Nate Marshall’s “palindrome” absolutely neglects the use of chronological and linear time to convey the story of a romance that seemingly continues to haunt the speaker in the present. Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks, a Pulitzer Prize Award winning drama, demonstrates the struggle of two low-income African American siblings who rely on a card game, as much as each other to survive. Both works of literature, the poem and the play, assume that the protagonists in each are destined to entrap themselves in a cycle that inevitably repeats or recalls the mistakes of their pasts. In this paper I will explain how the role of nostalgia, amidst other outside factors, develops a conscious naturalism within the characters that influences their desire …show more content…
for practices and experiences that are familiar to them, even when it does not appear to be directly sought after. The title of the poem itself presents the notion of a known pattern; particularly a pattern which repeats itself in the reverse direction. “palindrome” begins in the present day, where the speaker dissects the social media profile of an estranged childhood lover he once had. As he continues his exploration of the profile and begins to reflect, the tone of the poem hints at a sense of reminiscence and even regret. The sentence structures and the transition verbs, in particular, that the author chooses to incorporate into the text help reveal this tone as a result of the order in which the events occur in the speaker’s memory. The mere nature of words such as “unabort[ing]”, “unresembl[ing]”, “unmeet[ing]”, and “unlearn[ing]” exemplify the reminiscent quality that the speaker wishes he could experience again (“palindrome” 3, 5, 19, 24). These events and past occurrences are ancient recollections that he is not ready to give up; and this unprepared state of being that the speaker finds himself entranced in is the indication of the naturalistic cycle. It is evident that the fundamental essence of this piece of literature is the stimulating and provocative memory of a romance that causes the speaker to reflect on his past.
Still, the authentic motivation that drives this persona to want to recreate and improve all of the events that seemingly fade away from his memory over the course of the poem is nostalgia and the power that it imposes, in this case by means of regret. The relationship between the speaker and his lover appeared to be afflicted with struggles, as observed from the lines “the weight of her” which he had to deal with, and the previous incident of him “forgetting her phone number” (“palindrome” 8, 9-10). Nevertheless, the affection that the speaker claims to feel for the girl is profound, as she remains in his memory in a foreign fashion, where her name “flips on a page, or in [his] mouth” and the speaker realizes that “[he] never knew words could do that” (“palindrome” 26-27). It seems as though here is an artificial sense of love or attraction that the speaker conjures up as he looks back into the past, which links him to this memory of his first romance. Subsequently, there also appears to be an absence that exists and a void that has been left unfilled, which influences his thoughts and emotions. All in all, the fact that the speaker remains absorbed by the presence of this female in his life perpetuates the notion that nostalgia triggers his emotions’ chronic and cyclical …show more content…
occurrences. Parks’ play, similarly to Nate Marshall’s “palindrome”, places emphasis on the idea of naturalism, in this case quite explicitly, specifically by naming the title characters after historical figures who are largely remembered by the mythologies of their lives.
Parks takes these mythologies to recount the story of a retired scam artist who eventually finds his way back to the game that ends his life. Throughout the development of the plot it is clear that there are challenges that both characters face, and as a consequence of those challenges it seems as though their struggles only continue to worsen. For example, actions and incidents, such as being thrown out of his home by his wife and being replaced by a mannequin for his occupation, prove to test Lincoln’s willpower as well as reinforce his dependency on his brother. By focusing exclusively on Lincoln, the argument that his fate is a product of nostalgia towards his less complicated past is evident in the play. Lincoln chooses to return to the game because of factors that proved to be too problematic for him to remain afloat as things were, and in doing so he consciously availed himself to the destiny that the historical events already had in
place. Although persistent, Lincoln is subconsciously reminded of the lifestyle that he once lived throughout the play because of the recurrence of the card game as portrayed by Booth. The first time that it is made evident that Lincoln does in fact miss it is when he performs the shuffle or “patter” when he believes that there is no one present in the apartment. While Lincoln does admit he “still got [his] moves. Still got [his] touch”, the crucial source of nostalgia is established within the stage directions (Parks 56). Parks includes the following directions as a way of revealing the fact that Lincoln’s words do not necessarily reflect his feelings or his actions; for example, when she compares him to an alcoholic due to the manner in which he studied the cards, or when she says “but then the game draws him in” (Parks 56). Brief, yet significant, these details signal the influence of the game, and more importantly his past connection to it, that ultimately disregards his previous reasoning for withholding from the con. The appeal for revenge also inspires Lincoln’s actions when he participates in the 3-card monte game, particularly as a result of feeling cheated by his employers. He felt that it was fair to go and do the same onto others, to punish them for “the larceny in their hearts” (Parks 74). In the end, this course of action directly results in his death and the completion of his cycle of naturalism, but the manner in which he arrived there was not inevitable. There were fundamental causes for his downfall, and his nostalgic views towards his past essentially guided him back to what he was familiar with.
