Across the Western Ocean “Across the Western Ocean” is an American folk song arranged by composer Celius Dougherty. Although the song is American, the lyrics of the song detail the dangerous voyage the Irish immigrants of the early-to-mid 19th century had to undertake to come to the United States. “Across the Western Ocean” was arranged by Dougherty in 1948, and published in his compilation “Five Sea-Chanties” (“Five Sea Chanties”). “Across the Western Ocean” tells the tale of immigrants who have sailed to the United States from Ireland in search of a better life and promises of wealth, prosperity and gold. Although the era the song’s lyrics reference is uncertain, certain lines like “the times are hard and the wages low” likely refer to
Imagine, if only for a moment ‘being on an old soggy fishing boat that creaked and moaned as it rose and fell, rose and fell, across the
Seafarer” is a monologue from an old man at sea, alone. The main theme in The Seafarer is
Nasht’s depiction of Frank Hurley’s journey into Antarctica raises the importance of discovering new ideas and values which shape his journey as an “odyssey”, a classical allusion to Homer’s epic poem, His journey of discovery challenges many assumptions and questions Hurley’s society had sought represented by epic film music and indirect interviews to portray the feeling of excitement and adventure, portraying an assumption that discovery can lead to new experiences and new worlds. Nasht’s juxtaposition of Hurley’s dramatic archival footage to the modern recreation of the journey evokes a sense of excitement and a change in beliefs, where previously people didn’t know what adventure felt like. Images of large and grand icebergs signify a new sense of discovery in an uncharted world which becomes important to those on the ship, Endurance knowing that they are risking their lives to experience the nature of the world that no one has even sought and being the first to answer the challengers of discovering and exploring new worlds and experiences. The clever synthesis from shifts of Elephant Island to Hurley’s daughters provokes a sense of discovering something personal, as “the places he explored left a mark on him and his photography”, where Hurley’s daughters rediscover their father’s experiences. The daughters are overwhelmed by the desolation of the ice and space, which becomes significant for them, as they relive the memories and the experience of their father when he journeyed to
This poem captures the immigrant experience between the two worlds, leaving the homeland and towards the new world. The poet has deliberately structured the poem in five sections each with a number of stanzas to divide the different stages of the physical voyage. Section one describes the refugees, two briefly deals with their reason for the exodus, three emphasises their former oppression, fourth section is about the healing effect of the voyage and the concluding section deals with the awakening of hope. This restructuring allows the poet to focus on the emotional and physical impact of the journey.
Alistair Macleod’s “The Boat” is a tale of sacrifice, and of silent struggle. A parent’s sacrifice not only of their hopes and dreams, but of their life. The struggle of a marriage which sees two polar opposites raising a family during an era of reimagining. A husband embodying change and hope, while making great sacrifice; a wife gripped in fear of the unknown and battling with the idea of losing everything she has ever had. The passage cited above strongly presents these themes through its content
The ocean is mysterious to mankind. The unfathomable vastness of the ocean intrigues humanity into exploring it. In life, the immense possibilities that lie in the future compel us to reach for the stars. In the poem “The Story” by Karen Connelly, an individual willingly swims into deep waters even though they are fearful of what may exist in the waters. The swimmer later finds out that their fears were foolish, which illustrates the human tendency to venture into the unknown. The theme conveyed in this poem is that life is like a rough, uncertain, uncontrollable ocean that we must find get through with experience.
of the American Dream. They travel west hoping to escape less than perfect lives and pursue success in
the Landing of the Pilgrims to the Close of the Civil War, 1620-1865”Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 18, No.2. (Accessed January 30, 2012).
As this passage commences, Chopin, through Edna’s thoughts, describes the seemingly endless sea that presents itself before her. Edna, through personification, shows the intimacy of her relationship with both nature and the sea. This large, “[…] never ceasing […]” (Chopin 139) body of water has entranced and enthralled Edna to the point where she is now beginning to see this natural element that amazes her so much as the only option left to her in life. Chopin reveals these intentions to the reader by describing the sea as “[…] inviting the soul to wander in the abyss of solitude” (Chopin 139). The word abyss in itself leaves the reader the impression of a mysterious place in which one might not return from; and it is later implied that Edna accepts this sensuous invitation from the sea.
Beryl Markham’s West with the Night is a collection of anecdotes surrounding her early life growing up as a white girl in British imperialist Africa, leading up to and through her flight across the Atlantic Ocean from East to West, which made her the first woman to do so successfully. Throughout this memoir, Markham exhibits an ache for discovery, travel, and challenge. She never stays in one place for very long and cannot bear the boredom of a stagnant lifestyle. One of the most iconic statements that Beryl Markham makes in West with the Night is: I have learned that if you must leave a place that you have lived in and loved and where all your yesteryears are buried deep, leave it any way except a slow way, leave it the fastest way you can. Never turn back and never believe that an hour you remember is a better hour because it is dead.
Many readers would argue that Edna finds this niche in her seaside vacation home on Grand Isle. To Edna, the sea is a wide expanse of opportunity and liberation from the constricting socialite world of French Quarter New Orleans. Chopin's lavish descriptions of the sea give us an insight into its powerful effect on Edna:
Throughout the story the ocean represented Edna's constant struggle for self-realization and independence. From her first flow of emotion on the beach to her last breath of life in the sea, the ocean beckons her. The voice of the sea lures her onward in her journey toward liberation and empowerment.
The Seafarer highlites the transience of wordly joys which are so little important and the fact thet we have no power in comparison to God.
John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row” shows how people living there dealt with the hardships brought by the Great Depression. Steinbeck set his novel in the 1930’s in Cannery Row, California. The canneries are an integral part of the fish industry and Steinbeck makes the ailing American economy a critical part of everyone’s lives in his novel. He show how different characters, with different points of view with the exact same situation.
Starting at the West coast, a strong Asian influence can be heard in many West-Canadian compositions. These are extremely powerful in the works of Alexina Louie. She blends together themes from both traditional Chinese music, and from Western-Americas. Her works represents pan-ethnicity in music, and so it is a fa...