Man And Camel Analysis

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One of the few inescapable happenings in life is death. The perception of death is similar to the end of an era, a full revolution, and an inescapable enigma. Over the centuries, many civilizations have searched for their own death and every attempt has been riddled with failure. However, the quest for eternal life often includes a desire to stop aging. By living past normal life expectancy--with youthful attributes and energy, a lengthened life may equate to greater accomplishments, prominent prestige, and a lasting legacy. Eternal youth may also mean never maturing or reaching full potential. Author Mark Strand emphasizes elusive youth and immortality in his poem “Man and Camel” by utilizing rhetorical and literary devices to exploit the …show more content…

An author must establish a level of credibility to the audience for a sense of trust to believably cement the two parties, and Mark Strand seems uncaring in the audience’s lack of trust. A skilled and effective writer must believe the audience will accept his ideas, whimsical or possible as they might appear. Consequently, the audience must believe the writer trusts them enough to tell the truth--or some version of the truth, even if it is a concept solely believed by the author. The author wants the audience believe in him and the audience conversely wants to believe. “Man and Camel” initially establishes a trustworthy setting of a porch on the outskirts of town as well as a plausible cast of characters. Furthermore, a man and a camel could realistically travel together. Later actions confuse the audience, as near the end the couple is depicted “galloping” and initially are depicting having “drifted up the street”(Strand, line 5), which the reader must interpret literally based upon content provided. Unlike theater, the audience cannot truly practice suspension of disbelief because the writing is on a more personal level. Author Mark Strand convinces the audience believe in a logical idea by juxtaposing illogical characters and

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