The purpose of this assignment was to reflect on the poem Song of a Citizen using critical analysis to understand the complete meaning of what Milosz has written within the text. The poem Song of a Citizen is an illuminating reflection on the abominable conditions of the Jewish people and the suffering they have endured wrapped into a piece on how a prisoner is separated from the natural world, connected by Milosz’s incredible writing ability.
The poem Song of a Citizen is an open book that allows the reader a deep view into the inner character of its speaker. Firstly, we see many of the speaker’s views reflected in the poem’s numerous verses. For example, in verse 9, he says that “ it is better to be a live dog than a dead lion”, which shows how he has felt and acted in this perilous situation. This could even be taken so far as to say that, because of the horrors he faced during the war, the speaker feels that it is better to be living than even to die a courageous death. Additionally, another revealing verse was from 20-25, which symbolized his continuing relationship with the world. He mentions a “copper-leaved garden”, which can be seen as a parallel to fall or winter trees, as well as a “heart of metal”, which could describe the heart of manufacturing combined with nature. This shows the speaker’s character as we see how he connects nature to freedom and beauty, running a parallel to countless prisoners and captives(including the Jews) who were separated from nature
As a child, Peter Fischl was subjected to harsh anti-Semitic laws, separated from his family, and sought refuge in southern California years after the end of the war where he stumbled across a photograph of the little Polish boy. The powerful impact the image had upon him inspired the composition of the poem four years after the occasion. Fischl conveys feelings of sorrow and regret as he recalls the inhumanity of society using symbolism, “Now will know/What fear is in/the darkness”.
The book Soul of a Citizen by Paul Loeb makes a compelling case for civic engagement. The book emphasizes the need for people to get involved in civic life and it gives examples of people who made a huge impact just by deciding to do. These people saw something that was not right and they went out of their way to help. However, it was not size but they made up their mind that this was what they were going to do and went about doing it. They did not know that by doing that they were going to make a huge impact but they ended up making a huge impact and creating change. Just as these people did, I believe that everyone can engage in civic change and make a different. In this paper, I am going to discuss ways an average citizen can engage in civic life, ways that social worker can encourage others to get involved in civic life and why is it important for social workers to serve in this role.
In the poem, The Little Polish Boy Standing With His Arms Up, by Peter L. Fischl, the author informs the reader that the world should have seen the horrible and dehumanizing behavior of the Nazis and their Nazi machine gun bullets. In the poem, the little Polish boy represents all of the Jews that were being held concentration camps and those that had to endure the severe brutality and torture from the Nazis. In order to draw attention to the inhumanity of the German society at that time, Fischl advises the reader that he would paint a picture, “A painting so bright to blind the eyes of the world” (Stanza 11) to remember the little Polish boy. Peter L. Fischl instinctively informs us about him want to make a concerto of
Night and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich express the potential horrors of humanity’s immense capacity for extreme cruelty. Both took place in mid-twentieth century Europe and exposed the hardships of life in forced-labor camps: Wiesel’s in various concentration camps, Solzhenitsyn’s in Gulags. It is important for human populations to be aware of these tragedies so as to not commit the same atrocities again; therefore, this essay will explore each with regards to shared or different themes included and the messages presented. Both of these books are important due to their influential and informative nature regarding the horrors of their respective historical times. Night by Elie Wiesel and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr
The personal nature of the story is communicated through the author’s experiences and by the people of Gorazde themselves. Taking abandonment as an example, we follow Sacco as he travels down the “blue road” which Bosnian Muslims cannot escape their suffering, the very same road which the UN shares with Serbian ethnic cleansers. Here we have the international abandonment of the enclave. Relayed to us by the people of Gorazde, is their abandonment of one another based on ethnicity.
