Much Madness is Divinest Sense

In the poem "Much Madness is Divinest Sense", we learn a lot about the personality of the writer Emily Dickinson. The poem talks about her frustration with the society that she lives in. The poem talks about people who are sane, versus the people who are insane or have madness. She is trying to say that what society believes is madness maybe might not be true. Maybe she is trying to tell the reader that maybe the societies view may be the opposite of reality. The poem's title suggest that madness can be a good thing. It suggest that madness is the "divinest sense" that all people should strive to achieve. She also talks about how madness is perceived differently by different people. "Much Madness is divinest sense to a discerning eye" (Dickinson, 1-2). Dickinson is implying that those who see the world differently than the rest of us,  may be the sane people after all.

Bartleby

Nicknames are used throughout the course of the story "Bartleby, the Scrivener" by Herman Melville. The reader learns throughout the course of the story that the narrator gives nicknames to all of his employees. Three of the characters mentioned in the novel are only mentioned by their nicknames. Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut are all only referred by their nicknames based their personalities and jobs at the office. For example, Ginger Nut received his name from one of his main duties, which was to fetch Turkey and Nippers cake. "Not the least among  the employments of Ginger Nut... was his duty as cake and apple purveyor for Turkey and Nippers" (Melville, 647). The fact that all of the lawyers previous copyist have had nickname poses a question. Is Bartleby his real name or a nickname? As the reader ponders on this question, they must look at the background of Bartleby for the answer. Little is to be known about Bartleby's life outside the office. The reader will never know due to the lack of information. What do you think?

APO 96225

Sometimes the truth is better when it is concealed, such as in the poem "APO 96225" by Larry Rottmann. The poem starts out with a letter from the son fighting in the war saying "Dear Mom, sure rains a lot here" (Rottmann, 3). Throughout the course of the rest of the poem, the son continues to sugarcoat what is really going on in the place where he is fighting the war. But, no matter what he says, the mother always asks what is really going on there. It seems rather ironic that when the son finally tells his mother what his life is really like that the father replies saying "Please don't write such depressing letters. You're upsetting your mother" (Rottmann, 17-18). It is quite ironic because all he was doing was obeying her, yet he ended up hurting her. Sometimes the people in our lives know what is best for us. In this situation, it was best for the son to withhold the information about what it was really like in the place where he is in the war. Even though its tough, sometimes sugarcoating news can be better for someone than finding out the reality. The poem ends the same way that it begins stating "Dear Mom, it sure rains here a lot" (Rottmann, 19-20). Maybe, the poem ends the same way as it begins to show that even though the mother received new she did not want to hear, their lives are still the same as when they started. The information that the mother learned did not change the son's situation, but only changed the perspective of the mother.

I Felt a Funeral in my Brain

The poem "I Felt a Funeral in my Brain" by Emily Dickinson, begins talking about the great loss that the narrator suffers. In the poem, I think that she is having a funeral for her brain. She is coming to the consensus that she is losing her mind. Dickinson is saying that her mind has left her, similarly to how the mind leaves the body once they have passed away. The poem implies that Dickinson had been alienating herself, but the funeral has allowed her to be the person that she wants to be. The poem implies that she was trapped in her mind. It implies that what she was thinking consumed her life. But now that her mind has "died", she is set free. "And then I heard them lift a box" (Dickinson, 9) refers to her being set free from her alienation and from herself. She was finally able to answer the questions that had been consuming her. When the poem says "And finished-knowing...," (Dickinson, 20) it shows that she is now truly at peace and ready to break away from herself and stop alienating herself.

Miss Brill

Loneliness is a theme in the story Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield. Throughout the course of the story, the reader learns a great deal about the character Miss Brill through her actions. The fact that Miss Brill is always sitting alone on a park bench expresses her loneliness. It also acts as a step to making conversation with others through her lonely time. Loneliness often time leads to desperation. Miss Brill continues to follow a band around to try and find someone. Despite her actions, he still ends up feeling alone in a sea of people. While she wishes for company on the park benches, Miss Brill is often joined by couples: couples who already have someone to be with. Loneliness is also expressed in the story when the only conversation that she ever hears is the talk about herself. She seldom converses with others and when she does, most of the talk is about her. Eavesdropping is a skill that Miss Brill uses to try and ease her loneliness. Often times, the plan of eavesdropping makes her feel even worse and even more lonely because people are talking about her negative pathetic life. "Miss Brill's eyes filled with tears" (Mansfield, 185).

External Conflict

In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, there is a cycle of external conflicts. Throughout the course of the novel, each of the characters express an external conflict that influences the rest of the family. Ruth's determining on whether or not to get an abortion affects Walter and Mama. It affects Mama because it brings back the memories of Big Walter. It affects Walter because he has to make the decision and stand up for his son just as his father (Big Walter) did. Another external conflict that affects multiple family members is when Willy takes Walter's money. It affects the family because not only do they not have the money that was for the liquor store, but Walter did not invest any money, so they lost all of the money. Walter states, "that money is made out of my father's flesh" (Hansberry, 128). It also affects Travis because they force Walter to explain this in front on his son. Travis learns to act like a man and take responsibility for the things he does both right and wrong in his life. The external conflicts throughout the course of the novel we learn not only impact the person individually, but also the people surrounding them.

Dreams

Throughout the course of the novel A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, many of the characters have dreams. The character's dreams vary greatly. Mama's dream can be described as the typical american dream. She wants a big house, nice car, and a garden for her family. Her dream is a a better life for her family. “Well, I always wanted me a garden like I used to see sometimes at the back
of the houses down home" (Hansberry, 53) The garden symbolizes her dream growing more and more. Along with Mama's dream, Walter's dream deals with economic security. Throughout the course of the novel, Walter searches for self-happiness that he believes comes with opening the liquor store. Ruth is another character with a dream. Ruth's dream deals with having financial security and a happy marriage. We see this throughout the course of the novel when she wants to invest part of the $10,000 check. The many different dreams throughout the course of the novel symbolize the differences in the Younger Family.