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A few of the binaries that I noticed in Mckay’s poem were Flight and Fall, Practice and Prayer, Lift

and Drag, and Sea and Shore. I think the significance of these binaries is to show us how quickly we

can slip across a line from one extreme to the other. McKay makes reference to “the golden mean”

which is a desirable mid-point between two extremes. I think this reference brings to light the need

for moderation and illuminates the dangers of taking things too far; had Icarus simply flown and safe

heights and not felt the need to go as high as possible he would not have met his demise in the same

dramatic manor.

The Practice and Prayer binary shows us that we cannot live on a prayer, we must instead plan our steps

carefully; we have to rely on our wits instead of fleeting chance.

The difference from sea to shore is often only a slight line. When on shore we are safe and stable, but

once in the sea we are subject to being swallowed by the abyss, our stability is out of reach we can

disappear without notice or witness and likely never be seen again.

As with most binaries, lift and drag can have many connotations. When faced with hard times or

decisions in life we can either lift ourselves up to the challenge and venture forward or we can drag our

feet, prolonging our turmoil and increasing our workload.

McKay does absolutely succeed in portraying tension between the opposing elements. It seems he

chose his binaries carefully, both in the sense that they all relate well to the nature of the myth, as well

as make the issues concrete enough that the average reader would be able to relate to them in a real

way.

Wikepedia defines dystopia as “the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the

guise of being utopia…Dystopian societies feature different kinds of repressive social control systems,

various forms of active and passive coercion. Ideas and works about dystopian societies often explore

the concept of humans abusing technology and humans individually and collectively coping, or not being

able to properly cope with technology that has progressed far more rapidly than humanity's spiritual

evolution. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the

citizens.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dystopia)

Given this definition it would be my understanding that dystopia society would be one in which citizens

had little to no control, and such control would rather be in the hands of government or corporation. I

think in studying a dystopia novel or body of literature we might heed a warning about the dangers of

certain control or the abuse of technology in our everyday lives.

A couple movies I have seen that I think might fall in to this category are “minority report”, “ I-Robot”,

or “repo men.”

Once again it is very interesting to me the differing interpretations and emotions that can come from separate readers reading the same body of work, In this case the myth of Persephone. The point of views expressed by Dove and Boland differ greatly in many ways, such as in length, composition, language used, and also the overall mood of the poems.

Dove presents the myth as a warning that young beautiful girls should heed. Dove almost seems to be presenting two warnings, one to beautiful young girls in their rebellious teenage years, and one to younger girls, perhaps elementary age.

In the first stanza Dove speaks of a beautiful girl rebelling (perhaps against her mother’s rules) the reader gets the sense that the young girl is feeling constrained, and is pulling back against the rules and expectations placed on her. There is also an element of teenage lust and romance in this stanza, as if part of the girl’s rebellion is in relation to a bad boy who is lusting after her and influencing her in some way. “She pulled, stooped to pull harder- when, sprung out of the earth on his glittering terrible carriage, he claimed his due.” The boy influenced the girl to rebel against her constraints, “she pulled [away from her family]… [climbed up on] his glittering terrible carriage” and he was able to have his way with her.

In the last two lines of the first stanza there seems to be a sudden shift in tempo. The action in the story the narrator is telling reaches its climax when “he [claims] his due,” then suddenly “it is finished”. There is a sense that the narrator blames the young girl for her own downfall when she says “she strayed from the herd.”

In the second stanza the narrator seems to be conveying a warning to young girls about the danger of strangers, she says “this is important, stop fooling around! Don’t answer to strangers.” The intended audience in this stanza seems younger than in the first because she refers to their peer group as “playmates” and warns them to walk “straight to school.”

Boland presents the myth in an entirely different manor. Boland’s poem is longer, more personal, and in my opinion a lot more emotional. As opposed to speaking about anonymous young girls such as Dove did in her poem, Boland is relating the myth to her own life and the relationship she has with her daughter.