In Citizen: An American Lyric written by Claudia Rankine, there is a passage where a man is stopped because he fits the description of a “criminal”. The speaker faces immense trauma just trying to relay to the officer that he is not the perpetrator they are looking for. In fact he is just another person trying to get home from a long day at the office. The officers refuse to listen which angers the victim and causes him to curse at the officer saying, “Go ahead hit me motherfucker.” (Rankine 107) While the victim could not have been held for the original reason, he was now charged with speeding. The victim was then taken down to the station on new charges. After being wrongfully targeted, held, fingerprinted, and stripped, he was finally let
“The Pianist” by Wladyslaw Spilman is a extraordianry story about a man’s survival in the holocaust in Warsaw, Poland. The book explains how Szpilman survives the holocaust in Poland by hiding, escaping, and with luck. Szpilman is important to society because he explains the following topics in his perspective for them not to happen again, religious discrimination, human rights, and punishment in crimes involving genocide. Many of the issues raised by the holocaust continue to have an impact on the world today.
“Let’s pray that the human race never escapes from Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere.”- C.S. Lewis
This concept is further reinforced in the quote “ Loved his garden like an only child,”. Through the application of this technique in the first stanza, it substantiates the connection made amongst the father and his beloved garden. This suggests that the garden is the foundation in which he could recreate his lifestyle from Poland, therefore, by loving the garden like an only child he felt comfort and a sense of belonging whilst in it. Another technique
Korwin discusses the actions of the Nazi party, clearly empathetic to the situation of the defenceless child. Diction, rhetorical questions, similes, symbolism and visual imagery are a few poetic devices used effectively in this piece. The prominent theme of war can be seem though out this poem consistently providing an emphasis of the fallacious atmosphere during the holocaust. s a result, a deep feeling of sympathy is felt for the boy. He is also compared to a “lost lamb,” another symbol of innocence and purity. However, despite the innocence that the boy has, it been corrupted by his experiences in the war. “Your face contorted with fear, grown old with knowledge beyond your years.” Is a good example of this. As shown in the examples symbolism
Aleksandar Tisma’s The Book of Blam highlights a brutal time in history in former Yugoslavia. This book is set in the city of Novi Sad and the majority of the book is focused on the raid that takes place when the Hungarians take over the defeated city, and collect Jewish members of the community in for execution. The main character in this novel is Miroslav Blam, and he recounts the images of brutality his fellow Jewish members of the community faced. The brutal and oppressive Hungarians are guilty for the forced deportation and execution of the Jewish Novi Sad community members, however the feeling of guilt is also placed on Blam as a result of the Bystander effect. Tisma also depicts the theme of judging throughout the novel, specifically through his portrayal of what Jewish characters are chosen to be deported.
The tone of the poem changes as the poem progresses. The poem begins with energetic language like “full of heroic tales” and “by a mere swing to his shoulder”. The composer also uses hyperboles like “My father began as a god” and “lifted me to heaven”. The use of this positive language indicates to the responder that the composer is longing for those days – he is nostalgic. It also highlights the perspective of a typical child. The language used in the middle of the poem is highly critical of his father: “A foolish small old man”. This highlights the perspective of a typical teenager and signifies that they have generally conflicting views. The language used in the last section of the poem is more loving and emotional than the rest: “...revealing virtues such as honesty, generosity, integrity”. This draws attention to a mature adult’s perspective.
The title of the poem makes it clear that the Jews are angry and psychologically hurt up till now because of the painful experience they suffered from. Consequently, they will never be able to forget what happened. The poem deals with many ideas to justify the choice of that title. The main idea
Near the end of the poem, Decaul makes a dejected image as he speaks of “life” being similar to “dew” and the “disappearing dew” (26,27,28). By saying this, Decaul shows us how fast a life comes and ends. The many different unfortunate and unhappy images the soldier witnesses, help the reader to connect and understand the overall meaning of what life is like during the war. It displays how the soldier would describe his life. By relating life to dew, the reader sees how melancholic a person can potentially become due to war. These images guide the reader to connect with the author and detect the unhappy emotions specified in the poem.
In Czeslaw Milosz poem, “Ars Poetica?”, he reveals to the reader his opinion on the art of poetry. However, instead of praising the art form or the beauty of constructing an overall poem, he critical evaluates his dislike for its limited and depressing state. However, although the writer does not approve of all the aspects of poetry, he does have a belief towards its overall use. Throughout “Ars Poetica” the tone of the writer, his use of figurative language, and word choice in poem all contribute to his overall message.