The Waking By Theodore Roethke Summary

In Jan Arminio’s article, “Waking Up White,” (2010) she discusses her journey of self-discovery. She claims discovery of identity didn’t happen until after the birth of her children. In high school, college, and adulthood she acknowledges being naively racist although not directly demonstrated. She asserts that her behavior was due to her need to reassert her dominate role and each race has a role to play. After going back to school for her doctoral degree and the birth of Jan’s children she went through an identity shift. She analyzed the history of whites plus blacks and discovered white people created the term to serve their own personal agendas. Supporting this idea through the findings of race being a social construction that holds back society. In must order to better understand her own race Jan

The reason the speaker so desperately wants to be in his dreams is because the funeral being prepared is his own, and the dreams are the proverbial ‘white light’ one sees just before they pass on. In this poem, once again, death is saving the speaker from witnessing pain and

By characterizing the aftereffects of death as dreams, Hamlet creates a metaphor and implies that we all wish to experience that final sleep, but it is the uncertainty of what may come that prevents us from doing so of our own accord. Each night, we close our eyes and take a gamble; our sleep may consist of a pleasant fantasy, a horrible nightmare, or nothing at all. Just as we prepare ourselves for sleep each night, unsure if our impending visions will be those of horror or delight, we ready ourselves for death. However, we voluntarily succumb to sleep with the promise of reawakening, but it is the finality of death that prohibits us from being as willing

Before the Great Awakening, Theodorus Frelinghuysen, a German pastor’s son, born on November 6, 1692 in Lingen, Germany answered the call to theology. After Frelinghuysen’s education at the University of Lingen and ordination in 1717, he accepted his first pastoral commitment at Emden, then another one at East-Friesland before accepting a sub-rectorship position./At that time, his doctrine ascribed to living a Godly confessional style of piousness with heart, mind, and soul regarding the law, realizing sin; rebirth, salvation only through Jesus Christ by the grace of God; and receiving the Holy Spirit/

Emily Dickinson is one of the most important American poets of the 1800s. Dickinson, who was known to be quite the recluse, lived and died in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, spending the majority of her days alone in her room writing poetry. What few friends she did have would testify that Dickinson was a rather introverted and melancholy person, which shows in a number of her poems where regular themes include death and mortality. One such poem that exemplifies her “dark side” is, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”. In this piece, Dickinson tells the story of a soul’s transition into the afterlife showing that time and death have outright power over our lives and can make what was once significant become meaningless.

In Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, she writes about a woman’s desire to find and live fully within her true self during the 1890s in Louisiana. The woman, Edna Pontellier, is trying to find herself in the masculine society of Louisiana, leading her to cause friction with friends, family and the Creole society. Edna begins to feel a change; she begins to feel like a whole person with wants, interests and desires. She learns that she is not comfortable with being a wife and mother. The imagery of the parrot in the cage in Chopin’s novel is being compared to Edna because it represents Edna’s unspoken feelings and imprisonment. The sense of unspoken feelings and imprisonment of Edna causes her to put her own needs before her family. As Edna finds herself trying to satisfy the Creole society, she begins to feel isolated and confused. Through Edna’s trace of freedom, she begins to undergo a transformation of self, slowly straying away from society, and taking control over her own actions and beliefs. Through obstacles to Edna’s freedom, she learns that she does have control of her own body. The symbolism of the birds and the sea is used to symbolize Edna’s struggle for independence.

Chuck Palahniuk once said, “The first step to eternal life, is you have to die.” In William Cullen Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis”, he does not mention eternal life or anything religious, but speaks about death. He tells his readers that death is a natural thing and they should not worry about it. William Cullen Bryant, in his poem “Thanatopsis”, portrays a comforting view of death. Throughout the poem, Bryant encourages his readers by explaining that in death they are not alone, that death, like life, is a natural process, and that they will be among some of the finest people who walked the earth.

