As the narrator remembers past scenes, he writes, “Brushstrokes flash, a red bird’s/wings cutting across my stare” (22-23). The author recalls memories from the battles, and he retells them as if they are a beautiful piece of art, although the reality is brutal. By envisioning traumatic scenes in a different light, the narrator infers that even the darkest scenes can be viewed with warm energy. When the persona glances into the reflective wall, he explains, “My clouded reflection eyes me/like a bird of prey, the profile of the night/slanted against the morning” (6-8). The author compares night and morning, which puts light against darkness. Although the narrator came with sorrow for all of the lives lost in the Vietnam War, he still sees the hopeful aspect among the grief. No matter what the situation is, hope is always present within one’s darkest…
One thing that is most apparent in the poem and the painting alike is the weather conditions. Both detail the rough seas, coldness,…
The beginning of the poem starts out very depressing, the soldier talks as if they are old men on their death beds. ""Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge"(2), this line implies how miserable the soldier 's are, their sick, weak, and enduring unbearable conditions. They are walking toward their camp, which the poem tells us is quite a distance away. But they are so tired they are sleeping as they walk toward the camp. These men don 't even have sufficient clothing, some have lost their boots and most are covered in blood. "Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots / Of tried, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind"(6-7). This line tells us that these men are so exhausted they have become numb to the war and blood-shed around them. The soldier 's have become numb to the 5.9 inch caliber shells flying by their heads, the bombs bursting behind them, and their fallen comrades body 's lying next to them.…
In the beginning of the poem, the author uses imagery coupled with allusion and symbolism to illustrate how the speaker is conflicted by and reflecting on the memory of the war.…
Dead tree trunks rise from the muddy ground and clouds of smoke obscure the view of the background. The searchlights piercing through the murky clouds give off a sense of lostness, but may also signify that among the barren wasteland, there is still a sign of humanity and hope. This painting exceptionally illustrates how the war changed beautiful, innocent meadows and fields into grotesque and frightening wastelands.…
First, Owen uses imagery to helps make the theme clear to the readers. The poems starts with the line “bent double, like old beggars under sacks/Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge” (Owen 1-2). In this lines shows how exhausted the soldiers are, and how the war…
In the fall of a city by Alden Nowlan, symbolism is used to help the reader grasp how important this imaginative world is to the boy. The symbolism of the cardboard town aids the reader in understand the story and the boy more. In the story the author writes; “Gritting his teeth and grunting, he tore at it’s walls...he was crying by the time he finished tearing it to shreds.” (Nowlan 45) this quotation exemplifies how the boy no longer feels happy with his alternate reality, due to his uncle’s mocking and shows the reader just how much his story had meant to him. Throughout the story, the boy would use this world he created in his mind as an escape from his reality, often the story he is telling resembling things from his life, like how the…
In this passage, Jeannette Walls uses her senses to help us visualize the poor living conditions at 93 Little Hobart Street. One example that demonstrates the use of imagery is “Inside there were three rooms, each about ten feet by ten feet, facing onto the front porch. The house had no bathroom, but underneath it, behind one of the cinder-block pillars, was a closet sized room with a toilet on a cement floor. The toilet wasn’t hooked up to any sewer or septic system” (Walls 151). In this part of the book, Jeannette is moving into her new house in Welch and she is realizing how many things are wrong with the house- especially that the toilet is not hooked up to a septic system. As she is seeing the problems within the house, her parents are trying to tell them that this is just a temporary thing and that they can look past the problems in the house showing that they have good intentions, which in reality the fact that there is no septic system is not sanitary, especially for young kids. Another example that demonstrates the use of imagery in…
