Wind sways the lines of green,
soft specks of soil are wrapped
in its arms.
A black circle with six protruding legs
and two bright white eyes
scuttles towards the falling mountain
he calls home.
The rays of sun become hidden
by an ominous shadow;
the ground trembles in its arrival.
He scurries, urging himself
to beat encroaching Death
to stay with uplifting Life.
The waves of dirt swallow him whole,
he hits the bottom
of his newly formed tunnels, seeing
Life’s joyful eye peering down,
peering down.
Notes:
This is the poem that I wrote in class on Friday. I decided to write a Mary Oliver poem because I like her poems more than Billy Collins’s. I wrote my poem about something in nature, and I used enjambment, because those are both elements that are present in many of Oliver’s poems.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Beauty from Pain
“He has sent me to […] provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes” (Isaiah 61:3 in the NIV Bible). Beauty and hope are found among the sorrows and loss in Mary Oliver’s poem “In Blackwater Woods,” a poem which inspires the reader to value life, and to confront the continuous pain of losing someone.
Blackwater Woods is a secluded shelter where the speaker and the reader are surrounded by trees “turning / their own bodies / into pillars of light” and “giving off the rich / fragrance of cinnamon / and fulfillment” (82). Oliver’s description and personification help the reader be comforted by the atmosphere of the poem. The tone of the poem is reassuring as well, supported by the presentation of the speaker as a mentor giving advice to the reader. The reader feels like he or she is being spoken to because the speaker says things like, “To live in this world / you must be able to do three things” (83). Mary Oliver wants the reader to take in the lessons about life, not just enjoy reading them.
Oliver continuously uses enjambment, making the themes of her poem everlasting; she wants to show that loss is something people deal with infinitely. The enjambment also shows that not everything has an end; just because someone is gone from you does not mean the memory vanishes. Loss and recovery from it are re-occurring parts of the cycle of life. That is also what the speaker means by saying the reader must do three things “[t]o live in this world” (83). Loss is something everyone on Earth has to deal with.
Yet loss’s “other side is salvation, whose meaning none of us will ever know” (83). Oliver is making us aware of the two sides of loss—losing someone, and being the one lost. We cannot understand what it is like to be the one lost to others because then we wouldn’t be here anymore. “In Blackwater Woods” reminds us of our mortality. When the speaker notes how “every pond, / no matter what its / name is, is / nameless now,” (82) he or she means that names are mortal. People are the ones who give names to things like ponds, but it was there without a name, and it will continue without one; ponds, like losses, are everlasting.
Since loss, and the pain from it, lasts forever, it is difficult to simplify it for our comprehension. That is why losses can be “fires and black rivers” (82). While it seems impossible for something to be both fire and water, what Oliver is saying is that loss covers all ranges of emotion and power. Fire and water are two of the most destructive elements on Earth, but they also cleanse and purify. When we move past the way loss damages the spirit, we can see the beauty around us. The speaker urges the reader “to love what is mortal; / to hold it […] knowing / your own life depends on it; / and, when the time comes to let it go, / let it go” (83). Mary Oliver wants us to appreciate life; while loss is an ever-present struggle, we should not always dwell on it. It’s by cherishing the moments with those we love that we can get through the losses.
Maybe that is why “Every year” (82) the speaker has the same revelation about life. After everything the speaker has experienced, it is what he or she learned about life, love, and los that is the most important. The poem ends by repeating the line “to let it go” (83). The speaker does this not only to emphasize the point to the reader, but to remind himself or herself the true value, and the true beauty, of his or her words.
Blackwater Woods is a secluded shelter where the speaker and the reader are surrounded by trees “turning / their own bodies / into pillars of light” and “giving off the rich / fragrance of cinnamon / and fulfillment” (82). Oliver’s description and personification help the reader be comforted by the atmosphere of the poem. The tone of the poem is reassuring as well, supported by the presentation of the speaker as a mentor giving advice to the reader. The reader feels like he or she is being spoken to because the speaker says things like, “To live in this world / you must be able to do three things” (83). Mary Oliver wants the reader to take in the lessons about life, not just enjoy reading them.
Oliver continuously uses enjambment, making the themes of her poem everlasting; she wants to show that loss is something people deal with infinitely. The enjambment also shows that not everything has an end; just because someone is gone from you does not mean the memory vanishes. Loss and recovery from it are re-occurring parts of the cycle of life. That is also what the speaker means by saying the reader must do three things “[t]o live in this world” (83). Loss is something everyone on Earth has to deal with.
