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Use of symbolism in robert frost poetry
Symbolism and the poetry of robert frost
Symbolism and the poetry of robert frost
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Justice or mercy? There is a fine line between the two, but what about when it comes to those we love? Are we meant to accept and protect them no matter what? Or should they be made to earn their spot in the family? "The Death of a Hired Man", by Robert Frost, is about a couple, Mary and Warren, and a sickly farm hand, Silas, who has returned home for his final resting. The couple disagree on whether or not to accept Silas back into their home one last time. Warren argues that family is something someone is made to earn, and dedication and loyalty are the ways to go about it. Mary, on the other hand, believes family is family no matter what. "Trifles", by Susan Glaspell, explores a different kind of kinship, in which Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters …show more content…
He believes "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in" (Frost 1). It is not someplace you can walk in and out of at your leisure, instead you have to earn your place and its privileges. This is why Warren believes Silas is no good, and shouldn't be invited to stay, "I told him so last haying didn't I? If he left then, I said, that ended it. [...] Off he goes always when I need him most." (Frost 1). During haying time, farmers would have to offer competitive wages to farm hands, and if it so happened someone with more money than Warren came along, which it most likely did, then farm hands like Silas would leave their current farm for the one with higher pay. This was a betrayal in Warren's eyes, Silas abandoned him and Mary. After finding no reason to house him due to kinship Warren evaluates Silas' usefulness, asking Mary, "What good is he? Who else will harbor him at his age for the little he can do?". Here we see the pragmatic side of Warren, since he's no good around the farm it's a matter of whether or not Silas deserves to be taken care of and be seen as family, which, in the Warren's opinion, is a no. Mary however, is soon able to bring her husband around to her way of thinking: family is
... He still felt that the man needed to know the condition of his company the offer was withdrawn. Silas’ morality shines through again. Silas could have completely forgotten about his morals and taken all these opportunities to cause even more destruction and regret but instead he sacrificed so much of his hard work to be happy with himself and instead of trying to be accepted by society he wanted to be able to be accepting of himself without resenting anything.
In life everything is about choices whether it is a serious choice such as moving place to place because of your parents career or it being like wanting to eat a muffin or apple for breakfast. In the Crucible written about the Salem 1692 witch trials, John Proctor is one of the main characters in the play. John is 35 years of age and is Married to Elizabeth Proctor. A concept we have to understand is in this era Witch accusations were always coming from different people to random innocent women and men. These accusations are obviously false, but due to what they believed in, and how strong they were in religion, witch trials became of it. All the choices people made during the Salem witch trials, were always looked upon corresponding to John and the choices he made.
Giles Corey is an outspoken member of Salem Village, which can sometimes get himself and others into trouble. Giles, one could say, is infamous in the town for causing disputes and attempting to settle those disputes in court. In one instance, Giles is embedded in an argument with Thomas Putnam about land that he believes rightfully belongs to John Proctor. Putnam is informed that his grandfather had a history of willing away land that he did not own. While the argument does not involve him, Giles feels the need to interject when he supports Proctor’s claim by saying, “That’s God’s truth; he nearly willed away my north pasture” (32). The argument becomes so heated that Putnam threatens to clap a writ on Giles. This, of course, seems of little threat to Giles as he has been in court thir...
Mary Warren’s first lie comes as a result of her wanting to fit in and feel like she is a part of something. She claims that Sarah Good, an old and poor woman who sleeps in ditches, sends her spirit out on her in court and chokes her to “near death”. She describes the courtroom experience to John Proctor and says that she felt “a misty coldness climbin’ up [her] back” as “ the skin on [her] skull began to creep” and she felt a “clamp around [her] neck” until she could not breathe” (57). It seems as if Mary Warren has convinced herself that witchcraft is real, just to fit in with the girls. Pretending that Sarah Good sent her spirit out into the courtroom has major consequences on the town as well as on Sarah.
Mary Warren is a villainous character due to her poor choice of actions. Mary uses excuses to avoid trouble and gain some power through this. Elizabeth states: “It is a mouse no more… ‘I must go to Salem, Goody Proctor; I am an official of the court!’” (192) It is given that Mary had the changed the tables on her masters and decided to set her foot down. She claims that because she is an official of the court, she cannot be held back by anything that is not as important as going to court to do her work. If she was a real hero, she would keep her word to fulfill her duties at the Proctor house when it is time, not to go off to her pretense of a job of declaring wheth...