Willa Cather’s use of sentimentality-inspiring diction creates a nostalgic memory of Jim’s childhood. Her words are very descriptive and immerse the reader in the scene and tone she
The poem is a combination of beauty and poignancy. It is a discovery in a trajectory path of rise and fall of human values and modernity. She is a sole traveler, a traveler apart in a literary romp afresh, tracing the thinning line of time and action.
Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet, “What lips my lips have kissed and where and why,” is about being, physically or mentally jaded, and thinking back to the torrid love of one’s youth. The “ghosts” that haunt her are the many lovers of her past; she’s specifically trying to remember them all. She recalls the passion she experienced and how there was a certain feeling within herself. Millay shows this through her vivid imagery, use of the rain as a literary device and by paralleling herself with a lonely tree.
Through this short story we are taken through one of Vic Lang’s memories narrated by his wife struggling to figure out why a memory of Strawberry Alison is effecting their marriage and why she won’t give up on their relationship. Winton’s perspective of the theme memory is that even as you get older your past will follow you good, bad or ugly, you can’t always forget. E.g. “He didn’t just rattle these memories off.” (page 55) and ( I always assumed Vic’s infatuation with Strawberry Alison was all in the past, a mortifying memory.” (page 57). Memories are relevant to today’s society because it is our past, things or previous events that have happened to you in which we remembered them as good, bad, sad, angry etc. memories that you can’t forget. Winton has communicated this to his audience by sharing with us how a memory from your past if it is good or bad can still have an effect on you even as you get older. From the description of Vic’s memory being the major theme is that it just goes to show that that your past can haunt or follow you but it’s spur choice whether you chose to let it affect you in the
...ccounts of memory are overflowing into one another and forming a panoramic picture of memory, in which the distinction between legend and history and between the personal and the cultural cannot operate any more. The plain he is watching over is not the land itself. Somewhere in it, a woman in a beautiful dress is buried without a tombstone. Even the "glare of noon and all the colors of the dawn and dusk" has its memory to be recollected. It is a landscape heavily loaded with the memory - both legend and history, both the personal and the cultural, which should be recollected and remembered. It is a "remembered earth," which "a man ought to concentrate his mind upon," "to look at it from as many angles as he can, to wonder about, to dwell upon it."
The poem states not clearly, but profoundly that all this pair needs is each other, and that this trip or journey to give a little old lady some much needed food and money is more of a joyous occasion simply because of the company of each other. This memory, this recollection, though it includes the mother, is not about her, it is about the pair travelling together and using the time to enjoy the little things in life; a ride on a ferry, time spent laying together on a moonlit hillside, watching the sun rise after a long night of travelling. Whatever it is truly about, the one thing most important to the author is the memory itself.
However there is an unexpected twist where the poet just calms down and thinks he can find love again. This shows the poet’s structure of the poem and how ... ... middle of paper ... ... ion and repetition. Another comparison between the two poems is we are both hearing the viewpoint from the poet not from anybody else.
