280. The Beating

In the description, while the beating is taking place the speaker is going through pain and the way this part of the poem is written conveys this to the audience. The lines don’t seem to flow as much as the end of the poem and often times the last word of a thought is placed in the next line. The way that each line is broken up in the first parts of the poem makes it feel as if the beating were taking place right then. It almost feels like each thought is being interrupted by the blows being described.

This form of writing stops in the last two stanzas. In these last stanzas, his thoughts are more together and the poem has a better rhythm and flows more. The pain is gone so he can think more clearly and poem more poetic, but the hospital is still described as a scary place where he is caged in and surrounded. He sees shapes and thinks they are going to beat him again. That is why he says “no blow!” The italics show that those are his words. Everything in the hospital that normaly is described as good, is viewed as a negative thing to the speaker. The white room "tortures" his eyes, and he sees his cast/splint as being "caged in wood". The fear being expressed in this second to last stanza shows how the beating still will have a lasting effect on the victim.

"My eyes burst closed"- This is a much stronger way of just saying I shut my eyes. The author uses this oxy moron to get a better effect and it shows the intensity of the blows and pain he is in. His eyes are now closed so does not know what is really going on, but can still describe what he is feeling. When he says, "I was flying.", it is how he feels, when he is being helped and brought into a hospital.

The poem shows such a vivid description from the speaker of the beating that while reading the poem, I could feel the pain he was going through. He counts the number of times he is hit, and remembers each and every one distinctly. It shows how much effect this has had on him and how he will not forget it. The way the author conveys the speaker’s feelings to the reader is not by describing as much of a visual image, but by focusing mainly on the sense of touch and feel from the speaker. The author uses descriptions such as, "Flood of senses across the ribs.." and "beat my skull against my/Brain".

222. The Colonel

The speaker in "The Colonel" is a man who is visiting the colonel's home and having dinner their. The speaker is spanish and is representing his race and their status. Unlike other poems, this one does not have numbered lines and is written as just one sentence after another. It is done this way, so that when it is written, it will always look like a block written out, and even on both sides of the page. It gives it the appearance of being orderly and simple. The sentences in the poem are also very short and simple. They do not seem to be very poetic and are without ryhme.

The main focus of the poem seems to be the way that the speaker's race is looked down upon by the colonel and people like him. The setting of the poem gives a negative image. It includes descriptions of broken glass in the walls outside and gratings on the windows. Also, a pistol is included in the description sitting on a cushion next to the colonel's son. For dinner, they had lamb and wine. This Biblical allusion is significant becuase the lamb is often a symbol of innocence and while the speaker is innocent and pure, the Colonel clearly is not. Also the wine with the lamb represents blood, as it does biblically.

The Colonel dumps out many human ears in front of the speaker and his friend, trying to instill fear in them and show his power. He tells them that they have no rights, using foul language and belittles them by doing so. He drops one ear in water and it seems to come alive as he speaks. As if it was listening. The final lines say how some of the ears heard what he was saying while others did not. "Some of the ears on the floor were pressed to the ground." They are described like they do not want to hear what the Colonel has to say. This shows that there are some who do try and oppose the dominance and control over their race.

There is a clear dominance shown in the poem. Everything throughout the poem is said in terms of the colonel. Numerous times, things are mentioned as "his..." Another important detail in "his house" is the television. The programs playing seem to parallel the events in the dinner. While the speaker is there, a cop show is on "in English". The fact that they include that it was in English hints the whites dominance being shown and that it represents the colonel being in control of the everything and is the law. This is further emphasized a later sentence, "I was asked how I enjoyed the country. There was a brief commercial in Spanish." The one time the poem's speaker is able to say something back to the Colonel, the author is actually describing his speaking as the "brief commercial". The lack of quotations may be a sign that the speaker of the poem is like one of the ears is trying to block out the Colonel's words and not give in to those who think they are superior to him.

