In “Eagle Plain”, by Robert Francis, the poem dramatizes the conflict between the nation’s “non-ideal” character traits and the “ideal.” Francis’ poem is also structured to have one main theme per two stanzas for a total of three: self-esteem, pride, and honor. The speaker then uses the “eagle” to symbolize the ideal American trait and uses personification and metaphors to help bring the eagle’s character traits to life, the poem also has an alternate allegorical meaning.
The poem starts with the speaker saying, “The American eagle is not aware he is; the American eagle” (Stanza 1), to show that the eagle is confident with who he is. The speaker then goes on to say, “… He is never tempted to look modest” (1), to support the idea of the eagle
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The speaker suggests that the “eagle” is prideful, he doesn’t care about being known or having an ovation, he is satisfied just by knowing his achievements and doesn’t need approval from a crowd. And again, in the next stanza by saying, “The American eagle never says he will serve; if drafted, will dutifully serve etc. He is; not at our service” (Stanza 4). This quote is referring to the social standards that are “required” by all American men to have, i.e. pridefully serving your country when your country needs combatants, regardless of the results (life with PTSD or death). A “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” Mentality (Kennedy inauguration speech). In this case the “eagle” does not give in to societies standards but rather lives life with his own and pridefully …show more content…
Political figures love to use the American eagle somewhere in their political campaigns and debates, for example, the most recent use of the American eagle as a stage prop at the first presidential debate in September of 2016. When the speaker could very well have meant “orators” to represent those who are running for a political office, whether it be a mayor or a senator. When the American eagle is advertised in the orator’s speeches, the American eagle doesn’t represent the orator’s virtues and isn’t represented by the virtues of the orator, but rather the American eagle ignores the politician’s ramblings and continues his life knowing the truth about his actual virtues and doesn’t care what others think his virtues to be. Another way that Americans misrepresent the eagle can be seen in the fourth stanza of the poem, “The American eagle never says he will serve; if drafted, will dutifully serve etc. He is; not at our service” (Stanza 4) Per reference.com the American bald eagle can also symbolize “strength and freedom” (“What Does the Bald Eagle …”). The two symbolic meanings (strength and freedom) can be direct attributes to the three themes of the poem: self-esteem, pride, and honor. The American eagle never says he will serve to represent the nation, nor
In this essay, McFarland discusses Native American poetry and Sherman Alexie’s works. He provides an overview of Alexie’s writing in both his poems and short stories. A brief analysis of Alexie’s use of humor is also included.
The tile of the poem “Bird” is simple and leads the reader smoothly into the body of the poem, which is contained in a single stanza of twenty lines. Laux immediately begins to describe a red-breasted bird trying to break into her home. She writes, “She tests a low branch, violet blossoms/swaying beside her” and it is interesting to note that Laux refers to the bird as being female (Laux 212). This is the first clue that the bird is a symbol for someone, or a group of people (women). The use of a bird in poetry often signifies freedom, and Laux’s use of the female bird implies female freedom and independence. She follows with an interesting image of the bird’s “beak and breast/held back, claws raking at the pan” and this conjures a mental picture of a bird who is flying not head first into a window, but almost holding herself back even as she flies forward (Laux 212). This makes the bird seem stubborn, and follows with the theme of the independent female.
Sarah Orne Jewett's "A White Heron" is a brilliant story of an inquisitive young girl named Sylvia. Jewett's narrative describes Sylvia's experiences within the mystical and inviting woods of New England. I think a central theme in "A White Heron" is the dramatization of the clash between two competing sets of values in late nineteenth-century America: industrial and rural. Sylvia is the main character of the story. We can follow her through the story to help us see many industrial and rural differences. Inevitably, I believe that we are encouraged to favor Sylvia's rural environment and values over the industrial ones.
Ambrose Bierce’s short story, "Chickamauga," scrutinizes American values, specifically, America’s identifying with the natural world. Bierce is critical of the American association with divine destiny, which has manifested itself throughout history in the form of John Winthrop’s “City upon a hill” speech, the notion of the “white man’s burden,” and Manifest Destiny. American history, in the scope of the short story, is one of perceived “rightly” subjugation of others. Bierce satirizes this philosophy by use of the child as a manifestation of American values that are eventually shown to be feeble and weak.