Boland opens by saying “the only legend that I have ever loved,” this foreshadows the upcoming sentiment of the poem and makes allusion to a common phrase used by parents in reference to their children. Boland is quick to show she understands the challenges of development and inner turmoil when she says “the best thing about the legend is I can enter it anywhere. And have.” She first relates it to her own adolescents when she explains “I was an exiled child in the crackling dusk of the underworld, the stars blighted,” in stating this she shows the reader that she is not naive to the struggles that young women can face, when you are in a dark place it can seem as if any light or hope, has completely ceased to exist. Dusk is an interesting time, the sun is no longer shining on us and keeping us warm, nor has the moon or stars had a chance to display their brilliance; it as if we are momentarily caught in a space where neither end of the tunnel is in sight.

In the next line we are moved from dusk, the end of the day, “in [to] a summer twilight", a time where new light begins to come forth and free us from the darkness. The reader is given the sense that the mood is about to get lighter and happier, then is quickly shown otherwise as the narrator frantically searches “for [her] daughter at bed time. [and] when she came running [she] was ready to make any bargain to keep her [safe].” The narrator is desperate to save and protect her daughter from the dangers and pain that she knows lie in wait for her as she navigates her way through the underworld of adolescents. She knows it is impossible to protect her completely “I was Ceres then and I knew winter was in store… [it] was inescapable.”

As with Dove’s poem the mood changes in the second stanza, here the narrator observes from afar and recognizes the change in her daughter. “The pomegranate! How did I forget it?” the pomegranate in this sense represents some sort of temptation or evil, perhaps drugs, or boys, or sex. The fruit representing temptations and evil is further solidified when the narrator alludes to the apple of Eden, the bible’s symbolic representations of temptation and moral decline. Still at this point it seems that the narrator does not blame her daughter for eating the fruit, she says “a child can be hungry.” She relates the myth of Persephone to real life once again when she says “the suburb has cars and cable television. The veiled stars are above ground” when she says this she is showing the reader that it is no longer the abstract underworld that we need to be conscious of but rather the everyday temptations and distractions that seek to have us deviate from our intended path.

In the completion of her poem the narrator reiterates that she does not judge her daughter for her missteps, that she will always love and support her, and that she accepts her completely as she is; “what else can a mother give her daughter but such beautiful rifts in time? If I defer the grief I will diminish the gift.” And finally closes off by saying that when her daughter’s time to be a mother comes she will hold her own child and know the emotions of her own legend. “the legend will be hers…she will hold the papery flushed skin in her hand. And to her lips. I will say nothing.”

The myth of Icarus is about “Son of Daedalus who dared to fly too near the sun on wings of feathers and wax. Daedalus had been imprisoned by King Minos of Crete within the walls of his own invention, the Labyrinth. But the great craftsman's genius would not suffer captivity. He made two pairs of wings by adhering feathers to a wooden frame with wax. Giving one pair to his son, he cautioned him that flying too near the sun would cause the wax to melt. But Icarus became ecstatic with the ability to fly and forgot his father's warning. The feathers came loose and Icarus plunged to his death in the sea” (http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/icarus.html).

This myth is similar to the myth of Persephone in the way that it depicts a child/ parent relationship, and heeds a warning to children about the dangers of not listening to their parents. Both poems also seemed to give a lesson about balance and moderation, you can fly… just don’t go too high, and you can take some risks but make sure they are risks you can come back from.

