!~! Edgar Allen Poe Analysis !~!

Edgar Allen Poe wrote many pieces in his life time. All of which conveyed similar yet different meanings. In the story the pit and the pendulum, the story came across rather disturbing and hard to comprehend. When I was reading the summary from the apocalyptic view on it, there was many people’s view point on just exactly was the pit and the pendulum suppose to represent or symbolize. This made me understand the argument being debated in the apocalyptic view. The people of various short stories were debating the issue at hand. They also compared the story with various other writings to try and depict the meaning. The most accurate one that I was able to agree with would be the one from Marie Bonaparte.

Marie Bonaparte’s argument was that it was symbolizing the birth process. As the person in the story was in the dungeon and kept opening its eyes yet still not being able to remember what was going on since he was loosing consciousness really symbolizes the fetus. The fetus in the wound and the opening of the eyes helped depict the scenario of a child opening their eyes to the wounds walls around them and not really knowing what is going on. She also mentions how at the end as the walls are closing in on the man due to its fate. It symbolizes the birth. The baby is almost due so the walls are closing in forcing the baby down the birth canal. The downside to this analysis of the text is that, in the beginning of the story, there mentions the allusions the character is seeing. Where exactly would all of this fit into play? The allusion of the seven candles, what exactly would this be representing. Also the main aspect of the pendulum does not really fit the inference about the birth process.

Now in the literary work, there also are other views of what exactly is was Poe was symbolizing. Another view on the story is that the story tells of “mankind’s fall and redemption as a psychological process of loss and restoration”. They feel the story is a rewrite of a biblical story. They tie this aspect with Bonaparte’s inference of what is going on. They feel that the restoration is suppose to symbolize the birth process. However pieces are missing with adding the concept of religion. They are tying together the religious aspect of everything with this terrifying story Poe is unfolding. There are parts missing out of this aspect. For one, the religious story that they are trying to compare it too is a myth. So, technically some aspects may not be clear so for someone to create such an elaborate piece on it just don’t seem reasonable enough to believe. This leaves to many open spaces that need to be filled in order to make this a little more accurate.

Also they bring in the aspect that humans go through different things in their life and part of human conditions is terrible suffering. The nameless character deals with the sentence of knowing death is coming but not knowing how and when. This leaves the character scared and this further gives room for the interpretation to be that there speaking of just the everyday person dealing with agonizing pain and tying all things together with the fall in the biblical myth. Now this however is reasonable to some degree. For one there are several things left out of Poe’s story. For one the character is nameless. This makes the story come across for fictional and not really having as much symbolic value as everyone is trying to make it have.

They also explain in detail the whole idea behind instinct vs. reason. In the story, the man tries to control his destiny. He knows he will die so he chooses also to try and pick the way he will die. This in return helps bring back some if his sanity. However, the whole concept does not tie into the analysis made before. Instinct and reason has nothing to do with the biblical and birth analysis. This principal comes up with another analysis as being the man having a battle with his own mind. Having it be all a mental disorder or trauma. The man is in battle with the mind causing insanity and that leads to the end when he controls faith, him almost winning because he gains some sanity from it all. In doing so, he told a terrifying story for readers.

$ Disturbia $

The main girl in the movie goes by the name ashley. She is your average pretty face. Many people appeal to this charachter because of her outer beauty. In the movie kale goes over the reason he looks at her. Behind every beautiful woman there lies a time when she doesnt completely get herself. She spends time trying to find out just exactly who she is. Girls are able to relate to this since all girls go through this period in time. Her character had to have been based on reality. She was set to appeal to all teens. Also the whole idea of her moving into a new neighborhood really makes her feel she has to find herself since these are all new people who werent there the whole time. I actually myself can relate to her character a bit since of course I always stared into the mirror and glanced at the figure before me wondering if I were more than just a pretty face.

%Literature%

Romanticism-http://classes.berklee.edu/llanday/fall01/tech/romanticism.htm

Realism-http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm

Gothic-http://members.aol.com/franzpoet/intro.html

Age of reason-http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/thomas_paine/age_of_reason/

!Gettysburg Address!

• 1. Doesn't mention slavery, constitution, civil war, or the battles really.
• 2. The last sentence is a huge run on, but it has a lot of details. The sentence gives the whole meaning to his writting. In a way, the sentence rallys the people to stand unified and fight. The message in this sentence can really wake up a crowd of people.

* During my childhood life, i had him around- that rememberence of the very first time i layed eyes on him-that pain which no child should ever have to cope with-that everlasting sorrow after the last breath has been taking away-that internal bleeding that almost runs short from your body-and that deep sigh that passes, returns, surfaces again, to let you know its time to be strong. *

• 3. The declaration and the Gettysburg Address both was writtin to get the people to unify and come together and fight for the sake of their country. the declaration written more formely gave a purpose to the reason for independence. The Gettysburg Address was more of a wake up call to the people.
• 4. The speech i remember is Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech. He was informing the people of what should happen and how they should go about getting it. He wanted freedom and unification of the people and Abe Lincoln mentions those two as well.

