Author: Neo

“The Second Coming” is arguably an apocalyptic poem, but people tend to get confused about apocalypses not always having to be bad; they could simply be times of great change (one world ending and another beginning and so on and so forth). It could be interesting to consider apocalypses as a genre and whether you think this is an apocalyptic poem and if so, how and why or not?

“The Second Coming” was definitely an apocalyptic themed poem in my opinion.  William Butler Yeats employed lines like “things fall apart; the centre cannot hold”, “The ceremony of innocence is drowned”, and “Surely the Second Coming is at hand”. Yeats contributed a sense of “the world is coming to an end” vibe and leaves his audiences to question what we would do during a time of crisis. He constructed his poem through a pessimistic approach of how our society would look like if “The Second Coming” were to actually occur. I wouldn’t say I completely agree with Yeats, but I wouldn’t say I completely disagree with Yeats’ approach of the apocalyptic. Yeats made great points of how our society would drown under an apocalyptic. This can be connected back to the spread of diseases like the Swine Flu and Ebola. The public was in a panic when treatments were not invented and people who were infected were roaming around the streets. Yeats also mentions “Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born”, which translates to people’s desire/pray hoping for someone/something to save them all. He wasn’t completely off about that line, but I feel like the public would actually make the effort to do what’s best to prevent any natural disaster, massive incidents, and even shootings. I just don’t think people are that desperate to the point where they think that magic would suddenly happen overnight.

~ Neo

How does Joyce change your expectations as a reader throughout the story? e.g. your idea of what the story is about and what kind of story you are reading might have changed at a few points throughout the story.

As a reader, I have to say I was surprised and confused at the same time. Joyce seemingly weaved out a plot twist throughout the entirety of this story. The author began the story with Lily, a side character, instead of introducing the protagonist first. The author mentioned the protagonist: Gabriel, about a quarter way into the story, which made it confusing to determine who was actually the intended protagonist of her story. While reading the story, my initial thought was that Gabriel must have been an intelligent man and he lived a happy married life. However, the events that followed turned out to be almost the complete opposite of my original thought. Quite frankly, Gabriel was not a sociable person and he seldom cares about others’ feelings. To some extent, he has trouble comforting others because he feels that if he continues the conversation it would only worsened the situation. Gretta, Gabriel’s wife, was not an innocent and caring wife like she seems to be. Toward the end of the story, she unfold her unfortunate past to Gabriel. This part of the story was shocking to both Gabriel and the readers because Joyce depicted Gretta as a loyal and devoted wife. However, this event lead to the downfall of the couple. Gretta had always love Michael, a man who passed away due to a tragic event. Gabriel was more or less a replacement of Michael, but he wasn’t aware of that until the end of the story. I was expecting a more well-rounded or joyful ending; it didn’t turn out like I hoped for. Lastly, Joyce added different turning points within the story, which made the overall community seem like a dystopia society.

~ Neo

Prompt: Consider of money and the presence or lack of it–wealth and poverty–on the shape of the story and on the lives of the characters and their personalities.

Money symbolizes status, social class, connections, and power in “The Gilded Six-Bits” story. Joe made Missie May believe that he values money more than love. When he finally realized what he wanted was Missie May, she was already cheating with another guy Slemmons because Slemmons offered her a gold coin. She still loves Joe, I believe she slept with Slemmons for money because she did regret her actions afterward. Missie May is attracted to gold/money, but she didn’t marry Joe for his noble appearance, and she also cherishes every playful moment they had together. She can be seen as the “real wife” of this story during this time. Joe’s ego and pride caused Missie May to betray him, but he eventually finds out that he wanted to love Missie May more than anything else in his life. After the adultery event, Joe taunted Missie May by placing the gilded coin under her pillow. This coin also symbolizes their potential loss of the marriage. The couple remained happy and thrived when they had enough money. Both of the characters’ desire to obtain more money/gold had eventually led to their loss and betrayal.

~ Neo

Joyce depicted Gabriel as an inexpressive character/protagonist. Gabriel tends to not follow the norm of social life because he was afraid of hurting others’ feelings if he say something out of the ordinary. Other characters in Joyce’s story tend to be blunt and expressive about themselves and to others around them. In a way, all the characters in Joyce’s story have something that they believe in or grasp upon, which keeps them lingering in the past. For instance, Lily might have had disturbing/toxic past relationships, which cause her to feel indifferent about men, Gretta couldn’t forget Michael, who was her first love, and Gabriel thinks politic issues shouldn’t be mixed with literature. Thus, he was taught and raise that way. I believe Gabriel tends to be more of a considerate character compared to others because he thinks before he acts and he would say things accordingly based on the situation/event.

~ Neo

Consider why Dickinson’s poetry is more terse and/or brief than most other poetry you might have read.

Emily Dickinson’s poetry is more brief compared to most other poetry because this piece is more of a story-telling poem about a shared adventure between two people. By condensing the words, it would be easy to debrief the ongoing journey and it would hook readers’ attention to make them want to learn more. Additionally, it provides her readers with a better context of how one line/stanza connects to another line/stanza. Unlike most other poetry, Dickinson’s brief poem can be related to her readers’ life experience instantly and leave them questioning the meaning behind those lines. In doing so, she had not only captured their attention, but also made her audiences rethink about the decisions they make in their lives. Dickinson created a suspension throughout her poem, so by employing a few descriptive words or imageries per line, it helps her readers to better interpret the poem.

~ Neo