May 2001

1. compare uses and abuses of power as a theme in novels or short stories you have read. say what this theme and presentation contribute to each work you discuss.

2. talk about how two differebt characters from 2 diferent movies abuse their power.

3. power hierarchy, age, and gender

4. the two books i would use are The Bluest Eye and As I Lay Dying. i would talk about Cholly and anse.

May 2004

1. with close reference to two or threre novels or short stories in your study, compare the ways in which writers have used narrative strategies and with what effect.

2. how does the narration add to two or three different novels.

3. voice, diction, and tone

4. as i lay dying and the bluest eye

Introduction – In The Voice, by Thomas Hardy, Hardy uses elemental imagery, repetition, and metaphysical ideas to reinforce the notion that he has lost his lover. This is seen throughout the poem in the way that he is constantly using diction that implies that she is gone, such as “missed and were,” the poem is also in past tenths. Hardy also alludes to her absence by using the metaphysical idea that her voice is the.

Body – 1. In The Voice, Hardy utilizes elemental imagery to voice his longing to be reunited with his past lover. This is seen in the way that he repeatedly mistakes the wind to be his lost lover.

2. Thomas Hardy also uses repetition to emphasize the longing that the narrator has for his love. For example in the first line when he repeats, “call to me” twice.
This technique helps drive into the reader that he misses the way his love used to be.

3. In addition, Hardy includes metaphysical elements to aid the reader in realizing the earning that he has for this woman. As seen in the abstract idea that the wind could be his lovers voice calling to him.

Conclusion – As you can see, in The Voice, Hardy uses elemental imagery, metaphysical ideas and repetition to fortify the idea that the narrator yearns to be reunited with his previous lover

In "As I Lay Dying," Faulkner uses the actions of characters as the primary technique to help define his characters. one such character where this technique is prominent is Jewel. Because Jewel speaks very few words of his own throughout the novel, he is defined by his actions, as filtered through the eyes of other characters. Jewel's uncommunicative nature creates a great distance between him and us, and a great deal of room exists for debating the meaning of Jewel's actions. Darl's frequent descriptions of Jewel as “wooden” reinforce the image of Jewel as impenetrable to others, and also establish a relationship between Jewel and the wooden coffin that comes to symbolize his mother. Whether or not Jewel returns his mother's devotion is also debatable—his behavior toward her while she is alive seems callous. Even as Addie lies on her deathbed, Jewel refuses to say good-bye to her, and harshly asserts his independence from her earlier on with his purchase of a horse. Jewel's actions after Addie's death show, however, that Jewel does care deeply about her, as he makes great sacrifices to assure the safe passage of her body to her chosen resting place, agreeing even to the sale of his beloved horse. Similarly, Jewel's cold, rough-spoken behavior toward the rest of his family contrasts sharply with the heroic devotion he demonstrates in his deeds, such as when he searches valiantly for Cash's tools after the river-crossing and nearly comes to blows with a stranger whom he believes has insulted the family. In general, Jewel is an independent, solitary man of action, and these traits put him in an antagonistic relationship with the introspective Darl.

sirens song

In “Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood, Atwood uses the siren song from Greek mythology to help depict how women use their methods to reel men into loving them, no matter how foreboding the situation is.
The most important literary technique present in this poem is the allusion Atwood utilizes to compare women to sirens. Just like the sirens have their song to lure men into their trap, women have their beauty to attract men to them. I believe that this poem discusses the ritual that women engage in to attract a man, which signifies the reversal in traditional relationships where in the man attracts and wins the woman by showing off.
Another prominent component of this poem is the tone and mood that Atwood inspires with her words. She uses words such as “death, beached skulls, cry, and maniacs” it create a gloomy atmosphere that screams foreboding! When talking about this “island” and the “sirens.”
The final idea present in this poem is that the poem itself is the sirens song. This is seen in the way that the speaker is constantly talking to “you” as the object. Every sentence is referring to you, the listener. This is also shown in the way that in the fourth stanza the speaker says, “I will the secret to you, to you, only to you. Come closer.” This suggests that you are the sailor being referred to throughout the poem and that you are the one being drawn in just like the rest.
As you can see, throughout “sirens song”, Atwood uses allusions and visual imagery to both convey messages about men and women as well as to portray a gloomy and despairing tone and mood regarding it. Finally she wraps it all up in the idea that the listener is the victim and the speaker is one of the sirens, which makes for a very interesting twist.