1. The Awakening, Kate Chopin: Reading Journal 1, ch 1-13 2. In chapter one the reader meets Edna when she and her husband Mr Potellier arrive at the porch. Mr Pontellier goes to the country club. In chapter 2, the reader learns that Edna’s sister is getting married, and that Robert may be interested in Edna.

The power of the poet is not only to convey an everyday scene into a literary portrait of words, but also to interweave this scene into an underlying theme. The only tool the poet has to wield is the word. Through a careful placement and selection of words, the poet can hopefully make his point clear, but not blatantly obvious. Common themes of poems are life, death, or the conflicting forces thereto. This theme could never possibly be overused because of the endless and limitless ways of portraying life or death through the use of different words.

This paper will examine the life of Kate Chopin along with her writing style and theme in The Story of an Hour and The Awakening. Chopin has a unique writing style that shows throughout all of her works. Her works carry similar themes that include: women in search of independence, negative views of marriage, and self-assertion. While reading Chopin’s work, the reader will conclude that Chopin’s writing is very inspiring because she incorporates obstacles that she faced throughout her life. With this technique used, it is easier for the reader to connect with Chopin on a personal level while reading her works.

In the poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, by Emily Dickinson and “Home Burial”, by Robert Frost, literary elements are used throughout both poems to get the message the authors are trying to portray. One main important literary element that is used to entice the reader, is symbolism, because it helps the authors describe something without actual describing it. Symbolism is also used because it shows how significant an object is. Characterization is also an important literary technique because it, gives the reader an idea on how the character would act, work, and their values in life. Death is a topic that is used in both poems. Also, every character express their opinion about death differently.

The author’s diction makes the reader feel that death ca be defeated. For example, death has been called “mighty and dreadful” but the author shows that it is not more than a “short sleep” where men go for the “rest of their bones.” The general idea of death is frightful and scary, but the reader is told that it’s only a short phase everyone goes through. It’s an opportunity for men to separate their soul and physical body. In

Death is a controversial and sensitive subject. When discussing death, several questions come to mind about what happens in our afterlife, such as: where do you go and what do you see? Emily Dickinson is a poet who explores her curiosity of death and the afterlife through her creative writing ability. She displays different views on death by writing two contrasting poems: one of a softer side and another of a more ridged and scary side. When looking at dissimilar observations of death it can be seen how private and special it is; it is also understood that death is inevitable so coping with it can be taken in different ways. Emily Dickinson’s poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died” show both

Mary Oliver’s poem, “Sleeping in the Forest,” presents a peaceful and vivid representation of death and its relationship with nature. As the poem begins, the reader is introduced to the earth welcoming the speaker back into the realm of nature. Man was created from the dust of the earth and when we die, our bodies return to the dust. However, this poem presents a more beautiful image of what death is composed of. Death is often portrayed as being frightening and disturbing. When individuals are presented with the thought of death, they often push this thought away out of fear and ignorance. Everyone will die someday whether we ignore the thought of death or not. However, Oliver creates a relaxing and welcoming image for the reader on what death (ideally) is. Obviously, since Oliver is still alive, she doesn’t know what death feels like. However, the way she describes death, I hope that it feels like sleeping in a forest; full of stars and enchantment.

The central theme, introduced quite early within the poem, is the helplessness of death. Throughout the poem the speaker belittles death and approaches it with such bravery and poise. Donne confronts death by saying it is not in any regard “mighty and dreadful” (2), but rather brings “much pleasure” (7). Death is personified in the poem, and in this regard, possess no greater power over man. The speaker of the poem is Donne himself. He uses his literary tools of rhetoric and poetic devices to belittle death. Throughout the poem, the speaker comes across as being slightly arrogant, but he refuses to show weakness. His arrogance shows that he is not afraid of death as he demands death not to be proud. Donne takes the association of death and sleep, and reinvents this comparison to a greater effect. He describes sleep as being “pictures” (5) of death and death is no more different or more frightening. He extends this metaphor throughout the poem. In the second last line of the poem he