Hayley Rathburn’s Blog

To begin my research, I first looked up images of grecian urns. They are depicted as having several different deities all around them, and they are made of marble. So right away I knew that this would be a large part of the poem, this motif of Greece and coldness. Then I thought it would be important to look up that author, John Keats, himself. I found that he suffered from tuberculosis for much of his life and was dying from the illness. Because of this, he decided to embrace life and always live in every moment. He knew he wouldn’t have long. So, the entire poem explores the essence of beauty by addressing various figures and beautiful forms of art portrayed on an urn. It’s as if Keats wrote about how beautiful life is in order to make himself believe that assertion.

Another interesting thing I learned through my research is that in the poem there is a continuous mention of eternity, immortality, or forever. For instance, in the third stanza there is an anaphora of the words “for ever”. It seems that Keats is trying to grasp this immortality through his writing; even though he knew he was dying, his literary works would continue on after him.

One particular thing of interest I found was that the cities of Tempe and Arcady mentioned in the first stanza are picturesque places in Greece. They are known to be favored by Apollo – the God of poetry and music.

If I had the opportunity to redo my timed write on the poem entitled “Evening Hawk”, there are several things I would change. First of all, I would read the poem itself much more carefully and pay more attention to the pronouns being used. For example, in the fourth stanza the prounoun “he” is used, and it is referring to the hawk. But, for some reason I thought that it could possibly be alluding to God or some higher power. Because of that, I completely misread the poem and the theme I came up with was not correct. So, I would change the entire approach of my essay to fit the correct theme, that of the constant passage of time and the puniness of humans.

I thought the concrete details I used were good, but I would make the analysis of theme more complete and clear. There were strong points of my analysis, but I would change the inconsistency of that strength by tying in more about how the language directly shows the theme, mood, and scene. Also, my paragraphs weren’t as well-organized as they could have been. So, I would include more structure by adding clear topic and concluding sentences to each paragraph.

1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.

3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

I’ve decided to go with the third essay prompt selection.

On the first page of “War Dances”, by Sherman Alexie, a prominent symbol is established. “…I unpacked my bag and found a dead cockroach, shrouded by a dirty sock, in a corner.” Then later, after the speaker lists all of the side effects of a disorder he has called phenobarbital, he says, “How do you like them cockroaches?” (pg. 6) The cockroaches represent difficulties, hardships, or hard times we go through in life. This is a fitting symbol because a cockroach is one of the most hated insects. It’s known for being hard to kill or to get rid of. This relates to problems in life also, it takes a significant amount of effort to get rid of them. There was a motif of insects in general that was woven throughout the story. He occasionally mentions locusts, cockroaches, and other bugs. Again, this just reinforces the trials the speaker is going through.

One aspect of the story that I related to very well was the medicial side. My mother has fibromyalgia which is a disorder that causes her to be in constant pain every day. She gets frequent migraine headaches that sometimes last for months at a time. I’ve had to watch her go from doctor to doctor trying to find different medicines to get relief. But almost every doctor she’s had has told her she’s crazy and that they don’t believe her. Also, it took many years for anyone to be able to correctly diagnose what she has. So, the frustration the protagonist in the story feels when his doctor is not being straightforward with him is very understandable. I can clearly see, based on my own experiences with my mom, why he becomes so bitter and angry. My mom has felt a similar way to the speaker when he says, “I wanted to throw my phone into a wall, but I said goodbye instead and glared at the tumorless people and their pretty tumorless heads” (pg. 10).

I would say “War Dances” is a piece of literary fiction. There are several symbols, motifs, and other literary devices that contribute to the overall theme of the piece.

Willa Cather’s short story entitled “Paul’s Case” explores the thought that we as humans are born into a certain standing in the world, and that no matter how hard we may try, there is no way that can be changed.

