What Is The Theme Of The Poem To This Day

Society judges those who are different both physically and mentally and those that don’t fit in with the social norm but it is up to the individuals to look past that and rise against their judgement. Shane Koyczan’s ‘To This Day’, is a poem about those who have been bullied throughout their lives and its long term impact it leaves. The poem tells multiple stories of the victims of bullying due to their physical appearance or their mental state. The poem begins with a personal adecdote talking about how he earned his first nickname. The anecdote is used to allow the readers of the poem to relate as it doesn’t rely on the abstract logic as the anecdote provides proof. He tells his story about how he used to love pork chops, and didn’t know the difference between pork chops and karate chops, until he was called pork

Ted Kooser’s poem, “Surviving”, can be interpreted in many different ways. At first the poem seems to be about a man who is watching a bug being attentive to its surroundings and the bug having the fear of death. Another way to interpret this poem is that death is unrelenting. Even when the speaker seems to have ceased the image of death, it finds its way back. This is prevalent because the speaker starts talking about the fear of death, then altering the tone by describing this bug he witnesses. The speaker then leaves the reader uncertain at the end of the poem. Ted Kooser reveals the uncertainty of the bugs’ near future in the last line of the poem. A careful analysis of the poem, the poem is truly about a man in his final stages of life being attentive to death and the beauty of the bug he observes.

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.

This song, P.O.D.’s “Youth of the Nation,” was placed into the category of “Suicide, bullying” for this writing assignment; however, that category does not capture and illustrate the meanings and feelings the artists are trying to emphasize. Sure in the song it talks about one kid committing suicide, yet this is just one small fragment of a very confusing, saddening, and shocking truth that P.O.D. is trying to bring awareness too. “Teen deaths, and teen on teen violence” are better categories for the song; the reason being that the one come thread between the three different “stories” that are told in the song by the singer all relate to that person’s death. Also the teen on teen violence is either implied or directly stated in the song. In P.O.D.’s “Youth of the Nation,” the use of illustrative lyrics, and reflective instrumentals help show and bring awareness to teen deaths, some of the reasons why they occur, and to plead with the people, specifically the nation to help these teens.

The poem “To This Day” written by Shane Koyczan, the symbolism is the black things grabbing the kid. This is showing that words do hurt and it stays with you this is shown through the whole story of the pain and suffering of the kid. This is said " who used to say that rhyme sticks and stones as if broken bones hurt more than the names we got called" this is showing word do hurt and the black things grabbing him is showing that like a broken bone it still hurts over time just like words do. With this evidence it shows that if you don't want to be called that don't say it at all.

In the poem, “Backwards,” by Warsan Shire the poem dramatizes the conflict between the long for the past and the hatred of the present. This poem highlights the rough situation that the speaker is in as well as a need for what life was like before. One can easily see that the speaker in this poem is a child in the family, because of the context of line 3, “that’s how we bring Dad back.” This is referring to the longing for their dad before they were in the situation they currently are in. Although, there is not line to line rhyme scheme the poem is written backwards at the beginning of the second stanza. This is likely showing the reader the need for the past and emphasizing the importance of the current situation. The overall theme of this poem is showing what life was once like and what it is now.

The video “To this day” by Shane Koyzcan, based on the poem by the same name, reveals the permanence of the emotional damage bullying causes the victims. In addition, two interviews that reveals his personal experience with bullying. To begin with, Koyzcan was bullied as a kid for a simple misunderstand of him thinking pork chops were the same thing as karate chops. He was taken away from his grandma for 3 days until the truth about his accident was revealed. The story got out and that’s how he got his first nickname: “pork chop”. Although, he got his nickname as a child, it still haunts him today as an adult. Instead of showing all of this cruelness Koyzcan would much rather have us spread love, beauty, and forgiveness that will be able to

The poem “To This Day” by Shane Koyczan talks about bullying and its long-term impact on his and others lives. Shane uses symbolism throughout the whole poem to show that people can get trapped in negativity and cruelty. In the photo the author uses the dark background as a symbol to show how people don't see or hear anything around them but the negative words and actions of others. The author also uses the boy in the middle of the photo as a symbol to show how people can feel when they are picked on and bullied. The boy looks like he is scared to show his face and almost like he is hiding from all of the bullying. Another symbol the author uses is the people surrounding the boy. He uses the people to show how cruelty can surround a person

In the poem to This Day by Shane Koyczan It symbolizes bullying and that words can actually hurt someone and so can sticks and stones can also hurt people but that it is not right to call people names because it can hurt them but they don’t show it and it is wrong to bully people with words and other

To begin with, Koyczan’s bullying experience started when his teacher discovered bruises that he had gained from falling out of a tree, then, word got around(as mainly all things do at school) about the incident and he received his first nickname, “Pork Chop”. As Koyczan grew up through the years he witnessed others being bullied, some of them were just students to him and some of them were his friends. He knew a girl, when she was 8 years old who was bullied for a birthmark on her face that she had no control over. There was another boy who suffered from depression and all the other kids were being ignorant and just thought he was feeling sorry for himself because they had not lost everything he did. Schools normally are somewhat social based,

Mr. Koyczan talks about how he was abused but never thought there was any harm to it until it was put into another perspective. As a child he was heavier and kids started calling him pork chop, to this day he hates pork chops and it's sad to think one action, one name, one person change ones outlook for the rest of their life.

Ted Kooser, the thirteenth Poet Laureate of the United States and Pulitzer Prize winner, is known for his honest and accessible writing. Kooser’s poem “A Spiral Notebook” was published in 2004, in the book Good Poems for Hard Times, depicting a spiral notebook as something that represents more than its appearance. Through the use of imagery, diction, and structure, Ted Kooser reveals the reality of a spiral notebook to be a canvas of possibilities and goes deeper to portray the increasing complexities in life as we age.

“Exception” is a song/story about a boy named Andy who is constantly being bullied at school. People see this happening and know its wrong but refuse to say anything so Andy is left with no choice but to put an end to his problem himself. The purpose of this song was to tell a story and deliver a message about bullying and why it should be stopped before it's too late. Bullying can tear a person apart mentally and physically and drive them to do crazy things much like portrayed in the song. This song was created to bring awareness to the problem of bullying and make anyone who has witnessed bullying or is still witnessing bullying take place speak up. The audience the author is trying to connect to is students

When faced with the countless problems of war including death, disease, sorrow, and loss, soldiers develop and intense bond between one another as they seek support in one another. A brotherhood is formed among these soldiers who rely on one another for protection and companionship amid a time in their lives where they are faced with the constant threat of death and violence everyday of their lives. But what happens to them after the war? In After the War, poet brings awareness to how the war-torn soldier attempts to reestablish their self in a society they have been isolated from for so many years through use of free verse and repetitive phrases, which further reinforces the theme throughout the poem.

Several point of views can be interpreted throughout the text, for starters his insanity is portrayed in the second verse of the song, ‘When I was a child, I heard voices… some would sing and some would scream.’ This shows that positive and negative thoughts building up in his mind, respectively. This is interpreted as a mental illness, probably schizophrenia, which is basically a long term mental disorder resulting in delusion and uncontrollable feelings and actions. It is usually a long-term disorder. But according to him, love is the remedy for this trauma.