Being Remembered~

“'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away."

What does it mean to leave your mark on the world? It is a bit of an awkward question, because your ‘mark’ cannot be ‘left’ until after you die- and no one wants to think about death, but they do want their legacy to be remembered.

Some people build great things. Some people create art. Some people donate money or help in a worthy cause. Some people kill for power. Some people are killed for taking a stand. Some people sit quietly and let life pass them. -- And in the end, are these people any different from each other?

You can be great and mighty and powerful and kind and famous, but time is a memory’s greatest enemy and you will be forgotten. Perhaps not fully, but time will turn the colors of your life into faded and unrecognizable pictures in a box. Is this sad? Yes.

The take-away from this poem may vary depending on the person who reads it.  For me, the poem spoke of how futile our yearnings for remembrance after death can be. I don’t think we should waste our lives, despairing over the fact that we will probably not be remembered for very long once we are dead, but we should let go of that goal. I think we should live life out of service to others, experiencing what we are called to do, loving others, becoming active participants in society, making colorful memories- but without the always looming cloud of hope and nervousness that we will solidify our mark.

Somewhere a small quarrel has begun~

"Somewhere a small quarrel

has begun, a few overheated words

ignite a conflagration,

and the smell of smoke

is on its way;

the smell of war."

In her poem, "Somewhere in the World", Linda Pastan writes about how somewhere in the world, there is something that will destroy everything, especially everything that holds or symbolizes happiness. This 'something' has made Pastan paranoid, as throughout the poem she expresses how she constantly 'knocks on wood', 'rinses her hands', and 'invents alarm codes'.

However, two particular stanzas caught my attention. While most of the poem describes a force that is unseen and unstoppable (such as a virus or a cold front), a 'quarrel' is something that humans have to start, but also have the power to stop. Often a 'small quarrel' could be worked through by sitting down and discussing the point of conflict. With self control and a mutual desire for resolution, a quarrel does not need to give way to a war. But, a quarrel that turns into a fiery fight can definitely steel and ruin happiness. It is hard to see that we, ourselves as humans, can be the demise of our own joy-- It is easier to assume that a force out of our control will break our spirits, and assuming this would leave no room for regret, since the destroying force would be out of our control, and there would be nothing we could do to stop it.

More than a cold front and more than a virus, a quarrel that is not stopped from escalating can ruin happiness. Not only does it take away joy from a person, but it also takes away the desire for peace within a relationship, as feelings get hurt and harsh words are said, often neither person wants to forgive the other. Such a quarrel later turns into guilt- guilt for not understanding, guilt for not trying harder to reconcile, guilt for arguing over something 'small' in the first place. This removes happiness in a different sense. Instead of replacing it with animosity and hurt and anger, it replaces it with sorrow and regret. Sometimes, all it takes is something small can take away the greatest things in life- and those small somethings were completely under our control.

"Spring in the Classroom": An Extended Metaphor~

One aspect that I found to be most intriguing about Mary Oliver's 'Spring in the Classroom', was her use of figurative language, particularity through an extended metaphor of portraying her teacher as a tree. This is an exert of my essay that I wrote on this poem, but as I read more in depth in the poem, the way that Oliver worked in imagery and various dimensions to her metaphor was very interesting, very well done, and allowed the reader to visualize very clearly what she felt like during the years she had to sit in a classroom, instead of going outside to play in the spring.

"One of the most noticeable uses of figurative language in the poem is conveyed through an extended metaphor. By describing her teacher as having, “...two stone [eyes] behind glass, her legs thick...” (lines 13-14), the reader sees the teacher as the opposite of Spring. The opposite of spring is fall or winter, and since spring represents ‘new life’, fall or winter would represent ‘old life’. Therefore, by describing her teacher as having, ‘thick legs’, Oliver is equating her teacher to that of a solid, old tree. Oliver’s teacher’s name, Ms. Willow Bangs, is also a reference to a tall and sturdy tree, thus extending the metaphor of the teacher resembling the opposite of spring. The fact that Ms. Willow Bangs has eyes like ‘two stones behind glass’ makes it seem that she is removed from the students, and therefore not swayed by their hatred of her classroom. Her removed attitude and her unshakable demeanor also equates her to a strong and steadfast tree. Finally, the usage of the jackknives by the students resembles their desire to no longer have to be with their teacher in the classroom. Thus, the jackknives are used as a way to subtly hurt their teacher, much as they might be used to subtly cut down a tree."

Becoming a Lady~

In chapter 7 of Wuthering Heights, Catherine, after being bitten by the Linton's dog, stays at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks. During her stay, Mrs. Linton teaches her how to act and behave like a lady. Catherine is transformed so much so, that when she returns home, she is nearly unrecognizable. While this is not necessarily a dominate theme in the novel, it caught my attention because this is a theme that I have seen in my own life. Like Catherine, when I was younger, I liked to run around outside and cause problems. Also like Catherine, it was expected of me to become 'a lady'. Overall, I believe that this is a problem in today's world. Many young girls grow up surrounded by expectations. For me, I was told that if  I did not become a proper, soft-spoken, well-mannered young lady, I would never amount to anything. Some girls are told that if they do not become successful and independent they will always be walked over and disregarded. No matter the expectations, while reading Wuthering Heights, I realized that little girls and young ladies have, and seemingly always will, grow up surrounded by expectations placed on them by society and their families. The process of becoming a lady, while in some regards has changed over the decades, is still (unfortunately) very alive in today's world. 

