Literature

Pride is the main theme of The Rape of the Lock and is closely connected to the follies of beau monde that esteem semblances Pope satirizes the irrational materialism of bourgeois values that objectify the human beings by giving primacy to surface over substance. Pope reveals that the central concerns of womanhood at least for women of Belindas class, are social ones. Womans joy in gilded Chariots indicates an obsession with pomp and superficial splendour, while love for Ombre, suggests frivolity. The erotic charge of this social world prompts another central concern the protection of chastity. These women, who value above all the prospect of marrying to advantage, promote themselves and manipulate their suitors. Pope makes it clear that these women are not conducting themselves on the basis of abstract moral principles, but are governed by an elaborate social mechanismof which Slyphs cut a fitting caricature. Through the use of the sylphs Pope managed to point out satirically womans excessive fondness for rank and pomp. And if they could have their way, they would maintain it even after their death.

Popes style is heroic but the invocation, the proposition of the subject, the descriptions, the moralizing sides, the speeches and the battle are practically the only structural features modeled on the epic. The mock-epic or mock-heroic is a form of satire that adapts the sophisticated heroic style of classical epic poem to trivial subject. Mock-heroic exhibits belittlement and aggrandizement. The genre originated in the classical times with an anonymous parody of Homers Iliad and was honed to a fine art in the late 17th and early 18th century Neoclassical period. One epic element of the poem is the involvement of capricious divinities in the lives of mortals. All of the following classical conventions appear in Popes poem the ambiguous dream-warning that goes unheeded prayers that answered only in parts, or with the different outcome than anticipated mischievous plotting by deities to exacerbate situations on earth. A second mock-heroic element is the descriptions of games and altercations in terms of warfare. First the card game, then the cutting of the lock, and finally the scuffle at the end, are all described with the high drama attending serious battles. Pope displays his creative genius in the dexterity with which he makes every element of the scene correspond to the recognizable epic convention. He turns everyday objectsa petticoat, a curl, a pair of scissors, and a hairpininto armor and weapons, and the allegory reflects on their real social significance in new and interesting ways. In the poem every element of contemporary scene conjures up some image from epic tradition or the classical world view. The great battles of epics become bouts of gambling and flirtatious tiffs. Greek and Roman Gods are converted into a relatively undifferentiated army of basically ineffectual sprites. The Baron, of course, is the most significant to those who worship at the altar of Belindas beauty. The ritual sacrifices that he performs in the pre-drawn hours are another mock-heroic element, mimicking the epic tradition of sacrificing to the gods before an important battle of journey. Clearly the poets purpose is neither to ridicule the heroic genre nor to provide a humorous parallel to all principal ingredients of the epic, but to diminish the affair of the lock of the hair. Pope relates into medieval theory of humor where the excess of one determines ones nature. By comparing Belindas radiance to solar radiance, he makes fun of her vanity and her pretensions.

Pope introduces the machinery of the poemthe supernatural powers that watch over Belinda are meant to mimic the gods of the Greek and the Roman traditions. Great scope for description was given by the fact that the Rosicrucian identified their sylphs, gnomes, nymphs, and salamanders at once with the pagan deities and with the Gothic fairies of the Middle Ages. While Pope found in the Rosicrucian doctrine many hints which he could develop, however, the supernatural agents of The Rape of the Lock are essentially his own creation. The creation of the sylphs allowed Popes imagination as much wider scope than before. The epic poets task of arousing admiration was particularly associated with the supernatural machinery of the poem. Pope increased the length of the poem from two cantos to five and added further allusions to the epic as the visit of the Cave of Spleen (parodying the epic visit to the underworld), the game of Ombre (parodying the heroic games), the adorning of Belinda (which parallels the arming of Achilles), and the extensive machinery of the Aerial and the sylphs. Ariel is the head of the spirits guarding Belinda. Ariel has a premonition that some calamity is in wait for Belinda. Thus to protect her, Ariel assigns different functions to the spirits under his control.In spite of all the careful vigilance of the spirits, the lock is raped. The spirits fail to do anything. The episode of Umberiel visiting the cave of Spleen gives an opportunity to the poet to satirize the evil nature and affectation of the leaders and gentleman of his society. It also serves the action of the poem, for Belinda becomes alternatively angry and sad as Umbriel empties the bag of passions and the vial of sorrows over her head. There is no finer gem than this in all the lighter treasures of English fancy. In the ultimate analysis Popes machinery remains a sure proof of his artistic excellence.

