The Death of a Soldier
by Wallace Stevens, on page 334 poem #281
This poem is short and concise, and its simplicity helps define the inevitability of the poem. It is about the death of a solider, but it does not lament or grieve over the death but simply states the finality of it. Wallace compares his death to fall with the repetition of the line "As in a season of autumn". The soldier falls in autumn like leaves falling which is a nature image and shows that the death is slow, gradual, and trivial. By repeating this line, the comparison is emphasized. There is no fanfare in death, as Wallace shows in the line "Death is absolute and without memorial". When a soldier dies, it is concrete and cannot change, and the world does nothing to acknowledge it.
The metaphor in the last two stanzas also creates the insignificance of the soldier's death. The death is compared to the stopping of the wind, yet the clouds keep moving regardless. This is showing how the war and life move on after one death, for it does not stop them. Wallace includes the line about clouds continuing "over the heavens" despite the wind being stopped. This could be a reference to religion and about how life continues on indifferent to human's ideas of death and the afterlife. All of these techniques demonstrate the paltriness and inevitability of death.
This poem is one that I like very much. The brevity and directness of this poem make it easy to read and comprehend. Yet beneath the four brief stanzas is a deep complexity about death and life. While I do not have any personal experience with the death of a soldier or war, I, like every other human being, know death and wonder about it. I like the way this poem deals with it. It poses no religious beliefs or angsty musings, but is rather simple.
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers
by Adrienne Rich, on page 324 poem #267
In the poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers's", the themes of escape and domesticity are explored. In the first stanza, a lot of lush imagery is used. By stating that the tigers "prance across a screen" it is known that the tigers were sewn or painted. In this exotic image of the tigers, colors such as green and yellow are used to describe the jungle. These are exciting colors of life and happiness. The tigers "do not fear the men beneath the tree" and are certain in themselves. These free and dominant spirits are an escape for Aunt Jennifer. Because it is mentioned that they do not fear men, it can be inferred that Aunt Jennifer dreams she lives in a fantasy in which she has no fear of men and is allowed to do as she wishes.
Later in the second stanza, after the rich fantasy, Aunt Jennifer is revealed to be restrained. By using an image of "fingers fluttering" that struggle to pull a small needle, it is shown that she is afraid and nervous. The shaking and weakness of hands and fingers are a sign of anxiety. Then there is the symbol of her wedding ring. The ring is described as heavy and massive, that weighs upon her. Of course the ring is not actually heavy, but it is a symbol for the burden of Aunt Jennifer's marriage with her husband. Clearly this marriage is one that restricts and scares her, so sewing majestic tigers is an escape from this restraint. The symbol is repeated in the third stanza when the Aunt is dead, "her terrified lands will lie/ Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by". Because it is her hands that were mastered, it is evident that this is a reference to the symbol of the wedding ring and all it represents. Jennifer was "mastered by" this ordeal that rings her fingers, so it was her terrible marriage that lead to her death. The poem ends on the note that her tigers will still be free, the fantasy she created to escape will still exist on the things she sewed.
When I first read this poem, I really like it, and that feeling continued as I looked deeper at it. For one, there is the theme of the burdens of a stifling marriage, which deals with feminism. That is something I enjoy reading and discussing about. The end rhyme makes the poem pleasant to read, and the lush imagery is exciting. However, I took a double take in the second stanza with the introduction of the marriage and her nervousness. I like how the poem is haunting yet beautifully descriptive, and really emphasizes the theme of unhappy marriages and escape.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Monday, November 4, 2013
The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale
One symbol that was seen throughout the novel is the outfit Offred and the other Handmaid's adorn themselves with. It is seen in the above picture, a red gown that covers the whole body and a white head covering. The red gown strips all individuality from the woman beneath them; they are featureless and bulky. The red color of them has many connotations. Red is a symbol for fertility, which is Offred's whole purpose as a Handmaid. Red is also a large part of the female menstruation cycle, and of all blood. Yet the color red can be associated with other meanings, such as passion, love, and adultery. While Offred's life in Gilead lacks passion and love, her actions during the Ceremony could be considered adultery, even if they are supported by the government authority. Another aspect of Offred's costume is the white headress that frames her face. She calls them her "white wings". This name is highly ironic, as wings are a symbol of freedom and the wings are nothing but. They prohibit speech, and only allow the women to look straight ahead. This restricts the basic everyday actions of looking at their environment and makes enforces the idea that the Handmaid's are just reproductive objects.
