First Dates in Sotto's Oranges and Wetherell's The Bass, the River, and Shelia Mant
Everyone is born with innocence and they gradually gain experience through lessons learned in life; some people may gain more that others. Not all lessons in life are dramatic or negative, some may be subtle, positive, or even life altering; however, no matter how small or big, they do alter one's perspective on things and help them to gain experience, which will be with them forever. These experiences may be gained through love, war, or death, but in some way or another they have changed one's point of view. The works "Oranges", written by Gary Sotto, and "The Bass, the River, and Shelia Mant", written by W.D. Wetherell, both tell about a boys first love and his first date. First loves and first dates is something that can be related to by everyone, whether boy or girl. These two works show that the outcome of a first date may not be what one expected, but in the end something more may be learned.
In "The Bass, the River, and Shelia Mant", the speaker fell in love with a beautiful girl named Shelia Mant, which was the only thing that he loved more than fishing. He watched her everyday sunbathing on the dock. He watched her so much that he learned what mood she was in by the position she was laying. When the summer was almost over he got up enough nerve to ask her out. To his surprise she said yes. They went to see a band, however, since he was only fourteen they took a canoe. While rowing the canoe he had his fishing pole on the back, because he never left the house without it. Little did he know that Shelia thought fishing was dumb. So, during the entire canoe ride he is trying to hide the fishing pole, which is hanging o...
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...h the speaker from "The Bass, the River, and Shelia Mant" did not have a great first date or love, he learned to be himself, not to change who he was so someone will like him. Although both speakers lost their innocence and gained experience in love and dating, they still have a lot more to learn in both. Innocence may be loss in a subtle or life altering way, negative or positive, but when all is said and done the experience gained will help one to succeed in life.
Works Cited
Lessing, Doris. "Through the Tunnel." Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays, and Essays. Fourth Edition. Ed. Judith A Stanford. Boston: McGrawHill, 2003. 860-867.
Wetherell, W.D. "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant." Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays, and Essays. Fourth Edition. Ed. Judith A. Stanford. Boston: McGrawHill, 2003. 191-196.
In conclusion, both poems are clear on the perspectives of innocence and the perspectives of experience and while experience lifts the veil of innocence it does not erase the raw belief that there is some place or someone who may just be better or may just be holy in a harsh world that is covered by manmade innocence.
There are many differences with Canada’s neighbour, the United States of America; some in which can be dated back to our ties with our English heritage. Canada is known as a constitutional monarchy; meaning that although they are independent from
2nd ed. of the book. New York: St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource Center -. Web.
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Charters, Ann & Samuel. Literature and its Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 137-147. Print.
When you watch the BCS Bowl in college football and your team isn’t in it, do you ever think that your team was robbed of a shot at greatness because of a loss to a hard team, or that the teams in it had an easy schedule so they could get to where they are? That's just a few of the complaints that were given in order to get rid of the BCS bowl and have the playoff system put into place, and that was the right move. The BCS bowl was started in 1998 where the top two teams played each other for the title of national champion while the other eight teams played in four different bowl games. In 2014 however, the BCS bowl came to an end and was replaced with the College Football Playoffs in which the top four teams played in a playoff system, with the first seed playing the last seed and the second seed plays the third seed. There are many other reasons for this and they will be covered later in this essay.
Canada has had a long and storied history especially in the 20th century. A key part of this history is Canada’s road to autonomy. The first step on this road is Canada’s role in fighting and ending World War I. The second step is Canadian involvement in the United Nations’ early days to the mid 1950’s. The last step on the road to autonomy is the Constitution Act, 1982. These three moments in time form the backbone of Canada’s road to autonomy.
College football has become big business. With the CEO’s of the universities, oops I mean “Presidents and Deans” bringing in the big money. It’s a genius idea really. They bring in millions of dollars each year and do not have to pay their employees, so it’s a hundred percent profit. Yes, they say they pay their players by giving them the value of a free education. How free is it? Not just on Saturdays but every day of the week the players but their own personal safety, emotional state, and life on the line. Half the time don’t even have time to go to the classes, but it’s okay the school clears them or sets up classes that are just on paper. Don’t even have time to eat somedays. Have to constantly deal with scrutiny from the media and student body. Even Scrutiny from the NCAA, because oh no you took $100 from your uncle to eat that week. Get trotted around by their somewhat respected school like a walking billboard. I have seen all of this first hand as I played college football for two years. It's been brought up time and time again. The majority of coaches think it's a great idea, I mean most coaches bring in million plus dollar contracts. That’s beside the point though. The NCAA still balks every time at the idea because it would cut into their profit margin and the lining of their own damn pockets. So, with boosters and agents running rampant giving players exactly what they want, the issue is no longer a question. Pay the players now.
Theme: Situations and surroundings can shatter the innocence of friendship, but more the identity of the individuals.
College football over the years has picked the national champion in the wrong manner by using a flawed system. The BCS was chosen to help with the National Championship game and unfortunately not a popular choice among fans. Fans have argued that the BCS is unjust and a playoff system would be the best scenario to help decide who the real national champion really is. The BCS has their own advocates to keep it around and not use the playoffs. To keep using the BCS would gravely damage the history of college football.
The loss of innocence is an occurrence that happens in every life, and it is so easily taken. A traumatic moment is often the thief of innocence, leaving the victim scarred from the experience. Events like these are often the process of paving the road into adulthood, and aid in the metamorphosis of a child to an adult. In “My Father’s Noose” by Grace Talusan, “Dothead” by Amit Majmudar, and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, each of the characters do not understand the concept of negligent personages. Once the protagonist knows that society is not composed of perfect people, their character and personality changes, as it forces them to take a look at their own morals. This prepares the protagonist for the lives
Throughout history the concept of innocence in literature has been a topic in which author’s have held an obsession with. According to Harold Bloom, the loss of innocence has played a large role in western literature since the Enlightenment when man was said to be initially good and then corrupted only by his institutions. (Bloom 6) The institution in which Bloom speaks of is nothing more then society. Society is what is believed to be the cause for the loss of innocence in children. Bloom has stated that a return to the childhood mindset would eliminate the social problems in which people suffer. This is unerringly why the cause of many physiological problems can be traced back to a problem or unsettlement in one’s childhood. (Bloom 7) The history of innocence continues further back in history as it is said that the first encounter of loss of innocence or “original sin” was from Adam and Eve when they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. (Bloom 7) These historical events and ideas are what influence the works of authors from the 19th century to modern day.
Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Intro. Geoffry Keynes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1967.
Upon reading William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, a certain parallel is easily discerned between them and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Blake, considered a radical thinker in his time, is today thought to be an important and seminal figure in the literature of the Romantic period. Being such a figure he has no doubt helped to influence many great thinkers throughout history, one of whom I believe is Carroll. There are many instances throughout Carroll’s story where comparable concepts of innocence and adulthood are evident. Through its themes of romanticism, Carroll crafts a story that is anti-didactic by its very nature.
The Song of Innocence and Experience is a collection of poems written by William Blake. “Innocence” and “Experience” are two definitions of consciousness that rethink John Milton’s existential-mythic states of “Paradise” and the “Fall”, this coincides with the romantic notion that adolescence is a state of protected innocence instead of original sin and yet is still not immune to the fallen world and its institutions.