"When I was young, my father used to say, 'If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die.' I thought about these words during my journey, and they kept me moving even when I didn't know where I was going. Those words became the vehicle that drove my spirit forward and made it stay alive." (Beah 54).…
Danielle Bagley Professor Behr American Lit 222 10/13/15 American creator, writer, naturalist, visionary, and abolitionist, Henry David Thoreau was a prosperity to American Literature for a long time. Thoreau once said, "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation". This quote originated from his book, Walden which focuses on communicating a visionary and naturalist point of view on life and recognizing the world around you. This quote can be interpreted as Thoreau saying that you should lead a life of trustworthiness and not rely on anybody but yourself. The quote is from chapter one, Economy and concentrates on the optimistic side of Thoreau.…
In said poem, Bradstreet faced the possibility of death but instead of fearing death, she expresses fear for the quality of life of children after her possible death and ensures that they know how much she loves them (225-226). While one’s mortality is hard to think about nothing bothers me more than the thought of my loved ones suffering when I’m gone or questioning how much I cared for them. Therefore, like Bradstreet I go to great lengths to try and ensure that everyone I care for knows how much they mean to…
In Walden, Thoreau argues that one must find their true self within nature’s purity and stresses the importance of living in the present and living life to its full potential. Thoreau faces his own mortality in order to come to the conclusion that by living frugally and in appreciation of the natural world, one can fully experience life and thus, becomes one with the nature around him. Throughout Walden, Thoreau argues that one has not truly lived until they have lived in solitude with nature. His use of similes and metaphors comparing nature to components of life and society, clarifies to the reader that in order to find the meaning of life, one must leave behind the materialistic needs of society.…
Dickinson's poem, Savior, falls into place in the series of poems we have read so far. The overall theme is religious, as are the last four discussed. The style follows what has previously been seen, including capitalization and word breaks. It seems like a pretty average length for a Dickinson poem.…
In Paul Kalanithi’s memoir When Breath Becomes Air, he teaches the reader that although time is limited and death is inevitable, life can still be meaningful and have a purpose, even if it is as simple as helping an individual find the strength to overcome whatever hardships they may be forced to face. The beginning of the book starts off with Paul reflecting on what death is and what it means. In one event at the beginning of his book, years before being diagnosed with lung cancer, he was working as doctor and helping a pregnant woman who was having distress with her unborn twins. The twins ended up being born prematurely and since there was a lack of development in their organs, neither newborn survived longer than twenty-four hours.…
In life we all have new and different challenges thrown at us every day that we have to face. Henry David Thoreau’s has six key themes about life and how he lived a simple life using these themes. These thoughts would include Hearing the different drummer, being awake aware and alive, examining desperate and deliberate lives, living in society, living in nature and confronting the mean and sublime. What I took away from Henry David Thoreau was that I loved the way he thought and I could understand where he was coming from with his ideas. Hearing that different drummer is being able to believe in yourself by following your own dreams, following your conscious and no one else telling you how to live your life.…
The War Prayer carries a heavy anti-war message using a cynical tone of religion. The setting of the poem is at height when Imperialism was the strongest. Twain used collective phrases to glorify war and emphasize patriotism. Twain is able to capture this setting by describing a celebration in the streets, “the drums were beat, the bands playing, the top pistols popping, the bunches firecrackers hissing and spluttering”, “flags flashed in the sun” (Perkins, 57). To further capture this image Twain used the pastors speech of “devotion to flag and country.…
Throughout American literature there have been many influential writers whose common purpose involves directing readers to a certain frame of mind. Whether authors are motivated by religion, culture, or politics will coincide with the values of the era in which they are writing. The Enlightenment era which emphasized the importance of the individual, critical thinking and introduced the use of emotions in literature, inspired Romantics. The Romanticism movement focused profoundly on the emotional aspects of life. By portraying nature, death and one’s overall outlook of life throughout its work, romanticism allowed individuals to make personal connections to literature.…
“Gilgamesh, wherefore do you wander? The eternal life you are seeking you shall not find. When the gods created mankind, they established death for mankind... This, then, is the work of mankind” (p.97) Siduri speaks about how living life is mankind's work. Having a family, raising children, and treating people right is the point of life.…
Transcendentalism was an American movement in the 1800’s suggesting a move back to nature and away from a strict societal structure. It paired Romanticism with reform, and championed individualism, emotion, nature, intuition, and the spiritual over groupthink, reason, mankind, institution, and the physical, respectively. Ralph Waldo Emerson subscribed to this way of thought, as did Henry David Thoreau (“Henry David Thoreau”). Henry David Thoreau was one of the most influential Transcendentalist thinkers because he wrote a prescription of sorts to a world of people sick of conformity.…
This poem became popular for it told human beings to not pursue their dreams and goals on Earth for they will all be taken away upon death. Instead of focusing their efforts on the world around them they should focus on the world to come. This is a different view than the modern worldview which would tell individuals to appreciate their time on Earth and constantly strive to become everything they can. The poet writes, “Call not your own what one day ye may lose; The world will take back all it give you to use. Let your hearts be in heaven, your thoughts in the skies; Happy is he who the world can despise.”…
“All are architects of fate, working in these walls of time” (Longfellow 1-4). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow illustrates the individualistic ideas that were common during the 19th century in his poem “The Builders”. He uses the imagery of making buildings to show how people create their futures. However, his ideas of individualism seem lonely and appear to lack any religious ideas, specifically those of Christianity. If people are focused on building their future by themselves, they miss the most important aspects of life: family and faith.…
In this poem, Henry Wadsworth is saying not to live life in the pursuit of death, but instead live life in the pursuit of happiness and better times. Difficulties might arise, in doing so. Yet, working to live your life to the fullest; you might actually achieve your dreams. Life is beautiful, and we should make it be an inspiration in the world. “...Still,…
Psalms 8 was a very straightforward piece and fairly easy to shuffle through. This directly influenced my reaction and decision to do this piece. I figured that it would be a simple piece to rewrite, plus it was short enough that this would be a doable task. My initial reaction to this chapter was a sense of impression. I wasn’t expecting all the things the author was able to pull in with only nine verses.…