Poetry Assignment

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers pg. #324 poem #267

This poem first uses exaggertaion in the line "the massive weight of Uncle's wedding band" to show how a small object like a wedding ring is taking a toll on Jennifer's hand. The ring is not really a massive weight, it it just heavy for Jennifer because she is so frail and weak. Also the poem uses personification and imagery of the tigers that Jenifer has made on her panel to show how life goes on even after she is gone. "the tigers in the panel that she made will go on prancing, proud and unafraid". The tigers never loose their life even though Jeniifer is gone, they are not even phased by it.

I interpreted this poem as Aunt Jennifer making her last tigers, even though it is taking a burden on her body because she is struggling with the weight of her ring and the difficulty she has pulling the ivory needle. She has practiced this trade all her life and wants to make one last lively master piece that will live on after her, unchanged, even when she is gone.

Richard Cory  pg# 327-328 poem #271

This poem uses lots of repetition of the phrase "and he...". This helps the reader see all of the wonderful things Richard Cory appeared to be. "And he was always quietly arrayed, and he was always human when he talked...and he glittered when he walked and he was rich". This all helps add to the splendor of the man Richard Cory. It shows his disposition, posture, status and his grandness. This helps add an image in the readers mind of a great man. Also the listing of the things those not of Richard Cory's status add to the drama of those beneath him. "So on we worked, and waited for the light, and went without the meant, and cursed the bread", this listing of activities the common people do show what type of life they lived. These people had to work for what they had and didn't enjoy any luxuries. This makes the reader pity those who are not Richard Cory.

I interpreted this poem as how someone of grand status may seem to have everything but be very unhappy. It shows how things aren't always as good as they seem, and status and money cannot buy happiness. Those below Richard Cory struggled throughout their life to work and to get simple things such as food, but we're better off then Richard Cory because they were happier.

"The Handmaid's Tale"

A.) Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” deals with the theme of extremist views. In this novel Offred lives in a society where she is oppressed by male figures and simply used as a Handmaid. Her sole purpose in life is to provide her Commander with a child. She must wear a long red dress, with a bonnet concealing her face and hair. She cannot talk to most members of society, wear any make up or posses any beauty products, keep her own child, or have a relationship with any man. She only has so many years to produce a child before she is thrown out of the society to the “colonies” because she is unfit to have a child. Offred must be the sterile one because in this society only female’s can be sterile. No blame is on the commander. The women are seen as unfit to read, write, or do anything other than produce children. She is simply a walking uterus with no other purpose in life.  Offred is not happy at all, wanting her daughter and lover back from the old times when society didn’t oppress her. This goes to show how extremist views of the inferiority of women led to oppression and unhappiness of most of the women in society. Offred cannot fulfill her wants and desires because she is a woman. Her actions are very limited. Women cannot make advancements in society or be happy and independent. No society should limit the actions of someone because of their sex. Many great lives will be lost and wasted because some women are just unfit to have children, but could have made other great advancements for the world that this society will not allow them to do.

B.) “Right in front of us the van pulls up. Two Eyes, in gray suits, leap from the opening double doors at the back. They grab a man who is walking along, a man with a briefcase, and ordinary looking man, slam him back against the back side of the van…then one of the Eyes moves in on him, does something sharp and brutal and doubles him over, into a limp cloth bundle.  They pick him up and heave him back into the back of the van…It’s over, in seconds, and the traffic on the street resumes as if nothing happened. What I feel is relief. It wasn’t me (Atwood 169-170). This is my favorite passage from the novel because it shows the horror of being grabbed by and Eye at any moment and being killed. The fear in Offred is so enormous that she becomes paranoid that it could have been her. It is not a rare sight in this society to see people brutally murdered one second and the other second society resuming normally. People of this society learn not to ask questions because they will never really know the truth of why the poor man was suddenly killed. People are picked off for saying too much or for other reasons unknown. This fear of being next is what keeps people of society in line so they do not act out.

c.) I loved this novel because of the intensity of feelings that Offred has. I felt as if she was personally telling me her horrific story and the struggles she had. The book was complicated, but interesting enough that I was willing to re-read things to be able to correctly follow it. I like that the ending is left open for the reader to believe what they want about the outcome of Offred. Also it cleverly shows how extremist views are no good for society because of the oppression and unhappiness people must deal with.  

"We"

A.)   The novel “We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin deals with the idea of freedom of choice.D-503 must conform to society by doing the correct acts at the correct time. D-503 cannot make his own choices regarding his own wants. When D-503 meets I-330, he becomes obsessed with her. D-503 cannot go visit I-330 whenever he pleases because he must have a government issued pink slip to do so. He also cannot have I-330 to himself because he does not have a choice in who gets to see I-330, since the government controls the pink slips. D-503 solely focuses on anything to bring him to I-330 which includes breaking the laws of OneState which could lead to his death. For the first time, D-503 has struggled with wants that go against the perfect daily schedule of OneState. He no longer wants to abide by the rules of OneState because D-503 feels the need to be with I-330 all the time. This lack of choice to do so eventually drives D-503 to his breaking point, with him being caught by OneState for operations to interfere with the Integral. In the end D-503 has the “Great Operation” removing his imagination and control of choice.

                I believe that everyone should have a choice to do what they wish to. No government should control every action and want a person has. The ideology of OneState has too much government control in the daily lives of people that people no longer get to make their own choices to fulfill their own wants.

B.)  “At the first pass some ten or so Numbers from our hangar were caught napping beneath the engine exhaust---absolutely nothing was left of them but some sort of crumbs and soot. I’m proud to note down here that this did not cause a second’s hitch in the rhythm of our work…Innumerate pity is a thing known only to the ancients; to us its funny” (Zamyatin 104).  This is my favorite quote from the book because it shows the lack of individuality and emotion the people of OneState have. Everything is so impersonal that no one in the society cares if 10 of the people they work with were killed in a tragic fuel exhaust fire.  No one in the society even flinched. It did not slow the work down at all. This shows how important work is and how the lives of people don’t matter and can easily be replaced by others. This is alarming to me because it makes the people of OneState seem like robots with no emotions or care for other peoples’ lives. This is so different from our society today because even if one person dies, so many lives are affected and so many hurt. If 10 people tragically died today so many more people would be hurt and upset that it would be mourned and known by many.

C.) I liked this work for the creative expression of how too much government and no control over ones own life can really destroy a society. People need to keep things personal and control their own emotions for life to continue on as we know it now. I disliked this work because of the difficult writing style skipping from flashbacks, the present and crazy thoughts of D-503. At some points this book was difficult to follow because so many things were going on. All in all I believe “We” teaches valuable lessons about conformity, choice, and freedom.