making it harder and harder to travel. Death and I were face-to-face. To some, they couldn't bare the idea of dying up here; they had families and friends, children who need parents and
6) A person may "see" not with the eyes, if they were to feel something deep within themselves that could not be attributed to any of the senses. Seeing in this case means to understand what the view means to the individual.
The romanticization of the American frontier as the space of self making for Americans is predicated upon two premises: one, that Native Americans must be eliminated as they—as in their tribes, with their chiefs, medicine men, and warriors—stand in the way of progress and true civilization with their primitive ways; and two, that self making on the frontier is limited to European Americans. Nothing makes this more clearer than the trajectory of U.S. history leading up to the Wounded Knee
Little lights shine their way down the rugged winding path. Foot steps trudge in front and behind staying close together. Dodging thorns and burs left and right. Ouch!—Every time. Quiet laughs fill the silence as we continue on. Our trek takes us up a slippery slope and through a cow pasture and under a barbed wire fence and down a long tractor path all with the weight of our bags and rifles. Finally, we make it to where we head separate ways. As goodbyes and good lucks are exchanged, nerves set in. I brush them off as I head to my sixteen feet high tower hidden among the trees. I can’t see it in the darkness, but I know the location by memory. Soon, light catches orange tape constricted around cold steel—Found it. But I still have to climb all sixteen feet. I attach my lifeline to the stand as I
“I’ve never met, or personally known, anyone who was blind” (Carver, 144). Then, he went on t describe Robert’s appearance. He
We often perceive sight as our immediate and best tool for understanding the world around us, when in fact, it is not. There are other methods of understanding that go beyond our senses, methods that most people are unable to comprehend. In his short story “Cathedral”, Raymond Carver uses point of view to suggest that there are ways to perceive and understand something beyond just seeing it. In fact, Carver suggests not only that sight is only the most basic level of understanding, but also that true understanding comes from a feeling that is not one of any our five senses.
On September 12, 2007, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was published. It was written by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Ellen Forney. It won the National book award. As well as writing Sherman Alexie is also a filmmaker, stand-up comedian, and a poet. Sherman Alexie writes a book about growing up on an Indian reservation, living around drug and alcohol abuse.
The story “Cathedral” demonstrates that lack of sight does not necessarily prevent one from perceiving things as they are, or live their life to the fullest. In the story, a middle-age blind man, who is a friend to the narrator’s wife, and used to be her boss at one point, visits the narrator and his wife. The narrator has never interacted with blind people before, and all he knew about blind people was what he had seen on television. Blind people are stereotypically portrayed on television as slow moving, dull people, who never laugh. Based on this perception, the narrator was reluctant to meet the blind man and doubted whether they were going to connect. This is evident when the narrator states, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me” (Carver 1).
The act of looking is related to physical vision while the act of seeing involves an enhanced understanding of what it means to truly exist. In the short story “Cathedral”, the narrator is blind to appreciating the human experience until he meets a blind man who ironically becomes the one who teaches him how to see in a way he never knew how. The author Raymond Carver uses symbolism within this story to reinforce the theme of blindness, and the difference between looking and seeing.
This imagery is used metaphorically to illustrate what a blind man would like to know in order to get a full vision of what is exactly going on.
The coat of armor I adorned, made of down feathers and a nylon shell, yielded no protection against the daggers of that cold winter air. As I peered out toward the horizon, I saw nothing but tree tops, and some snow capped mountain tops in the distance. With my feet bound to freshly waxed skis, the only thing stronger than my ski poles was my determination to get down the mountain.
The blind are wise because they see some greater truth because they are not blinded by limitations of the physical world. Robert is interested in traveling and learning, with attempting to find depth in relationships, in attempts to connect with others. What Robert conveys and teaches the narrator is to see this transcendent reality, to not be cynical of others and by repressing your insecurities then are you able to connect with others. It ends with his eyes closed, not all focused on what he has been drawing but rather on something he can’t comprehend, does the narrator feel free, no longer trapped and isolated in his own body situation but rather part of a great