I think the title “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is symbolic and can be interpreted in several different ways. I do not find it ironic because it portrays much of the same emotions as most all love songs. The poem speaks of longing, loneliness, loss, of fantasy, fleeting lust, fear, fornication, feelings of inadequacy, despair, contempt, confusion, regret, revenge, and redemption. Another thing I noticed in the title was his name. His first name is not fully written, as if it is not important, the middle name is Alfred which is rather plain, and the last name Prufrock contains the word Frock which is defined as both, “a gown or dress worn by a girl or woman” and “a loose outer garment worn by peasants and workers” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/frock?s=ts ). I found this interesting because in the poem he speaks a lot about
women, and describes himself in a lower class way, almost as one would describe a peasant. At one point during the poem he even goes as far as to make a reference to the biblical story of Lazarus, which solidifies his view of himself as lower class or not worthy of luxuries and pleasures.
Prufrock gives the impression that women are magical, intelligent creatures, whose lasting attention he is not worthy of. He says “I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each, I do not think that they will sing to me” (Eliot 430). I get the impression that the women that have come in to his life have come in for brief periods but never stayed and he believes that they have not stayed because he is not smart enough to keep up with their conversations; “in the room the women come and go talking of michelangelo” (Eliot 427). Or handsome and put together enough to escape their harsh judgement; “they will say: 'how his hair is growing thin!'...'but how his arms and legs are thin!'” (Eliot 428). It is clear that he sees himself in a very different light then he seems women.

Both the setting and the tone of this poem are depressing, dreary, daunting, and dark. There are numerous repeated images such as “yellow fog...yellow smoke” (Eliot 427-428), “tedious argument... insidious intent” (Eliot 427), “a hundred indecisions” (Eliot 428), “overwhelming question” (Eliot 427, 428, 429),as well as the repeated use of the word, time. Paired with the uses of repetition Prufrock also uses descriptions such as “I am pinned and wriggling on the wall” (Eliot 428), “we have lingered in the chambers of the sea... till human voices wake us, and we drown” (Eliot 430) and many words such as “etherized” (Eliot 427), “murder”(Eliot 428) “descend” (Eliot 428), “dying” (Eliot 428), “lonely” (Eliot 429), “malingers” (Eliot 429), “force...crisis...wept...prayed” (Eliot 429), to mention just a few. The images created with this sort of language are powerful and serve well to portray the strong emotion of the poem.

Demeter and Persephone is a Greek myth developed to explain the reason behind the seasons winter and spring. I believe that some of the Universal themes are, loss, loyalty, love, change and compromise.

I believe that Antigone absolutely meets the criteria for being a tragic hero. She was a law abiding citizen of Thebes and part of the royal family, who found herself on the wrong side of the mortal law when she tried to honor her brothers death by giving him a proper burial.

Even in breaking the law set by Creon Antigone still proclaims that she is abiding a more important law, the law of the Gods. Antigone says “ These laws- I was not about to break them, not out of fear of some man's wounded pride, and face the retribution of the gods” (Antigone 496). This line shows the reader that even in her disregard for the king's laws she is still doing what she believed to be the morally right thing to do.

In her conversation with Creon, Antigone states “I was born to join in love not hate- that is not my nature” (Antigone 498). This serves to further illustrate that Antigone's intentions were not those of vengeance and vindication when she went against the king's laws and buried her brother but rather those of love because it was her “brother, not some slave that died” (Antigone 498). and whether or not he was seen as an “enemy” (Antigone 498) in the eyes of the king, in her mind “death longs for the same rites for all.” (Antigone 498).

I feel sympathy for Antigone because I feel if I was in her situation I two would want to honour the death of my loved one. I would have a very hard time simply standing by while the body of my brother was left to rot for all to see, I would feel the need to protect his dignity by setting him to his final rest in a peaceful and humanistic way.

I do not see Creon as a tragic hero because he had a choice about his actions, just as Antigone did, and he chose his path. When Creon announces his claiming the throne to the chorus he says “whoever places a friend above the good of his own country, he is nothing: I have no use for him” (Antigone 489). Creon says this even before he learns of Antigone's deed. This shows that he would have done what he did to Antigone to anyone, he was not considering the needs of his people as a true great leader would do.

“An extended metaphor is one where there is a single main subject to which additional subjects and metaphors are applied.

The extended metaphor may act as a central theme, for example where it is used as the primary vehicle of a poem and is used repeatedly and in different forms” (http://changingminds.org/techniques/language/metaphor/extended_metaphor.htm).

