"She struck where the white and fleecy waves Looked soft as carded wool, But the cruel rocks, they gored her side Like the horns of an angry bull. Her rattling shrouds, all sheathed in ice, with the masts went by the board; Like a vessel of glass, She stove and sank, Ho! Ho! the breakers roared!" The ballad "Wreck of the Hesperus" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow explains how uncivil acts can dramatically change anything. This story describes a prideful man who made a selfish decision to not listen to a sailor's gesticulation and go out to sea during a ineluctable hurricane off Herman's Woe. The skipper takes his daughter with him and because of his bad decision they both died when their ship "The Hesperus" crashes into the rocks and sinks. In "Wreck of the Hesperus" Henry Wadsworth Longfellow suggests that pride, betrayal and selfishness can change the outcome of things in ways people don't expect.
Everyone needs to listen to what people have to say because it can really make a difference. The captain in “Wreck of the Hesperus” does not listen to the sailors concern about the ...
poem compares the fear of the sea to everyday hardships of every human being. The key to this
The juxtaposition of the Titanic and the environment in the first five stanzas symbolizes the opposition between man and nature, suggesting that nature overcomes man. The speaker characterizes the sea as being “deep from human vanity” (2) and deep from the “Pride of Life that planned” the Titanic. The diction of “human vanity” (2) suggests that the sea is incorruptible by men and then the speaker’s juxtaposition of vanity with “the
But nearly as soon as Marion's dreams of sailing became reality, the reality became a nightmare. On the voyage home, a whale rammed the schooner, ripping the seams and sending water into the hold. Before the schooner went down, the captain, al...
In this poem, Frost includes his fear of the ocean and exaggerates its destructive power. As Judith Saunders stated that “The first thirteen lines have depicted an ocean storm of unusual force, and through personification the poet attributes to this storm a malign purposefulness” (1). Frost provided human characteristics on the storm to help prove his point that the ocean has bad intentions and its only purpose is to hurt him. Frost does not describe the waves as a result of unfavorable weather; he explains them as having a malignant intention to destroy the world. This poem revolves around the forces of nature and could be included in the long list of nature themed poems by Robert Frost.
A person’s character is developed and influenced by the experiences they undergo during their lifetime. For instance, someone who was isolated during adolescents will likely have difficulty communicating with others just like an abuse victim will be more inclined to have trust issues. All throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus goes through major misfortunes that continued to develop his character even after his return home. The decisions and judgments that he makes determine the evolvement in his character. Odysseus’ character was altered throughout the chorus of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, progressing from reckless to cautious, impulsive to patient, and egotistical to relatively humble.
“I had been born into a raging ocean where I swam relentlessly, flailing my arms in hope of rescue, of reaching a shoreline I never sighted. Never solid ground beneath me, never a resting place. I had lived with only the desperate hope to stay afloat; that and nothing more. But when at last I wrote my first words in the page, I felt an island rising beneath my feet like the back of a whale”.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”. Elements of Literature: Fifth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2008. 196. Print.
Odysseus portrays himself as anything but a hero throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus goes through his life believing he is the best. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and he believes nothing and no one can harm him, not even the gods. Odysseus feels he is always the leader and no one can tell him otherwise. Odysseus should not be considered a hero because he portrays himself as a selfish man that failed his crew, and is controlled by his hubris.
- - -. "Slave Ships." 1996. Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems, 1998-2000. Comp. Clifton. Rochester: BOA Editions, 2000. 121. Print.
Captain Aubrey exhibits and demonstrates leadership characteristics that inspire his crew to be the best that they can be. One of the most important leadership traits that Captain Jack has is a single-minded focus on his purpose. All of his decisions are held up against the g...
For hundreds of years, psychologists have attempted to understand why toddlers selfishly refuse to share. Recently, many experts in the field agree that toddlers are incapable of sharing because of their lack of integral brain development. From birth through early childhood, a child can only recognize his own wants and needs. Around the time a child begins kindergarten, he starts to development his understanding of abstract concepts, such as empathy, and sympathy. However, some believe that humans never rid themselves of that original selfishness. In essence, humans are born selfish and hopefully become compassionate later on. The idea of a natural tendency towards selfishness
The story possesses amazingly vivid description. This attention to detail affords the reader the greatest degree of reading pleasure. Crane paints such glorious images in reader's mind with his eloquence. "The morning appeared finally, in its splendor, with a sky of pure blue, and the sunlight flamed on the tips of waves"(387). Artistic sentences of such caliber are not often found. The reader is left with a terrific vision of the perilous sea maintaining its beauty amongst the violence of the wind. "Their back- bones had become thoroughly used to balancing in the boat and they now rode this wild colt of a dinghy like circus men"(378). Here, again, Crane uses splendid detail to capture the essence of the chaotic situation.
A leader and a fatherly figure, the Captain serves as the men's compass and keeper of order. His firm navigational commands and calm demeanor make the men a “ready-to-obey ship's company” regardless of their lack of practical experience. Ironically, the Captain is also the most physically useless man on board. Injured from the sinking, the Captain is filled with a quiet despair over his own ability to survive. A hardened seaman, he believes in the idea that a captain should perish with his ship -- to live at sea and to die at sea. The Captain even clings to the dinghy upon being rescued as if he feels a sense of obligation to remain with his boat in the briny deep. Though distraught over the fate of his ship and crewman, the Captain takes solace in providing for the dinghy’s survivors. Occupied with the well-being of others, the Captain does not contemplate his purpose or circumstances in life; he uses his energy to protect his crew and vessel, finding a renewed sense of meaning in this lesser form of leadership. Even when a callous seagull attempts to nip his open wounds, the Captain gently waves the bird away, respecting its life. The Cook on the other hand, attempts to swat it with an
“Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live” (Proverbs 15:27). The Bible condemns the value of greed and Chaucer is able to incorporate this value into his work through the ironic uses of holy men. Chaucer’s “The Shipman’s Tale” and “The Summoner’s Tale” suggests that the monk and the friar have an overactive id which overpowers their superego- evident from the character’s selfish motives and their rejection of their holy vows.
Fear has taken a hold of every man aboard this ship, as it should; our luck is as far gone as the winds that led us off course. For nights and days gusts beyond measure have forced us south, yet our vessel beauty, Le Serpent, stays afloat. The souls aboard her, lay at the mercy of this ruthless sea. Chaotic weather has turned the crew from noble seamen searching for glory and riches, to whimpering children. To stay sane I keep the holy trinity close to my heart and the lady on my mind. Desperation comes and goes from the men’s eyes, while the black, blistering clouds fasten above us, as endless as the ocean itself. The sea rocks our wood hull back and forth but has yet to flip her. The rocking forces our bodies to cling to any sturdy or available hinge, nook or rope, anything a man can grasp with a sea soaked hand. The impacts make every step a danger. We all have taken on a ghoulish complexion; the absence of sunlight led the weak souls aboard to fight sleep until sick. Some of us pray for the sun to rise but thunder constantly deafens our cries as it crackles above the mast. We have been out to sea for fifty-five days and we have been in this forsaken storm for the last seventeen.