Yet loss’s “other side is salvation, whose meaning none of us will ever know” (83). Oliver is making us aware of the two sides of loss—losing someone, and being the one lost. We cannot understand what it is like to be the one lost to others because then we wouldn’t be here anymore. “In Blackwater Woods” reminds us of our mortality. When the speaker notes how “every pond, / no matter what its / name is, is / nameless now,” (82) he or she means that names are mortal. People are the ones who give names to things like ponds, but it was there without a name, and it will continue without one; ponds, like losses, are everlasting.
Since loss, and the pain from it, lasts forever, it is difficult to simplify it for our comprehension. That is why losses can be “fires and black rivers” (82). While it seems impossible for something to be both fire and water, what Oliver is saying is that loss covers all ranges of emotion and power. Fire and water are two of the most destructive elements on Earth, but they also cleanse and purify. When we move past the way loss damages the spirit, we can see the beauty around us. The speaker urges the reader “to love what is mortal; / to hold it […] knowing / your own life depends on it; / and, when the time comes to let it go, / let it go” (83). Mary Oliver wants us to appreciate life; while loss is an ever-present struggle, we should not always dwell on it. It’s by cherishing the moments with those we love that we can get through the losses.
Maybe that is why “Every year” (82) the speaker has the same revelation about life. After everything the speaker has experienced, it is what he or she learned about life, love, and los that is the most important. The poem ends by repeating the line “to let it go” (83). The speaker does this not only to emphasize the point to the reader, but to remind himself or herself the true value, and the true beauty, of his or her words.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Primitive Picnic
I am torn between which poetry book I like better since Ms. Mork said that most people usually prefer one to the other. Billy Collins’s Picnic, Lightning is more straight-forward and has a more comical air to it, while Mary Oliver’s American Primitive has more description and seems more poetic to me. However, I do not read poetry often so I shouldn’t label poems as more poetic than any others; I’m not even sure if there can be any boundaries on the style of poetry. Still, what appealed to me about Mary Oliver was her topic choice—the symbolism of nature, and lessons about love, life, and death.
The theme of death is prevalent in both books. In Mary Oliver’s “The Lost Children,” she says, “death has no country” (14). In “Vultures,” she notes, “however ultimately sweet / the huddle of death to fuel / those powerful wings” (38). Death affects everyone, from every color, class, and gender, and I think that is why both authors chose to write about it. But just because death is ever-present does not mean it is frightening; it can be beautiful and powerful.
Billy Collins seems to take a little different point of view. In his poem “Picnic, Lightning,” he describes “the instant hand of Death / always ready to burst forth / from the sleeve of his voluminous cloak” (25). Here death is depicted as an ominous creature. In “Passengers” he appears to be afraid of dying, immediately stating, “I sit […] with the possible company of my death,” though he could just be afraid of flying. Collins does poke fun at death too, highlighted in “Reincarnation and You” where he says, “Once around is enough for me / though whenever you ask / I come up with something, […] trying to make death appear as easy / as you make it sound” (89). Death is a complicated matter.
Complicated is not a word I would use to describe Collins’s writing style. His outspoken descriptions make him a likeable author, as in “the classic crazy-man-crazy face” and how “even the ghosts of ourselves / had to break up their party” (72, 43). His frank speech make him relatable, like when he says, “Go, little poem” or yells at a bee, “’Don’t mess with me / and I won’t mess with you, you little punk’” (71, 92). Collins made me laugh, and I applaud him for trying to discover “Victoria’s Secret” (55). But he didn’t make me contemplate the wonders of life like Mary Oliver did.
Oliver wrote in a style I was more familiar with, using imagery and more of a nostalgic tone. I also liked how some of the poems were arranged in numbered or bulleted sections, or in shapely patterns. A poem I enjoy that uses that pattern is “The Bobcat:” “those lightning eyes! / that dappled jaw! / those plush paws” (16)! Nature was prevalent throughout Oliver’s poems, as well as descriptions of love, and I think that is why she chose to title her book American Primitive.
My favorite poem by Oliver is “In Blackwater Woods” because it teaches me about love, loss, and life. "Every year / everything / I have ever learned / in my lifetime / leads back to this: the fires / and the black river of loss / whose other side / is salvation, / whose meaning / none of us will ever know” (82-23).
While poetry is not one of my favorite things to read, I’m glad that I read both of these books. I didn’t think I would enjoy them as much as I did. Billy Collins’s “Paradelle for Susan” even inspired me to write my own paradelle for my extended journal of Atonement. I am excited to see how discussion turns out and to discover what poem I get to analyze.
