"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot and Winesburg, Ohio, both share the common theme of loneliness. Many of Sherwood's characters find themselves lonely as well as the speaker in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." To start, in Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, Wing Biddlebaum is lonely and wants to be with people but is scared to reach out because of his haunting past of being exiled from the town he teaches in. Because of his fear, he stays in his dilapidated house outside of town. He still watches the "berry pickers" (Sherwood 9) with enough space in between them that he doesn't have to converse with them. The speaker in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," like Wing, has learned from the past and has "known them all already" (Eliot 49). The speaker knows that he or she has already been presented with the issue yet he or she has a hard time figuring out how to not make the same mistake again. It also sounds a little sassy to me the way it is said. It's like when a teacher says something in class, and then someone asks about it immediately afterwards. Then the class looks at that person like "Hello? Are you dumb?" In the end, both lonely and wanting to be a part of society.
The two works are different in how the speaker and Alice Hindman thinking about their lives. Alice is "dreaming an impossible dream" (Sherwood 109) which relates to the speaker and his or her wondering and questioning, "And how should I presume?" (Eliot 61). They are both struggling with the fact that they aren't sure where to go. Alice knows what she wants but knows she won't get it. She knows she can't reach it no matter what happens. On the other hand, the speaker doesn't know exactly what he or she should do and is looking for the path to the little bit of happiness he or she can get in the last years of his or her life.
Lastly, in the end of the love song, the speaker says, "Till human voices wake us, and we drown" (Eliot 131). It really reminds me of how the characters in Winesburg, Ohio are grotesque. The grotesques are drowning in other's opinions and mistakes. The other people in Winesburg are influencing certain people as they grow older before they become grotesque. However, it's kind of backwards. I know I'm not supposed to refute myself but I can't decide which side I'm on. In Winesburg, Ohio, the characters are trying to help George Williard by sharing their experiences so he does not become a so called grotesque. However, if he does not experience the mistakes first hand, he cannot learn. That's where I am confused. You are drowning in the voices, yet you are learning. Drowning has bad connotations. When you drown, you typically die. Yet, if we compare it to George Williard, he's learning. But is he learning from the bad in others?? Not sure.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Seas of Yellow
Daffodils
William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
I love love LOVE this poem. Mainly because it remind me of the spring time at my grandparents farm. I don't know how, but there are daffodils everywhere. Literally everywhere--in little patches, big patches, and sometimes even just one or two. It's so pretty and calming to look out and see a sea of yellow and orange. When I read "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth, I remember the spring and walking around the pastures and just being overtaken by all the daffodils. The farm has always been a place where I can go to so I can escape the world--even if it's just for a few hours. The speaker feels the same way. First of all, the speaker says he or she feels as "lonely as a cloud." When I look into the sky, I usually don't see just one single cloud. Usually there is a surplus of white balls in the sky. However, I do occasionally look up and see one single cloud. And I think how awful it would be to be the only one up there. It makes me think of being in a sea all by myself with no one else to be with. The speaker is lost and "lonely" until he or she find the daffodils. The speaker is comforted by the daffodils because of the way they are "dancing in the breeze." Yellow can be a comforting color; therefore, the speaker feels comfort in his or her state of loneliness. The speaker loses all sense of loneliness when looking at the daffodils. The dance the daffodils are doing also lifts his mood. He's taken to a place where he can just gaze at the pictures and forget his loneliness. The speaker even compares them to waves. Waves represent an always moving motion in the speaker's life that just keeps hitting and hitting and hitting him. He cannot control their motion or how strong they come in, he can only look over at the "dancing" daffodils and think about the peacefulness. The daffodils take him away into and alternate universe while he is getting hit over and over again by the rough waves. The speaker even admits that he or she can sit on his or her "couch" and think about the daffodils and be comforted. The speaker can think back to the joyous yellow sea whenever he or she is in a bad place. I mean, how can you be sad looking at daffodils. They are such a happy flower! They grow in the spring too, symbolizing rebirth and a chance to do things again. In the spring, the sadness and loneliness is supposed to vanish. The spring brings "pleasure" to the speaker because he or she knows that the season for being lonely is over. The speaker and I enjoy how we can look back to the sea of yellow in a dark day and feel better.