Location can be an appeal to most people. It contributes to shaping the way one thinks, performs, and even speaks. When Wes moved to The Bronx, New York from Manhattan, he suddenly comes across the realization that: “Everything about The Bronx was different from downtown Manhattan, more intense and potent; even the name of the street we walked down- Gun Hill Road- suggested blood sport” (48). His comparison of the street name with a “blood sport” symbolizes the acts of violence that occur at his current location. Violence is what he sees. Therefore, violence is what he gets accustomed to. This changes him as a person. It changes his views, his acts, and his beliefs. Another important aspect to location to view upon is living a lifestyle full of fear: fearing a location. The author uses violence and fear to describe the atmosphere created by people in The Bronx. “Justin knew the rules: Never look people in the eye. Don’t smile, it makes you look weak. If someone yells for you, particularly after dark, just keep walking. Always keep your money in your front pocket, never in your back pocket. Know where the drug dealers and smokers are at all times. Know where the cops are at all times. And if night fell too soon… Justin knew to run all the way home.”…
The setting of this story takes place on a sidewalk outside the alley, 11:30 in the night. Its setting is very gloomy and dark. It is also raining at that time, which makes it spookier. In this story, the setting makes a huge impact to the plot. The rain can make a red puddle with the help of Tony’s blood, which makes the readers think that this story has a gloomy mood. This kind of setting connects with the terrible thoughts of Tony as he lay down and think of all the things he had done.…
In Chapter Seven, Hosseini uses a significant amount of imagery to portray the violence taking place in the alley. He uses animal imagery to depict the rivalry between Hassan and Assef and his cronies. The alley has been described as 'blind', to show that there is no end to it and Hassan is trapped, just like prey being trapped by its predator, in this case Assef. Assef is reminiscent of the head of a pack of wild animals, leading his group and being the first to pounce on the prey.…
The poem begins with the speaker, an Iraq war veteran describing a procedure they are undergoing in the treatment of an old war wound “At the VA hospital in Long Beach, California, Dr. Sushruta scores open a thin layer of skin to reveal an object traveling up through muscle.” The reader later learns of the incident that caused the soldiers injury “And if he were to listen intently, he might hear the rough and larynx of this woman calling up through the long corridors of flesh, saying Allah al Akbar, before releasing her body’s weapon,” it is at this point that Turner solidifies in the reader's mind one of the true costs of war. He does this with the lines “her dark and lasting gift for this Jundee Ameriki, who carries fragments of the war inscribed in scar tissue, a deep, intractable pain, the dull grief of it the body must learn to absorb.” Turner’s intent with his poem may not be a solely anti-war message, but by showing the results and aftermath of war the anti-war message is achieved nonetheless (Turner,…
By reading just the title I think the poem is going to be about someone dying. I say that because of the words eulogy and veteran. The line “do not stand at my grave and weep” means don’t visit his grave and be sad. The line “I am not there, I do not sleep” means that they aren’t there; they’re not going to show up. The line “I am a thousand winds that blow” is a metaphor which is used to give feeling to the poem meaning that he’s there for his family; that he wants his family to think about him every time they feel the wind blow. The line “I am the diamond glint of snow” is also a metaphor meaning he wants his family to think of him when they see the new, shiny snow of winter. “I am the sunlight on ripened grain” is a metaphor meaning he is warmth and golden. “I am the gentle autumn rain” is also a metaphor but it means that he’s gentle and he’s there when it’s raining. “When you awaken in the mornings hush” is a reminder to the family from the veteran. “I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight” is a metaphor telling his family to think of him when they feel that uplifting rush. “I am the soft stars that shine at night” is a metaphor reminding his family to think of him when they see the stars shining at night. “I am not there, I DID NOT DIE” means that even though he’s not on earth anymore he plans to remind his family that he loves them through the little things he’s mentioned throughout the poem. I think the attitude of this poem is…
The interview that Michael Meyers has with Billy Collins about the writing of this poem gives a person insight to what the author was thinking about as he wrote this poem. Mr. Meyer asks Mr. Collins about the images in the poem, he feels that they are of a photojournalistic quality, and he asks Mr. Collins “isn’t a picture better than a thousand words?” The response that is given is that he wanted to” avoid moralistic antiwar rhetoric”, so he stuck with the visual aspects of a war zone. (Collins, 2005, p. 942)…
The name of the artwork that I have chosen to analyze is Home, Sweet Home by Winslow Homer. Homer first came to national attention during the Civil War with his accurate, vivid sketches of life at the front. As an artist-reporter he accompanied the Army of the Potomac in the Peninsula campaign in Virginia, observing camp life and some combat. While Homer drew a few traditional military scenes, such as bayonet and cavalry charges, he mostly depicted the utterly unheroic day-to-day activities of ordinary soldiers behind the lines.…