Innovative Minds Dont Think Alike and Youre Bored But Your Brain is Tuned In are two articles that talk about the human mindits capacity (or incapacity) to think outside of the box and the ironic effect that boredom do to our brains. The first article Innovative Minds Dont Think Alike by Janet Rae-Dupree talks about the curse of knowledge. The curse of knowledge is the term used to describe losing ones creativity. The curse of knowledge happens because the more people get smart at one thing, the less creative they become in the same field. Knowing this kind of information is valuable because it can prevent us from becoming the very same people that the author has described in her article, people create products that are only appreciated by them (the creators), like the large, 52-button remote that can only be operated by the design engineer. The article makes a lot of sense it provides information that would have not been noticed by common people had they not read the article.

Like the previous article, the next article, Youre Bored But Your Brain is Tuned In, is also about the human mind, specifically when the mind is bored or at its default state.  Knowing this information provides some kind of comic relief for our bored minds as it cites interesting facts about our brains and the paradox of it being active even if we are bored. Knowing this would also change our perception of boredom. Now, boredom would not just look like virtual nothingness but a legitimate state of mind.

War has always been one of the many harrowing and horrendous experiences of mankind and those soldiers who have underwent the horrors are also known to still have effects on them even after the war has long ended. But even if this is the case, nations still regale their subordinates with tall tales regarding the war and it does not matter if there can sometimes be no known logic behind its cause what matters is who wins and who receives all the wars glorious bounty. As such, different experiences regarding the war have been recorded by historians, written by novelists and imagined by literary figures in trying to put into words a war which has been experienced as most horrible by those who have fought for it.

In the poems of Emerson, Hardy, Owen and Tennyson, the different faces of war has been painted and it all shares the same face that of something which is not liked at all and which is not good at all. Emerson has regaled that soldiers go out to the front to willingly die because it is war Hardy points out that sometimes, men have to do the most atrocious and illogical of things to other men, even those they have never met and kill them because they are enemies and because it is war Owen narrates that men die and suffer horribly and it is accepted and there is nothing to be done about it because it is war and lastly, Tennyson writes that men who are deep in fear march on forward with a brave facade because they have to because it is war. Thus, what the four poets are trying to point out are the various aspects of war and that it is foolish, illogical, horrendous and a farce.

In the end, though the four have presented various depictions of the aspects of war, there is one poet that stands out among the others and this is Thomas Hardy in his poem, The Man He Killed. The persona of Hardys poem is powerful and left an impact since the scene painted before a readers eyes is something which can be a typical and common scene and yet it holds so much truth why should a man kill another man who has not done him any wrong and who he has not even met just for wars sake Though war is supposedly something which a nation seriously engages in when they are already involved, it still does not make sense to have people killed on the pretence of being enemies.

The multiplicity of the multifaceted themes in Hamlet by William Shakespeare has been itself a theme of many scholarly discussions over the centuries. Among its many aspects, the existential Hamlet with its focus on the human existence, life, death and life beyond death is perhaps the basic one that first catches our attention. When a heinous crime like murder or betrayal is committed, the natural and the moral order are disrupted the balance of life is shaken. The results that may emanate from it in the form of a cycle of crimes, natural and psychological disorders and paralysis are essentially disastrous. In such cases, the life destroyed wrongly and untimely suffers in afterlife and brings a death-in-life existence for those who were close to him on earth. The maddening emotions of revenge and remorse predominate then over the living ones and lead them to the unnaturalness of mind and action. Hamlet having from the very start murder and death, a restless apparition, a dying and degenerating soul, incest and revenge and remorse perhaps exemplifies this better than any other work of art.

From the very start, Hamlet is pale, gloomy and unhappy that is in contrast to the dazzle of the court. He likes to be alone and his lonely words unveil his mental suffering more vibrantly O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,Thaw and resolve itself into a dewOr that Everlasting had not fixdHis canon gainst self-slaughter O God O GodHow weary, stale, flat and unprofitableSeem to me all the uses of the worldFie ont ah fie . . .(I, ii. 129) It seems that Hamlet has lost the sense of life and more significantly, of lifes significance. He has been so blinded by his misery that he is unable to see the light in life. It is true that he has reasons for his this mental state-first his fathers death and secondly his utter disgust at his mothers second marriage revealed in his soliloquywithin a monthEre yet the salt of most unrighteous tearsHad left the flushing in her galled eyes,She married.(I. ii. 153)Hamlet feels intense pain at his fathers death and agony at his mothers quick forgetfulness(Knight 18). To Hamlet, his mothers move is surely infidelity and as Claudius, the king and her husband, is the brother of the late king, Hamlets father, his mothers second marriage is an incest. Hamlets agony is unbearable his father has been murdered and his mother has been dishonored forever by her act of marriage.

