There is a fine line between right and wrong. One that most, if not all, people cannot see due to the graying of the line. Something that may seem wrong to one person, may be the right thing for another, due to different perspectives. Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “The Fish,” and William Stafford’s poem “Traveling through the Dark,” both prove that choices are made based off the setting, tone, perspective, and reasoning. Bishop’s poem and Stafford’s poem have very contrasting settings. “Traveling through the dark” takes place in a dark, lonely road; closer to the woods rather than a populated area. Judging by this setting, the reader can almost guess what is going to happen at the end of the story. On the other hand, Bishop’s poem takes on a more …show more content…
As stated previously, the poems hold opposing ideas and the tone to both poems is no different. However, both poems happen to take on a similar tone as well as a contrasting one. Initially, Stafford’s poem starts off with a somber tone, by referring to death and describing the darkness of the scene. With only the tail-light shining and the cold, stiffened doe lying dead on the floor the reader is left to feel the darkness of the scene (lines 5&6). Although the speaker finds it no big deal to roll the deer off of the cliff, the tone switches to contemplative when he has to decide whether to save the fawn or not. Accordingly, Bishop’s poem also takes on this contemplative tone throughout most of the story. The speaker in Bishop’s poem tells the readers that “[they] admired his sullen face” (line 45). By describing the appearance of the fish the speaker not only shows the decision being made, but also its admiration towards the fish, giving the poem a more reverent …show more content…
However, one could argue that the speaker in Stafford’s poem was doing the right thing for the prevention of the next person about to hit a deer on that same road. The speaker in Stafford’s poem reasons that it’s best to roll the deer off the road and into the canyon due to the road being narrow. This makes swerving not the best decision, for it could create more deaths that are not all animal related (lines 3-4). The same could be said for Bishop’s poem regarding the decision the fisher makes on whether to keep the fish or set it free. The fisher’s intentions of getting on the boat and fishing gives the reader the impression that they are there to catch fish, whether to eat or sell. Imagine being in the speaker’s position, seeing the fish that “[looked] battered and venerable” (line 8) and basically torn to shreds from facing many attempts of being captured. The fact that the speaker took in the fish’s state tells the reader that they took into consideration the consequences of both
In Craig Lesley’s novel The Sky Fisherman, he illustrates the full desire of direction and the constant flow of life. A boy experiences a chain of life changing series of events that cause him to mature faster than a boy should. Death is an obstacle that can break down any man, a crucial role in the circle of life. It’s something that builds up your past and no direction for your future. No matter how hard life got, Culver fought through the pain and came out as a different person. Physical pain gives experience, emotional pain makes men.
William Faulkner overwhelms his audience with the visual perceptions that the characters experience, making the reader feel utterly attached to nature and using imagery how a human out of despair can make accusations. "If I jump off the porch I will be where the fish was, and it all cut up into a not-fish now. I can hear the bed and her face and them and I can...
On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the most expensive hurricane in American history, made landfall in Louisiana with winds of one hundred and twenty-seven miles per hour (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts”). The sheer magnitude of the amount of lives and property lost was enormous, and it was triggered simply by warm ocean waters near the Bahamas ("How Hurricane Katrina Formed"). Nature was indifferent to whether the raging winds and rain would die off in the ocean or wipe out cities; it only follows the rules of physics. A multitude of American authors has attempted to give accounts and interpretations of their encounters with the disinterested machine that is nature. Two authors, Stephen Crane and Henry David Thoreau, had rather contrasting and conflicting interpretations of their own interactions with nature. Crane’s work, “The Open Boat,” is story based on his experience as a survivor
Kinnell picks a certain style to write his poem. Of all the forms, he chooses to write The Bear with as little words as possible. Through this method, the poet manages to incorporate that like the verses of the poem, life is short. Also, Kinnell makes his poem more realistic by putting us in the driver’s seat. He writes the poem in first person, constantly using the word “I”. First person perspective allows the reader to connect faster than a third person would. We begin to picture our self in the situation and allow our imagination to think like the hunter. By using enjambment, repetition, and short phrases he keeps the poem spontaneous. This allows the reader to quickly visualize events in the poem to help show events that happened within the poem, but not in too much detail that our interest is lost. For example, in the first four lines the poet writes, “In l...
Each literary work portrays something different, leaving a unique impression on all who read that piece of writing. Some poems or stories make one feel happy, while others are more solemn. This has very much to do with what the author is talking about in his or her writing, leaving a bit of their heart and soul in the work. F. Scott Fitzgerald, when writing The Great Gatsby, wrote about the real world, yet he didn’t paint a rosy picture for the reader. The same can be said about T.S. Eliot, whose poem “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock,” presents his interpretation of hell. Both pieces of writing have many similarities, but the most similar of them all is the tone of each one.
People make simple decisions every day: what time to get up, what clothes to wear, what book to read. However, we don’t usually stop to think deeply about those small choices. In the poem “I Go Back To The House For A Book” by Billy Collins, the narrator goes back to his house for something to read at the doctor’s office. However, another part of him does not go back to the house, and instead that part just sets off on his way. At first glance the poem may seem humorous and lighthearted or simply an unrealistic take on the repercussions of a small decision. However, author Billy Collins uses word choice in “I Go Back To The House For a Book” to force both the narrator and reader to grapple with difficult questions of true personality, mortality,
“One merit of poetry few persons will deny: it says more and in fewer words than prose.” Said by Voltaire can describe the two poems, Seventeen by Andrew Hudgins and Traveling through the Dark by William Stafford. Both poems are written in a prose fashion but mean so much more than the written words. At a glance, the poems both seem to be about the tragic deaths of animals; however, the poems differ in their themes of growing up in Seventeen and the intermixing of technology with man and nature in Traveling through the Dark.