Epiphany~

Epiphany. What is an Epiphany? According to dictionary.reference.com, an epiphany is: “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.” The main character in John Updike’s short story “A&P”, follows a day in the life of the main character, Sammy, and his epiphany.

Sammy is a young man working in a grocery store. He finds his life as an employee at the store less than exciting. One day, a group of three young women enter the store, dressed in their bathing suits, and Sammy’s boss asks them to leave, as they ‘are not at the beach’, and their attire is simply inappropriate for that environment. Sammy stands up for the girls (perhaps some of his reasoning for this is that he found one of the girls in particular, Queenie, attractive). Sammy quits his job, much to the disappointment of t hs manager and the alluded disappointment of his parents, in an effort to act as a ‘brave knight’ on behalf of the girls who, as he believes, were unjustly asked to leave the store. As he leaves his former place of work, he can not find the girls. The story concludes with Sammy coming to the realization of how hard is life will be after what he did.

In terms of epiphany, it can be argued that Sammy had one after he left the store and realized the weight of his decisions and how life would be moving forward. While this was the concluding moment of his epiphany, it was not all of it. Sammy’s epiphany started when he witnessed his boss asking the three girls to leave. He concluded by viewing the situation that, 1.) The girls should have the right to stay, 2.) Something had to be done, and 3.) A bold statement needed to be made. In this sense and based off of this event, Sammy has “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.”-- an epiphany. By the end of the story, the reader more clearly can see the end of his epiphany, in that life will be harder for him now that he walked out and quit his job. However, though not always seen, an epiphany can be gradual and not sudden. “A&P” is a great example of this gradual epiphany, in that Sammy’s occurred over a good portion of the story, yet only the end of it was clearly obvious.

Happily Ever After~

Since there's no help, come let us kiss and part.

Nay, I have done, you get no more of me.

And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart

That thus so cleanly I myself can free.

Shake hands forever, cancel all our vows,

And when we meet at any time again,

Be it not seen in either of our brows.

That we one jot of former love retain.

Now at the last gasp of Love's latest breath,

When, his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies,

When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,

And Innocence is closing up his eyes--

Now, if thou wouldst, when all have given him over,

From death to life thou mightst him yet recover.

Everyone pictures the 'picture perfect, fairy tale' romance story. The over-used 'happily ever after' dream is hugely sought after, not only in this day and age, but also in those of the past. Here is where many people find the disappointing difference between fantasy and reality, however. A relationship always flourishes on the foundation of hope- hope that there will be eternal love, eternal happiness, eternal bliss, eternal lust, eternal whatever. The whole concept of 'eternal' is relatively impossible. No one will ever be eternally happy with someone, no one will ever have eternal bliss, no one will be eternally captivated in and in the deepest sense of lustful love with another, it's not achievable. This poem captivates the essence of this. When reality sets in and the eternal fairy-tale turns into an unsolvable relationship based off of unachievable expectations and unrealistic foundations, most people choose to, "...kiss and part." Fleeting affairs and scattered love stories are born out of these 'fall outs', yet no matter what, there hope still remains- for better or for worse, "From death to life thou mightst him yet recover."- and hope is often paired with regret, begging the question, how did anyone even create the notion of "happily ever after"?

Angels, Spider-girls, and Faith~

Faith: firm belief in something for which there is no proof

In "A Very Old Man, with Enormous Wings", the theme of loosing ones faith is a very subtle, yet central point in the story. When the news that an 'angel' had come to earth spread, masses and masses of people filled the owners court yards. They came to watch the angel preform great miracles. However, when the angel failed to preform miracles to the grand extent that the spectators had hoped for, they went about looking for something else that was unique and supernatural and fulfilling, which came about in the form of the  spider girl.

This scene is a great representation of the way people look at faith today-- in a faith, one begins to look for a tangible way to prove that their faith is real (the angel) or justify it (the expected miracles). However, when the proof of the faith does not come in the exact way that one seeks, that person grows tired and unsure (people beginning to question whether the angel really was an angel). Often, they turn away from their faith an go seek something else that is more concrete and tangible to place their faith it (leaving the angel to go and look at the spider girl).

Overall, the ability to wholly trust something that is unable to be seen or proven is an ability that is becoming less and less coming among people. Humans would rather place their faith in something that they can see, or something that is predictable and relates to them, then something that 'does not listen' or makes no logical sense or cannot not physically be seen. "A Very Old Man, with Enormous Wings" illustrates this concept very well.