Irony

There is a great deal of irony in the creation of the monster in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Whenever someone thinks about Frankenstein, they think of a mad scientist who made a man, or monster, out of bolts and human parts that came to life with electricity. We get the image that the scientist rejoiced greatly in bringing to life of the monster. Ironically though, the novel tells a different story. Once the monster, or man, was created, the creator was terrified of what he had done. After creating the monster, the man does not have feeling of rejoice, but rather feelings of needing to escape his brilliant creation. "I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered and ever limb became convulsed: when by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch- the miserable monster whom I had created" (Shelley 35). Unlike in the story told around Halloween time, the creator never was joyed by his creation, only frightened by it. Ironically, the speaker became afraid of the thing that he had put all of his time and effort into creating. He continued to ask himself throughout the process if he could create the monster. But ironically, he never asked himself "Should I create the monster"?

Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton Character Similarities

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley had two main characters who had many similarities. At the beginning of the novel, the reader is introduced to the characters of Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton. As the reader continues the novel, they learn that there are many similar characteristics. One similarity between Frankenstein and Walton is that they are both very lonely. In the first letter to his sister, Walton expresses his need for companionship. "I bitterly feel the want of a friend" (Shelley 4). Later on in the novel, the reader learns that Frankenstein created this creature as a result of his boredom and lack of relationships with others. Another similarity I noticed while reading the novel is that both Frankenstein and Walton love mystery. Both of the characters left socialization and their homeland in order to go travel and discover unknown land. In doing this, both characters isolated themselves from everything that did not have to do with the mystery and the project ahead of them. As the reader continues to learn more and more about the characters, more and more character similarities appear between Victor and Robert.

The Things They Carried

In the story The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, O'Brien talks about soldiers off in war. Throughout the story, the reader mentions all the things that the soldiers carried with them while they were at war. Some of the things that soldiers were physical items. "First lieutenant carried with him letters from a girl named Martha" (O'Brien, 1-2). Not only were the items that soldiers carried physical items, the soldiers also carried a great deal of internal conflicts. On page sixteen of the story, O'Brien mentions a great list of internal items that the soldiers are dealing with. Some of the internal items they carried with them were guilt, fear, memories, and reputations. At the end of the story, it talks about how the internal, not the physical items, were holding the soldiers back. Items such as memories were distracting the soldiers and not allowing them to truly focus on their works. At the end of the story, one of the characters takes a major step in taking away his distractions: he burns the letters. I think that the soldiers are going to succeed in overcoming their internal problems because taking the first step is the hardest. In burning the letters, he is taking the first step in putting the past behind him and moving on to better perform his job.

Death, Be Not Proud

In the poem "Death, Be Not Proud" by John Donne, the writer expresses death as a person. Death is personified throughout the course of the poem. In the first line of the poem, the writer gives death, as a person, advice. "Death, be not proud, though some though some have called thee mighty and dreadful" (Donne, 1-2). The author is warning death to not take pride in what they have done. Rather, the poem is telling death not to take pride in anything that they do. Another example of where death is personified is in line four where the poem talks about not dying. "Die not, poor death, nor yet canst though kill me" (Donne, 4).  Death is once again personified in the poem by Donne when it talks dealing with poison, war and sick. Poison, war, and sickness are daily issues that humans have to deal with. The personification throughout the poem gets the readers attention. The personification allows the reader to realize that they are the audience of the poem.

Crossing the Bar

In "Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, crossing the bar could symbolize so many different things. One thing that I think that Crossing the Bar means is crossing from this life onto the next. At the end of the poem where it talks about seeing the pilot's face after they cross the bar, the reader can infer that the pilot is dead. "I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar" (Tennyson, 15-16). The reader can also infer that maybe the pilot symbolizes someone in the characters life who led them before they passed away. Just as the pilot of an airplane controls our path, the pilot could symbolizes a role model or leader who lead the character in his or her life before the "pilot" passed on. Seeing the pilot face to face could also symbolize other things. Seeing the pilot face to face could also symbolize the character finally being treated as equal to the pilot. The reader could infer that the character always felt inferior to those around him/her and once they pass away, they will finally be treated as not inferior, but equal. "Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson has a a variety of meanings and symbols throughout the poem.

That Time of Year

In The poem That Time of Year by William Shakespeare, a certain season is talked about. I think "that time of year" is referring to the end of fall. In the first few lines, it talks about the leaves falling from the trees and the cold coming. "When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang upon those boughs which shake against the cold, bare ruined choirs where late where late the sweet birds sing" (Shakespeare, 2-4). The yellow leaves symbolize the leaves changing colors during the fall and autumn season. When the poem talks about the none or few leves hanging, it's talking about the time of year when the leaves are all falling from the trees. The poem is also referring to to time when there are only a few are still on the trees. At this point, winter is quickly approaching. The bare ruined choirs symbolizes the bare, empty trees after all the leaves have fallen at the end of fall or autumn and beginning of winter. When the poem talks about the trees shaking in the cold, it is referring to the bits of winter breeze that are seen at the end of fall, right before the beginning of winter. Throughout the poem, the reader is shown many symbols that lead him or her to believe "that time of year" is the end of fall, beginning of spring. 

A Rose for Emily

The story A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner told out of chronological order. The story begins with what really is the end chronologically. The first line states, "When Miss Emily died, our whole town went to the funeral" (Faulkner, 282). The rest of the story is then an out of order flashback to the events leading up to Miss Emily's death. I think that it is told our of chrinigical order for two reasons. One reason that I think the story is told out of chronological order is to keep suspense throughout the story. If the story were told chronologically, the reader would better be able to predict the ending. Another reason that I think the story was told out of chronological order is to show mystery. Since no one ever really knows what is going on with Miss Emily or what is going on in her life, the story should be told told in a mysterious fashion. Just as the townspeople never know what Miss Emily is doing or why she is doing it, the reader should not know what is coming next!