A Comparison of Seamus Heaney's Mid-Term Break and Digging
I am comparing two poems by Seamus Heaney- `Mid-Term Break` and
`Digging`. Both of the poems are written about his childhood and his
family.
The first poem I analysed was `Mid-Term Break`, where the simple and
straight forward title `Break` caught my attention suggesting to me
that this poem is going to be a positive experience, a break from
work, a time to relax.
The commencing stanza, the first line reads, ?I sat all morning in the
college sick bay?, which has connotation of depression, illness and
suffering suggested from the word `sick`. Also with the reference to
college the reader gathers that the boy is in his late teens. Second
line, ?Counting bells knelling classes to a close?, the word
`knelling` in that line is associated with funerals and death so we
get the feeling that something might be wrong and gather a sense of
foreboding at what is to come. The final line, ?At two o?clock our
neighbours drove me home?, is unusual, why are his neighbours driving
him home and not his parents? The question why are his parents driving
him home this increases the sense of foreboding. Also there is falling
rhythm in this stanza.
In the second stanza, the line begins, ?In the porch I met my father
crying?, and this confirms to the reader that something is wrong, that
something tragic has happened. The second line mentions that he takes
`funerals` in his stride, so that says to me that he?s attended quite
a lot of funerals even though he?s not that old. The final line, ?And
Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow?, leads me to believe that Big
Jim Evans is a close friend and also that he is quite large suggested
by the adjective `Big` to descri...
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...o poems `Mid-Term Break` and `Digging` are both good poems,
which are both about families. `Mid-Term Break` is about when he
leaves college and returns home to find out the news about his little
brother. `Digging` is about his grandfather and how he?s getting old
and finding work difficult, so both poems are about family, but quite
different circumstances. The layout of the two poems is very
different. `Mid-Term Break` being very straight forward, just having
three lines to each stanza and `Digging` being completely opposite and
following no strategic pattern.
Overall I think that `Mid-Term Break` is a better poem, as I find it
more serious and was personally more effective by this poem due to it
being quite sad talking about his brother and that last line, ?A four
foot box, a foot for every year?, which is a very emotional last line
to finish a poem.
The quests for gold at the end of the rainbow, the hopes of thousands to one day live the fabled American Dream. Worldwide, everyone who is capable looks for their chance to strike it rich. Some of the most successful people today, such as Apple’s Steve Jobs and OK! Magazine’s Richard Desmond, have risen from tough backgrounds (Serafina). Growing up in abject poverty, these individuals found ways to push past the glass ceiling in their respective fields. Interestingly, many of them share similar obstacles on their way to the top.
A Comparison of Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney and Patrolling Barnegat by Walt Whitman
Jerome David Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is based on the life events shaping main character, Holden Caulfield, into the troubled teen that is telling the story in 1950. The theme of the story is one of emotional disconnection felt by the alienated teenagers of this time period. The quote, “ I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear thinking and all” (Salinger 4) sets the tone that Holden cannot find a connection with anyone around him and that he is on a lonely endeavor in pursuit of identity, acceptance and legitimacy. The trials and failures that Holden faces on his journey to find himself in total shed light on Holden’s archenemy, himself.
Symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye", published in 1951, is his best piece of work. The story is about a sixteen-year-old young man by the name of Holden Caulfield. Holden is being expelled from Pency Prep and decides to leave three days early. He chooses not to go home, enabling his parents to receive the letter that his headmaster at Pency Prep wrote to his parents about his expulsion. He chooses to hang around in New York until Wednesday, when he is going to be able to return home.
“If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's.” (Joseph Campbell). Every character walks through an astringent journey throughout their lifetimes. This journey can be viewed as the Hero’s Journey. Undertaking the journey of the hero can elevate the character achievement. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye--Holden Caulfield with no exception undergoes the journey. Holden’s journey ventures beyond what he is able to endure, forcing him into the unknown territory. Holden received the quest call to adventure, and responded to the call for the journey when he left Pencey prep school. Holden accepted the call, faced his challenges struggling through hardships and oppression, with helps from the guidance, he then eventually returned to his comfortable world with a tremendous intellect and physical transformation giving a closure to his journey.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
Everyone has their own perception on what defines a hero; some may argue that they exhibit characteristics such as honesty or courage, while others may think that heroes have special power. Our society may have changed the values in which we associate heroes with, but one thing seems to have never changed: the main character of the book turns out as the hero. In my analyst, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye, is put on trial as we see through our own eyes how Caulfield can not be considered a hero in modern society.