*Desi Baby*

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/cgi-bin/version_printable.pl?story_id=DesiBaby.shtml

<--Another Tear For This Year-->

Im over whelmed, stressed out and confused

what really is a woman in this position do....

(I wanna just SCREAM!!!)

Another Tear For This Year

(By:Shay aka Daddy's Grl)

Dear Mr.& Mrs Anonymous--->>whomever this should reach..

Another tear for this year

Can someone hear my cry?

Im stepping out into this world,

Not just tryna get by.

Another tear for this year

Just to be simply embraced.

This pain is overwhelming me,

Im just tryna find my place

Another tear for this year

It hasn't been the best.

I continue to keep my head up,

And take it as another of God's test.

Another tear for this year

I learned to really appreciate what i had.

Out came 16 wonderful years.

Yet later i lost my dad..(RIP DAD-->>4eva ur daddy's grl)

Another tear for this year

For a woman gracing your prescence today

So i fall to my knees,Bow my head....and PRAY!!!

Not another tear for me this year--->> Yours truly Shay!

<<----**tear**---->>

I LOVE MY MAMA!!!! without her, I wouldn't make it through this year!

>>Cabeza De Vaca<<

This Picture is pretty much self-explanatory. The point that is being portrayed is not to judge a book by its cover. In the narrative about Cabeza de Vava’s journey, he encountered some Indians whom he lived with for some time. Now without even knowing anything about them, he looked at them as being “less human” than he. In the picture the judge is saying I will not judge a book by its cover seeing that on the cover of the book, it says “Guilty As Sin”. When the Indians were staying with him, he was learning their customs and ways and living day to day with them. Yet the minute he saw the Christians, he thanked the lord since they looked like him he felt they were the better of the two. However in the end, he ended up finding out the Christians had a motive that he didn’t even agree to and he put the Indians in danger. Later he realized he misjudged both groups. He should not have assumed so much from the Christians since they looked more like him because he was wrong in the end. He did however in the end understand the Indians more and gain a lot of respect for them.

*Anne Bradstreet Response and Biography summary*

Virginia common wealth university, 9/12/08, Anne Bradstreet, http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradbio.htm


Response
Anne Bradstreet was an exceptional poet. Speaking from a poet’s point of view, she had great syntax and diction throughout her poems. This is an excellent trait to have seeing that poems come from your interpretation of words. In the poem, The Author to Her Book, she used a technique of using syntax to get you to almost visualize what she is saying. First, there is something special just behind the title. She is giving her life story in the poem and the title ties it all together. It’s almost, in a way, saying she is her book. It’s as if she is saying her book is made up of her thoughts, feelings, life’s goals and accomplishments etc. Her unique style of writing goes far beyond just rhyming, she gets really deep in her choice of words and sentence structures. One line says, “thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain”, and that alone leaves room for meaning to be deferred. She almost in a way want her audience to think of what exactly it is she is trying to say with her difference in word choice. This shows her unique use of imagery that helps the audience almost feel her emotion. In the lines, “I washed thy face, but more defects I saw, And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw”, she was really connecting with the audience. Many girls can relate to this line and just by those words alone. All girls go through that moment of adolescence when they constantly see flaws, yet in these lines it’s as if she is saying she went through the same things. Her choice of words gave even more meaning to the emotion she wanted you to feel. Girls would be able to breathe a sigh of relief for there flaw and just except themselves and stop trying to change. Telling her life story gave way for the audience to picture themselves living her words. It’s as if you can picture yourself being the girl she is recalling in the poem and actually feel for her pain. Another interesting poem of hers was entitled, To My Dear and Loving Husband. This poem was rare since many people in her time did not write this way. Similar to the first poem, she kept with her unique since of syntax and diction that helped give a visual to the audience while reading. She says “ I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold” she almost sets you up to paint the picture of a mine of gold and take in mind that her love is more valuable than all of the gold there. The picture that is painted is so deep and meaningful and you actually can say that she loved her husband dearly. In this poem, she also established logos throughout her entire poem being that the purpose was in the title. Her purpose was to tell of why she loved her husband so much. The line that stuck out the most for me was the first one. She says, “If ever two were one, then surely we”. This is a powerful line. Her word choice paints the picture where you are sitting imagining the situation and as she end with “we”, it gives all the meaning. Instead of her just saying we are one, she said it in a way poets and her audience, of course, would be left amazed. Also the line “Then while we live, in love lets so persevere that when we live no more, we may live ever” shows her wanting eternal love. Instead of just saying I want our love to last forever, again she wants to paint the picture for her audience. She is trying to let her audience know that she wants to reach all time high with love for her husband that when they die, it would be so memorable almost as if they broke a record of some sort. In a way it’s as if she wants her audience to be in awe of her husband. She wants this to to leave a memory behind for people to see just how much love they had for each other. By reading both these poems, I can tell her main focus is on imagery, syntax, and diction since all her poems styles are unique in there own way due to simple things like words.


