The “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” by John Keats is poem that come from the Romantic Age of poetry. From further research this particular poem is about nature and its beauty. “The whole idea of using a poem to describe another kind of art form (sculpture) is known by a very specific term: ekphrasis”. The main symbol of this poem and its entirety would be the Urn. The urn is described in several different ways for example in lines 1 the urn is “unravish’d bride.”

A big aspect of the whole poem is its title. “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is very important like all titles in interpreting what the poem truly means and w/o it we would be a boat with no sails. In the poem I’ve noticed that Urn is not used once but the title itself. Today we tend to look at Urn and use it as a vase for plants, or a case for our dead family members ashes, etc. However, back then especially the Greeks hence “Grecian” the urns are in different shapes and sizes. Some urns are used for kitchen utility to hold things and other urns would stand alone for art, like in this poem.  Ancient Greece was associated with high cultural art and beauty which is described in this poem through the object of the Urn.

A motif that seems to appear in the poem would be “plants and trees” this poem is more pastoral describing nature. For example, the word “Sylvan” comes from the Latin word meaning “forest” (line 3).  The urn is described as a “flowery tale…sweetly” (line 4). It continues that the tale is “leaf -fringed” yet again talking about the plants and trees (line 5). In addition, Grecian urns are bordered or “fringed” with leaf like plants decorations. However, at the end it seems that attitudes tone towards the motif of plants and trees is a bit too much and it takes  away from its simplicity the urn.  For example, the decorations has “forest branches and the trodden weed” now all of a sudden the serine picture of the forest has become a “weed.”

If I could travel back in time and retake this “agonizing” time write I would definitely approached it with a different eye. Now that I’ve looked over the the poem during class more intently I have a better understanding and interpretations of the poem as a whole. My timed write personally needs work and one of the things I would changed is how effective I’m using the time. I felt like I did not fully discuss enough concrete details/devices about the poem. I left words unsaid and it would have probably made my poem more concise, precise and to the point. And from your wise comments/inputs I have to “visualize” more and focus on the prompt itself. I would also “annotate” the poem more, re-reading parts that needs to be read for better understanding. Take bits and pieces such as “diction, syntax, etc..” of the poem and tie it all up to “THEME.” Especially the “title” itself I had a little trouble understanding it at first but now, if I could retake the time write it would be a lot better

DIrectIoNS: Choose either 1 or 2.

Recommended length: 500-650 words

1. Discuss how your family’s experience

or cultural history enriched you or

presented you with opportunities

or challenges in pursuing your educational

goals.

OR

2. Tell us a story from your life, describing

an experience that either demonstrates

your character or helped to shape it.

The short story War Dances, by Sherman Alexie is to say the least “bitter sweet” he delivers this heartwarming yet hilarious story about a man who has “meningioma” a tumor in the brain, yet this man did not want to show his true feelings and his way to block such emotions is by covering it up with hilarious comments, that may seem to ease the situation but truly is not. I think personally this story is about not only Alexie’s life but about everyones everyday life. We never know one day we could be this normal healthy human being and then the next we find out that we have a tumor in our brain. Life is full of ups and downs and what Alexie’s trying to stress out with his story is the fact that when we are face with such a challenge or obstacle we find our own way to “cope or deal” with it, and thats life. In the story the man tries to hide all his bottled up emotions with funny comments but his hurting inside. That’s why I personally believe this short story is composed of so many “swearing” is due to the fact that this is his way to cope with such tragedies. Even with his father dying of alcohol and diabetes, he stills “swears” it is almost like a “defense mechanisms.” To show this kind of tough/funny exterior but interiorly speaking this man is “weaker [and] more vulnerable” (11). Not only that but that the way we deal with family, stereotypes, our heritage, this endless battle of finding “who we are?”

Theme Statement

The “pursuit of happiness” is depicted differently for each individual. In the short story Gooseberries by Anton Chekhov portrays of two brothers Nicholai and Ivan whom both long for this ideal in life. However, this short story not only conveys their pursuit of this unattainable dream but a deeper understanding experience of life. The experience of living and understanding what is fantasy vs. reality.

First of all the the story depicts a young boy named Paul who tries ever so hard to earned this spot in his mothers heart. And for him to do gained that affection from his mother is to be “lucky” (to gamble). Paul has this “wooden horse” which is probably the predominant symbols in the whole story, which represents many themes to the story. Paul rides to his horse to ride off to this place where there is “luck”, finding out the lucky winner of horse races. What the wooden horse symbolizes to me is life is basically “forward/backwards.” There will always be a time in everyones life where their are upturns and downturns, even in high status families.

