Author: JACOB GOLODNER

Walcott comments on the the struggle of faith and how one can be consumed by their beliefs; sometimes by choice, and other times out of necessity. The “Endless Poem” is quite literal as it relates to the cyclical pattern of the lines, but it also has metaphorical undertones. The infiniteness of the poem is also met to express the infiniteness of his devotion to his faith. This is reinforced by the symbolism of the museum. Museums are normally used exhibit and document old or impactful events/ works of art throughout history. Featured in this museum was an old synagogue which houses the religion of Judaism. And even though the synagogue is “old”, the narrator still maintains his position in it. It is apart of him and he is apart of it. Once again, this reenforcing this idea of dependency on faith. Overall, it shows the difficulty of life consumption of faith to motivate and drive people to make it through the struggles. 

“The Mending Wall” establishes two very different emotional narratives. On one hand, the irony of the two neighbors’ conflicting opinions on the necessity of the wall can be considered comedic. It appears that the narrator’s neighbor is being overly dramatic in his advocation for the wall, while the narrator is on the polar opposite side of the argument. In this sense it is kind of comedic, and it establishes a character relationship similar to that of Tom and Jerry, or any other duo that are constantly going back and forth with each other. On the other hand, the neighbor’s also being very serious when he is fighting for the necessity of the wall. It brings on a tone of isolationism. Especially in today’s society, where polarization and division has become so prevalent, it is notably tragic to see a character in a poem expressing such relevant emotions/ views.

“Roman Fever,” was an example of perspective and the generational divide between the mothers and their daughters, as well as the generations before them. Mrs. Slade provided a somewhat uncomfortable monologue in which she described, “what different things Rome stands for to each generation of travelers. To our grandmothers, Roman fever; to our mothers, sentimental dangers—how we used to be guarded!—to our daughters, no more dangers than the middle of Main Street. They don’t know it—but how much they’re missing!” The setting plays a large role in this revelation as the two mothers were vacationing in Rome. The two to sat together quietly and reflected. From this position they were able to see their daughters down the stairs. The ability to physically see the difference in their daughter’s actions also effected their comments and thoughts. The two had very similar backgrounds as they were both widows with children. Their pasts made them alike as people and the setting allowed them to take note of how the different generations past and present are living in a different world, with different perspectives.

It was obvious that Dimitri was extremely misogynistic, but his reasons for being attracted to women were much less apparent. Some could argue that he never loved the women he met, but that is much too simplistic. It was much more evident that he loved the way he felt around women. They gave him a sense of comfort. Even though this comfort was most likely rooted in his beliefs that women were inferior, he still was comforted by them.  His narcissistic personality fed off this, and made him yearn for more. Almost as if he were addicted to a drug. This makes it hard for us to believe he has really fallen in love. It makes you feel as if he is more so emotionally invested for his own personal reasons/ greed. But, Anna is very similar to Dimitri. Both of them are married to other people, both of them are being unfaithful, and both of them are invested in the other for their own reasons instead of for the reason of caring about the other. In this sense, it is easier (not easy) to reconcile the idea of their love in relation to Dimitri’s misogyny and both of their infidelity.

Gilded, by definition, is to be thinly covered in gold. This seems to be the perfect way to describe Joe and Missie May’s relationship. At the beginning of the story, Joe and Missie appeared to have a very strong and loving relationship (Hurston 1). Even the setting of the story appeared to be beautifully detailed and quaint. As the story progressed, however, the thin gold layer peeled away and we were able to see the ugly inside that was their relationship. Missie’s infidelity was a massive part of the darker less appealing side of their marriage. Overall, their marriage appeared to be strong and beautiful as gold is, but the core was much was much less lustrous.

Prompt: How do Romantic writers depict the limits of reason?

Often it is easy to see reason be the first thing to go when it comes to characters developing romantic feelings for each other. The cliche of being “blinded by love” or, in this case, any form of romantic emotion, stands true. It is also common that the limits of reason disappear as romantic feeling develop. One of the most well-known examples of this would be Romeo and Juliet. Reason/ rational-thinking was obviously not being used as Juliet faked her death without telling Romeo, and as Romeo responded by committing suicide without even confirming if Juliet was actually dead. Reason was depicted as virtually non-existent and this has been proven to be a commonality amongst romantic writers.