Innocence and imagination can never be fully appreciated until that moment is relived again. John Tobias captures a specific summer of his life in “Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity.” Tobias depicts aspects of a memorable summer through his descriptions and sensory words of his writing. Tobias’ poem reflects the innocence and imagination only a child can create and appreciate. The summer was filled with the savoring taste of juicy watermelon and the sweet isolation from civilization. While Tobias looks back and relives that summer day, he relives his innocence. In a way, Tobias is warning many of us to hold onto the precious moments in our lives, and to fully appreciate our youth. Tobias’ writing style, descriptions, and poetic structure makes for an impactful poem. With the assistance of a friend named Felicity, who saved the watermelon that Tobias has come to treasure, Tobias captures the moment summer and tells his story to others through his poem. John Tobias’ John Tobias’ “Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity” is a memoir of an unforgettable summer day that reiterates in ones’ mind, and reminds people of the innocence so easily forgotten. The innocence and aspects of a summer day are often forgotten, but Tobias is able to relive the almost imaginary summer through a gift from Felicity. Think back to a specific day that can only be relived through fresh and innocent eyes. As a child, the wonders of nature and surroundings are beautiful. The summer Tobias experienced is so omnipotent that the summer is seemingly unrealistic. While Tobias thinks back about the summer “Which never may have been at all,” he is reminded of the ca... ... middle of paper ... ... fantasy and illusion is often forgotten. Tobias has the opportunity to relive his childhood and fantasies with the help of a saved and sacred slice of the “Thick imperial slices/” of watermelon. The description of each line enhances the experience an audience has when reading the poem and Tobias’ tone and purpose is clearly understood. While the poem comes to an end, and the memory of the summer day begins to die, Tobias has the ability to remind himself and relive the summer day because of the sacred slice of watermelon Felicity has saved. As Tobias takes another bite of the watermelon and lets “And let it linger on [his] tongue:/Unicorns become possible again. /” John Tobias’ poem, “Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity” is a reflection of how a memory should be appreciated and remembered for the sake of innocence.
It is often said that the setting of the story can change the character’s mentality and personality. In the classic vignette, A Summer Life, Gary Soto addresses his childhood to adulthood in Fresno in the course of a short vivid chapters. Born on April 12, 1952, a year before the Korean War ended, Gary experiences his life in Fresno of what he describes “what I knew best was at ground level,” and learns what is going on around the neighborhood with his religious background behind him. Later, when he realizes his father passes away, he undergoes hardships which cause his family to be miserable. Growing up in the heart of Fresno, Gary Soto, the author, explains his journey as a young man to adolescence through his use of figurative language and other adventures. The settings of this book revise Gary’s action and feelings around his surroundings.
The article “A Letter To My Younger Self” written by Terrance Thomas is made to motivate readers, especially teenagers that share similar concerns and emotions as the author’s younger self. By writing a letter to his younger self, Terrance created a motivational and melancholic tone. The style of writing is, therefore, informal with a poetic touch to it. The article is written to motivate readers which results in it to have a motivational and melancholic tone. “Those moments of fear, inadequacy, and vulnerability that you have been running from, are the moments that will shape you.”.
This poem includes quotes with informal language that children or teens would better understand. It’s narrative-based style is easy to follow, and although the poem covers very basic concepts, it’s message is still communicated subliminally. This particular poem is interesting because it focusses on the universal experience of pain and it’s relation to time. Similar to this is “The Householder”, written in a cyclical style, opening with a “house” and ending with a “home”. With only three stanzas, it is
Memories of the past hold a high level of importance in shaping who we are as people. Whether it be the memories of your first time trying to swim or learning how to read, certain memories stick with us for life. The poem “The Heroes You Had as a Girl", by Bronwen Wallace, has the speaker recalling a fond memory that presents itself again later in life when a significant figure from her youth reappears. The short story “Snow", by Ann Beattie, features the writer reminiscing upon a specific memory of a winter with her past lover, despite her memory being different from her lovers. These texts both contribute to the idea that an individual's memories are significant in shaping one’s perspective because memories serve as a way to reflect on the
Most of the time there is a moment in life where one realizes they have lost all innocence and gained some compassion. “Marigolds” shows how one young girl transferred from a child to young adult through her life experiences. Throughout this story another young, but at the same time old in her prime, lady’s experiences are revealed: the author’s. In this short story, “Marigolds,” Eugenia Collier’s subconscious is unmasked through symbolism, diction, and Lizabeth’s actions.
