Symbol, Allusion, and Myth in Irving Layton's Rhine Boat Trip

880 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Holocaust creative writing

Symbol, Allusion, and Myth in Irving Layton's Rhine Boat Trip

"...haunted/by the ghosts of Jewish mothers/looking for their ghostly Children" (Layton). Though physical evidence of the Holocaust is now slightly limited, as time tends to destroy the tangible, the cry for justice and the remembrance of systematic genocide by a sadistic people enacting ignorant dogma will ring indefinitely throughout the world. Humanity will always be guilty of the atrocities that it instigates. Irving Layton, in his poem, Rhine Boat Trip, depicts the eternal evidence of the Nazi Crime, a stain of culpability that is reducible from all who have witnessed it. Layton is able to portray the onus of this horrific event through his employment of symbolism, allusion, and myth.

The everlasting, inescapable pain of the Holocaust is so imbedded in our culture that our senses can become paralyzed by the enormity of its reverberation through the years since the last chimney fire in Aushwitz was snuffed. Through his use of symbolism, Layton is able to -it a picture in the minds of his readers, one that juxtaposes the subject matter with his choice of diction.

Beginning with the title, Rhine Boat Trip, symbolism is installed in the poem. A boat trip on the Rhine is thought to be a journey through the ultimate bucolic paradise. What is encountered on this scenic route; however is far from the ideal vacation experience. Layton creates an ironic dichotomy between a life of luxury and intense human suffering. When the boat visits castles along the Rhine, its passengers are really witnessing the remnants of wealth accumulated by the Nazis from slave labor in concentration camps, a cruel practice that quickly stimulated the struggling German econom...

... middle of paper ...

...rnatural power.

Even the voices of the Lorelei, which sailors could not drown out of their ears, are ineffectual and in audible when the beauty of nature is tainted by the barbarity it has given to, forever reminded of the supremacist desire that went too far. Even the most serene places of the Rhine, are filled of reminders of a massive suffering and a people who could not face the truth of the wickedness found in the Aryan race for dominance.

Irving Layton's poem, Rhine Boat Tdp, depicts the immortality of the legacy left by those who were murdered, a legacy of remembrance they left in every breath of humanity, eternally seared with its guilt. Layton illustrates his message by expertly using literary devices such as symbolism, allusion, and myth. He is able to paint in the mind of the reader an unforgettable picture of human flaw and the karma of crime.

Show More
Related

  • Elie Wiesel's Horrifying Holocaust Experience

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    Six million Jews died during World War II by the Nazi army under Hitler who wanted to exterminate all Jews. In Night, Elie Wiesel, the author, recalls his horrifying journey through Auschwitz in the concentration camp. This memoir is based off of Elie’s first-hand experience in the camp as a fifteen year old boy from Sighet survives and lives to tell his story. The theme of this memoir is man's inhumanity to man. The cruel events that occurred to Elie and others during the Holocaust turned families and others against each other as they struggled to survive Hitler's and the Nazi Army’s inhumane treatment.

    Read More

  • Themes in The Boat by Alistair MacLeod

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...He is still anchored to his past and transmits the message that one makes their own choices and should be satisfied with their lives. Moreover, the story shows that one should not be extremely rigid and refuse to change their beliefs and that people should be willing to adapt to new customs in order to prevent isolation. Lastly, reader is able to understand that sacrifice is an important part of life and that nothing can be achieved without it. Boats are often used as symbols to represent a journey through life, and like a captain of a boat which is setting sail, the narrator feels that his journey is only just beginning and realizes that everyone is in charge of their own life. Despite the wind that can sometimes blow feverishly and the waves that may slow the journey, the boat should not change its course and is ultimately responsible for completing its voyage.

    Read More

  • ?The Wreck of the Hesperus? and The Perfect Storm

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some of the most intriguing stories of today are about people’s adventures at sea and the thrill and treachery of living through its perilous storms and disasters. Two very popular selections about the sea and its terrors are The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger and “The Wreck of the Hesperus” by Henry Longfellow. Comparison between the two works determines that “The Wreck of the Hesperus” tells a more powerful sea-disaster story for several different reasons. The poem is more descriptive and suspenseful than The Perfect Storm, and it also plays on a very powerful tool to captivate the reader’s emotion. These key aspects combine to give the reader something tangible that allows them to relate to the story being told and affects them strongly.

    Read More

  • Walt Disney Company Case Analysis

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Walt Disney Company is a highly diversified media and entertainment company that has been growing by leaps and bounds since its inception in the late 1920’s. In the past few decades, The Walt Disney Company has expanded into numerous markets and diversified its business greatly. The company states that their corporate strategy is targeted at creating high-quality family content, exploiting technological innovations to make entertainment experiences more memorable, and expanding internationally. Upon studying the happenings of the company throughout the years, it is easy to see that the company is executing this strategy well through numerous strategic moves in the industry.

