Use of Language, Imagery, and Symbolism to Develop the Theme of To Be of Use
In the minds of most people, the words, "hard work" and "heavy labor" carry a negative connotation. What these words imply is not something that is generally welcomed with enthusiasm but is often accepted either by force or obligation. Marge Piercy's poem "To Be of Use" conveys an opposing connotation about the idea of work. The central theme of the poem is that satisfaction, gratification, and self-fulfillment can be attained by using one's capabilities to serve a functional purpose in life, for it is the opinion of the speaker that an idle existence has no value or significance because it is worthless, vain, futile, and pointless. Piercy uses figurative language, imagery, symbolism, description, and details to develop this theme throughout the poem. Piercy begins developing the theme in the first stanza by describing "The [type of] people [she loves] the best" (1). Piercy states that they "jump into work head first/without dallying in the shallows..." (2-3). With this imagery Piercy reveals that she admires individuals who are not afraid of work; rather, they tackle their jobs "head first/without dallying" ( ); in other words, they are not lazy and do not delay or procrastinate the completion of their duties. Piercy adds that the people she regards highly "... swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight" (4). With this image Piercy indicates that these adored individuals work with so much confidence and diligence that often they become so busy that their work puts distance between them and those with whom they associate or live. Further, Piercy declares that "They seem to become natives of that element, / ...
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... the fruits of a person's hard labor will linger to give honor to their memory after their death. However, Piercy adds that "they were made to be used" to indicate that this won't be the case if a person's labor is not the fruitful productive type. Piercy concludes by stating that "The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real" (25-26). With this figurative language Piercy develops the theme by affirming that people need to be willing to work hard in order to reach the satisfaction of accomplishing something that is meaningful in their lives.
In her poem, Piercy developed the theme of success through active participation in hard work through her use of language.
Works Cited
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Flexibility: The basis of agile is to accommodate change as software related projects are constantly changing. If there were a change in market or the emergence of a new product, the product could be easily updated. It also enables new ideas and innovation to be implemented mid-project even after the scope has been defined.
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The genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina marked the first genocide in Europe since the Holocaust during the Second World War. Bosnia-Herzegovina was originally from the former Yugoslav republic. It became an independent state in 1992. After the death of communist ruler Josip Broz Tito the country fell under oppression. Religion played a significant part in the animosity of religious hatred between religions. Bosnian citizens were identified as either Orthodox Serb, Catholic Croatians, or Bosnian Muslims. The citizens of Bosnia all spoke the same language, had more or less the same Slavonic tongue, but their written language and cultures reflected their religious affiliations. Those who did not follow any religious preference during the war were affiliated with their religious backgrounds. Age old ethnic-religious conflicts resurfaced after the separation of Yugoslavia. The separation created an ethnic-religious battle predominantly between the Christian Orthodox Serbs and the Bosnian Muslims. Acts of violence require legitimation, and religion and religious leaders can provide such legitimation (Hasenclever and Rittberger 642). Mythologies were used to religiously motivated and justify violence and to ensure loyalty of Serbian troops and civilians. Associating religion as ones race would turn religious nationalism into the most violent form of racialist ideology. The use of religion helped persuade genocidaires to torture, rape, and murder the Muslim population. The Serbian mission was to exterminate the Muslim population and to gain complete control of Bosnia. The manipulation of religious representatives, symbols, rituals, and testaments played a significant role in the ethnic-religious genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which claimed t...
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Agile software development is a group of software development methods based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. It promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development and delivery, a time-boxed iterative approach, and encourages rapid and flexible response to change.
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