Do Not Go Gentle into the Good Night~Dylan Thomas

The refrains in "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas are "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" and do not go gentle into that good night (Thomas, 968)." The speaker describes various types of men to fight against the light of heaven. He says that death will come; however, everyone should live life with the hopes to live longer. Telling them to fight for their lives, he urges to the good men. To his father, he says to start fighting because death is near. To the wild men, he warns them not to waste their lives by chasing after life. In the other three stanzas, he depicts wise men as an example because they fight against death until it overtakes them. Finally, grave men are paradigms to the rest. Because they live life, accept death, and are happy, they exemplify fighting against death. At the end of each stanza, one of the refrains is utilized.

s

Death, be not proud~ John Donne

The poem "Death, be not proud" by John Donne personifies death. Donne commands death to become humble. Because death cannot keep humans from reaching heaven or hell, Donne names death "one short sleep (Donne, 972)". By demoting death from a scary event to a simple sleep, Donne humbles him. It seems less petrifying. Also, Donne encourages death to take him if death would cease to exist. He believes that by dying, people can live again. In the end, death dies because it cannot terminate a person's life fully. Death may capture the lives of men, but he cannot stop them from waking. Death only stops life for a quick time before God opens the person's eyes in heaven.

Crossing the Bar~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Within Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem, "Crossing the Bar", the allegory describes a person crossing from death to life. On a superficial level, a man goes to the sea. The sea is tranquil until God calls him home. However, the man symbolizes the soul. Also, the home that is desired by the man is his desire for his ultimate goal of heaven. The sea is Purgatory because he must embark. The man is there until his God, the Pilot, calls him home. He says "may there be no sadness of farewell when I embark (Lord Tennyson 886)" because he wants to go to God. He desires to be in his final resting place in heaven. When he crosses the bar, God permits him into heaven.

The Lottery ~Jackson

The townspeople held the tradition of "The Lottery" for generations. Since its inauguration, each denizen would come to the center of town to choose a sacrifice. One person with a dot would be stoned due to the  saying: "lottery in June, corn be heavy soon (Jackson268)." However, because of the many generations of sacrifices, the reason loses its meaning. It does not hold any significance, yet no one questions it. Jackson makes a point with Lettie's final words: "It isn't fair, it isn't right (271)." Although she was a friend to the people, she was stoned. To make matters worse, they allowed her youngest son to have pebbles to throw at her. No one made exceptions like the northern town, who quit the lottery. It illustrates the theme that people should sometimes question tradition.

A Rose for Emily ~ Faulkner

 The structure, which is broken into five distinct sections, plays a key role in the short story "A Rose for Emily" by Faulkner. First, the townspeople form the narration. For example, in the second segment, the townspeople said, "We did not say she was crazy then (Faulkner, 285)." This statement implies that now they know that she is crazy. Then, in the final section, the townspeople reveal why. They find a dead body, which is suspected to be Homer Barron, in her dusty bed. To further Emily's mental instability, they find a piece of her hair beside him. Lonely, Emily drugged and killed him with arsenic and slept with Mr. Barron. Secondly, each section alludes to a bigger climax, which acts as the paradigm of Emily's insanity. When they finally find the body, the other pieces of details from the first four accounts fall into order. They imply that the arsenic that she bought was to drug Barron. Also, the denial of her father's death suggests that she is mentally unstable. Even smaller details, such as the hair, finds a place in the story: "Up to the day of her death at seventy-four it was still that vigorous iron-gray like the hair of an active man (288)." The story concludes with a piece of hair on the bed next to Barron. Finally, the sections are not chronological. It demonstrates that the townspeople's gossip is the story instead of a definitive narrator. It leaves a level of uncertainty because they will never know if Emily killed the young man.

TGM 5

Amanda finally asked him to leave in anger. She did not realize that Tom would actually flee the house that night and never return. Like his father, he escapes his coffin. In contrast, a nail nicks Tom again and again. Tom narrates, "The window is filled with pieces of colored glass, tiny transparent bottles in delicate colors, like bits of a shattered rainbow. Then all at once my sister touches my shoulder (1289)." He cannot release his memories of his sister. He unconsciously reminds himself of his sister. He asks for the Laura's intercession to "blow your [her] candles out(1289)!" He desires to remove all memories of his past life to explore the future, yet he cannot let go of the past.

TGM 4

Finally, the gentleman caller awaits at the door; Amanda prepares everything from new furniture to the food that they will eat. However, Laura realizes Mr. Jim O'Connor is the same as her high school crush. She makes herself sick with her shyness when Amanda makes Laura answer the door. "Why Laura, you are sick, darling( 1271)!" exclaims her mother. Laura is fragile like her glass collection. One false move, and she breaks like her menagerie. She retracts from society due to her timid behavior. Her family has placed her upon a shelf by cradling her throughout her life. Allowing Laura to quit school without consequence, Amanda disregards this behavior. Also, Tom excuses Laura from normalcy due to her handicap. As a result, she never takes action. She stays on her safe shelf until someone comes to break it.

TGM 3

After his dispute with his mother, Tom returns to the apartment drunk. He went to the movies and watched a magician perform various tricks of which the best was nailing a coffin shut. Tom discusses it with Laura, "We nailed him into a coffin and he got out of the coffin without removing one nail. There is a trick that would come in handy for me- get me out of this 2 by 4 situation(1249)!" Astounded, Tom relates his family to the closely-compact coffin. The house constricts him from reaching any of his potential as an adventurer or writer. Afterwards, a light gleams against the portrait of his father. Like the magician, he cleanly left the house for another life. He was able to remove himself from the witch of a wife, and Tom admired his father. He hatched an idea to relive his father's steps and leave his family forever.

TGM 2

Through one of their worst arguments, Tom yells, "You'll go up, up on a broomstick, over Blue Mountain with seventeen gentlemen callers! You ugly- babbling old - witch... (1247)" This metaphor categorizes  Amanda as babbling, ugly, and old. Most importantly, it states that she is a witch. Without potions and spells, she has drained all of Tom's aspirations. He cannot travel the world because she traps him with responsibility. Also, he cannot write poetry freely because of his job at the warehouse. He feels trapped by her incessant talk of the Blue Mountain and her gentlemen callers. Amanda is ugly within her mind because she coerces others to do her bidding. She forces Tom to work a job that he loathes and Laura to charm a man into marriage although she is drastically timid. Overall, the metaphor demonstrates the tension between Tom and his mother. He cannot bear to live with her and eludes to her living even after the house explodes. He thinks she would save herself and fly away while she allowed the others within the house to die.

The Glass Menagerie 1

Scene 2

Within the second scene of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Amanda defines her relationship between Laura and  her. After she learns of Laura's lack of attendance in class, Amanda inquires, "What are we going to do, what is going to become of us, what is the future (1241)?" In Amanda's mind, she connects her daughter's success to her security. If Laura fails to acquire a suitable job or charm a man, Amanda and Laura will become beggars, who live off of Tom's meager salary. She will do everything in her power to stop this from occurring. She reprimands Laura for quitting college classes asking, "Is that the future that we've mapped out for ourselves(1243)?" She always utilizes second person plural instead of allowing Laura's fate become her own. As a result, Amanda's and Laura's fates entwine completely, and Amanda views her as a way to succeed in life. Later, she becomes determined to seek a gentleman caller because "some girls do marry (1243)". Amanda sees marriage as the last resort to stabilize her family's security.