The characters in Denver Buston’s “Tuesday 9:00AM” have become oppressed by their daily life’s mundanity and they have a desire to work toward ending this oppression by interacting with one another but they are held back by the oppression they are trying to fight. In the first stanza, the man on fire has become distanced from his subjection by the newspaper that he is reading. He is “standing at the bus stop / reading the newspaper” and “is on fire” (1-2). The interjection of the bus stop and newspaper distance the man from his condition. This interjection can change the way the line is read, making it seem as though the newspaper itself is on fire, further separating the man from his consumption in that the questioning of what is on fire creates a pause in the reader’s mind. The man is also not actively suffering even though he is on fire because, like others in many marginalizing situations, he has become desensitized to his own oppression as it has …show more content…
Whether it’s trying to get close to the man to melt her own icicles or “to stop her teeth long enough / from chattering to say something” to the drowning woman about her watery condition (24-25). The inhibition of the movement of the man who is on fire due to his melting shoes is mirrored in the freezing woman as she has “blocks of ice on her feet” that keep her from getting to the man to melt the ice all over her body (29). Her elemental consumption by ice also connects her to the other two characters. She is said to be consumed by ice, which is made of water, but freezing can also have the implication of frostbite which is a sort of burn, therefore connecting her to the man on fire. These physical manifestations inhibiting movement directly parallel the feeling of being trapped in a mundane, mechanical world with which the characters are
While walking downtown with her girlfriend, the author describes as, “[her] heart began to skip every other beat, pounding, pounding, pounding … [as she stood] paralyzed like a frightened, little jackrabbit.” Repetition of the word “pounding” in the text develops a fast pace, indicating the urgency and panic felt by the author; terms such as paralyzed are utilized to emphasize the urgent, panicked mood. However, sanguine moods still persist throughout the narrative. For example, in the opening paragraph the author describes how she, “watch[ed] the golden dots of morning light glide across [her] ceiling, [and she] melted into a feeling of peace specific to the freedom of early summer.” Terms such as “golden,” “glide,” “peace,” and “early summer” help the reader detect a placid mood in the text, directing the reader towards the state of contentment the author feels surrounding her relationship. Mood differentiations in the text, from the urgency of the narrator’s walk downtown to the tranquil peace of the narrator’s relationship, indicate the contrasting aspects of the LGBT+ community, both in terms of the impending fear of violence, and the love that is the
As depicted in the poem "Kicking the Habit", The role of the English language in the life of the writer, Lawson Fusao Inada, is heavily inherent. As articulated between the lines 4 and 9, English is not just solely a linguistic device to the author, but heightened to a point where he considers it rather as a paradigm or state of mind. To the author, English is the most commonly trodden path when it comes to being human, it represents conformity, mutual assurance and understanding within the population. Something of which he admits to doing before pulling off the highway road.
In their works, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Kate Chopin show that freedom was not universal in America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The three works, "The Yellow Wallpaper," "At the 'Cadian Ball," and "The Storm" expose the oppression of women by society. This works also illustrate that those women who were passive in the face of this oppression risk losing not only their identity, but their sanity as well.
them” and “friend and enemies”, there are other texts in which correspond to the same ideas and can be utilized to further support the relevance oppression has to these particular concepts. To elaborate, another text also written by Octavia Butler entitled Wild Seed thoroughly supports the concept that “control” is regarded as the underlying issue to oppression. A clear reference to be made involves characters of both Kindred and Wild Seed. Within Wild Seed Doro abuses his control and utilizes his powers for selfish purposes as do the white men in Kindred. In both instances innocent people are harmed and abused without proper cause. Another inference to be made details that in each situation both Doro and the white men are referenced as the
While underground in Philadelphia’s subway, Ross repeatedly uses word correspondence to establish a narrative rhythm for the reader. Fran Ross critiques different commuters as they struggle to avoid the “irritation, humiliation, irrigation, and syncopation,” caused by the station’s leaky pipes. The vernacular is strongly based on tempo, rhyming and movement through the composition’s emphasis on movement. Furthermore, she stresses the consecutive repetition in the following sentence, stating, “According to the number of drops that fell on the traveler from the Leaky Pipes, he or she was irritated, humiliated or irrigated.” Not only does this establish a friendly narrative voice, it stresses what is at stake for the passengers on the subway. If they take a wrong step, the
Montag witnesses a woman burn along with the books in her house at the hands of him and his co-workers. The next day, he is too traumatized to go to work and stays at home instead. Beatty, Montag’s boss, pays him an unexpected visit and attempts to console his troubled mind. In an effort to comfort Montag, Beatty explains that “ ‘[w]e must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. [....] Breach man’s mind. [T]here was no longer need of firemen for the old purposes. [...] [A]s custodians of our peace of mind, [...] [t]hat’s you, Montag, and that’s me” (Bradbury 55-56). As shown by his statement that everyone is not “born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but [...] made equal’ ” so that there is nothing “ ‘to judge themselves against,’ ” Beatty is explaining the reasoning behind their society’s mindset. He justifies the death of the woman by implying that those who are different are also catalysts for conflict. Bradbury’s simile identifies the corruption of their government as they strip people of their rights in order to effectively control the mass population. Meanwhile, Montag absorbs this new perspective, no longer left in his state of unawareness. In addition, his own purpose in life is being defined in terms of society when Beatty claims that “there was no longer need of firemen for the old purposes. [...] [A]s custodians of our peace of mind, [...] [t]hat’s you, Montag, and that’s me.” Provided with this reasoning, Montag is finally able to begin forming an understanding of how the world operates through society’s perception. Similar to Montag, the prisoner begins his ascension
