Great Works of Literature II, Fall 2019 (hybrid) HTA

How does Yehuda Amichai bear witness to tragedy or more difficult aspects of human life?

From the poem, “What Kind of a Person Are You?” the poet bears the difficult aspects of human life by being apathetic about them. In this poem, the narrator defines his position in society as someone who doesn’t stand on mountain peaks and working in tall buildings that gaze on people that are in a lower position. He is also not someone who hides in places with low altitudes where people are disregarded because they’re not important. The narrator has his own standards and he only cares for his own standards because a person’s life is timed rather than spending time worrying about the criticisms, he only needs to be clear with what he wants. He is neither constraint by God or by society’s standards. “[He] can stand here for nothing, free” (Amichai).