Turtles and Humans: Staying Strong amidst Tribulations in Kay Ryan’s Poem “Turtle”

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Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines, characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield (Turtle). This reptile is the object in Kay Ryan’s poem entitled “Turtle”. Kay Ryan makes a remarkable observation of a turtle. Along with her observation is the relation of a turtle’s daily life to the life of a human being. Despite the heavy shell that it carries around, the turtle proves to be a very strong animal because it never chooses to give up on the load that it carries, and when the readers face complexities in life, they must adapt the attitude that the turtle possesses.

The speaker asks at the beginning of the poem, “Who would be a turtle who could help it?” a question which suggests that everyone will pass through hardships in this life (Ryan, 1). No one is exempt from tribulations. Readers will have to face problems that will test them and their strength to endure. Difficulties in life may vary for every person in every age. Readers at times, when faced with a hardship, easily give up. The speaker is aware of this fact. She then continues with this line, “A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet” (Ryan, 2). Readers are weighed down by their difficulties in life causing them to lose hope and not push forward. To compare the readers’ situation to the turtle’s situation, readers only have to carry their burden for a short time while the turtles carry their heavy shell all their lives. While facing the challenges that we have in our lives, we sometimes have to take some chances even though these risks may sometimes be out of our league. The speaker has made the statement that the risks may be out of our league in her words, “She can ill afford the chances she must ...

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...h challenges. The turtle never gives up its “load of pottery” (Ryan, 13). Instead, it carries its shell with “patience” (Ryan, 14). Trials may come in different aspects of the readers’ life. It may also come in different magnitudes. Nevertheless, readers should always remember that they should be strong. If readers maintain a positive attitude about the challenges that they face, they will be much more capable of enduring the trials that will come along their way. An article of beauty such as a diamond displays the previous statement. Before they ever turned into a diamond, they were pure carbon found beneath the earth. Through undergoing immense amounts of pressure for millions of years, they are slowly turned from a black rock to a sparkling diamond. It is the same with the readers undergoing tribulations will polish and release the real beauty that they possess.

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