Each of the poems offers insight to what a boy needs to know and will expect when turning twenty one. The each shows different perspectives on the importance of this birthday and how it can change a boy into a man. The tone, dictions, and structure offers insights and help to the reader of how these poems can convey each their own compelling
Standing in the front of the mirror every day, people see themselves gradually become an adult from a little boy or a little girl. In “Childhood Dreams”, Jennifer Yee describes a story that her father and she used to spend a lot of happy time in the amusement park together, riding carousels and so on, but now she felt lost and uncertain about her life. The reason why the author felt she was smothered by the real world was probably because she found out that as growing older, life became more complex, and she did not have as much time as she used to have to enjoy life in the childhood, and therefore felt quite depressed about the way she was.
Sharon Olds’s poem, “I Go Back to May 1937,” is an emotional piece that takes the reader back to the early days as the speaker’s existence was first thought about. The speaker is a female who describes the scene when her parents first met; she does this to show her wrestling thoughts as she wishes she could prevent this first encounter. She speaks about this topic because of the horrendous future of regret and sorrow that her family would experience, and also to contemplate her own existence if her parents had never met in May of 1937. Olds uses forms of contrasting figurative language, an ironic plot, and a regretful tone to convey the conflict between the speaker and her parents while she fully comes to understanding of past actions, and how these serve as a way for her to release her feelings on the emotional subject.
The poems facilitate the investigation of human experience through illustrating life’s transience and the longevity of memory.
The author uses imagery, contrasting diction, tones, and symbols in the poem to show two very different sides of the parent-child relationship. The poem’s theme is that even though parents and teenagers may have their disagreements, there is still an underlying love that binds the family together and helps them bridge their gap that is between them.
Innocence is something always expected to be lost sooner or later in life, an inevitable event that comes of growing up and realizing the world for what it truly is. Alice Walker’s “The Flowers” portrays an event in which a ten year old girl’s loss of innocence after unveiling a relatively shocking towards the end of the story. Set in post-Civil War America, the literary piece holds very particular fragments of imagery and symbolism that describe the ultimate maturing of Myop, the young female protagonist of the story. In “The Flowers” by Alice Walker, the literary elements of imagery, symbolism, and setting “The Flowers” help to set up a reasonably surprising unveiling of the gruesome ending, as well as to convey the theme of how innocence disappears as a result of facing the harsh reality of this world.
The simple yet extraordinary emotion of nostalgia has been ingrained in mankind since inception. Every single individual has experienced this intense emotion at one point their life, sometimes even regularly. A feeling of sentimental longing for the past, sometimes referred to as 'looking back on the good old days' are typical of being in a state of nostalgia. Robert Frost demonstrates the natural emotion of nostalgia in his poems “Birches” and “The Road Not Taken”. Although both poems convey the feelings of wistful yearning for the days gone by, each poem addresses different kinds of nostalgia: the longing for a carefree, adventurous childhood of the past and the nostalgic reflection of life choices. Both poems make use of differing poetic structures—in addition to various poetic tools—to create the manifestation of nostalgia within their poems.
In conclusion, “Fern Hill” by Dylan Thomas demonstrates that at some point in life people will experience reminiscing on the past lifetime. It’s eye opening to see time pass oh so quickly, with death impending, youth is fleeting and infinitely valuable, as well as we do not fully appreciate childhood until it is too late. This poem displays beautiful imagery of how great childhood was, but it comes to a depressing thought at the loss of the beauty of his childhood, and he longs for his youthfulness. In the end, the whole idea of youth and age is
In the poetry of William Blake and William Wordsworth, this difference between children and adults and their respective states of mind is articulated and developed. As a person ages, they move undeniably from childhood to adulthood, and their mentality moves with them. On the backs of Blake and Wordsworth, the reader is taken along this journey.
... is romantic and at ease, but he turns brisk and honest as time disintegrates. This image becomes crystal clear with words and phrases such as, "heart", "beauty", "youthful hue sits on thy skin", "our sweetness", "virginity", "breast", and "pleasures". All of these words provide the reader with an illustration of the man's desires. The use of imagery permits the author to fully describe the necessity of time, and allows the reader to visualize the thoughts and feelings that the characters experience.