The short story “Stones” by Findley is a perfect example of an extended metaphor. The concept is first introduced by the title then further developed and extended as the story goes on in reference to the soldiers at war, the the empty shells of men that were returned to their families, the stones that were washed with blood on the beach, and the cold weight that buried the narrator's family alive. In my opinion the most compelling stone metaphor in this short story is right at the end when the narrator says “He felt like a powdered stone- pummelled and broken” (Findley 82). It struck me that this would not have been just in his death, but that he was broken long before then, just now his physical state matched that of his mental state.

In the poem “Digging” by Heaney the narrator is comparing his pen to his father's spade as hif life line and his chosen path. The narrator feels that his bloodlines work with the turf is outdated and not fulfilling. It is interesting how in the same piece of work he expresses an awe and and overwhelming sens of pride about his grandfather's skill in the trade, and his ability to “cut more turf in one day than any other man on Toner's bog” (Heaney 458). Yet at the same time he is portraying a sense of disapproval or superiority when compared to his father and grandfather, he does not wish to follow in the footsteps of “men like them”(Heaney 458). In the second stanza the image of the narrator literally looking down on his father is quite impact-full and telling to the overall tone of the poem. In this stanza the narrator creates a picture for us of him up above his father, looking down at him, behind his window the narrator is assumed to be safe and warm and clean not burdened by the heavy labours of his father and grandfather.

The most obvious overlap between the death of Sylvia Plath and her poem “Daddy” is her reference to herself as a Jew in the concentration camps and the self made gas chamber in which she met her end. The poem is very heavy and sad, and I would imagine the heart of someone in a suicidal state would feel much the same. I feel that someone would wish to write their own life in such a way because we all want to have our sorrows or anguish recognized to a certain extent. If someone were to read something I had written and feel as though they could relate to it or that it was telling their own story then I would feel a sense of justification for my feelings or my thoughts. And maybe if my thoughts and feeling were dark, in writing them for all to see I would be seeking a saviour, someone to see my pain and come rescue me. The last reason I could think that someone in Sylvia's position would want to write their life in the way that she did is to tell her side of the story so to speak, so that just maybe people would have some sympathy for her instead of just disdain at her final act; maybe they would understand her instead of judge her.

Wow the half way point? Does not seem possible that we could have gotten that far already.

This course has been an interesting one for me for several reasons. This is the first time I have taken an online course and have had a bit of an adjustment period in terms of getting used to not having an in person relationship with my teacher and class mates. That being said, oddly enough I do still feel like I know many of you, and that I have had the unique privilege of being introduces to your souls before your faces through your writings. Even though we have not all sat in a physical classroom together I feel that the weekly discussions and blogs have done a good job of simulating that.

The most useful things I have learned so far are to recognize the use of binaries, and to read every story three times. I have started to see bodies of writing in a whole different way, similar to how you would view a flower if you were to sit and watch it bloom; the initial appearance is nothing compared to the complexities with which it will unfold. I am finding that every time I go back and re-read a story I learn more about the characters, the authors intention and even more about myself through what it is that reaches me each time.

I never anticipated learning about binaries or the importance of re-reading a story, therefor I can not say what it is exactly that I look forward to learning. All I can say is that I want more, whatever it may be, if it is knowledge then it is never in vain.

Thank you all for your contributions so far and I look forward to the remainder of this course and all the things left to be learned, both from Brenda and all of you.

The World English dictionary describes the following terms as:

Hamartia: “the flaw in character which leads to the downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy.” Where Creon went wrong is when he disregarded the advice given to him and forbade a proper burial for Polyneices and in doing so spurred the revolt of Antigone that would ultimately lead to the death of his own family as well as his downfall.

Hubris: “an excess of ambition, pride, etc, ultimately causing the transgressor's ruin.” Such as is the case with Creon when he thinks he can treat people however he wishes and not suffer any consequences.

Catharsis: “the purging or purification of the emotions through the evocation of pity and fear, as in tragedy” This is portrayed when Antigone reveals to Haemon that they can not be married and that she has buried her brother and in doing so shows us that she puts her loyalties to her family before herself and will not allow her brother to be disrespected even after death.