The theme of death is prevalent in both books. In Mary Oliver’s “The Lost Children,” she says, “death has no country” (14). In “Vultures,” she notes, “however ultimately sweet / the huddle of death to fuel / those powerful wings” (38). Death affects everyone, from every color, class, and gender, and I think that is why both authors chose to write about it. But just because death is ever-present does not mean it is frightening; it can be beautiful and powerful.
Billy Collins seems to take a little different point of view. In his poem “Picnic, Lightning,” he describes “the instant hand of Death / always ready to burst forth / from the sleeve of his voluminous cloak” (25). Here death is depicted as an ominous creature. In “Passengers” he appears to be afraid of dying, immediately stating, “I sit […] with the possible company of my death,” though he could just be afraid of flying. Collins does poke fun at death too, highlighted in “Reincarnation and You” where he says, “Once around is enough for me / though whenever you ask / I come up with something, […] trying to make death appear as easy / as you make it sound” (89). Death is a complicated matter.
Complicated is not a word I would use to describe Collins’s writing style. His outspoken descriptions make him a likeable author, as in “the classic crazy-man-crazy face” and how “even the ghosts of ourselves / had to break up their party” (72, 43). His frank speech make him relatable, like when he says, “Go, little poem” or yells at a bee, “’Don’t mess with me / and I won’t mess with you, you little punk’” (71, 92). Collins made me laugh, and I applaud him for trying to discover “Victoria’s Secret” (55). But he didn’t make me contemplate the wonders of life like Mary Oliver did.
Oliver wrote in a style I was more familiar with, using imagery and more of a nostalgic tone. I also liked how some of the poems were arranged in numbered or bulleted sections, or in shapely patterns. A poem I enjoy that uses that pattern is “The Bobcat:” “those lightning eyes! / that dappled jaw! / those plush paws” (16)! Nature was prevalent throughout Oliver’s poems, as well as descriptions of love, and I think that is why she chose to title her book American Primitive.
My favorite poem by Oliver is “In Blackwater Woods” because it teaches me about love, loss, and life. "Every year / everything / I have ever learned / in my lifetime / leads back to this: the fires / and the black river of loss / whose other side / is salvation, / whose meaning / none of us will ever know” (82-23).
While poetry is not one of my favorite things to read, I’m glad that I read both of these books. I didn’t think I would enjoy them as much as I did. Billy Collins’s “Paradelle for Susan” even inspired me to write my own paradelle for my extended journal of Atonement. I am excited to see how discussion turns out and to discover what poem I get to analyze.
Heat of Truth
The vase shattering, an instant eternally frozen in time
The vase shattering, an instant eternally frozen in time
Who could imagine our lives would be combined with this splash?
Who could imagine our lives would be combined with this splash?
Time; imagine the lives eternally combined with-in this vase
An instant shattering, our splash frozen, who could-be, would
Wet clothes fall off in the heat, turning friends to strangers to lovers
Wet clothes fall off in the heat, turning friends to strangers to lovers
Fountain water creeps, a letter revealing truth forms in his mind
Fountain water creeps, a letter revealing truth forms in his mind
Heat clothes the strangers, water forms, revealing lovers to friends
A wet letter in his fountain, truth creeps, to fall off in mind
The young girl watches at a nursery window, eyes wide open
The young girl watches at a nursery window, eyes wide open
Sunshine vanishes a puddle, life, to punish or atone?
Sunshine vanishes a puddle, life, to punish or atone?
Eyes to sunshine, young vanishes, punish a nursery.
Or open a window wide, atone, puddle watches the girl at life
Letter revealing truth to atone, or shattering lives, to be combined
The vase watches our sunshine lovers, wet with heat
Who could his young eyes eternally splash, a girl in the nursery?
Would a window in time fall to strangers, punish friends?
Imagine. At the fountain creeps off clothes, this mind forms a wide puddle
Life vanishes in an instant, open, frozen water.
Notes
I was inspired after reading Billy Collins’s “Paradelle for Susan” so I decided would write a paradelle about Atonement for my extended journal. This poem is based off a scene from the book in which a young man and woman, Robbie and Cecilia, have an argument on a hot summer day, and break a valuable vase. Cecilia strips and plunges into the fountain to receive the broken pieces, while Robbie stares and realizes that he loves her. Meanwhile, Briony, Cecilia’s little sister, is watching the scene from the nursery window and thinks that Robbie is ordering Cecilia around. After Robbie and Cecilia depart, Robbie goes home and writes Cecilia a love letter while Briony begins to formulate the idea that Robbie is a malicious man, an idea that gets her in trouble when she wrongly accuses him of a crime he didn’t commit, a crime that Briony spends the rest of her life trying to atone for.
