“I Go Back to May 1937” by Sharon Olds, is a poem about the bad relationship between the speaker's parents while, “Fifth Grade Autobiography” by Rita Dove, is a poem describing a fond memory encapsulated in a photograph. “Fifth Grade Autobiography” is about the speakers trip to a lake, in Michigan, with her grandparents and her brother. These two poems have very different plots but, both poems are told in the present tense, although the events in each story have already happened in the past. In “I Go Back to May 1937” the speaker goes back to a time before her parents were married, and in “Fifth Grade Autobiography” the speaker is traveling back to a moment saved in a picture. The speakers in both poems learn to understand themselves and what they wanted in life. In “Fifth Grade Autobiography”, as the speaker describes the image we can sense that she had a strong …show more content…
“I Go Back to May 1937”, has a theme of sacrifice, while "Fifth Grade Autobiography", has a theme of not taking things for granted, and enjoying the little things in life. The speaker in “I Go Back to May 1937”, wanted to save herself from the bad childhood she suffered through, but she discovers that if she ends her parent's relationship than she must also sacrifice herself. In “Fifth Grade Autobiography”, when the speaker was four and went fishing with her grandfather she probably was not focusing on every little detail that happened in the moment. However, the details that the speaker shares are clearly strong memories because she has remembered them for so long. Both poems are addressing the theme of wanting something in life that they can not get. Both of the speakers in these poems are clearly upset about the events that happen in each of these poems, but they both find ways to resolve their sadness, by seeing the good that has come from their
Early on, poetry was often used with rhyme to remember things more accurately, this still rings true today, even though its use is more often to entertain. However, although it appeals to both the young, in children's books, and the old, in a more sophisticated and complex form, people are bound to have different preferences towards the different styles of poetry. Dobson’s poetry covers a variation of styles that captivate different individuals. “Her Story” is a lengthy poem with shorter stanzas. It’s free verse structure and simplistic language and face value ideas might appeal better to a younger audience.
When I decide to read a memoir, I imagine sitting down to read the story of someone’s life. I in vision myself learning s...
Dwelling on the past will make the future fall short. When longing for the past one often fails to realize that what one remembers is not in actuality how it happened. These flashbulb memories create a seemingly perfect point in time. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s modernist novel the Great Gatsby, the ill-fated Jay Gatsby wastes the present attempting to return back to that “perfect” time in past. Acknowledging the power of the imagination, Nick states that, “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (Fitzgerald 101). Nick realizes that because the past is irretrievable, Gatsby’s struggle, though heroic, is foolish. Gatsby’s great expectations of Daisy leads to great disappointments. Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald tries to instill his
In the clouds of dust, stains, threadbare patches, and intricate patterns of the rugs, dragged out onto the lawn, Tom points out memories of the year. This again draws Douglas into the world of recollection (pp. 64-67). This gives the reader a deeper look into Tom’s character. Tom is observant and imaginative, and recalling events and sharing them is deeply important to him. This is demonstrated throughout the book, especially through his conversation with Grandfather about the summer, when he declares “I’ll never forget today! I’ll always remember, I know!” (pp.
effects of both time past and time present on the final version of the poem. Like
Both poems are set in the past, and both fathers are manual labourers, which the poets admired as a child. Both poems indicate intense change in their fathers lives, that affected the poet in a drastic way. Role reversal between father and son is evident, and a change of emotion is present. These are some of the re-occurring themes in both poems. Both poems in effect deal with the loss of a loved one; whether it be physically or mentally.
... overall themes, and the use of flashbacks. Both of the boys in these two poems reminisce on a past experience that they remember with their fathers. With both poems possessing strong sentimental tones, readers are shown how much of an impact a father can have on a child’s life. Clearly the two main characters experience very different past relationships with their fathers, but in the end they both come to realize the importance of having a father figure in their lives and how their experiences have impacted their futures.
...nal family. The second poem uses harsh details described in similes, metaphors, and personification. The message of a horribly bad childhood is clearly defined by the speaker in this poem. Finally, the recollection of events, as described by the two speakers, is distinguished by the psychological aspect of how these two children grew up. Because the first child grew up in a passive home where everything was hush-hush, the speaker described his childhood in that manner; trying to make it sound better than what it actually was. The young girl was very forward in describing her deprivation of a real family and did not beat around the bush with her words. It is my conclusion that the elements of tone, imagery, and the recollection of events are relevant to how the reader interprets the message conveyed in a poem which greatly depends on how each element is exposed.
3. I felt that The Age of The Literary Memoir Is Now by James Atlas has had an impact on me as a writer because the introducti...
The past often contains many things that we desire, be it something as simple as a peaceful life to something strong such as a relationship with someone who has been lost. We all attempt to return to these feelings or times in many ways, from simple memories or tastes to ways as ridiculous and outlandish as Gatsby’s parties. Whether this feelings are ever truly experienced again or not varies from attempt to attempt, in the case of “The Great Gatsby” it was for only a brief moment before it was ripped from Gatsby with Tom’s
¨If¨ by Rudyard Kipling and ¨Girl¨ by Jamaica Kincaid are both letters to a child written by their parents in the form of a poem. In the letters the parents set expectations the child is expected to follow in the future. They are very similar with some differences. The goal of this essay is to compare and contrast the two texts.
In Margaret Atwood’s personal essay “Ka-Ching”, she achieves a nostalgic tone by writing informally, in a personal tone, by describing her challenges at the time in detail while rarely speaking of her successes and ending off the essay with a positive twist. Margaret begins to set a nostalgic tone in her personal essay by beginning with an introduction in which she speaks fondly of her previous jobs in an informal manner which creates a connection between the reader and Margaret in her past. She speaks informally of her previous jobs because she writes in the first person when she writes “I’ll pass over...I mean…..I was entirely unsuited”. She also uses expressions such as “I’ll pass over” and “mini-jobs” which demonstrate to the reader that
The poem “I Go Back to May 1937” written in 1987 by poet and writer Sharon Olds, is based on a child’s perspective on her parent’s marriage that is destined to fail and the child’s wishes to go back and stop them from making the mistake of marriage. The poem is told from the perspective of the couple’s future child, who ultimately goes back in time to try and convince them that their marriage would be a mistake. Although this creates conflict, as by preventing the couple from marriage would ultimately lead to the end of her own existence. Olds uses imagery, conflict and symbolism to show the differences between the couple and their child’s emotions and feelings about their ill-fated marriage.
Two-thirds of children who participate in extracurricular activities are expected to attain at least a bachelor’s degree, whereas only half of children that do not participate do (National Center for Education Statistics, 1995). Childhood is a very important time in our lives, a time when we develop many vital skills that follow us into adulthood. Some people laugh or scoff at us parents that keep our children to busy schedules. Those same people would also argue that our children should be allowed to have a childhood, to not be so tightly scheduled in their daily lives. Before jumping on that bandwagon, I would suggest doing a little research. Participating in after-school activities has shown to benefit children in many ways. Children should
...ftly sentimental last two lines about his sister. In the March poem, he gives very little detail about his current surroundings, but describes the motions of the young children and their surroundings carefully. In the April poem, however, all the detail is given to the current time and place, and no specifics at all to "summer days." In the March poem, the poem is the thoughts that the vision of the butterfly revives in the poet, in the April poem, he examines the butterfly then speaks to it in the next stanza.