Peripeteia: “an abrupt turn of events or reversal of circumstances” This is displayed when Creon looses both his son and his wife and falls from his power dues to his tyrant nature. This also is demonstrated when Antigone goes against the wishes of the king and buries her brother knowing full well the consequences this could have, this changes her path and foreshadows her own demise.

Anagnorisis: “the recognition or discovery by the protagonist of the identity of some character or the nature of his own predicament, which leads to the resolution of the plot; denouement.” Creon realizes his own faults too late when he learns of the death of both his wife and his son and only at this time does he grasp the extent to which he has wronged so many. The gravity of this realization leads him to beg for his own death.

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

An understanding of the internment is essential in some ways to understanding the family dynamics and the view point of the narrator because it gives a certain amount of context to the turmoil, regret, loneliness, and discontent experienced and exhibited amongst the mentioned characters.

Even though Knowledge of the internment is helpful in understanding the more specific history of the family and what may have led them to the point they are at I do not think it is completely necessary in order to understand and empathize with the more universal theme of degenerating family bonds, broken hearts, longing, and remorse. “ 'Everyone dies some day,' she says eventually. She tilts her head to the side as if it's all to heavy inside.” (Kogawa, 3) This quote is powerful, however not specifically because of the historical context of the internment, but simply because time has a way of burdening us, making us feel heavy inside. This weight is something most people can relate to whether or not they have knowledge of the internment.

“She is all old women in every hamlet in the world. You see her on a street corner in a village in southern France, in her black dress and her black stockings. She is squatting on stone steps in a Mexican mountain village. Everywhere she stands as the true and rightful owner of the earth, the bearer of love's keys to unknown doorways, to a network of astonishing tunnels, the possessor of life's infinite personal details. 'I am old,' she says.” (Kogawa, 5) This exert illustrates quite perfectly my exact point when I say that the feelings Obasan is experiencing could be those of any woman at her stage of life. The sentiments have been shared and passed down from one generation to the next and from one culture to the next many times over.

The things I find most helpful when writing an essay it to first brainstorm topics, view points, titles, and themes, then to free write until I feel I have nothing more to say. Once I have done that I usually go back and take it apart in to pieces and discard the unnecessary portions and reassemble the good stuff. Following the dissection I read it out loud to myself and see how it flows. Usually by this point it is a fairly cohesive piece of work. Sometimes if I am still not sure I will ask a friend or family member to read it over, tell me if it makes sense, and get a little bit of feed back.

A new writing strategy that I am hoping to implement throughout the duration of this course is really to just feel more confident in my writing, I second guess myself a lot and end up erasing and re-writing about a million times by which point i am so confused nothing seems to make much sense. I hope to be able to write more concisely and efficiently.

In the story "The Boat" by Alistair MacLeod the narrator's mother values only traditional hard working manly men, who provided for their families by working long laborious hours and choosing necessity over luxury.
The narrator states, "They never seemed to do any physical work, and she could not comprehend their luxurious vacations and she did not know whence they came nor who they were and in the end she did not really care, for they were not of her people and they were not of her sea."
This statement illustrates the mother's unwillingness to adapt to the changing times or to accept the views and lifestyles of people who chose to live differently than she. The mother in this story personifies consistency, continuity, discipline, convention, custom, ordinance, and the institution of tradition. She is a symbol much like the boat and plays a large role in the development of the characters and the overall environment of the story. In this way she is not as much a character as she is a catalyst for the unified rebellion of her children and the subsequent revolution of the household and its dynamics.