The vase shattering, an instant eternally frozen in time
Who could imagine our lives would be combined with this splash?
Who could imagine our lives would be combined with this splash?
Time; imagine the lives eternally combined with-in this vase
An instant shattering, our splash frozen, who could-be, would
Wet clothes fall off in the heat, turning friends to strangers to lovers
Wet clothes fall off in the heat, turning friends to strangers to lovers
Fountain water creeps, a letter revealing truth forms in his mind
Fountain water creeps, a letter revealing truth forms in his mind
Heat clothes the strangers, water forms, revealing lovers to friends
A wet letter in his fountain, truth creeps, to fall off in mind
The young girl watches at a nursery window, eyes wide open
The young girl watches at a nursery window, eyes wide open
Sunshine vanishes a puddle, life, to punish or atone?
Sunshine vanishes a puddle, life, to punish or atone?
Eyes to sunshine, young vanishes, punish a nursery.
Or open a window wide, atone, puddle watches the girl at life
Letter revealing truth to atone, or shattering lives, to be combined
The vase watches our sunshine lovers, wet with heat
Who could his young eyes eternally splash, a girl in the nursery?
Would a window in time fall to strangers, punish friends?
Imagine. At the fountain creeps off clothes, this mind forms a wide puddle
Life vanishes in an instant, open, frozen water.
Notes
I was inspired after reading Billy Collins’s “Paradelle for Susan” so I decided would write a paradelle about Atonement for my extended journal. This poem is based off a scene from the book in which a young man and woman, Robbie and Cecilia, have an argument on a hot summer day, and break a valuable vase. Cecilia strips and plunges into the fountain to receive the broken pieces, while Robbie stares and realizes that he loves her. Meanwhile, Briony, Cecilia’s little sister, is watching the scene from the nursery window and thinks that Robbie is ordering Cecilia around. After Robbie and Cecilia depart, Robbie goes home and writes Cecilia a love letter while Briony begins to formulate the idea that Robbie is a malicious man, an idea that gets her in trouble when she wrongly accuses him of a crime he didn’t commit, a crime that Briony spends the rest of her life trying to atone for.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Ancient Annihilation
“This is the kingdom I hold, from the Scythians who are beyond Sogdiana, thence into Kush, from India thence unto Sardis, which Ahura Mazda, the greatest of gods, bestowed upon me” –inscription of statue of Darius the Great found in Persepolis. In 530 B.C. Persia was strong under the rule of Darius I, later known as Darius the Great. Darius wanted to build a capital of high esteem for all the word to see Persia’s greatness; thus came Persepolis.
Persepolis, Parsa to the Persians, was constructed in the center of the colossal Persian dominion, which was composed of 23 nations. “In laying out Persepolis, architects had worked with the natural environment to create an imposing complex that would impress visitors” (Hussein). Free men from all across Persia came to build the city, making sure the king of Persia was honored by it, and that people from all over the world would know Persia’s might. The most extensive building under Darius’s reign was the audience hall, or the Apadana, built to welcome and impress all who entered; grand staircases were constructed to display the king’s power.
Darius wanted his capital to awe Persia, and was always modifying it. Even when his son, Xerxes, and later his grandson, Artaxerxes, were in charge, buildings were added or renovated. Xerxes and Artaxerxes together fabricated the new largest building in Persepolis, the Hundred Column Hall. Meant to embrace and receive gifts from various royal authorities, the Hundred Column Hall, as its name implies, had 100 towering pillars inside accompanied by carvings of soldiers. “This theme was chosen so that the tribute bearers would be reminded that the military kept the empire under the king’s control” (Hussein). Each detail of this building, as well as of the other regal edifices in Persepolis, was designed to show Persia’s prominence.
While Persepolis proclaimed the Persian kings’ power, it was also the center for celebrating the New Year, or the Noruz. The Noruz was a religious ceremony honoring Ahura Mazda, the predominant Persia god. The festivities also acknowledged the Persian king, who would lavishly celebrate in Perseplis each year. The Noruz united the empire under its ruler.