This darkly satiric poem is about cultural imperialism. Dawe uses an extended metaphor: the mother is America and the child represents a younger, developing nation, which is slowly being imbued with American value systems. The figure of a mother becomes synonymous with the United States. Even this most basic of human relationships has been perverted by the consumer culture. The poem begins with the seemingly positive statement of fact 'She loves him ...’. The punctuation however creates a feeling of unease, that all is not as it seems, that there is a subtext that qualifies this apparently natural emotional attachment. From the outset it is established that the child has no real choice, that he must accept the 'beneficence of that motherhood', that the nature of relationships will always be one where the more powerful figure exerts control over the less developed, weaker being. The verb 'beamed' suggests powerful sunlight, the emotional power of the dominant person: the mother. The stanza concludes with a rhetorical question, as if undeniably the child must accept the mother's gift of love. Dawe then moves on to examine the nature of that form of maternal love. The second stanza deals with the way that the mother comforts the child, 'Shoosh ... shoosh ... whenever a vague passing spasm of loss troubles him'. The alliterative description of her 'fat friendly features' suggests comfort and warmth. In this world pain is repressed, real emotion pacified, in order to maintain the illusion that the world is perfect. One must not question the wisdom of the omnipotent mother figure. The phrase 'She loves him...' is repeated. This action of loving is seen as protecting, insulating the child. In much the same way our consumer cultur...
hesis: Spiteful diction is used when describing the speaker’s life, however the tone shifts to something more positive when speaker is describing the story of the man who decides to lead a nomadic life. Although the speaker glorifies the story of man who gave up everything and left, the speaker in the end admits comfort in the security of his established life, suggesting that the uncertainty of a choice can hold a person back from making it, even though it may, in the end, benefit them.
John Steinbeck's works often deal with social and economic issues. In the short story, "The Chrysanthemums", John Steinbeck portrays a tone of oppression and isolation. The chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa's femininity, along with the confinement she faces.
In the poem “Singapore” the author captures the reader’s attention till the very last line. In the first two stanzas the author gives us the setting and mood, as stated “In Singapore, in the airport” (1). Mary Oliver relates to something that is out of the ordinary. Inside of Singapore ladies restroom she saw a woman washing something in the towel bowl. “A darkness was ripped from my eyes” (2) which means that the sight opened her eyes. She points out that everyone has to make living no matter what it is or how demeaning it might be. Even though the cleaning lady saw her staring she continued without being ashamed. Mary Oliver sees how dedicated she is in her work despite the circumstances. There are many disgusting jobs out
The first and fourth line of the poem is “Mingled.” In the subway car the speaker is describing the people that are pressed into the
Reading the word, “hurry,” makes the reader picture a young girl being bullied by white children and fighting to hold back the tears, as she frantically runs down the hallway. This was a typical day for any black child at school and even outside of school during the war. Once she got to church and listened to the parable, she started to feel a sense of peace and tranquility. As the poem progresses, it changes to a dark and deathly tone. Instead of a little girl living in a world of positivity and love, she is surrounded with pain and suffering. No matter where she goes, darkness will follow her. The little girl gets to the church and in a matter of minutes the entire church is bombed. This church was where blacks would go and because of the war and segregation, people wanted to bomb and destroy it. In the last couple of lines of the poem, the author uses specific word choice to influence the emotions of the reader. In a horrifying and lonely tone the author explains, “Her still, dull face, her quiet hair; Alone amid the rubble, amid the people, Who perish, being innocent” (Patterson
The society believed that the firemen were not supposed to show an emotions or signs of mercy towards anyone. Beatty started to panic a little when the woman continued to refuse to leave her house when they were about to burn it. The purpose of this visual imagery here is to display in a meaningful and illustrative way that deep down, Beatty has a heart. Imagery is important in our understanding of the novel because it is a powerful way to get a message across or describe something.
In the poem “On the Subway,” written by Sharon Olds, she introduces the dissimilarities between blacks and caucasians, whom have had a complicated past with one another. In this poem, Olds reflects on the many common stereotypes that those in the black community endure, as well as emphasizing their major differences among society. The speaker of this poem presents her fear with a young African-American male who is sitting across from her on the subway. Olds uses literary devices such as tone, imagery, and similes to better understand the cultural differences between both individuals.
Given the subject matter of the aforementioned exhibition, it is best to first analyze one of the more provocative of the included pieces, as it is, interestingly enough, used as a means to garner sympathy for both sides of the Civil Rights movement depending on the type of context surrounding it. The photograph itself, captured by Charles Moore and subsequently titled as Firemen use High-Pressure Hoses against Protestors, depicts a powerful scene amidst of ...