    Read More

  • Disney Techno-Nature

    1455 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...hat make it real and separate it from the dangerous possibilities of nature. It is not to say that Disney’s Kilamanjaro Safari is naturalistically correct or incorrect; it is a representation, and not a reproduction of the true African savanna. How can nature be surpassed, you ask? Disney. That’s how.

    Read More

  • The Rise of Nazism During World War Two

    1964 Words  | 4 Pages

    .... By this he portrays characters that take it amongst themselves to fight the horrors of the illness out of love for their own innocent humanity, and although it does not personally affect many of the ones who do this, they understand that they could suffer to the same degree if it did hit them, where they would seek help the same way the victims did. With this Camus counters the failure from way too many during the time of Nazi Germany to challenge and overcome Hitler’s Reich, which stemmed from fear and the evil of ignorance that remains inexcusable. The impact of the holocaust proves that humankind does not believe in an essential understanding, that individuals are fundamentally sadistic until silenced, and if attention never gets drawn to the reality of such exploitations, the madness spirals so out of control that humans convince themselves it does not exist.

    Read More

  • The Use Of Humor In Art Spiegelman's Maus

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Art Spiegelman’s Maus, the audience is led through a very emotional story of a Holocaust survivor’s life and the present day consequences that the event has placed on his relationship with the author, who is his son, and his wife. Throughout this novel, the audience constantly is reminded of how horrific the Holocaust was to the Jewish people. Nevertheless, the novel finds very effective ways to insert forms of humor in the inner story and outer story of Maus. Although the Holocaust has a heart wrenching effect on the novel as a whole, the effective use of humor allows for the story to become slightly less severe and a more tolerable read.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Boat By Alistair Macleod

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alistair Macleod’s “The Boat” is a tale of sacrifice, and of silent struggle. A parent’s sacrifice not only of their hopes and dreams, but of their life. The struggle of a marriage which sees two polar opposites raising a family during an era of reimagining. A husband embodying change and hope, while making great sacrifice; a wife gripped in fear of the unknown and battling with the idea of losing everything she has ever had. The passage cited above strongly presents these themes through its content

    Read More

  • Dehumanization in Night

    2056 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many themes exist in Night, Elie Wiesel’s nightmarish story of his Holocaust experience. From normal life in a small town to physical abuse in concentration camps, Night chronicles the journey of Wiesel’s teenage years. Neither Wiesel nor any of the Jews in Sighet could have imagined the horrors that would befall them as their lived changed under the Nazi regime. The Jews all lived peaceful, civilized lives before German occupation. Eliezer Wiesel was concerned with mysticism and his father was “more involved with the welfare of others than with that of his own kin” (4). This would change in the coming weeks, as Jews are segregated, sent to camps, and both physically and emotionally abused. These changes and abuse would dehumanize men and cause them to revert to basic instincts. Wiesel and his peers devolve from civilized human beings to savage animals during the course of Night.

    Read More

  • Assessing the Corporate Culture of Walt Disney

    2097 Words  | 5 Pages

    Jackson, K.M. (1996). Walt Disney: It’s Persuasive Products and Cultural Contexts. Journal of Popular Films and Television, 24(2) 50-52

    Read More

  • Walt Disney's Impact On American History

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    His work in modern media was revolutionary. Moreover, he broadened communication and made it easier to learn about new cultures. Disney’s movies play a vital role in children’s development and their productivity when they enter the “real world”.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'The Boat, And Simple Recipes' By Alistair Macleod

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    The reading of “The Boat” by Alistair Macleod is an interesting and sad story that displays many elements figuratively and literally. The first figurative element is the boat. At a literal perspective, the boat is used for fishing and boat rides, although these are not the only things that the boat represents. We learn that the father in some way, as been sacrificing his working life for his family, for something that he doesn’t absolutely love. This shows that he is in some way trapped, or imprisoned. The boat displays

    Read More

  • The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the surface the poem seems to be a meditation on past events and actions, a contemplative reflection about what has gone on before. Research into the poem informs us that the poem is written with a sense of irony

    Read More

  • Analysis Of O Captain My Captain

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    First of all, the poem is very exquisite and dramatic. It appeared imaginable as like I see the blood on the deck, a man crying. Also, from first to last part, speaker’s voice had changed; he hold his captain’s head with deep grief, and eventually he walked weekly through on the deck. The situation of the poem is that a ship is reached to the port. And the people on the ship were exulting

    Read More

  • The American Animation Industry and Walt Disney

    2283 Words  | 5 Pages

    Walt Disney was a very successful man and was able to live long enough to see his company achieve and rise to being one the of most recognizable companies global. Disney brought many other things besides its outstanding animation work, its magical theme parks and tremendous amount of merchandise. Without the help of Walt Disney and his lifelong partners, Walt Disney company would never had strived its way into modern day.

    Read More

More about Symbol, Allusion, and Myth in Irving Layton's Rhine Boat Trip

Open Document