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! 

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?