An Analysis Of 'Anyone Lived In A Pretty How Town'

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The poem, “anyone lived in a pretty how town,” by E.E. Cummings paints a postcard perfect Wisteria Lane-esque town, but it is far from the suburban utopia that one might think. It is hard to follow one’s dreams or to be able to express one’s individuality with the pressure of society and their preconceived idea of how life should be. Even the economy can be a factor to living one’s life. Responsibilities and bills start to add up, seasons come and go and eventually one is belled down by society. Society has a façade that there is a strong sense of camaraderie in the community but it is more like the bystander effect when people do not offer any sort of help to a person in need especially when there are other people around. In the end though society and people in general will meet the …show more content…

Anyone is also being used as a noun, but it has a double meaning where anyone is everyone in society. The imagery and conflict between words of “with up so floating many bells down” (ln 2) is confusing with the words like “up,” “floating,” and “bells down.” Dreams are usually associated with looking up in the sky and imagining the possibilities of life and the future. Instantly, the words “bells down” literally brings one down back to earth. Domesticated animals are also belled down so that they don’t stray away from the herd. The people in society are talking about their regrets in life [didn’t] and what they could’ve done all the while doing their everyday routines [did] in order to live. Living in this type of world “anybody” “did their dance” (ln 18) through life. One can see the grind, shuffle, and even robotic movements of society’s daily routines. Initially the people in society start off as free individuals daring to dream but because of society and the drone of their daily life subdue

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