Author: CHRISTIAN ROBINSON

This piece by Yehuda Amichai is well written and full of literary elements.  What he is saying in this poem is that God has pity for children and true lovers.  As for adults, “he pities not at all (Amichai).”  I like the message the poem delivers about caring for truly genuine individuals.  This is just something that most people are taught as they grow up, like myself.  The line that reads “perhaps even we will spend on them Our last pennies of kindness”, as it demonstrates the extremes people are willing to go for loved ones (Amichai).

There is Frost’s idea that the wall is unnecessary, along with the neighbors favor of having the wall.  We can see how repetitive the neighbor is when he keeps saying “Good genes make good neighbors”.  The way they go back and forth a little bit on their view of the wall is what’s comical.  However, it is tragic when the narrator comes to the realization that he can’t change his neighbors mind.  They didn’t see eye to eye, and it appeared as if it were to never reach that point.

What is the significance of the two lovers meeting at Yalta, a resort town?

We know that Yalta is the setting in the story, that is a resort town.  People go to resorts for a limited amount of time as vacation or to take time off of their priorities.  This is exactly what the significance of this setting is.  When Gurov and Anna are enjoying each other and being together, there is some point where they have to go back to reality.  Besides the fact that they are both married, towards the end, Anna says, “I wanted to forget, to forget you.”  Gurov says they should talk and figure out a plan together, but it seems she isn’t completely for it.  Yalta is meant to show that resorts are temporary, and life is not always going to be the way you desire.

What is the relationship between friendship and judgment in the story?

This short story is composed of two friends, Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley.  Their daughters are also in the story.  To begin the story, the two women are enjoying their time together, and their daughters are watching them, appearing to be judgmental.  Getting further into the story, Mrs. Slade gets a little insecure about her daughter in comparison to Mrs. Ansley’s.  The common idea I developed was that judgement can easily get in the way of friendship.  Rather than being critical or judgmental of one another, friendship is about understand each other and helping move forward and advance from past mistakes.

Chekhov limits his story in the same exact way Gurov and Ana limit their relationship with each other.  It is obvious that they like each other, even though they are both married.  They meet a few times, but it isn’t depicted as more because their relationship isn’t depicted as more.  When Gurov kisses her in public, she says “What are you doing,… people are coming this way!”  Chekhov depicts surface-level meetings between the two to emphasize the surface-level relationship between the two, though in the end it seems they want to make more of it.

The Enlightenment can be described as a movement away from tradition and becoming more independent in thought and actions.  However, readers can immediately interpret William Blake’s thoughts about the Enlightenment through his diction.  The fourth line of the piece reads “Every Harlot was a Virgin once”, implying that leaning away tradition does no good for anyone.  He also refers to living without tradition as ‘misery’. This writing is clearly demonstrating criticism against the Enlightenment.