When I researched the different archetypes I came across the term “The Scapegoat” which is in fact used in “The Lottery.” First of all the term Scapegoat is an animal or usually a human (ie Mrs. Hutchinson) whose death in public ceremony (ie. the lottery) expiates  some taint or sin that has been visited in the community. I didn’t know the term for it but Mrs. Hutchinson was being sacrifice for something probably to renew life kinda of like the Circle of Life. And the whole village or community do this “ritual” every year. Mr.Summers a very joyful man who conducts the ceremony represents the “Sun” hence summers that brings in life setting this happy mood ton to the story. On the other hand Mr. Graves whos lurking behind Mr. Summers brings this kinda of shady dark undertone to this story, which I believe that he represents ”Death.” Mr.Summers and Mr.Graves juxtaposes their responsibility of life and death situation to the story.

The short story “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather-An portrays a young man who attempts to escape his “drab” life for the finer things but ends up in a tragedy. I think Paul’s case is very depressing yet foreseeable because he wants to escape the drabness of his “yellow wallpaper[ed]” life and his way to do so is to turn to the theater/art. Paul lived for the fame at the Carnegie Hall he became so attached to this fantasy that the more he idealized about it, it became more real to him than his actual life. He doesn’t care for his “arithmetic,” his school, and he lies to his father about studying geometry and he goes to the theater instead. What’s really funny is the fact that  his doing the real “acting” in his actual life, basically faking  his way to his unattainable dream. However, he reached this dream by stealing thousands of dollars and flees to New York, checks himself to Waldorf Hotel, where he buys nice clothes and tries to fit in. Though Paul change his outer looks his environment basically he still wasn’t able to change inside. Paul wanted to know there is a better place out in the world. He loves and admires the art but he seems that his just their for the show he wants to experience the fact that art and beauty exists in this world. And it seems that he doesn’t have a concrete goal in life, its like “yea im here what now?” So in the end as he was running out of money he realizes that he must go back to his “actual life” filled with yellow wallpaper drabness and he couldn’t bear that thought (of losing all the art) that he killed himself. Paul was easily defeated by the idea that he ended his life. And that attitude we should never imitate in our own lives.  So personally what I’ve learned from Paul’s Case is that if you truly want the finer things in life do not just dream but take action the “right” way and that dream is yours.

I think Sylvia is a dynamic character in the short story “The Lesson.” First of we can see that Sylvia was raised in a harsh  society (i.e man peeing on walls) and in a way Sylvia had this epiphany through a neighboorhood field trip to a toy store that made her realized the unfair circumstances she is living in.  And Sylvia including the other neighborhood children could not have realized this lesson without Miss Moore who basically rose above the challenge of the harsh society to provide an important message to the children. We can clearly see that Sylvia is a dynamic character  and she definitely changed in her point of view. The fact that she had a flash back about the “time [Sylvia] and Sugar crashed into the Catholic church on a dare. But…[when they saw that] everything [was] so hushed and holy….[they] couldn’t go through with the plan.” And the “shame” Sylvia felt and not going through with the plan parellels to her hesitation/nervousnous in going in the toystore and that she felt that her kind (social class) does not belong in there. On the way home on the train (subway) she begins to see how much $35 dollars can mean to her family for example, ” Thirty-five dollars could buy new bunk beds for Junio and Gretchen’s boy. Thirty-five dollars and the whole household go visit Grandaddy nelson in the Country…etc.” She’s beginning to understand and “aware” of her positioned of social class in her society.

The story “Goosberries” by Anton Chekhov contains a story in a story, which kind of confused me a bit. But this story within in the story told by Ivan first of all was uncalled for, being the fact there was no concrete reason for telling the story. Anyways this story that Ivan desiring to tell was about his brother Nicholai, a government employee. And throughout the story Nicholai’s yearned for a farm with “goosberries”, a simpler life basically. He achieved this goal by saving lots of money even his dead wife’s money. Now when Ivan visits his brother he sees Nicholia more fat, lazy, yet his content with his life.  From what I’ve read Ivan is a bigot basically his very narrow minded and he when he sees his brother living his dream he sees this as a bad thing and basically Ivan is unable to surpass his brothers flaws and see his accomplishments. This was clearly showed when they were served with “goosberries” and to Nicholia he dreamed for them but to Ivan he thinks their “sour and unripe.” Ivan to me is envious of his brother because he lived his dream and he didnt. I think personally also that Ivan told this story as a message to Alehin for Alehin to take advantage of life while he is still “young, strong, and confident. ” Ivan continued to say that “there is no happiness, and there ought not to be; but if there is a meaning and an object in life, that meaning and object is not our happiness, but something greater and more rational. Do Good!” But niether Alehin or Burkin were “satisfied” with the Ivan’s story they did not care for his story at all. It seems that Ivan has this cause to do more in life that he told this story for someone else like Alehin to live it for him because he is unable to do so because of his old age.