Hamlet sees his dead fathers apparition and talks to it. His pain is deepened by the secrets of death(Knight 18) from the restless apparition I could a tale unfold whose lightest wordwould harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood.(I, v, 15) Then he gets the hidden fact that his fathers murderer is now the king and is also the husband to his mother. Hamlets mental agony is finally and horribly intensified. Hamlet could have only recovered from the appalling mental state he presently in to the normal one if he were able to forget about his father. He could also have forgiven his mother then. But the fact that the murderer is on Denmarks throne constantly reminds him of the devilish crime. Hence forgetfulness is impossible. The irony of the Ghosts parting words are terrible(Knight 19)Adieu, Adieu Hamlet, remember me. (I. v. 91) This has a phenomenal influence on Hamlets mind and Hamlet realizes that he has been trapped by the fate and repeats Now to my wordIt is Adieu, Adieu Hamlet remember me.I have sworn t. and keeps his oath throughout the play. Life has lost meaning for Hamlet who has again lost the sense of purpose. But to Hamlet comes the command of a grave act-revenge. He is now determined to avenge his fathers murder and punish the murderer.

The disease of the longing for revenge spreads fast on Hamlets mind and soon his soul is infected. There is now only one thing that can save his soul-his love for Ophelia. He hath, my lord, of late made many tendersOf his affection to me(I, iii, 99), Ophelia admits to Polonius. But unfortunately he is also deprived of it. Ophelia deserts him, when he needs her, in obedience to Polonius command. The result is pathetic on Hamlets part as if he is mad, As if he had been loosed out of HellTo speak of horrors(II. i. 77) Now his extreme melancholia(Knight 22) leads him to abnormal behaviors. He becomes more and more cynical. His psychological disintegration is now apparent as the thought of foulness is to him the basis of lile(Knight 22)For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog(II. ii. 183).

Hamlets horror at the fact of death and disgust at life are the outward expressions of his sick soul. In his case, the illness is deeper than his loss of Ophelia, his mothers incest or his fathers death. It is not that Hamlet does not avenge his fathers murder due to his lack of courage or his hatred for bloodshed. One reason behind this is that his wits diseases(iii.ii.341)his will is paralysed and confused. Analyzing himself inwardly, Hamlet now curses and hates himself for he realizes his lack of passion(Knight 23). He hates himself the more for his futile self-hatred. He is now ambiguous to himself. Now Hamlet considers his past love for Ophelia as childish. To him, love is not anything different from sex and sex is not from uncleanliness. Being sick of the world, of man, of love (Knight 25) Hamlet denies finally the significance of humanity. His mental destruction is a speedy process. He becomes cruel to Ophelia and his mother. He finds a diabolical pleasure in tormenting the king by the murder of Gonzago and when he finds the king conscience-stricken at prayer, takes a devilish joy in the thought of preserving his life for a more damning death. It may also be his paralysed will and thoughts for which he could not kill. But he kills Polonius in error. It has been argued by many critics that death is truly the theme of Hamlet, for, besides the apparent deaths-Polonius and Ophelia die and the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are arranged by Hamlet, most significantly there is the spiritual death of Hamlet. So Hamlet focuses in his soliloquy on the terrors of an after life. But death is only one of the many themes of the play. Hamlet who oscillates between the principle of good that is love and that of evil which is loathing and cruelty (Knight 29) is only a physical representation of the inner struggle of human beings. The theme of the totality of human existence from life, death to something beyond is profoundly touched by the play.  

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Stranger are two readings that bring about the main themes of Survival and Absurd by featuring weather in the settings consequences of events as they happen. The book One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is an important reading in the history of Russian literature during Krushchev Era. Russian Literature often highlights the theme of suffering. Alexander Solzhenitsyn tries to highlight the prevailing dehumanizing conditions during Stalin reign in his book and at the face of it highlights the dehumanizing conditions of the prison camps and the lengthy hours of labor that the prisoners amount to generate, to keep themselves largely occupied. The special camps worked hand-in-glove with hard weather conditions which worsen the situations of the prison inmates. Likewise, Albert Camus The Stranger displays weather as a significant part of his book making the arguments of crime present by the protagonist fall in the Theatre of Absurd.  As an example, the motif of sun is a recurring symbol in both the books. In Solzhenitsyns One Day in the Life of Evan Denisovich, Sukhov tries to pre-occupy himself by working hard like his other brethrens in the camp. The sun highlights not only the immense work load shoulder to them under it but it also played a part of displaying time in the book. Despite severe weather conditions the prisoners are only allowed to wear limited clothes and made to work for longer hours, keeping them in dire straits. They warm only their hands because the leather boots held near the fire with will melt and steam. One of the interesting points in Solzhenitsyns book is that escape or scheming of escape from the camps by the prisoners is never mentioned. The mere thought of escape from Siberia seems intangible because of the way it has been described in context with the novel to the readers. Siberian prisons were located in the frost biting cold of minus forty degree Celsius where the political prisoners were kept with no heating facility moreover with limited clothes to wear. The prison compound was surrounded by a thick blanket of snow and treeless plains thus, making it a Devils Island of north. Although Sukhov who is a shrewd and daring peasant finds peace in bricklaying in the subzero weather until the night befalls. The weather in itself is a metaphor for prison thus, keeping all the prisoners caged in the frightful temperature. In her article Chloe Bolan stated how Tundra region serves as a quintessential prison where hunger and cold are on the look out for human bodies as their prey. Ironically, the place which Sukhov calls home is free from excruciating cold and he takes out leisure time for himself. The harsh weather condition not only adds to the misery of the inmates of the special camps but it also corresponds to the theme of Survival in the novel. Limited supply of food and indomitable sub-zero degree cold maintain the decorum of the prison. The camps inmates are punished by Volkovoi with stripping off their shirts in the sub-zero cold making them fall prey of the cold weather. Another example of such dehumanizing condition is that the prison inmates should remove their hats in subfreezing cold when passing guards. The prison protocols are laid in such a way that it keeps the inmates at bay and wholly work hand-in-glove during Stalin reign.
 