Summary

Anne Bradstreet was born Anne Dudley in 1612. On her journey to the new world with her father, she then met Simon Bradstreet, childhood sweetheart, and got married. He was 25 and she was 16 at the time. She was a very smart woman, which was rare during this time. She was tutored at a young age. Even when she had gotten older, she never stopped reading about history, science and literature. She also was a poet growing up. She wrote several pieces about her family and life. Her husband and father both was governors of Massachusetts yet she still was suppose to keep her place in society. Seeing that she had to keep her place in society, she was known due to her poetry. She moved many times during her stay in the new world, often near the frontier. The only way to recall her childhood in Boston was due to her writings of it. She also was a loving person. In her poems, she always wrote of her love for her husband, mother, father, and those whom were special to her. She also was a puritan who did love her religion yet did do things she was not suppose to. However she stayed true to what was right and wrong.

>>Political Cartoon<<

This political cartoon best represents my essay. Since there are no words in the picture besides the illustrator’s name, you may analyze the picture in whatever way you see fit. One thing is, the man holding the flag is suppose to represent Christopher Columbus when he came to the new world. The buildings in the background are supposed to symbol the new world. The fact that he has a turkey on his sword is making mention to the whole first thanksgiving idea. He is on a platform because of course he is leading the whole thing. The homeless looking man could very well be representing the people who actually listened to what he had to say. Making mention to the letter that was sent to the king and queen, he said that he had enemies who didn’t ever want to listen and obey because they disapproved of his leadership skills. Well with the man watching attentively, it shows he was not part of that crowd. He was open to learning new things from his leader. The man however in the background running toward him can very well represent two things. One case is that the man could represent the enemies he had who didn’t approve of his leadership and who later enslaved him. The person is probably put to run up behind because although Columbus knew he had enemies, he didn’t think they were going to do such horrible things. Another way you can take the man running toward him as the Indians. They did not like that Columbus came to the new world and was forcing them out and messing up what they had already built. They wanted to run him away because he was taking over.

*Christopher Columbus*

Christopher Columbus wrote letters back to the people who made all four of his voyages possible. He was really informing them on what experience he had since they helped finance and give approval of him going out to explore. In his first letter, which was to Luis de Santangel, he was letting him know of the first voyage. As many people know, his first voyage ended him up in the Bahamas. However Columbus was not aware of the fact that he was not in the right place. Columbus’s purpose for writing to Luis was to tell him of the wonders in his journey. Columbus, from the very start, establishes pathos. His audience of course at the time was Luis, but the way he wrote the letter was so formal. He was really making the connection with him that he has the up most respect for him. Columbus showed how good of a person he was. Just by him starting off his letter with “Sir”. He didn’t just give the regular “Dear Mr. etc, he actually gave the man a high title which you give to someone that you may consider proud of or just honored by. As Columbus continued to explain the journey, that right there gave way for logos to be established. He was giving reason to the fact of why he took the trip by explaining the trials and triumphs of his journey. In the letter, he explained the islands he reached and told the names he had given as well. He was so thrilled of his journey that he had nothing less than a good reason, to tell the person who had helped to finance and give approval, about the things he encountered. He then goes on to use some great diction and syntax. He was so amazed with the island of Espanola. He mentions and might I add goes into great detail about the beauty in the place. He goes in-depth and mentions the “thousands of shapes from the mountains and trees of all kinds.” He was really re-painting the picture of the place exactly like he remembered. He was so amazed that the place was somewhat opposite of how it was back at his home. He says, “I saw them green and as lovely as they are in Spain in May and of them flowering, some bearing fruit, and some in another stage, and…. in the month of November”. This shows that this is not everyday that he witnesses things of this nature. Moving to the next letter he wrote, this one was written to the king and queen of Spain. Unlike the first letter, this one was of his fourth voyage. In this letter, the tone was set about the very beginning as being rather sad and shameless. Upon the last journey, he was shipwrecked and then taken captive by Spanish rebellions that were against his authority. He mentions at the very beginning, “those who left the Indies, flying from toils and speaking evil of the matter and of me, have returned with official employment. Now this clearly shows him speaking about his enemies and informing that they were not in favor of him. Columbus was writing to the King and Queen almost to say please have mercy on my soul. It was almost as if he was a child calling out to his parents to come and rescue him. Throughout the letter, he kept saying “Your Highnesses” out of respect but this could also be like his cry out for mommy, as a child would do in danger. He wrote to the king and queen explaining how he was captured and badly treated. He was basically a slave for his own people. He was speaking in such hateful words that he begged god to have mercy on his soul because he was in so much pain. He states, “I have wept for others now Heaven have mercy upon me, and may the earth weep for me”. In that alone, he was making inference almost to say like there was know one who had his back so instead of having someone weep for him, he hoped at least the earth would weep for him. This in other words could be implying rain to wash away his blood. In his last sentence, he states, “Done in the Indies in the island of Jamaica, on the seventh of July, in the year one thousand five hundred and three”. Those words alone establish so much pathos. He reached out to his audience almost to say he is giving up. It was as if he was going to just let himself wither away. The intensity of that last phrase is so meaningful and powerful that it shows his true pain through words. He was really trying to get his point across in this letter and with the last sentence he should be credited for a job well done. It was as though he was trying to reach a deep emotional space in the heart of the world in order for them to have sympathy and feel his plea for help.

~Diction~

The tree lay lifeless like a casketed fawn.