Author: TINA CHEN

How does Walcott depict the tension between Shabine’s love of home and his wife and other pursuits, e.g. sailing, diving, writing poetry?

In the poem “The Schooner Flight“ by Derek Walcott, the author uses the main character Shabine, who was one of mixed racial ancestry, to express his own life experiences. Shabine is torn between remaining on the island and not exploring the ocean or leaving the people he loves such as his wife and family because of his love for the sea. However, he is unable to love his family because it reminds him of how unaccepted he is in the world. Due to his disappointment with post-colonialism on the island and his inability to love his home without disgust, Shabine journeys to the Carribean in search of his identity. Walcott uses metaphors and imagery to add depth to his work and convey how the speaker feels when he leaves the island and his lover behind. For example, when he is on sailing, he realizes that the sea contains a human past. While he is diving, he has a vision of God and hears a voice telling him to abandon his wife. As the water moves up and down, so does Shabine’s emotions when nostalgia and memories are recollected which causes him to struggle throughout his whole journey.

In each stanza of this poem, Yeats reflects back to his past memories and compares it to the present. During his visit to the convent school, he becomes aware of the age gap and the differences between his and the children’s’ generation. He gains answers to his questions from the nuns in the school while observing the children. After looking through the eyes of a little girl, he is then reminded of his childhood love and thinks about her presence image. This eventually led him to question the value of human life and how they grow. However, he comes to an understanding of the beauty of life and the fact about how aging is inevitable. Reality is that the whole is more than its parts combined all together just like how the chestnut tree cannot be divided into leaf, blossom, and bole separately. Yeats addresses these concerns with the audience in order to share both universal viewpoints along with his self-perception of existence.

Consider the role of the setting in the story and the lives of these two women (and their daughters?).

The setting in the “Roman Fever” takes place in the late afternoon at the Roman terrace restaurant with views of the Colosseum, the Forum and other ancient sights in Rome. The setting in this story plays a big role in the lives of the two women, Grace Ansley and Alida Slade and their daughters. This is because it was the same restaurant Grace and Ansley met in their youth. Now, they return back twenty-five years later with each of their beautiful daughters running off to meet young men, setting memories of themselves in the past. Besides the fact that they ran into each other at the same place in Rome, Rome itself is significant in this story. Over the centuries, Roman Fever was used to describe the deadly disease that would occur frequently in Rome. Grace recalls the story of how her great-aunt Harriet sent her sister to pick out flowers in the forum. In reality, she wanted to expose her to Roman fever due to the fact that they were in love with the same man and as a result, she died. 

Similar to this incident, Grace also went out on a chilly evening after dark to meet Delphin at the Colosseum, the man who Alida was engaged to, after receiving a letter from him even though it was actually from Alida. Not only did Alida resent the fact that Grace fell in love with her husband, but she also became jealous of Grace’s daughter who she describes as a beauty with “an edge”. It is important that Wharton places the characters in a place where they have a sight of the ancient ruins surrounding them because it reflects on the characters’ pasts and symbolizes how the relationship between Grace and Alida falls apart. Furthermore, the time setting seems to always occur during the evening when it is dark which represents the deep dark secrets that the two women have been hiding from each other since they first met. 

How is the story a commentary on the relationship and/or struggle between regionalism/localism (as represented by, for example, Miss Ivors, who is very pro-Irish) and cosmopolitanism (as represented by Gabriel, who tries to be more European and at one point says he is sick of Ireland)?

The story is a commentary on the relationship between regionalism and cosmopolitanism because the protagonist, Gabriel and Miss Ivors who is pro-Irish have extremely different perspectives on their country.  “And haven’t you your own land to visit,” continued Miss Ivors, “that you know nothing of, your own people, and your own country?” Miss Ivors believes that Gabriel should stay and learn more about Ireland rather than planning vacations elsewhere. However, Gabriel replies that he is sick of his own country and even claims that Irish is not his language. As Miss Ivors criticizes Gabriel for his lack of interest in Irish culture and politics, their conversation becomes tense. She even calls him a “West Briton” who is a supporter of English rule. Due to the dispute between these two characters and the ways they perceive their own country, customs, and language, Gabriel is unable to get along well with Miss Ivors.

 

Consider the symbolism (or various symbolisms or meanings or emotional or psychological values) of the gilded coin​ in the story.

In the story, gilded objects represent the high-class status and wealth that Joe and Missie May are far from reaching and how it jeopardizes their marriage. Otis D. Slemmons was the “wealthy man” who opened a new ice cream parlor in town and wore gold fashion accessories. Before Joe and Missie May met him, they were content with their simple lives and perfectly fine with the little money they had saved up. When Joe comes home from his nightshift, they would usually play a game of cat and mouse where Joe would toss silver dollars and hide behind the bush while Missie goes and search for the coins. In addition, he would bring her small gifts such as candy kisses to show how much they were in love. However, Joe comes home from work early one day and finds his wife sleeping with Slemmons. Missie claims that she did this for the exchange for his golden watch charm.

In this case, Slemmons deceive Missie May into thinking that the gilded coins were real even though they were just cheap coins gilded to appear gold. Missie thought she could make Joe happy if she gave him gold just like what other women would do for Slemmons. Gilded coins are significant in this story because it helped to test the relationship between Joe and Missie May. Although it ruined their relationship, it is clear that Missie took her action, not because of covetousness but because she really loved Joe and wanted what was best for him. As a result, the yellow coin meant nothing to them but what meant the most was their love for each other which eventually led to their reconciliation.

What is Whitman’s relationship to the reader?

In his poetry, Walt Whitman praises himself and is prideful of who he is. While he “celebrates” himself, he wants us, the readers to celebrate with him and be proud of who we are just like he does. “For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” He wants the readers to share their identity with the world as we all unite as one. Therefore, to Whitman, the readers are all his friends because he believes that everyone is the same.