In the short story "stones" the line "On the 14th of February, 1943, my father was returned" foreshadows that his body came back but not necessarily paired with the same, or any, soul. The return of the father is stated in such a way that the reader gets a sense that the return is not marked as a joyous occasion, but rather one marked by a certain somber, mournful feel. It gives me, the reader, the sense of damaged product being dumped back on the family with a not our problem attitude.
The narrator says, "I recall the hush that fell upon our house, as indeed it seemed to have fallen over all the city." Later it is clearly stated "The occasion was barely one for public rejoice." and further more when he says "Plainly, it was our job to lift their spirits and deny the severity of their wounds."
As the narrator speaks more specifically about his father as opposed to all the returning men he says "There was not a mark on his body, but-far inside- he had been destroyed. His mind had been severely damaged and his spirit had be broken. No one told me what this might have made him. No one said he will never be kind again."
The last quotation does more than simply hint and what may be to follow but rather sets the tone for the remainder of the story. This point in the story signifies not only a turning point in the narrative but also in the life of the young boy and the dynamic and history of the family it's self.

Metafiction is defined as "fiction that discusses, describes, or analyzes a work of fiction orthe conventions of fiction."

The contrasts between the various sub-settings in the story "Boys and Girls" tells us a great deal about the narrator’s feelings towards each of these places.

The narrator describes her father's work area as being bright, clean, meticulously organized, and ingeniously set up. On the other hand she describes her mother’s work area in the kitchen as dark, hot, disorganized, noisy, dreary, and peculiarly depressing.

The words she uses paint a vibrant picture for us and illicit in me strong emotions towards each place. Not only is it evident that she dreads having to work with her mother in the house, and particularly in the kitchen, but she has also caused me to have those same feelings of dread right along with her. On the other extreme it is quite clear that she loves the work outside and downstairs that she does with her father. Working with her father makes her feel important and valued, like she is doing something that not many girls are able or allowed to do and that makes her special.

I think that many of her feelings towards the work with her mother have nothing to do with the work at all, but instead are symbolic of her need to stand out and be recognized, to not be forgotten, to be seen as worthy and important. Helping in the kitchen to her means that she is accepting her fate as “just a girl” and therefore resolving to blend in to the background of the home. During the story when important things happen or people come to visit, it always occurs outside the home. When the mother comes down to the barn the narrator comments on how strange it is to see her mother out of the house, I think she feels that if she were to work in the house with her mother she would become unseen as well.

I find the description of the bedroom to be decidedly revealing. The narrator is not scarred of the dark outside, the winter storms nor the slaughter of animals; however she is quite terrified of “the things that nobody had any use for anymore.” The children find safety and protection in the imaginary shelter of their beds, here they are safe, they are not at risk of pulled in to the useless things.

The multitude of binaries in these descriptions include, but are not limited to, mother and father, boy and girl, useful and useless, light and dark, excitement and dread, clean and cluttered, safe and vulnerable, ambition and resignation. I think these binaries are all very useful in adding to the imagery and emotions of the story because they all serve to provoke certain universal reactions in the reader; For example most people reading the narrators account of her bedroom, would get an uncomfortable feeling, they would not feel cozy, warm or protected, as is usual of a child’s bedroom. Munro does an exquisite job of placing these binaries throughout the narrative at precise points causing us to empathize with the narrator.

Alistair MacLeod’s story “the Boat” follows the inner turmoil of a young boy as he is forced to make the decision of whether to appease his mother’s need for stability and tradition by following in his father’s footsteps as a fisherman or honouring his father’s dreams by getting an education and striving for more than the same dangerous lifestyle that killed him.

The Characters Eustacia Vye, Ham Peggoty and the story of Moby Dick all depict tragedies which involve water and drowning. The allusions to these stories would lead me to believe that the life of a fisherman is not portrayed in a positive light by MacLeod.
The repeating theme of drowning in these stories cause me to see the sea as a large dark entity that will open up and swallow you whole. The allusions to these characters create a resentment and fear of life on the sea.

One other commonality that all these characters share is a desire to do something that they will not accomplish. They all want something from life that will not manifest as their lives unfold. Eustace dreams of a life beyond the mundane confines of heath, Peggoty yearns for the love of a woman who does not love him in return, and Ahab has a determination to conquer the infamous Moby Dick. All of their stories end in a tragedy involving water and drowning, not a positive omen for the young fisherman.