In Greek, Persepolis means “city of ruins,” and tragically this immense city of wonder collapsed. In around 330 B.C., 200 years after Daruis I built the city, the Greek leader Alexander the Great came to conquer Persia, and defeated over 40,000 men at the Persian Gates. Still, having suffered too many losses for Alexander to handle, including having 800 prisoners of war returned with severed limbs, Alexander wanted Persepolis destroyed. For several days the Greek soldiers pillaged and plundered the capital, though Alexander decided to spare the royal buildings; “Persian leaders, dressed in their finest robes, threw themselves off the tops of their walls or burned themselves alive in their houses rather than fall into the hands of their enemies” (Doxuan). Finally, drunk and seduced by a young maiden, Alexander and his men were led one night to Xerxes’ palace, where they burned everything in sight. What flames started, time finished, and Persepolis was demolished.
Today only glimpses of the once-grand empire remain: column bases, abandoned doorways, and sunken stairwells. Archeologists have excavated parts of the city, and have found artifacts, like stone tablets and statues, that have enlightened our world today about what Persia was like. In 1979 the remains of Persepolis were named a world heritage site to commemorate the grandeur of the ancient capital.
Bibliography:
Darius I, the Great (550 B.C.-486 B.C.)." UXL Biographies. Online ed. Detroit: UXL, 2003. Discovering Collection. Thomson Gale. Anoka Hennepin ISD 11. 1 May. 2007.
Doxuan, Charles-Emmanuel. "The mystery of Persepolis. (Persian city destroyed in 330 B.C.)(includes related article)(UNESCO in Action: Heritage)." UNESCO Courier (May 1995): 40(4). Student Edition. Thomson Gale. Anoka Hennepin ISD 11. 1 May. 2007.
Hussein, Angela Murock. "Magnificent persepolis." Calliope 17.3 (Nov 2006): 24(4). Junior Edition. Thomson Gale. Anoka Hennepin ISD 11. 1 May. 2007.
Notes:
I started looking at the University of Minnesota library, but I couldn’t find any articles I wanted, so I used the Champlin Park Gale database like Ms. Evans just taught us to do. After printing the content of the articles I wanted, I read through them a few times and highlighted the things I thought were important. I then put my notes aside and wrote my journal, only referring back to the text a few times for the quotes I used. I’m glad that I did research on Persepolis because I wanted to know why Marjanne Satrapi decided to give her book that title; now I better understand how the lost ancient city relates to Marji’s childhood.
Persepolis, Parsa to the Persians, was constructed in the center of the colossal Persian dominion, which was composed of 23 nations. “In laying out Persepolis, architects had worked with the natural environment to create an imposing complex that would impress visitors” (Hussein). Free men from all across Persia came to build the city, making sure the king of Persia was honored by it, and that people from all over the world would know Persia’s might. The most extensive building under Darius’s reign was the audience hall, or the Apadana, built to welcome and impress all who entered; grand staircases were constructed to display the king’s power.
Darius wanted his capital to awe Persia, and was always modifying it. Even when his son, Xerxes, and later his grandson, Artaxerxes, were in charge, buildings were added or renovated. Xerxes and Artaxerxes together fabricated the new largest building in Persepolis, the Hundred Column Hall. Meant to embrace and receive gifts from various royal authorities, the Hundred Column Hall, as its name implies, had 100 towering pillars inside accompanied by carvings of soldiers. “This theme was chosen so that the tribute bearers would be reminded that the military kept the empire under the king’s control” (Hussein). Each detail of this building, as well as of the other regal edifices in Persepolis, was designed to show Persia’s prominence.
While Persepolis proclaimed the Persian kings’ power, it was also the center for celebrating the New Year, or the Noruz. The Noruz was a religious ceremony honoring Ahura Mazda, the predominant Persia god. The festivities also acknowledged the Persian king, who would lavishly celebrate in Perseplis each year. The Noruz united the empire under its ruler.
In Greek, Persepolis means “city of ruins,” and tragically this immense city of wonder collapsed. In around 330 B.C., 200 years after Daruis I built the city, the Greek leader Alexander the Great came to conquer Persia, and defeated over 40,000 men at the Persian Gates. Still, having suffered too many losses for Alexander to handle, including having 800 prisoners of war returned with severed limbs, Alexander wanted Persepolis destroyed. For several days the Greek soldiers pillaged and plundered the capital, though Alexander decided to spare the royal buildings; “Persian leaders, dressed in their finest robes, threw themselves off the tops of their walls or burned themselves alive in their houses rather than fall into the hands of their enemies” (Doxuan). Finally, drunk and seduced by a young maiden, Alexander and his men were led one night to Xerxes’ palace, where they burned everything in sight. What flames started, time finished, and Persepolis was demolished.