One of my favorite passages from The Handmaid's Tale is on page 226 to 227. This passage talks of the time before Gilead, of our current society. It highlights how woman fall for men, fancy themselves into love because they believe in love and in its passion. And woman would try to save themselves, and the man they were in love with. One part of the passage reads, "With that man you wanted it to work, to work out. Working out was also something you did to keep your body in shape, for the man. If you worked out enough, maybe the man would too." This follows the idea that woman change themselves for a relationship, hoping that if they alter themselves enough the man will love them more. This is a phenomenon seen today, a problem of many people. The passage goes onto explain how woman always change when something goes wrong, they always change themselves or the man, but there is always something that can be improved. Offred misses this, the changing. Although it is not healthy to change oneself for a man, she misses the choices she used to make and freedom she once had to change herself, and alter the situation around her. In Gilead, she is frozen in this position of submission, forever commanded to bow her head and become nothing but an empty womb waiting to be filled.
Above all, I loved the truths spelled out in this novel. It points out many huge injustices that surround us daily., the ones we ignore. Offred's life offers perspective and knowledge that will stay with whoever reads her tale.
This novel is a new favorite of mine. It explores a topic I can get very passionate about- feminism. I really enjoyed reading it, in fact, I read ahead of our classes's schedule to finish the novel. I would recommend this novel to anyone, because it offers a perspective that many people blow off. First, however, I would make sure they can handle the content. While I personally had no problem with it, others may need a gentle warning. This novel highlighted the problems of today's culture without naming them outright. What I liked most about it was that it was so extreme it shocks people into thinking about our own society. For example, Offred is never allowed to speak or determine her own life. This is very extreme, but it's reminiscent of today's society, where woman make up only 13% of the world's government. There was not much that I disliked about the book. Though the ending was dissatisfying, it had a purpose and it served that purpose well. And above all, talking about feminism in English class for a few weeks was a blast.
One symbol that was seen throughout the novel is the outfit Offred and the other Handmaid's adorn themselves with. It is seen in the above picture, a red gown that covers the whole body and a white head covering. The red gown strips all individuality from the woman beneath them; they are featureless and bulky. The red color of them has many connotations. Red is a symbol for fertility, which is Offred's whole purpose as a Handmaid. Red is also a large part of the female menstruation cycle, and of all blood. Yet the color red can be associated with other meanings, such as passion, love, and adultery. While Offred's life in Gilead lacks passion and love, her actions during the Ceremony could be considered adultery, even if they are supported by the government authority. Another aspect of Offred's costume is the white headress that frames her face. She calls them her "white wings". This name is highly ironic, as wings are a symbol of freedom and the wings are nothing but. They prohibit speech, and only allow the women to look straight ahead. This restricts the basic everyday actions of looking at their environment and makes enforces the idea that the Handmaid's are just reproductive objects.
One of my favorite passages from The Handmaid's Tale is on page 226 to 227. This passage talks of the time before Gilead, of our current society. It highlights how woman fall for men, fancy themselves into love because they believe in love and in its passion. And woman would try to save themselves, and the man they were in love with. One part of the passage reads, "With that man you wanted it to work, to work out. Working out was also something you did to keep your body in shape, for the man. If you worked out enough, maybe the man would too." This follows the idea that woman change themselves for a relationship, hoping that if they alter themselves enough the man will love them more. This is a phenomenon seen today, a problem of many people. The passage goes onto explain how woman always change when something goes wrong, they always change themselves or the man, but there is always something that can be improved. Offred misses this, the changing. Although it is not healthy to change oneself for a man, she misses the choices she used to make and freedom she once had to change herself, and alter the situation around her. In Gilead, she is frozen in this position of submission, forever commanded to bow her head and become nothing but an empty womb waiting to be filled.
Above all, I loved the truths spelled out in this novel. It points out many huge injustices that surround us daily., the ones we ignore. Offred's life offers perspective and knowledge that will stay with whoever reads her tale.
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