217. The Lipstick on the Mirror

Personification is used on the mirror in the poem. "Mirror" is capitalized in the poem, as if it were a person, and it can also speak. In reality, the mirror is not actually speaking to women, but they feel like it is. But by looking at themselves in their mirrors, they are asking the same question as the "Wicked Queen". By putting on all the expensive things to make themselves look good, they are trying to get the mirror to tell them that they are the best looking. In the poem, it is not even the mirror that is speaking either though. It is the image in the mirror, which is the woman who is looking at herself. So that means, she is just telling herself that she is "the fairest of them all". More than once, the location is described as "the realm" as if it belonged to the people who are being idolized. But they are in control, and can dictate what girls will look like and what they spend money on based on themselves.

The phrase at the end is also an allusion from "Snow White". It makes the idea of the buying expensive things for beauty seem and childish, like a fairytale is. The author gives a long description of all the ways that women try to look better, and all the things they buy while "Industries sprang up like bramble" By giving so many things, it makes the reader feel like it is more than neccessary and that it all does not have to be there.

The queen is described as Wicked and is always called, "the Wicked Queen". This is showing how the author views the way people use the mirror and try to be the most beautiful.
Descriptions of the queen and the things she uses for beauty are made to be negative, such as, "the Wicked Queen's/ Essence was suffused like a scentless gas." The poem starts off with a series of questions all about how great the queen's appearance was and how expensive it was.
"Girls throughout the realm/ would lap it up..." The wording of these lines give it a negative tone. To the reader, "lap it up" makes it sound as if they were falling for a trick. That is because it is a trap, to have to try and look just like the rich and famous people.

In this poem, I saw how this is just like our society is. Everyone wants to be like the famous people and have what they have when they should just be happy with what they have and who they are. If women are always trying to attain perfection, then they will surely be dissapointed because, they will not alway look the way they want. I see this poem as being very true about how the "fair and rich" dictate what people will try to be like. They buy things based on these types of people and let others make money off of it. People spend too much time in front of the mirror worrying about appearances.

portrait

I did not really enjoy reading most of this book. However, i liked seeing how Stephen faced his questions about religion in his environment compared to ours. He had many of the same struggles as many people do here today with religion, but I think most people would not act as he did. He still showed a great deal of respect for religion, but was not completely sure if it was the truth. It was interesting seeing how he progressed through his phases of devoutness and uncertainty to the church. It showed that even in a place where religion means everything to people, your path is not decided for you.

Heart of Darkness - Review

This was one of my least favorite books to read so far this year. It was not as easy to understand and some of the themes were more difficult to find, especially after just reading Invisible Man where the themes and symbols can easily be seen on every page. I liked how the character of Kurtz was used to show Marlow's heart of darkness. He represented the evil that Marlow faced and had to decide whether to embrace or not. The presence of Kurtz and being able to compare the two characters helped to understand what was going on with Marlow.

Heart of Darkness - Analysis

When Marlow arrives at the station to retrieve Kurtz, he sees what appears to be a broken fence with wooden balls on the tops of each post. At this point in the story Marlow is on the verge of becoming like Kurtz and must decide whether or not to except the same fate as he. While looking through his binoculars he finds out that what is atop each pole it a native's head. The sight makes Marlow lower his binoculars, but he is not quite appalled by sight. His reaction towards seeing the severed heads shows how close he is to the evil inside himself. When he looks away, it as if he is taken into the distance again and away from Kurtz and his darkness. He is now rejecting the evil because he saw what had previously been unclear to him about Kurtz and the heart of darkness. When he is brought face to face with the images of darkness, he chooses to take a step back from them and not end up like Kurtz.

Player Piano - Review

I did not like reading this book compared to the others we have read. The idea of technology taking over society is a very popular basis for stories, but this book shows its effects on people's lives and how it will cause people to loose their identity as individuals. Machines taking over is always and interesting story, but reading numerous books on how people lose purpose in their lives makes it less enjoyable. I also would have hoped for a better ending to the story that is not so unclear. I did find it interesting though how the more technology improves in the story, the less jobs for people there are. Even today this is true because people are finding more efficient ways of doing things.