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D.H. Lawrence Poem "Self Pity"

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D.H. Lawrence Poem "Self Pity"
Living in the Moment In D. H. Lawrence’s poem "Self-Pity," I think he is trying to emphasize that humans, have the greatest ability of self pity, perhaps more than most animals. Humans can express more self-pity, self-loathing, and low self-esteem in very small occurrences, as opposed to other animals. He says, “I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself,” which means that we as sheltered humans feel sorry for ourselves while the wild animals don’t feel bad at all. The poem reminds me of how animals or “ wild things” live in each moment. They deal with whatever they have to. This is very unlike human beings who usually live in their minds - constantly fretting about what's coming next or what has already taken place. Some may say that we humans cannot compare ourselves to a “small bird” but in reality we all go through similar trials and tribulations just in different lights, that’s all. When we imagine a loved one or pet dying we imagine suffering and we instantly feel pity. Suffering is more than just pain, it is also the sufferer's response to pain and that is dictated by the attitude about what has happened or what may happen. The bird in the poem dies nobly, “A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself” the bird dies with dignity. I think Lawrence is trying to tell us how to approach our own death. You can choose to succumb to certain emotional reactions or you can choose to live ever moment to the fullest and die with dignity and no self pity!

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