'Recitatif', by Toni Morrison, is a profound narrative that I believe is meant to invite readers to search for a buried connotation of the experiences that the main characters, Twyla and Roberta, face as children and as they are reunited as adults. Some of the story?s values and meanings involving race, friendship and abandonment begin to emerge as the plot thickens; however, more messages become hidden and remain unrecognized, even until the very last sentence.
Poems are often designed to express deep feelings and thoughts about a particular theme. In Theodore Roethke’s poem, My Papa’s Waltz, and Ruth Whitman’s poem, Listening to grownups quarreling, the theme of childhood is conveyed through their details, although we can neither see a face nor hear a voice. These poems are very much alike in their ideas of how their memories pertain to the attitudes of their childhood; however, the wording and tones of the two poems are distinct in how they present their memories. The two poems can be compared and contrasted through the author’s use of tone, imagery, and recollection of events; which illustrate each author’s memories of childhood.
... overall themes, and the use of flashbacks. Both of the boys in these two poems reminisce on a past experience that they remember with their fathers. With both poems possessing strong sentimental tones, readers are shown how much of an impact a father can have on a child’s life. Clearly the two main characters experience very different past relationships with their fathers, but in the end they both come to realize the importance of having a father figure in their lives and how their experiences have impacted their futures.
The poem is about a man who takes the pain to describe his lover’s imperfections but despite them, proclaims how he loves her. The poem depicts a man trying to explore the inside of a woman to know her and everything around him change as the fall in love with her. The poet suggests that there is more to a person than their awkward faults. The central theme of the poem is that no one is perfect, but love accepts and overcomes this fact. The poem takes the style of traditional love poem where each stanza has four lines. Nims employs stylistic devices such as irony, imagery and sound and rhyme to make the poem interesting and reinforce the poem’s themes. The essay will address the techniques used by poet and the underlying meaning of the poem.
Sexton compares Plath’s suicide to an old belonging in the couplet, “what is your death but an old belonging” (54-55). The couplet serves to convey that the speaker is moving past the initial shock of her friend’s death. The comparison of Plath’s death to an old belonging implies that the speaker used to have a strong emotional attachment and understanding of Plath’s suicide, but now, it is more of a memory that lingers than something that consumes her mind every day. Even so, the death of Plath still impacted the speaker on a deep level because Plath’s death involuntarily forced her to contemplate and to reflect on her own emotions and thoughts on suicide. She experiences an emotional journey that places her on the other end of the death in which she once fantasized. The term “old belonging” illustrates how the speaker previously dreamed and longed for death. However, after experiencing the emotional toll of being on the other side of the death that she once coveted, she reconsiders her desires. The tone has shifted from one of mourning and envy to something that she used to desire, an “old belonging” (55). The sharp left turn that is transmitted in the speaker’s tone articulates the emotional journey she has endured. Therefore, the relation of Plath’s death to an old belonging displays how the speaker no longer wants that death, but she still remembers what it feels like to be the person with thoughts of
The poem becomes personal on line 10 when she uses the first person and says “I lost my mother’s watch”. She is letting the reader know what she has lost in reality. Then she gets sidetracked to mention other things she has lost; she then mentions other things she has lost of much more importance such as houses, continents, realms, and cities, but then again mentions it was not so hard to lose those things. But in the end, mention the loss that really matters. She remembers the qualities of the lover she lost.
The poem is arranged in four stanzas. Based on my interpretation, the stanzas are each represented by memories from
The simple yet extraordinary emotion of nostalgia has been ingrained in mankind since inception. Every single individual has experienced this intense emotion at one point their life, sometimes even regularly. A feeling of sentimental longing for the past, sometimes referred to as 'looking back on the good old days' are typical of being in a state of nostalgia. Robert Frost demonstrates the natural emotion of nostalgia in his poems “Birches” and “The Road Not Taken”. Although both poems convey the feelings of wistful yearning for the days gone by, each poem addresses different kinds of nostalgia: the longing for a carefree, adventurous childhood of the past and the nostalgic reflection of life choices. Both poems make use of differing poetic structures—in addition to various poetic tools—to create the manifestation of nostalgia within their poems.