Deceptively Simple in Every Way

The poetry of Robert Frost is widely read in classrooms throughout the country because students understand it—or at least they think they do. Frost’s poetry can be read on many different levels and therefore can be considered both very simple and, when examined more closely, very complex. Take, for example, his poem “The Road Not Taken.” When it is read with a straightforward approach, it tells the story of someone walking in the woods and choosing which road to take. However, when it is examined more closely, it can be seen as a metaphor for life. The speaker of the poem chose to “take the road less traveled” in life, meaning that he or she does not just do what everyone else does, but instead does his or her own thing. The last line, “And that has made all the difference” (20), means that the speaker has enjoyed life because he or she has not gone along with the crowd.

Another of Frost’s poems that can be used as an example of finding different levels of meaning is “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” When it is first read, it tells the story of someone who is stopping in the woods to admire a beautiful snowfall. Examined more closely, this poem also tells about life. It gives the message that we should slow down and take the time to appreciate the beauty of the world around us, yet still be responsible for the promises we make to other people. The repetition of the final two lines reiterates that life can be tedious, which is why we have to appreciate the beautiful things found in life.

RandomStein

Computer Mouse

A click brings the cheese. Watch out for the cat. Tails

can be rather troublesome when tangeled. Keep the

ball rolling and move the blocks, but don't get trapped!

Huck Has a Heart

I think that Huck’s decision to go to the Phelps’ in order to rescue Jim shows truly how much Huck has grown to care about Jim. The two of them have been through a lot together and in many ways Jim has become the father figure that Huck never really had. At times, when it is just the two of them and they are just talking and having a good time with each other, I would make the claim that Huck forgets that Jim is a runaway slave at all. It is only when he stops to think about it that Huck feels bad and ashamed that he is helping a slave escape. On top of that, it is only because he has been taught that slaves are people’s property that he finds it wrong in the first place.

It is very interesting to look at Huck’s thought process as he tries to decide what to do after he finds out that Jim has been sold to the Phelps. At first, when he thinks about writing to Miss Watson to tell her where Jim is, he focuses more on how it would reflect on himself rather than what would happen to Jim. He says, “And then think of me! It would get all around, that Huck Finn helped a nigger to get his freedom; and if I was to ever see anybody from that town again, I’d be ready to get down and lick his boots for shame” (222). It has been so ingrained in his head by society that helping a slave to run away is this terrible deed, that he feels that he would just about die from shame if the people from his town found out.  Then he remembers all the good things that Jim has done for him and how he really does care about Jim. He of course decides to go and rescue Jim, even though he believes he is doing something wicked. This, above all, shows how much Huck cares for Jim because he is willing to do something that he truly believes is wrong in order to help Jim.

Building Bridges: Van Winkle Style

In Hart Crane's poem The Bridge, Crane builds multiple bridges throughout the different sections. The section titled "Van Winkle" builds a bridge between the poet's past and present. Right away in the second stanza, the poet is reminiscing about his childhood and how he "hurried off to school" and studied the early explorers and settlers (5). Crane then inserts a few lines about Rip Van Winkle who is a literary character who fell asleep for a long time and then woke to find that society had drastically changed while he was asleep. Van Winkle bridged the gap between the past and the present in much the same way that the poet is doing in his reminiscing. After the lines about Rip Van Winkle, the poet again remembers activities from his childhood; this time they are the freeing, fun things that young boys get into such as stoning snakes and launching paper planes.

The final stanza of Crane’s “Van Winkle” starts in the same way that the first stanza did: “Macadam, gun-grey as the tunny’s belt, / Leaps from Far Rockaway to Golden Gate” (44-45). One interesting thing to note about this line is Crane’s bridging of the United States from Rockaway, in New York, to the Golden Gate Bridge, in California. This shows that he is building more than just a bridge from the past to the present, but bridges that span locational distances as well. The last few lines really drive home the bridge from the past to the present by placing Rip Van Winkle in the present day with the comment, “Have you got your ‘Times’—?” (47). Crane then concludes “Van Winkle” with modern society’s rushed and hurried attitude by telling Van Winkle to hurry up because it’s getting late—a vast contrast to the attitude of the past.

What's in a name?

I decided to name my blog "Super Sad True Life of an English Major" because as I was sitting at my desk, searching for inspiration, I looked up at the books on my shelf that we will be reading this semester and saw Super Sad True Love Story. The title of that book was enough to inspire me to create the title of my blog. It was as simple as that. :)