In life we travel alone. Though this may seem like a depressing statement, it is meant to be exactly the opposite and to represent strength in self. Throughout life we can seek the advice and guidance of others but when it comes down to the final decisions that define us we are ultimately on our own to do what is right. Right or wrong seems like a concept that is easily defined, but as we travel the road of life we realize that the defining line of right and wrong can be blurred. We find that our own conscience can challenge us with questions we are unable to answer, but must ultimately make a decision anyway. This very dilemma is at the core of the poem, “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford. Stafford uses the first stanza in, …show more content…
I dragged her off; she was large in the belly. (342) This description leads to detach the reader from the deer as a living thing but then, by description of the large belly, foreshadows a change to come. At this point in the poem we have established that the narrator is alone to make a decision and that he is a person who wishes to do what is right. It is in the third stanza that Stafford blurs the lines of right and wrong. It comes to light that the reason that the deer is “large in the belly” (342) is because she is pregnant. The deer’s belly is described as warm, a word that is used to accentuate that there is still life here. Establishing that there is still life develops the moral predicament; the questioning of right. A decision that was once clear has now become morally jaded. The poem carries on saying that, “I could hear the wilderness listening” (342). This means that even though he was alone he could feel judgment. A feeling of being watched. A feeling of guilt. He takes into consideration life, death and the greater good. This reflection he describes as his “only swerving” (342). In the end he decides to discard the deer into the canyon. Overall, the greater good was to prevent more death, just as he originally
In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad suggest that true human existence cannot prevail productively without the dynamics of society. Throughout numerous scenes in the novel, Conrad stresses the necessity of societal restraints through Kurtz’s inability to prosper as a human being when he is removed from the expectations of civilization. In the scene above, Marlow’s myopic observations of Kurtz reveals Conrad’s theme by illustrating the annihilation of Kurtz’s essential human characteristics as he descends into a barbaric lifestyle absent of the norms of society. Not only does the above scene support Conrad’s main theme, but it portrays his writing style, characterization of Marlow, and symbolism as used throughout the novel.
Life is the journey, the inevitable journey, and the experiences thoughout life, the journeys within the journey, are the planned and unplanned experiences that change people and are a huge part of a person’s moral and personal growth. In the novella “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad, the physical journey through the Congo is parallel to the inner journey of the main character Marlow. Similarly, the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, relates on both a literal and metaphoric level to the concept of a journey. The individuals’ creation of their own direction on a journey is
In “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, we are given a piece of art that simply will leave you clueless unless, you understand the pain and frustration the man is going through; when choosing what route he feels will give him the most joy. In the poem a man is walking through the woods and he comes upon a fork. He who wants to take both roads chooses the route that he feels is traveled less on. Little does he know that both road have been equally traveled on. He who travels on the route that has fresher leaves lies to himself, by convincing himself that he will come back and take the other route. Though it was a very stressful and a hard decision for the man to make, many people are put into very similar situations like in John Updike’s A and P and as well as in James Joyce’s Eveline. Both Sammy and Eveline find it troubling to make a decision that will change their life completely.
Finally in the third stanza there is the semantic field of nature: ‘mountain’, ‘rivers’, ‘seas’. Nature has the role of judge. It decides whether she has to be punished or not. Nature is represented as a sort of divine entity deciding of her fate because she has decided of someone else’s right to live. Again the water is represented several times with ‘rivers’ (line 17) and ‘seas’ (line 18 and 19) it gives the impression that she thinks
Piercing the Darkness a book by Frank E. Petretti has big movie potential! This book is about a little town named Bacons Corner that has found themselves caught up in a battle of spiritual warfare.(main conflict/major theme) The main characters consisting of: Sally Roe a women on the run from her dark and unfortunate past, Tom Harris a teacher that has the title of child abuser just trying to get his name cleared and get his children back, and lastly a young girl by the name of Amber Brandon that has been possessed by a demon named Amethyst. (plot/main characters) Three people you wouldn’t think to have anything in common. Well think again, their paths will soon connect and everything will make since.
In the next stanza, the line "Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay", the poet is now using imagery with the waters, however it can also be a metaphorical representation of life due to
In William Stafford's "Traveling Through the Dark", there are conflicting themes between birth and death, man and
The article “Let There Be Dark” by Dan Hurley discussed the effects of light during the night and its effect on people’s health. It discusses many different studies and how some show this and how more still need to be done to be able to say for sure if artificial light at night leads to a higher risk of many health issues. These issues include obesity, Type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer, depression, and sleep loss. The studies focus on how light affects the body’s “circadian rhythm”. A circadian rhythm is the 24 hour cycle of the body which keeps the body in sync with the time. The body’s circadian rhythm is run by light signals collected by the eyes which results in a very sensitive rhythm of sleep, body temperature, release of
In life, we have to make choices. We make choices on what we eat, what we wear, and how we are going to live our lives. Choices are what make us, us. As we grow older, the choices become more difficult, as we struggle to find our way on the path of life. Often we are searching for a light to lead us in the right direction. For some of us, the light shines brightly in the distance and helps us find our way along the long and bumpy path of life, while for others the light seems to never come, and we struggle along, battling the darkness. We are consistently looking for an escape, a place where we find who we are, what our role is in the world and the meaning of life. Rodrick Nash states in Wilderness and the American Mind, “Wilderness appealed
The first stanza is addressed to ‘old men’ and how they should not simply slip away and die quietly, they should fight death until the end. Poetic techniques
Zero-Dark-Thirty. CHEETAH started to complete the positioning of his plane. He would be the tip of our V formation. “Birds are ready to fly the coop,” his voice relayed to the tower and I heard it through my headset.
The first stanza depicts two main elements: metaphors and synecdoche’s. The first two lines of the poem set the stage for what this poem is about, “When my heart is not in my mouth, it’s in your hands” (line 1-2). This allows the reader to understand that this man’s heart lies with this woman and that she has complete control over it. This line also describes a synecdoche in which the woman is not actually holding a live organ in her hands as the reader would
In Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, Frost shows the everyday human struggle to make a choice that could change the course of one’s life. In his poem, a person has the choice to take one road or the other. One road is worn out from many people taking it, and the other is barely touched, for fewer have taken that road. Throughout the poem, the speaker learns that just because so many other people have done one thing, or walked one way, does not mean everyone has to. Sometimes you just have to go your own way.
Immediately following the first statement, Oliver prompts that “You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.” The senseless wandering in a desert in harsh conditions is similar to the biblical story of Moses leading the Isrealites through the desert before reaching the Promised Land. By writing that the reader does not have to wander as a punishment leads into line four and five, where the speaker asserts that instead of being good, “You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” Instead of following what other’s want, the speaker proclaims that the only real necessity is to follow what your natural instincts, you animal, want. The speaker also declares inn lines six and seven that while you are talking about your despair, “the world goes on,” which proves that human traits of complaining and listening to others do not bring you closer to nature. In fact, the world continues as if you had not done anything at all. The poem then contrasts inert objects such as “the sun,” “the prairies,” and “the mountains” with objects that appear to be alive and move such as “the clear pebbles of the rain,” “the deep trees,” and “the rivers.” This compares the unmoving appearance of what society wants in the solid features of nature compared to the living and movement that is only sometimes perceived in the rain, trees, and rivers. The comparison can also be
choices and knowing that making the wrong choices can’t be taken back once the choices