Part 1:

This poem, however shocking, is nothing if not universally relevant. Although the large majority of parents embark on the journey of child rearing with the best of intentions damaging our children, to some extent,can not be helped.

I believe that this poem is one of the best examples of “great literature” I have ever read because the concept and sentiment is one I believe that every human can relate to in one sense or another. Larkin is most definitely dealing with a universal theme because every newborn baby, regardless of gender or culture, is as pure as the sun is bright. As babies grow in to children the experiences and environments they are exposed to shape the type of person they will become (negative or positive.) The lessons learned in infancy, childhood and our early teen years have a drastic effect on how our brain develops and therefore effects how we react to and handle events in our lives.

When I was growing up in a combative household my mother would deal with conflict by loading us in the car and leaving, we would stay out until the situation had defused, then we would go home and it would not be discussed. I know my mother did what she did with the best of intentions and truly believing that this was the most effective way to protect us. However I feel that what I learnt from this was to avoid conflict at all cost, and as a result now in my adult life I still find it very difficult to work through disagreements or resolve arguments. From this perspective my mother fucked me up by trying to protect me too much. On the other hand who knows what type of far more damaging lessons I could have learned if we had stayed. Parenting is a constant gamble.

As parents we always want to believe we know what is best for our child, so we choose for them and in doing so teach them that their opinion does not matter. Our busy lives require us to constantly hurry our children up and in doing so we show them that their time is not as important as ours. We get babysitters so we can go out and have “Fun” and in doing so show our children that their company is not enjoyable. Even though we tell them on a daily basis how much we love them, that we are listening, and that we are so happy to see them, it is our actions that have the greatest impact, whether the actions are directed at the child or just one displayed in their presence. Larkin touches on this when he says “Who half the time were soppy-stern And half at one another's throats.” Whether parents are dealing with children directly, dealing with each other in the presence of the child or simply dealing with life the impressions left are just as strong.

I enjoyed the way that Larkin expressed his opinion in a frank but not overly explicit way as well as how he brought some humour in to the end of the poem. I think he was serious in his message that all parents damage their children, who then in turn damage their own, however I do not think he was serious when he said “Get out as early as you can, And don't have any kids yourself.”

Part 2:

The story of “Evaline” expands on the theme of Larkin's poem by providing a more explicit example of how a child can be damaged by the influence of their parents, culture, and community.

The story is interesting in that it illustrates how one upbringing can serve to both cause a child to yearn for independence, change and freedom from the life they have known, while at the same time cause them to believe that they can not make it on their own, or that it would be selfish of them to want to.

Evaline was damaged more subtly by her mother's kind words and now feels an obligation to her family that is holding her back from being able to forge her own path and make decision based on her own happiness. In contrast to this she was also damaged by being witness to the type of life that her mother lived. Not wanting to fall in that shadow nudges her towards running away to an uncertain life with a man she barely knows, not a wise move.

The damage done to her by her father in this story is more heavily pronounced. The verbal and mental abuse as well as being witness to the physical abuse lain upon her brothers has left her feeling deflated, unworthy, and helpless. She knows that if she stays in this life she will not advance in the ways she dreams of but she does not find the strength inside her to go against her father and assert her independence.

The universal themes of coming of age, fear, resentment, longing, mental and emotional resignation and facing transition are all masterfully woven through both of these pieces of work. While one is more frank with its message and the other presents it in a gentler fashion, they are both just as easy to relate to and the emotions expressed are those that are experienced by people from all walks of life.

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take_flight

March 2012

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Syndicate

Page Summary

dont walk to close to the fire, you might freeze
But what else can a mother give her daughter?
I think he may be on to something...
If it would mean you knew I loved you, I would die a thousand times and be happy.
The storm inside, it rages on.
But if we could only have know then what we know now....
I long for a life without longings...
Tides of time.
Birthrights and Burdens.
The Toxic Cycle.

Style Credit

Style: Neutral Good for Practicality by timeasmymeasure

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Page generated Aug. 16th, 2025 09:55 am