In Seamus Heaney’s poetry, there is a recurring theme of his talking of the past, and more predominantly about significant moments in time, where he came to realisations that brought him to adulthood. In “Death of a Naturalist” Heaney describes a moment in his childhood where he learnt that nature was not as beautiful as seem to be when he was just a naive child. Heaney does this on a deeper level in “Midterm Break” describes his experience of his younger brothers funeral and the mixed, confusing feelings he encountered, consequently learning that he no longer was a child, and had no choice but to be exposed to reality. Robert Frost in one sense also describes particular moments in time, where his narrator comes to realisations. However, Frost writes more indirectly than Heaney, and all together more metaphorically. In “A Leaf Treader” he symbolically talks about life and death through the autumn season. He does the same, in “The Road Not Taken” where the two roads are described to be a metaphor for the decisions one makes in life, and the inevitable regrets we face due to those decisions. In “Stopping by a Woods on a Snowy Evening” Frost directly talks directly of a moment in time, however the significant meaning being that in life one needs a moment of solace to appreciate peace and beauty.
Statistics believe that eleven percent of peoples in the entire world is currently facing depression and anxiety. These two famous character have a strong connection with eleven percent of the world population. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer main character has similar view of society and challenges. Holden Caulfield and Chris McCandless suffered from depression and despair. However, they have very distinctive characteristics and personalities. Holden Caulfield is a teenager that always assumes society is full of phonies. Chris McCandless is an educated person with a college degree and wanted to be free from the ugliness of society and their way of life. Caulfield’s thoughts and opinions about society
over by a car. The main part of the poem is set in the family home,
Protected by a cocoon of naiveté, Holden Caulfield, the principal character in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, therapeutically relates his lonely 24 hour stay in downtown New York city, experiencing the "phony" adult world while dealing with the death of his innocent younger brother. Through this well-developed teenage character, JD Salinger, uses simple language and dialogue to outline many of the complex underlying problems haunting adolescents. With a unique beginning and ending, and an original look at our new society, The Catcher in the Rye is understood and appreciated on multiple levels of comprehension. The book provides new insights and a fresh view of the world in which adolescents live.
The NFL is known for its gruesome de-cleating hits on players, but the rising number of concussions has stripped players from being able to make these types of plays anymore! After the 2011 lawsuit, the NFL realized that new player safety rules had to be enforced into the NFL rule book. Rules such as no crown on crown to the helmet outside the tackle box have taken away the element of “big hits” in a football game. 1Redskin’s safety Brandon Meriwether was fined $42,000 for a helmet to helmet hit on Packer’s running back Eddie Lacey. Thank God for technology, because back in the 40’s they played football with leather a helmet. Also the NFL stated a new rule that each NFL team has to have a neurologist placed on the sideline for every official game. Jet’s player Jeremy Kerley suffered from a mind boggling week one injury. Kerley passed the mandatory concussion evaluation and soon after returns to the team. Suddenly, the following same day Jeremy was diagnosed with a concussion. I agree with the saying taking one the team, but playing with a concussion is like playing with fire. Some big hitters in the NFL are viewed as dirty players because of their bone crushing tackles. A lot of coaches like to blame big hits for the fact of...
Robert Ackley is an absolute slob who is excruciatingly irritating as well, yet Holden is still friendly with him, unlike most of the other boys from Pencey. This is most likely because Holden is very lonely in his dorm and will take any company he can get and also because Holden is actually a kind-hearted young man. When Holden and his friend Mal are going out to watch a movie, Holden asks Ackley to come and join them because he felt sorry for him, “I asked was because Ackley never did anything on Saturday night, except stay in his room and squeeze his pimples or something” (Salinger 41). Holden is compassionate when he invited Ackley, simply because he did not want Ackley to be lonely on a Saturday night. Even though Holden is troubled in
A. Subpoint: Many people do not like to focus on the violent nature of the game. Big hits and tackles are frequently praised and seen on top plays. But there are too many cases where these big hits result in serious concussions.
death is of the way the poet feels about the frogs. In the first verse