Our journey starts in the year 1853 with four Scandinavian indentured servants who are very much slaves at the cold and gloomy headquarters of the Russian-American fur-trading company in Sitka, Alaska. The story follows these characters on their tortuous journey to attempt to make it to the cost of Astoria, Oregon. Our list of characters consists of Melander, who is very much the brains of the operation as he plans the daring escape from the Russians. Next to join the team was Karlson, who was chosen by Melander because he is a skilled canoeman and knows how to survive in the unforgiving landscape of the Pacific Northwest. Third was Braaf, he was chosen because of his ability to steal and hide things, which made him a very valuable asset to the teams escape. Last to join our team is Wennberg who we know is a skilled blacksmith who happens to hear about their plan and forces himself into the equation.
The way that the speaker relays the message almost gives the sense of giving up, instead of the image of fighting and protectiveness that is portrayed in “Birdsong Interpreted.” The speaker discusses how the armadillos “collide with a ton of moving metal” (6-7), “They’re on my daily route” (8), and that “there are too damned many” (13-14). These lines show that armadillos die on a regular basis as a result of human activity, yet there are too many right now in order for people to take action. The speaker goes on to say that “when we’re down to the last half dozen” (18) the people will begin to care and take action to save the armadillos. This seems to provide the image of defeat, and that the speaker will just have to wait until it is almost too late for any action to be taken. While both poems provide images on death, “Dead Armadillos” provides an image of hopelessness and defeat with the armadillos who constantly "collide with a ton of moving metal" (7) and a lack of "Save the Armadillo Society(s)" (11-12), while “Birdsong Interpreted” provides the image of putting up a fight in order to protect
The poet seems to share the same pain with the fish, observing the scene and enjoying the detail just like enjoying an artwork. The poet lets the fish go because she is totally touched by the process between life and death; she loves life but, meanwhile, is deeply hurt by the life. In the poem, the fish has no fear towards her; the desire to live is in the moving and tragic details when she faces the death.
“Traveling Through the Dark" is one of the most famous poems by William Stafford. In brief, it is about a dead deer’s body, which was found on the edge of Wilson River. He got out of the car and walked over to the deer. The poet thought that it was best to roll the body into the canyon. When he dragged her, he found out she was pregnant, and her fawn was still alive inside her but never to be born. After that, an inner conflict started in the poet's mind until he chose to push her into the river and get her out of the road.
This poem is divided into six stanzas with four lines each. The poem opens with “When the black snake flashed on the morning road” (1-2). The narrator uses “when” to signify the beginning of the story and introduces the snake as the main character. Labeling the snake as “black” gives it a dark and sinister appeal. The word “flashed” is used to demonstrate how fast the snake moved, and how quickly this event occurred. “Morning” is applied to the time of day that this event occurred. The narrator sees the snake quickly flash across the road. This sets up the scene in our minds. The “truck could not swerve” (3) implies that this was an accidental death. The poet uses “truck” to suggest a big vehicle that is unable to make quick moves or sudden stops. The narrator sees the snake flash across the road, into the path of a big truck that is unable to stop or swerve. “Death, that is how it happens” (4). The word “death” is italicized, emphasizing its importance. The p...
In the story "The Open Boat," by Stephen Crane, Crane uses many literary techniques to convey the stories overall theme. The story is centered on four men: a cook, a correspondent, Billie, an oiler who is the only character named in the story, and a captain. They are stranded in a lifeboat in stormy seas just off the coast of Florida, just after their ship has sunk. Although they can eventually see the shore, the waves are so big that it is too dangerous to try to take the boat in to land. Instead, the men are forced to take the boat further out to sea, where the waves are not quite as big and dangerous. They spend the night in the lifeboat and take turns rowing and then resting. In the morning, the men are weak and exhausted. The captain decides that they must try to take the lifeboat as close to shore as possible and then be ready to swim when the surf inevitably turns the boat over and throws the men into the cold sea. As they get closer to land a big wave comes and all the men are thrown into the sea. The lifeboat turns over and the four men must swim into shore. There are rescuers waiting on shore who help the men out of the water. Strangely, as the cook, captain and correspondent reach the shore safely and are helped out of the water, they discover that, somehow, the oiler has drowned after being smashed in the surf by a huge wave. (255-270) “The Open Boat’s” main theme deals with a character’s seemingly insignificant life struggle against nature’s indifference. Crane expresses this theme through a suspenseful tone, creative point of view, and a mix of irony.
“The Open Boat” is short tale of endurance, suffering, and redemption. The story focuses on four interesting sailors on a journey towards survival. They try their best to overcome the adversities of the water and raging storm. Crane focuses on the constant struggle of man’s immobility to control his own life. “The Open Boat” is a nonfictional fiction some call it. It typically is argued as only fiction, but many lean toward its nonfictional quality. Crane wrote the story based off his real life experience of a shipwreck he tragically endured. The Commodore, the name of the ship, was the victim of the waves and Crane just so happened to be one of its friends. He wrote 2 articles based on this tragedy, but “The Open Boat” became the best way for him to make people visualize his struggle. The correspondent is the fictional form of the writer himself. Crane did not focus on the correspondent as much as the oiler. Billy Higgins is the only character in the short story that is named in the story. The oiler is named due to Crane’s remembrance of the sailor’s death. “The Open Boat” itself introduces all these thoughts and facts in one setting. “The Open Boat” has forms of analysis through patterns of characterizations, shipwrecks, and autobiographical information.
Death is important to both poems because it expresses each character’s reaction and the importance of accepting death. If you don’t you’ll be grieving and angry for a long time. Both poems tie in with each other due to this, but are different because the characters reacted differently.