“The Rocking-Horse Winner”, by D. H. Lawrence, is a short story filled with different symbols and allegories. An obvious symbol in the story is the whispers the protagonist Paul hears in his home. They constantly say things like, “There must be more money! There must be more money!” So, these imaginary voices represent the greed and materialistic attitude of Paul’s mother. Paul feels surrounded by the voices, just like he is surrounded by the influence of materialsm. A very prominant example of allegory in the story, one that relates directly to the title, is Paul’s rocking-horse. Paul rides his horse in hopes of attaining some luck. It is an allegory because the tangible rocking-horse symbolizes an abstract concept, that of luck. This is fitting because just as a rocking-horse moves up and down, back and forth, luck is also unpredictable and up and down.

There are two main archetypes that are present in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. The more obvious one is that of the social outcast. In most pieces of literature or film there is an “outsider” character that does not fit in and is disliked for some reason. In “The Lottery”, the social outcast is Mrs. Hutchinson. She is the only character to arrive late to the town drawing. Also, she seems to be the only character that voices her disagreement with this lottery. She repeatedly says, “It isn’t fair” or “It isn’t right”. And in the end, her’s is the name that is drawn and she ends up being stoned to death. These details show that Mrs. Hutchinson fits the archetypal character of the social outcast. Another archetype found in “The Lottery” is the presence of a old or sage character. At the beginning of the story, the reader learns that, “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born” (pg. 253). Throughout the story, Old Man Warner talks about how things used to be done and the proper procedures for how the lottery should be run. The people in the town seem to look to him for direction. So, in this way, he represents the archetype of the wise, old character.

The short story “Paul’s Case”, written by Willa Cather, gives the reader an interesting glimpse into the human desire to improve one’s circumstances. The protagonist Paul has a literal “case”, he is sick of his inferiority and wants to live a more glamorous, fashionable life like those of the upper-class. Cather uses specific choices in detail, motif, and symbolism to accomplish this. For instance, she tells the reader that Paul used to sit on a stoop in front of his house. He repeatedly mentions this detail throughout the story using a very negative connotation. So, this stoop represents his true station in life and how this causes him so much detestation. A major symbol and motif used throughout the story is that of  flowers. Whenever Paul is in a place that he feels is classy or upstanding (the level he wants to be at in life), there is some mention of flowers. But then at the end of the story, Paul learns that like flowers, one’s status and even life do not last. So fittingly, the story concludes with Paul placing a dying flower beneath some snow and then taking his own life. This shows that his “case” of wanting more than he was given in life actually turned out to be his undoing.

After reading Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson”, it is clear to me that the main character Sylvia is a static character. At no point in the story does she change herself, her way of thinking, or the way she acts. For instance, the first sentence says, “Back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish, and me and Sugar were the only ones just right…” So, this makes it clear to the reader that she’s a strong, opinionative person that believes she is always right. This is the way she acts for the entire story. In fact, it ends with her same stubborn, hard-headed attitude. “We start down the block and she gets ahead which is O.K. by me cause I’m going to the West End and then over to the Drive to think this day through. She can run if she want to and even run faster. But aint’ nobody gonna beat me at nuthin” (pg. 202). The author keeps her in this strong-willed mindset throughout the entire story. So, she is not a dynamic character, but a static one.

The short story “Gooseberries”, by Anton Chekhov, deals mostly with the belief in going after one’s dream and doing whatever it takes to achieve that. However, it seems to me that the author’s purpose in telling this story was to show that sometimes people strive so much for a certain goal that they end up hurting people along the way. For example, the main character Ivan tells a story about his brother’s pursuit of his own land and farm. He tells about when his brother got married, “He went on living frugally after marrying her, and kept her short of food, while he put her money in the bank in his name” (pg. 207). Clearly, Ivan’s brother was not treating his wife properly at all. But, even so, he still achieved his dream and became the owner of his very own farm. This brings up the point that although it isn’t fair or just sometimes, people can become what they want to be even if they aren’t “good” people.