Today only glimpses of the once-grand empire remain: column bases, abandoned doorways, and sunken stairwells. Archeologists have excavated parts of the city, and have found artifacts, like stone tablets and statues, that have enlightened our world today about what Persia was like. In 1979 the remains of Persepolis were named a world heritage site to commemorate the grandeur of the ancient capital.
Bibliography:
Darius I, the Great (550 B.C.-486 B.C.)." UXL Biographies. Online ed. Detroit: UXL, 2003. Discovering Collection. Thomson Gale. Anoka Hennepin ISD 11. 1 May. 2007
Doxuan, Charles-Emmanuel. "The mystery of Persepolis. (Persian city destroyed in 330 B.C.)(includes related article)(UNESCO in Action: Heritage)." UNESCO Courier (May 1995): 40(4). Student Edition. Thomson Gale. Anoka Hennepin ISD 11. 1 May. 2007
Hussein, Angela Murock. "Magnificent persepolis." Calliope 17.3 (Nov 2006): 24(4). Junior Edition. Thomson Gale. Anoka Hennepin ISD 11. 1 May. 2007
Notes:
I started looking at the University of Minnesota library, but I couldn’t find any articles I wanted, so I used the Champlin Park Gale database like Ms. Evans just taught us to do. After printing the content of the articles I wanted, I read through them a few times and highlighted the things I thought were important. I then put my notes aside and wrote my journal, only referring back to the text a few times for the quotes I used. I’m glad that I did research on Persepolis because I wanted to know why Marjanne Satrapi decided to give her book that title; now I better understand how the lost ancient city relates to Marji’s childhood.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Atonement
Atonement by Ian McEwan was a satisfying choice novel. I really like Part One (the first half of the book) with the set-up of the crime Briony commits. The second half was harder to get through, especially Part Two when Robbie was a soldier.
One major theme of this book, as the title suggests, is atonement. Briony commits a crime that destroys her family, mostly her sister, and feels like she must make up for it through her writing. Yet when she tells the story to a magazine she keeps her crime out; when she gets it back from the publisher who wants more depth she asks herself, “might she obscure the fact by concocting a slight, barely clever fiction and satisfy her vanity by sending it off to a magazine” (302)? When she approaches Cecilia to try to make things right, Cecilia says, “I won’t ever forgive you” (318). It is at the age of 77 when Briony realizes the reality of compensating for her crime, and the relation to her writing. “How can a novelist achieve atonement when, with her absolute power of deciding outcomes, she is also God” (350)?
Throughout the book the thing Briony devotes her life to, before she needs to make amends with her sister, is writing. “At the age of eleven she wrote her first story,” and at thirteen she writes her first play where she conveys her apprehensions saying, “the reader was bound to speculate that she was describing herself” (6). What Briony loves about her writing, however, is that “everyone would adore her” (11). At 77, when she is waiting for her novel to be published and sees her first play acted out, she concludes that her writing “was always an impossible task, and that was precisely the point. The attempt was all” (351).
I feel like Ian McEwan, as an author, is trying to reveal his own feelings about writing. Through Briony’s eyes, McEwan is showing the process he goes through to complete his own works. If this is true, McEwan is comparable to Tim O’Brien in the fact that he “heats up the truth.” Briony uses people from her real life and changes the details to make it fit in her story. “Who would want to believe them, except in the service of the bleakest realism? I’m too old, too frightened, too much in love with the shred of life I have remaining…But what really happened? The answer is simple: the lovers survive and flourish” (350). I can relate to altering information in my writing from writing my personal narrative.
McEwan’s writing style also remined me of O’Brien’s because of the way he set up the chapters. Each of the chapters gives different characters’ perspectives on what is going on, mentioning events that get explained later on. For example, Briony walks in on Cecilia and Robbie having sex, and “her immediate understanding was that she had interrupted an attack, a hand-to-hand fight” (116). Yet later on, Cecilia describes the details of her sexual encounter with Robbie. This is similar to O’Brien’s writing style when he mentions an event, like Kiowa’s death, and then explains it with more data in a later chapter. This technique builds suspense for the reader; it helped me stay involved in the book.
