There Is No Word For Goodbye Analysis

Toby Beta, sci-fi author from Indonesia once said, “If you’re in a bad mood, take a deep breath. If you’re in a good mood, give thanks to god.” Sometimes in life people need to remember to always think happy thoughts, negative thoughts will get you nowhere in life. For example, in Mary Oliver’s “The Morning Walk” and in Mary Tallmountain’s “There is No Word For Goodbye”, the character's both have different moods due to the environment they are in. In, “The Morning Walk,” the animals wanted to express different ways of saying “thanks” but there were many different ways to say thanks, so everyone learned a lot of new ways to say “thanks”, than in the end everyone agrees that the best way to say thanks is how you want to say it. In this poem the mood feels cheerful and happy. It feels like a place you want to be in. In “There is No Word For Goodbye,” An aunt and her niece wanted to know another word for goodbye, but the aunt really doesn't want to talk about saying “goodbye”, so

she says there is only one simple way to say goodbye, “Tlaa”, than the aunt tells her niece that if someone you loved said goodbye to you it would hurt a lot if they don’t come back. In that poem the mood feels a bit depressing. You don’t really want to be in that kind of environment. Both texts use imagery to create mood by showing what the characters are doing and feeling and giving different objects a positive or negative description.

“The Morning Walk” uses imagery to change your mood to a positive mood.

The poem appeals to your sense sight and hearing. Mary Oliver uses descriptions of what the animals do to say thanks to make her poem have a happy mood. The many moods the descriptions of the animals created are, excited, peaceful, joyful, and alert. Mary Oliver shows many ways to say one word. The animals are probably happy since trying to say thanks. In the poem it stated, “Goldfinches shine as they float through the air.” This description gives the reader a cheerful mood. When you think of a bird soaring in the air, you think about freedom, which is a good thing. Another description that shows the mood is happy is, “A person, sometimes, will hum a little Mahler.” This description also gives the reader a cheerful mood. When someone is humming admiring nature, he/she is probably have a good time, they probably feel happy. Mary Oliver uses positive words in her descriptions to instill a cheerful and joyful mood in

you.

“There is No Word For Goodbye uses imagery to change your mood to a serious mood. Many of her descriptions set a serious or sad mood. The poem appeals to you sense of sight and touch. Mary Tallmountain uses descriptions of the environment to create her mood. Also her description of Sokoya creates a mood. The aunt might be feeling depression, maybe because someone left her. The author makes Sokoya seem like a wise aunt that had to say goodbye a lot. When you say goodbye to someone, you feel sad. In this poem, Sokoya is telling her niece there is only one way to say goodbye. In the poem it stated, “...looking through the net of wrinkles into wise black pools of her eyes.” This description makes the mood sad because she uses the word “black” which is a negative color. It might give you a negative mood. Another description that shows the poem has a sad mood is, “.....watching the river flash. This description sends a serious vibe because if you think about the river, it seems like moves slowly. Mary Tallmountain uses “dark” words in her descriptions to make you feel a serious type of mood.

Reading different poem can make you feel different moods depending on how the author describes the environment. For example, when reading Mary Oliver’s “The Morning Walk,” you might feel happy because she uses positive words to write her poem. She tells how everyone can be grateful in their own ways. When reading Mary Tallmountain’s “There is No Word For Goodbye,” you might feel a bit more serious and mature. Mary Tallmountain changes simple things and gives it a serious mood. Think about, what mood do you get when you read these poems.