William Wordsworth
 |
| Robinson, Mark. Daffodil field in South East Cornwall. 2009. photograpgh. Flickr http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cornwall_Daffodils.jpg |
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
I love love LOVE this poem. Mainly because it remind me of the spring time at my grandparents farm. I don't know how, but there are daffodils everywhere. Literally everywhere--in little patches, big patches, and sometimes even just one or two. It's so pretty and calming to look out and see a sea of yellow and orange. When I read "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth, I remember the spring and walking around the pastures and just being overtaken by all the daffodils. The farm has always been a place where I can go to so I can escape the world--even if it's just for a few hours. The speaker feels the same way. First of all, the speaker says he or she feels as "lonely as a cloud." When I look into the sky, I usually don't see just one single cloud. Usually there is a surplus of white balls in the sky. However, I do occasionally look up and see one single cloud. And I think how awful it would be to be the only one up there. It makes me think of being in a sea all by myself with no one else to be with. The speaker is lost and "lonely" until he or she find the daffodils. The speaker is comforted by the daffodils because of the way they are "dancing in the breeze." Yellow can be a comforting color; therefore, the speaker feels comfort in his or her state of loneliness. The speaker loses all sense of loneliness when looking at the daffodils. The dance the daffodils are doing also lifts his mood. He's taken to a place where he can just gaze at the pictures and forget his loneliness. The speaker even compares them to waves. Waves represent an always moving motion in the speaker's life that just keeps hitting and hitting and hitting him. He cannot control their motion or how strong they come in, he can only look over at the "dancing" daffodils and think about the peacefulness. The daffodils take him away into and alternate universe while he is getting hit over and over again by the rough waves. The speaker even admits that he or she can sit on his or her "couch" and think about the daffodils and be comforted. The speaker can think back to the joyous yellow sea whenever he or she is in a bad place. I mean, how can you be sad looking at daffodils. They are such a happy flower! They grow in the spring too, symbolizing rebirth and a chance to do things again. In the spring, the sadness and loneliness is supposed to vanish. The spring brings "pleasure" to the speaker because he or she knows that the season for being lonely is over. The speaker and I enjoy how we can look back to the sea of yellow in a dark day and feel better.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Hero or Not?
What is a hero? Is it someone that saves a kitten? Someone that stops a building from burning? Someone that makes you feel better? Someone that causes you to change? Everyone has their own definition of a hero. It really depends on where you are in life. In my life, I have many heroes. Is that even possible? Actually, I take that back. But in Grendel by John Gardner, Grendel doesn't want to believe that he isn't the hero. He doesn't want to be the bad guy even though that is who he is born to be. When he talks to the dragon, the dragon tells him to "seek out gold and sit on it" (74). Basically, the dragon is telling him that everything he will do is pointless and there is no reason to do anything. He tells Grendel he should get his gold aka his pride and greed, and sit on it meaning he should not let it go and keep it for himself symbolizing greed. I don't see Grendel the way the dragon does. Yes I agree with the dragon when he says to Grendel "If you withdraw, you'll instantly be replaced" (73). But this is where Grendel fails in my mind. He should continue with his mindset of not wanting to kill for fun, but killing for food and killing based on need. There is always something that is going to push the people to "poetry, science, religion" and "all that makes them what they are" (73). Grendel is a hidden hero. Without him, the people wouldn't be progressing. He is the hero that helps them become better at what they need to do in life for themselves. Aren't heroes supposed to help share knowledge that will make life better? Isn't he making their life better? I was talking to my friend about it and he helped me think about it in a way I wouldn't have thought about normally. And now I'm changing my thoughts again! There are heroes in everyone's life. Everyone passes on information that helps someone continue on their journey. Isn't a hero who is done with their journey the old wise man in another's journey? *MINDBLOWN!* I literally just had a light-bulb moment. It makes complete sense! Yes! The advisor in the new or main journey is at the end of his or her own journey! That's how the information gets passed down. Therefore, the dragon is at the end of his journey, and he is telling Grendel how he thinks life is about being "found in the frustrations of established order" (67). Grendel can either take it, or leave it. In Grendel's journey, he takes it, but leaves it--if that makes any logical sense. Grendel struggles with it because he doesn't want to be like the dragon, but he sees his point. He goes back and forth between wanting to kill mechanically and not wanting to kill at all. That's a major part of his journey--whether is be a heroic one or not. But keep in mind, a hero causes a change...Grendel has caused a change.
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