Another major theme of Atonement is maturity. Lola, Briony’s 15-year-old cousin, “had come to the nursery that morning in the guise of the adult she considered herself at heart to be” (32). Yet Lola is still a girl; after being beaten by her brothers, Lola sought out Briony to console her. While Lola is weakened by this experience, Briony is strengthened. “That a girl so brittle and domineering should be brought this low by a couple of nine-year-old boys seemed wondrous to Briony, and it gave her a sense of her own power” (110). Briony, as only a thirteen-year-old, doesn’t really grasp the power she has. She destroys her family by telling them what she thinks she sees (Robbie raping Lola), but she doesn’t foresee the repercussions of her actions. When Briony apologizes to her sister, she explains that what made her change her mind about Lola’s rapist was “Growing up” (323).
Atonement helped me see a cultural view of upper-class British life. It also helped me look through a feminine lens at a marriage that most would consider failing, but keeps the couple strong. Mainly Atonement reminded me that while a relationship can be destroyed with a single sentence, it may never be restored, even after a lifetime of feeling sorry.
One major theme of this book, as the title suggests, is atonement. Briony commits a crime that destroys her family, mostly her sister, and feels like she must make up for it through her writing. Yet when she tells the story to a magazine she keeps her crime out; when she gets it back from the publisher who wants more depth she asks herself, “might she obscure the fact by concocting a slight, barely clever fiction and satisfy her vanity by sending it off to a magazine” (302)? When she approaches Cecilia to try to make things right, Cecilia says, “I won’t ever forgive you” (318). It is at the age of 77 when Briony realizes the reality of compensating for her crime, and the relation to her writing. “How can a novelist achieve atonement when, with her absolute power of deciding outcomes, she is also God” (350)?
Throughout the book the thing Briony devotes her life to, before she needs to make amends with her sister, is writing. “At the age of eleven she wrote her first story,” and at thirteen she writes her first play where she conveys her apprehensions saying, “the reader was bound to speculate that she was describing herself” (6). What Briony loves about her writing, however, is that “everyone would adore her” (11). At 77, when she is waiting for her novel to be published and sees her first play acted out, she concludes that her writing “was always an impossible task, and that was precisely the point. The attempt was all” (351).
I feel like Ian McEwan, as an author, is trying to reveal his own feelings about writing. Through Briony’s eyes, McEwan is showing the process he goes through to complete his own works. If this is true, McEwan is comparable to Tim O’Brien in the fact that he “heats up the truth.” Briony uses people from her real life and changes the details to make it fit in her story. “Who would want to believe them, except in the service of the bleakest realism? I’m too old, too frightened, too much in love with the shred of life I have remaining…But what really happened? The answer is simple: the lovers survive and flourish” (350). I can relate to altering information in my writing from writing my personal narrative.
McEwan’s writing style also remined me of O’Brien’s because of the way he set up the chapters. Each of the chapters gives different characters’ perspectives on what is going on, mentioning events that get explained later on. For example, Briony walks in on Cecilia and Robbie having sex, and “her immediate understanding was that she had interrupted an attack, a hand-to-hand fight” (116). Yet later on, Cecilia describes the details of her sexual encounter with Robbie. This is similar to O’Brien’s writing style when he mentions an event, like Kiowa’s death, and then explains it with more data in a later chapter. This technique builds suspense for the reader; it helped me stay involved in the book.
Another major theme of Atonement is maturity. Lola, Briony’s 15-year-old cousin, “had come to the nursery that morning in the guise of the adult she considered herself at heart to be” (32). Yet Lola is still a girl; after being beaten by her brothers, Lola sought out Briony to console her. While Lola is weakened by this experience, Briony is strengthened. “That a girl so brittle and domineering should be brought this low by a couple of nine-year-old boys seemed wondrous to Briony, and it gave her a sense of her own power” (110). Briony, as only a thirteen-year-old, doesn’t really grasp the power she has. She destroys her family by telling them what she thinks she sees (Robbie raping Lola), but she doesn’t foresee the repercussions of her actions. When Briony apologizes to her sister, she explains that what made her change her mind about Lola’s rapist was “Growing up” (323).
Atonement helped me see a cultural view of upper-class British life. It also helped me look through a feminine lens at a marriage that most would consider failing, but keeps the couple strong. Mainly Atonement reminded me that while a relationship can be destroyed with a single sentence, it may never be restored, even after a lifetime of feeling sorry.
Lost Youth
Thesis: In Persepolis and The Things They Carried, war wrecks young lives and needs to be coped with, but a childhood can be recovered.
Claims:
1. In Persepolis, Marji, a victim of war in her country, is forced to grow up too quickly.
- The images of torture, such as the iron, that Marji hears about are too shocking for a ten-year-old. “I never imagined that you could use that appliance for torture” (51).