Silas now has nothing to lose so when the chance arises to sell the mills that he owns for a good amount of money he does not take it because he does not want to scam anyone anymore. When Rogers finds out he says, “You’ve ruined me... I haven’t a cent left in the world! God help my poor wife.” (331) As Rogers leaves Silas feels like he has done the wrong thing when in reality he did the right thing in not scamming more people but all it got him was more
This creates tension in the home between John and Elizabeth Proctor. “You were alone with her?” Elizabeth says, John responds “for a moment alone aye” “why then it is not what you told me”.(222) This angers John because he is floating in his guilt for being unfaithful to his wife. Its builds a strain on their marriage and keep the couple in a cold house. Proctor has been faith full to his religion, only attending church only once a month. These actions put more reason for people to suspect that john is participating in witchcraft. “I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before.”(239) John is selfish by going with the lie saying, he participated in witchcraft than to confess and say he didn’t to be with his wife and his unborn child. John lived in a lie and he Salem government took his life from
The farmhouse in Trifles was accessed by several individuals between the time of the murder and law enforcement arriving. The sheriff even sent Frank over that morning to start a fire for warmth, instructing him “not to touch anything except the stove – and you know Frank.” The men in the play are only interested in observing the areas where John would have been within the home, deeming the kitchen as unimportant. If they had only taken a few moments to consider the mindset and life of Mrs. Wright they would have discovered all the information they sought. Minnie’s obligation once married was to provide John with children, the fact they were childless helps to show her “failure” in this role in the men’s eyes, yet the women see the detached relationship she shared with John and the profound silence of a home without little ones. Mrs. Hale discovers an unfinished quilt with some very erratic stitching where Mrs. Wright has left off and begins to remove the stitches, as if trying to undo what has already happened. When the quilting method of Mrs. Wright is discovered the women link her method with the knot used around John’s neck. Without ever seeing
"No; you had better face the truth, Silas. It was no chance at all. You crowded him out. A man that had saved you! No, you had got greedy, Silas. You had made your paint your god, and you couldn't bear to let anybody else share in its blessings."(45)
Loyalty is a very admirable trait, and one Elizabeth Proctor possesses. She constantly demonstrates her devotedness as she proves her reputation and is pledged to her husband throughout the story. John, her husband, has his share of faults and has acted in ways that have disappointed Elizabeth. Through it all, however,
As he reacts to his wife’s arrest, he makes a very important decision. It is up to him to protest against the ongoing trials because no one else will. He then discovers that Mary Warren, the family’s servant knows much about the trials because of her role as an officer of the court. “‘You’re coming with me, Mary, you will tell it in the court…We will slide together into our pit; you will tell the court what you know.’’’ (80). John discovers that Mary knows that he witchcraft accusations are false. He then comes to this decision that it is his responsibility, as well as Mary Warren’s, to tell the court that the hysteria in Salem is based on lies and false accusations. It is because of a fear for Elizabeth’s life that John realizes his individual responsibility to save his wife, as well as to protect other innocent people from being accused and sentenced to death.
With Proctor living a life with morality, Mary emphasizes that “I go your way no more” (Miller). Whereas Mary had trepidation, realizing that if she were to tell the truth, her life would be no more. Unfortunately a group of girls, including Mary, only confessed to the a false allegation to save their lives. Confessing to witchcraft, Mary upheld no morality. A life was more valuable, then honestly connected to a name. Opposite of John Proctor, Mary held no reputation, for she blended in with the rest of the untruthful town. A reputation of significance is not held without a difference. Mary Warren was like the rest because her integrity held less importance then her life. In opposition from John Proctor, Mary sided with the rest of the town by confessing to the false accusation of black magic to save her
Mary Warren is a follower, and when Judge Danforth and Reverend Parris resorted to hypocrisy, Mary followed. The Danforth is questioning Mary Warren in court she says, “I cannot lie no more. I am with God, I am with God,” (Miller 178). It seems to me that Mary is not sure of herself at all. When someone with authority is questioning her, she tries to tell the truth. When there is not anyone around to influence her on lying, she tries to tell the truth. But she is weakened when her life is at stake and I honestly don’t blame her. Its easy as a reader to judge Mary Warren and wonder why she could not just tell the truth and be honest and die with a good name, but we do not think about what we would do if we were in her shoes. It is so easy to fall into the dangerous cycle of judging when we would probably do the exact same thing if we were in the other person’s shoes. When Mary Warren feels the pressure of Abigail’s false accusations towards her, Mary yells, “Let me go, Mr. Proctor, I cannot, I cannot-“ (Miller 187). Mary’s morals are weak and they quickly change when she realizes that if she does not pretend to be possessed, then her life will come to an end. To Mary Warren, being a lying hypocrite isn’t something she is worried about when her life might be ending soon. We see John Proctor confess he is innocent at the end of the play although it will have him killed. We see that he values his
Mercy can be hard to distinguish. It is not something that can be instructed but rather demonstrated. The theme of mercy is evident in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men is about two men, George Milton and Lennie Small. The two are traveling to a new ranch for work. Lennie is large, big built, hard working but mentally disabled. He is very depended on his friend George. George is small, wise and witty but he is very short tempered. Together the two dream of owning a farm together. At the new ranch Lennie gets himself into trouble by killing the boss’ daughter-in-law. He runs away, in the meantime the rest of the folks on the ranch become aware of Lennie’s actions and set out to find and kill him. George knows where Lennie is and sets out to see him. Lennie is scared and asks George to tell him about their dream ranch. As George tells Lennie about the dream ranch he tells Lennie to look across a river to “imagine” the ranch. As Lennie imagines the dream ranch George pulls out a gun and shoots Lennie at the back of his head. George knew keeping Lennie alive
was to marry and all that ends with Silas having no more trust in God;