I am truly intrigued by your interpretations of “Where there’s a Wall”. Although I agree with most of your analysis, I would like to outline some of my personal impressions on the poem.
First, I strongly agree with you that the “wall” could be interpreted using both imagery and symbolism. Like you described, I could immediately visualize an insurmountable barricade, representing captivity and restriction. However, I believe that the “wall” could also symbolize separation. This could relate to Kogawa’s experience of segregation from her culture in the concentration camp.
Moreover, you explained that imagery was used in “way”, “gate”, “ladder” and “door” of the first stanza to portray images of the escape routes. Rather, I believe that the poet
As evident by the title of this poem, imagery is a strong technique used in this poem as the author describes with great detail his journey through a sawmill town. This technique is used most in the following phrases: “...down a tilting road, into a distant valley.” And “The sawmill towns, bare hamlets built of boards with perhaps a store”. This has the effect of creating an image in the reader’s mind and making the poem even more real.
In the third stanza, a lot of imagery is used. The significant ones are present in the seventh and eleventh lines. In the first line, the poet writes, "A
From reading this poem call “Where There`s a Wall”, by Joy Kogawa. I get this feeling that the wall Kogawa is talking about in this poem, is a symbol that is used to represent a problem. This is based on the facts that in the begin lines of the poem. Kogawa suggest many different options by using literal imagery to try to overcome this obstacle in front of him. Kogawa evens mentions in the beginning lines of the poem that “where there is a wall there is a way around, over, through” it too.
Butler first employs the wall on an institutional level. Lauren Olamina lives in a walled neighborhood, largely shielded from the violence and crime of the world outside. At the beginning of the novel, as Lauren begins to set the scene of her cul-de-sac community, she comments on the wall’s presence as she and her stepmother look out at the sky, “The neighborhood wall is a massive, looming presence nearby. I see it as a crouching animal, perhaps about to spring, more threatening than protective.” (Butler, 5) The personification of the wall serves to show that walls are manmade, and therefore incredibly
In the mid-nineteenth century Romantic trend in American Literature, authors often used the idea of “walls’ that human beings place between themselves and others both physically and symbolically. Unlike a fence of gate, which imply a way in or out, a wall is a sound structure. A wall is a barrier to block someone else out, or is it used to block yourself in?
Well, there are not as many walls being sat on in this story as I imagined there would be so do me a favour and draw a wall on a scrap of paper. Any wall will do as long as when you look at the image it says ‘WALL!’ Feel free to use any accent you like when your doodle says ‘WALL!’
The remaining brick is representative of Glen Lazarus, as prior to becoming a politician, he earned the name “The brick with eyes”. With singular bricks being representative of singular members, the entirety of the wall can be interpreted as the party as a whole. Throughout the cartoon Leahy has used symbolism to a great extent, however aspects of symbolism can be interpreted as
The use of conversation and the thoughts of the narrator reflect the poet's own thoughts. In line thirty to line thirty-five, the narrator questions the purpose of a wall. He has an open disposition and does not understand the need to “wall in” or “wall out” (line 33) anything or anyone.
We also see walls/doors as a symbol that is ensuring the isolation of the characters. Each character will be analyzed through the text first, and then I will analyze using other critics’ perspective on the issue.
The poet also used imagery to appeal to the senses. The puzzling force that abhors the wall "sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, and spills the upper boulders in the sun."
It talks about the wall of their apartment dividing them, and when they talk about taking it down their responses are “No!” and “Over my dead body” (Rushdie 5). The wall is a symbol of them not acting on their deeper feelings, and knowing in their minds how wrong an idea of this is to them. They were raised in a time when that was never even a consideration. In the end of the short story there’s a tsunami, and it was “a series of waves and hurled its pain across the globe” (Rushdie 12). The waves destroyed everything up till senior’s neighborhood, and this is another symbol the author uses. The wave was a representation of the fear of the two men being lovers, and since the wave didn’t destroy their house its showing that their love and fear wouldn’t have destroyed them. Senior not only realizes that he should have been more hopeful and optimistic about life, but also realizes his life lost even more meaning when he lost what could have been his lover. The symbols in this story can be interpreted much deeper than what meets the
Germany is now an official Federal Republic, and is no longer split between a border. However, the divide left by cultural, social, and financial ideologies may still be present in some regions of the country. When traveling to Berlin there are a few tourist destinations in and around the location which was once Checkpoint Charlie. The most notable of these is the Mauermuseum, the word mauer itself means wall. The museum was originally founded by human rights activist Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt in a small apartment. The museum was once much smaller and one which commemorated the history of the Berlin Wall solely. After its immense popularity, and demand for expansion, the Mauermuseum has changed since its beginning. The displays which you find inside are no longer strictly pertaining to the wall. Aside from finding displays directly related to the wall, there is also a vast variety of displays which relate to human rights, freedom, and democracy. The museum has since expanded from the apartment in Wolliner Strasse to a much large building, right at the point that was once Checkpoint Charlie. At the site of Checkpoint Charlie, still stands the Border House. The Border House is a small building which is essentially the customs booths which people must stop at when crossing into Canada or Mexico. In the same general area, stands the Black Box Cold War Exhibit. This “box” stands with the purpose of educating its visitors not just on the Berlin Wall, but the entire division of Germany from Europe. Inside the structure lies a variety of media stations, historical documents, and a small movie theater. There was a plan to establish the Cold War Museum on this site in 2015 but we do not believe that this plan was executed, as we could not find anything on this existing. Another educational
The main purpose of this wall, she says, is to remind us that we are not alone in our struggles. When we get overwhelmed, it is a friendly reminder of what is truly important in life. She continues to say that in times of distraction, it is important to have something that reminds us of our purpose here on earth. In closing, she leaves the audience with a thought-provoking statement: “Preparing for death is one of the most powerful things you can do. Thinking about death clarifies your
Images in the poem reflect the difficulties of the choice the traveler faces. The difficulty is shown in the passage "long I stood" (3)
The section of the Berlin Wall here on campus at UVA is presented in front of Alderman Library. Students walk by this piece of art multiple times a day but rarely stop to talk a closer look. I caught a glimpse of this eccentric piece of art during summer orientation. I could not help but wonder what the significance was. I was intrigued by the meaning of the two faces boldly painted on the wall. The wall is tall, a little more than two times my height of 5’8’’. The wall is long enough where I have to turn my head to see each end. There are two different distinct heads on the wall, each with an unmistakable expression of displeasure. The facial features on each head are vastly different. The face on the left has very large pursed lips. The face on the right has a frown giving off a melancholy vibe. The eyes on the left are wide open and observant and on the right are they are simply nonexistent. The crown is smaller on the left than on the right. The bold crown on the right covers where the eyes should be. The large eyes and bold pupils on the left face draw me into the painting.