In William Faulkner's 1930 short story "A Rose for Emily," the protagonist, Miss Emily Grierson is a desperately lonely woman. Miss Emily finds herself completely isolated from other people her entire life, yet somehow manages to continue on with her head held high. French philosopher and writer Voltaire said "We are rarely proud when we are alone," but Miss Emily's case is quite the opposite. The strength that Miss Emily gains from pride is what helps her through the loneliest of times.
This essay seeks to explore whether the American Legion’s charter should be amended so as to better reflect our nation’s appreciation for those who serve in times of war and peace. Indeed, it is an issue made all the more cogent today: With increasing numbers of young Americans rejecting the armed forces as a career option, recruitment goals are not being met and the military is being forced to lower its entrance requirements. If this trend is not soon reversed, the U.S. military could be perceived as incapable of implementing our nation’s strategic policies abroad -- a perception that can only encourage the most aggressive ambitions of other nations.
There is not many a time when men like Stephen Crane come by and take the whole world by surprise. His ideas are not popular for thinkers at the time but very realistic and down to earth. In his time, his short stories were not very prevalent but were read by many people. Stephen Crane found it very difficult to make money off of them and in that way, was inspired to write vigorously even to the point of his death. Stephen Crane craved the attention and support of the people and so gave birth to Naturalism literature. Interestingly, Stephen Crane found his own voice when he wrote The Red Badge of Courage at just twenty years old, and became very famous for the novel. This war novel was followed by a tremendous amount of short stories that had nature as a main theme. Stephen Crane felt nature all around him and felt that, even as a child Methodist, nature is an overwhelming force that should not be meddled with. Stephen Crane’s religious upbringing and life-changing experience led him to incorporate recurring themes of nature in his short stories as seen in The Open Boat.
“To His Excellency General Washington,” by Phillis Wheatley, is a poem about America’s destiny for freedom and its resolution to fight for liberty. Wheatley addresses this poem to General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Throughout the poem, Wheatley depicts America as a self-reliant, heaven-favored nation. For example, a divine goddess leads the country in a fight for peace and liberty. The poem correlates America’s army to that of the powerful Greek wind god, Eolus. Wheatley instructs Washington to continue forward, to “Proceed” in the cause for independence (Line 39). She announces that even other countries watch, eager to see America succeed in its quest for liberty. Phillis Wheatley conveys America as an exemplary, independent country that deserves freedom through the use of personification, symbolism, similes, and diction.
The nature of an ideology is completely personal; one’s interpretation may vary greatly from another’s interpretation. This is demonstrated in the two poems, “America” by Claude McKay and “Let America be America Again” by Langston Hughes. Both of these poems emerge from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, and though these two poems each describe an ideological viewpoint of America as a place and a concept, the two speakers view the subject differently from one another. Both poets employ similar sound devices, yet the tones and themes vary between the two works.
When looking at the poem, Hughes expresses the pride that he has in his heritage and in who h...
One of my favorite aspects about the poem is how he shows his empathy for the heroes he describes. Instead of telling the reader, “I have empathy for the heroes who rise to confront challenges”, he assumes the role of the heroes in action and describes the events in first person to show the reader examples of courage. One line in the poem reads, “I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.” When I first read this line, I had difficulties understanding what he meant by “become the wounded”. However, after reading the poem, a couple of times I realized that he means that he can empathize with the heroes. To further show his empathy, he assumes the role of the heroes and narrates the events in first person, while using “I” “me” and “my” instead of “he” or “she”.
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...
What's big, cheap, Scottish and depressing? Scotland. This is one of the many jokes that Scots make about themselves. The Scots have a massive history that goes back to the 1500’s and even earlier that have shaped modern day Scots and how we look at them. From the start of the Clan Wars, to the fight that Bonnie Prince Charlie brought.Scottish history has affected how Scots act like and different among others. Scots have reputation for being blood thirsty, cheap, bagpipe playing and kilt wearing people. Many patterns of behavior can be traced back to a root cause in history. Common Scottish behaviors were shaped by major events in Scottish history.
bird as the metaphor of the poem to get the message of the poem across
Early American literature is an imperative part of the history of the United States; it is something that help define who we are and how our current politics and lifestyle came to be. A significant part of early American literature and the shaping of our country is poetry. Parini says, “The relationship between poetry and national culture is always an intimate if troubled one, and to a large extent what American poets have accomplished as a whole is a measure of what American culture itself has accomplished.” In learning and studying early American literature, reading poetry and deriving its meaning by using your own mind is critical. In fact, many early poets main