from the frontier of writing

In “The Frontier of Writing,” by Seamus Heaney, Heaney uses a variety of visual images as well as metaphors to convey the difficulties of writing. In this poem, Heaney discusses the barriers and obstacles that a writer needs to over come to start and write well. All of these metaphors and obstacles add overpoweringly to the tone and mood of the poem and help the reader get into the mindset of the narrator.
In “The Frontier of Writing,” Heaney uses visual imagery as the main indicator of what the message is in this poem. It also makes it possible for the reader to understand the narrator’s struggles. Words such as “tightness, catch, cover, and uncertain” all seem to help describe the tense situation before writing begins. And then in the second to last stanza he uses images such as “waterfall, black current or a tarmac road, and passed,” all of which seem to signify that he, the writer, is passing the troubles and obstacles of writing and is succeeding.
Heaney also uses a number of metaphors to hide his feelings about writing in a different story entirely. We see this in the first, second and third stanzas where the narrator is being interrogated by some troops and he is relating this to the first attempt to sit down and write, especially when you don’t want to. He also uses a similar metaphor, if not the same one in the fifth stanza to summarize the difficulty of continuing. However, we see an upbeat in the second to last stanza where Heaney seems to appear from behind his obstacles as a writer and proceed victoriously from behind a “waterfall” which represents him/writer conquering the difficulties and obstacles.
Overall, with out the tone and mood there would be no emotion in this poem, but do to the hints about how the writer feels, owed to the visual imagery and metaphors, we get an impression of it. The tone in mood in this piece start out wary and defeated. The narrator leaks and ambience of distain for writing/dealing with the guards, but by the end it transfers to a happy and upbeat mood, which resolves the poem effectively on a high note of accomplishment.
As you can see, throughout “The Frontier Of Writing,” Heaney struggles with the frustration of sitting down and writing. He emits this aura do to the acrid visual imagery of violence and oppression as well as the metaphors that house these images. However, eventually in the poem he conquers these obstacles and succeeds.

The Bait

In The Bait, by John Donne, Donne uses visual imagery throughout this poem to help characterize the mood and tone of the narrator. Donne also uses a number of metaphors in this poem to help represent people, but more specifically men and a woman. Without these metaphors the poem would be stark and would lose a lot of its mystery of interpretation.
In The Bait by John Donne, Donne uses simple but appealing imagery to help characterize the elements of his metaphors. In this poem, Donne uses fish and fishing bait to characterize men and woman, men as the fish and women as the bait. In the first half of the poem, especially the first two stanzas, Donne establishes a tone of beauty and comfort between himself and an unknown lover. This makes the reader let his/her guard down and start thinking that the poem is going to be about how beautiful love is. However, Donne has a different take on how love is and changes the tone and mood completely in the second half of the poem. This is seen in the way that the visual imagery is completely changed from holding positive connotations to negative ones. At this point in the poem the reader starts to realize that because of the imagery shift and the mood along with it, The Bait is more of a warning about women and love that how beautiful love is.
Throughout The Bait, Donne also exercises the use of metaphors to establish a mystery about what the “bait” actually is. When you first start reading the poem you don’t really have a handle on what the fish are and what the bait is, you in a way simply just view them as aspects of fishing. However, they aren’t just components of fishing, Donne uses them as metaphors to represent men and women and how the initial seduction begins and what happens after the man/fish is “hooked” on the woman/bait… agony
In The Bait by John Donne, Donne uses both visual imagery and metaphors to help set the tone and mood of the poem as well as amplify the message behind it. With out the subtle but powerful imagery, the poem would lose almost all of its indication of tone and mood, as well as the shifts that they make throughout the poem. Besides the imagery, the metaphors that take place in The Bait are equally important in the way that it helps add to the mystery about the fish and bait as well as what love is and has to offer.

Commentary, The Good Morrow

In The Good-Morrow, by John Donne, Donne uses both diction and imagery to help establish the overall loving tone in his writing. This is seen in the way that Donne uses many words through out this poem that carry loving connotations. We see this in the first, second, and third paragraphs, which only reinforces this notion, giving the reader no choice but to recognize the tone of this poem.
In the first paragraph of The Good-Morrow, Donne establishes the bond between him and his “love,” by using very strong diction such as desire. This paints the picture of his ultimate want, which lets us know that he needs her. He also uses words such as wonder to help us see how life was before he and his “love” were together.
In the second paragraph, Donne shows no signs of slowing down the intense diction and imagery. He uses fear to depict how fiercely and carefully they watch each other, even though it is out of love. He also uses visual imagery in his comparison to sea-discoveries, maps, and worlds. He does this to show how epic their love for each other is. He encapsulates their love into a reference to their love, as two individual worlds coming together, which helps us understand just how big and important their love for each other is.
In the third paragraph, Donne also continues his visual imagery in the words eye, face, heart, and die. All of these seem to apply to a human being, and what is more human than to love? I believe he does this to draw parallels to human beings, in which a large portion of human life is love. He also continues to compare his love to planets when he references hemispheres. I once again think he does this to emphasize how important his love is.
As you can see, in The Good-Morrow, by John Donne, Donne uses both strong diction and striking visual imagery to establish the loving tone that is present in this poem. He does this simply to help the cause of his poem and seeing as it is a love poem it helps to use strong language about love.