Like many things, life itself is a cycle: there are the ups and downs, the unexpected and mundane elements that fill each and every day. This idea is clearly represented in the poem “Shaving”, written by Richard Blanco in 1998, where the speaker uses various literary techniques to first symbolize the growth of his beard with awe-inspiring natural phenomena, then dedicate the act of shaving to mourn the untimely loss of his father, and finally compare the ritual of shaving to the cyclical nature of life, revealing the underlying theme that life could be beautiful at times, but also tragic, so it is important to savor the moments with your loved ones. In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker uses literary techniques to symbolize the growth …show more content…
In line 22, the speaker references the “hundred faces” that sees in the mirror. Here, the hundred faces refers to his male ancestors, and the legacies they have left on this world; by observing his family heritage, the speaker realizes that life is a cyclical process where one grows with triumph, but decays with tragedy. He sees his future in that “hundred faces,” which will have its ups and downs just like the lives of his ancestors. Indeed, the speaker follows in the next two lines with the comparison of his shaving ritual to natural phenomena that he opened with at the beginning, where he describes how the growth of his beard can be majestic but also how quickly shaving can erase its progress. This suggests that the speaker has come to peace with nature in a new understanding, where he appreciates the awe-inspiring phenomena nature may bring, but also recognizes the tragedy that impacts each and everyone of us. By using the act of shaving as an extended metaphor, the speaker suggests that life itself is cyclical: no matter who we are, we will go through the good and bad times, so it is important that we savor and cherish the moments that we hold dearest at
In the short story The Scarlet Ibis, James Hurst uses symbolism to compare the scarlet ibis and the narrator's younger sibling Doodle. There are many parts in this story that refer the scarlet ibis to Doodle symbolically. To begin with, The Scarlet Ibis and Doodle should've never been in the environment they had died in. When Doodle was born everyone knew he wasn’t going to make it much longer in his short span of life “Everyone thought he was going to die”(416). Therefore his family built Doodle a coffin, Later on this represents an older Doodle when he was burying the scarlet ibis “The bird wasn’t supposed to be here….it couldn't handle the climate”(425).
The short story of “The Scarlet Ibis” is a story of two brothers, in which the older brother pushes his younger brother, Doodle, to be perfect and to be just like the other boys. This story is expressed through many different symbols that have meaning throughout the story. “The Scarlet Ibis” uses symbolism in birds, death, and the color red to show the conflict of one older brother pushing his younger brother to be perfect. Birds are used throughout “The Scarlet Ibis” to symbolize how fragile and unique the lives of creatures in nature are. “On the topmost branch a bird the size of a chicken with scarlet feathers and long legs was precariously”(Hurst).
The mood created by this quote is one of introspection and thoughtfulness, as the author prompts readers to reflect on their own lives and the way they perceive the world around them. This mood is enhanced by the diction, which focuses on the unique and wondrous aspects of life that can easily go unnoticed. In terms of figurative language, the quote uses a metaphor
Julia Alvarez, in her poem “’Poetry Makes Nothing Happen’?”, writes that poems do play a role in people’s lives. She supports her idea by using relateable examples of how poems might change someone’s life. Her first example is simple, poetry can entertain someone on long drives. This does not only aply to long dirves however, Alvarez uses this to show that poetry does not have to have a big influence on someone’s life, instead it can affect a person in the smallest of ways, such as entertainment. The second example describes poetry comforting someone after the loss of a loved one.
K.H Lim’s novel, Written in Black, follows young boy, Jonathan Lee, who is committed to reunite his family for his grandfather's funeral. The novel follows him on his journey across Bruni, South Korea determined to find answers about his mother's disappearance and brother’s banishment. Through this enduring journey Jonathan is brought into contact with disparate people and discovers friendship and himself. So, to obtain what he is searching for he still has a long way to go. Since he is searching for the truth, through Jonathan’s journey, Lim uses the black ink to symbolize the truth absolute.
Have you ever lost someone or felt utterly useless and helpless? Have you ever gone through a life-changing experience to reach a goal at the end. Well in J.D Salinger's Novel The Catcher in the Rye there there's a character named Holden that goes through these very things as in the big city of New York. There were many things that pushed him through this troubling experience and many symbols that helped us understand his life and past. There are three main symbols that hold meaning to the novel's overall theme which are the hunting hat, the Central Park ducks, and the Museum of Natural history.
Poetry The Poem “Shaving” by Richard Blanco shows how the event of shaving causes the speaker to think about the finer details of his life, and the short but now meaningful memories he has of his father, as well as the the impact that miniscule and unseen processes have on the world. The first stanza of the poem demonstrates to the reader the thought process of the narrator whilst he shaves. The first 5 lines set a precedent for the underlying narrative of a “silent labor” that blossoms into something substantial. This epiphany of a slow, continuous effort having a substantial outcome is supported by other examples of this phenomena stated in lines 4-9; examples of this being “ocean steam rising to form clouds”(line 4), or “the fall of fresh
Symbolism The author of the short story “Scarlet Ibis” is James Hurst. This is a story about a boy that was born with a heart disease. His name is William Armstrong, he was born prematurely. Even though he was slower than others his older brother helped him out.
Nothing To See Here The book, Nothing To See Here, by Kevin Wilson displays numerous counts of symbolism and has many forms of characterization for the reader to analyze. For example, Lilian is able to relate to the kids through her own struggles with neglect and feeling alone. This is demonstrated in the quote, “Who would judge you?
Money plays a gigantic part in the economy with Everest. “By 1996 Hall was charging $65,000 a head…” (pg.36). To guides, gross amounts of money paid, Sherpa’s at the base of the mountain went from a small village with no wheels to having the children wearing baseball caps and American branded shirts. This even allowed anyone who could pay, could climb the mountain, even if guides had to drag them up the mountain. There wasn’t as much lack of trust due to the types of people, but their skill level.
Despite this, the cyclical nature of life-conveyed through textual framing and a motif of regrowth-is shown
First Impression “The spot where vanity once punched him hard and the ache lingered on” is a verse in the poem, Tattoo written by Ted Kooser that perplexed me. It threw me off track, as to what the real meaning and lesson that the author was trying to express in this poem and teach the reader. This poem contextualizes Ted Kooser’s idea of time passing in realistic fictional verses. My Process
Life does not stop for anybody, it continuously moves in a cycle of growing up and eventually dying; such as a puppy that loses its youth and becomes mature. In Mary Oliver’s lyric poem “Lines Written in the Days of Growing Darkness” and Robert Frost’s lyric poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, both authors demonstrate how life has its ups and its downs. The speaker of Oliver’s poem encourages us directly to “let us go on, cheerfully enough” (18), even though we don’t want things to change; it is bound to happen. On the other hand, Frost’s poem suggests indirectly that although things will process through cycles and we will have to go through lost; something will always be gained. Both authors convey their theme largely through symbolic imagery.
This also state that by eating the peach you get memories of great moments and not so great moments. I think the author is trying to represent that life is how you make it. In total the author Li-Young Lee, uses symbolism to point out the happiness and the sadness that comes from simple things. By using repetition and symbolism, Li-Young Lee the author of “ From Blossoms” shows that the end of something can lead to joy and happiness through memories.
He believes that because humanity has absorbed so many materialistic ideals that the connection between nature and oneself feels absent. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” instead begins with the discovery of a field of golden daffodils, “fluttering