- Marji goes to the basement to escape the destruction of war around her. “It was awful. But this was not the moment to give in. With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye” (117).
- At age 14, Marji left her family to escape the war and live alone in Vienna. “what I had feared was true…we’d never live together again” (152).
2. In The Things They Carried, the soldiers are boys forced to become men too early.
- “The average age in our platoon, I’d guess, was nineteen or twenty, and as a consequence things often took on a curiously playful atmosphere…Like when Azar blew up Ted Lavender’s puppy. ‘What’s everybody so upset about?’ Azar said. ‘I mean, Christ, I’m just a boy’” (37).
- “The whole platoon stood there watching, feeling all kinds of things, but there wasn’t a great deal of pity for the baby water buffalo. Curt Lemon was dead. Rat Kiley had lost his best friend in the world….Rat Kiley was crying (79).
- “He grabbed Kiowa by the boot and tried to pull him out. He pulled hard but Kiowa was gone, and suddenly he felt himself going, too” (149). “[Norman] three years later hanged himself in the locker room of a YMCA in his hometown” (155).
3. By not always taking matters like torture and death seriously, victims of war can seriously cope with them.
- “No one took the torture sessions seriously anymore. As for me, I immediately started making fun of them” (Satrapi 97).
- “Dave Jensen went over and shook the [dead] old man’s hand. ‘How-dee-doo,’ he said. One by one the others did it too” (O’Brien 226).
- “By slighting death, by acting, we pretended it was not the terrible thing it was” (O’Brien 238).
4. Marji in Persepolis and Tim O’Brien in The Things They Carried are trying to hold on to their innocence.
- The night before Marji leaves for Vienna, her grandmother comes to stay with her. “Can I sleep with you?” asked Marji (150). “That’s why I’m here!” her grandmother replied (150). “I smelled my grandma’s bosom. It smelled good. I’ll never forget that smell” (150).
- “I’m skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story.”
So What: O’Brien and Satrapi are saying that while war damages young lives and needs to be coped with, the innocence of youth can be preserved. They are both trying to distill hope into their readers despite the cruelties of war.
Claims:
1. In Persepolis, Marji, a victim of war in her country, is forced to grow up too quickly.
- The images of torture, such as the iron, that Marji hears about are too shocking for a ten-year-old. “I never imagined that you could use that appliance for torture” (51).
- Marji goes to the basement to escape the destruction of war around her. “It was awful. But this was not the moment to give in. With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye” (117).
- At age 14, Marji left her family to escape the war and live alone in Vienna. “what I had feared was true…we’d never live together again” (152).
2. In The Things They Carried, the soldiers are boys forced to become men too early.
- “The average age in our platoon, I’d guess, was nineteen or twenty, and as a consequence things often took on a curiously playful atmosphere…Like when Azar blew up Ted Lavender’s puppy. ‘What’s everybody so upset about?’ Azar said. ‘I mean, Christ, I’m just a boy’” (37).
- “The whole platoon stood there watching, feeling all kinds of things, but there wasn’t a great deal of pity for the baby water buffalo. Curt Lemon was dead. Rat Kiley had lost his best friend in the world….Rat Kiley was crying (79).
- “He grabbed Kiowa by the boot and tried to pull him out. He pulled hard but Kiowa was gone, and suddenly he felt himself going, too” (149). “[Norman] three years later hanged himself in the locker room of a YMCA in his hometown” (155).
3. By not always taking matters like torture and death seriously, victims of war can seriously cope with them.
- “No one took the torture sessions seriously anymore. As for me, I immediately started making fun of them” (Satrapi 97).
- “Dave Jensen went over and shook the [dead] old man’s hand. ‘How-dee-doo,’ he said. One by one the others did it too” (O’Brien 226).
- “By slighting death, by acting, we pretended it was not the terrible thing it was” (O’Brien 238).
4. Marji in Persepolis and Tim O’Brien in The Things They Carried are trying to hold on to their innocence.
- The night before Marji leaves for Vienna, her grandmother comes to stay with her. “Can I sleep with you?” asked Marji (150). “That’s why I’m here!” her grandmother replied (150). “I smelled my grandma’s bosom. It smelled good. I’ll never forget that smell” (150).
- “I’m skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story.”
So What: O’Brien and Satrapi are saying that while war damages young lives and needs to be coped with, the innocence of youth can be preserved. They are both trying to distill hope into their readers despite the cruelties of war.
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