In Camus The Stranger when Meursault is tried in court for stabbing an Arab, he is asked for the reason behind his action to which Meursault answers that he never intended to kill the Arab but it happened only because of sun (Camus, The Stranger, p.102-103). The sun struck Meursaults eye, reflecting off the Arabs knife.On further revelation he says how the sun burnt his cheeks and aggravated his move to kill the Arab. It was burning, which I could not stand anymore, that made me move forward (Camus, The Stranger, p.58-59). On one hand sun intensifies Meursaults action to kill the Arab that he fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness (Camus, The Stranger, p.59). The courtroom laughs at his reply brings the banality of expression to the world. Thus, Sun as a motif sharpens the Absurd in Camus The Stranger. The blinding Sun highlights the Meursaults inability to control his emotions. Here Sun is contemplated as our natural response to the stimuli thus keeping in tact the Absurd content. Camus highlights how strong is our desire for meaning that we tend to dismiss out of hand the idea that there is none to be found. In another incident where Meursault is told by the nurse how weather affects the human body. The nurse addresses to Meursault that if he goes too slowly, he will risk his life getting a sunstroke but he paces up fast, he will work up a sweat and catch a chill inside (Camus, The Stranger, p.17). The consequence of heat is anticpated.  It affects the human body despite the speed one is travelling. To this Meursault replies She was right. There was no way out (Camus, The Stranger, p.17). Even when the protagonists mother dies, the readers are introduced to the theme of Absurd in The Stranger. Camus writes, Maman died today. Or maybe yesterday, I dont know. I had a telegram from the home Mother passed away. funeral tomorrow. Yours sincerely. That doesnt mean anything. It may have been yesterday (Camus, The Stranger, p.9). Robert Champigny sees Meursaults killing of his mothersymbolical, that he has not made a public sacrifice before the idol of the mother.He has killed the myth of the mother within himself (Camus, The Stranger, p.75).
 
Solzhenitsyns One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich gives its reader an account of hardships faced by human beings and the strength of human spirit to endure it whether its Tartars punishment to Sukhov to draw water from well in -27 degrees or the rooted faith in God which makes him endure all the harshness. On the other hand, Camus The Stranger shows no rational meaning or order of life therefore, conforming to the Theatre of Absurd. The protagonist Meursault seems like an outsider to society which seeks to find meaning to every feat. The trial is absurd because Camus highlights societys attempt in drawing out meaning from Meursaults action. Everyone except Meursault have their own reason behind Meursaults action but none of them can be correct. When Meursault approaches the inevitable state of dying, he says the following well, so Im going to die. Sooner than other people will, obviously...deep down I know perfectly will that it doesnt much matter whether you die at thirty or at seventy, since in either case other men and women will naturally go in living (Camus, The Stranger, p.114). Meursault here exhibits to us the true notion behind existence and living.

 Both the novels highlight the theme of absurdity and fallible human conditions with the backdrop of weather as a sub-text. Whether it is Sukhov or Meursault both are pliabele by the weather conditions thus, corresponding to the plot. Hence, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Stranger truly reflect different human conditions and ones own rationale to cope with it therefore, attributing to the genre of existentialism in the latter.

Strange and Sad Working on Christmas
I remember with nostalgia the only Christmas of its kind. It is one of bitter sweet experience that happened in 2007 when I was working with Care Childrens Home and the director had promised to take us to Hawaii for the Christmas holiday. Care Childrens Home is a non governmental organization in Chicago that serves the poor children in that area. As an employee, it is worthy noting that my roles as teacher got me a bigger opportunity to offer my service to the organization. We all worked hard to ensure that everything was right in terms of fulfilling the wishes and expectations of the poor children as well as meeting the objectives of the organization. All of us were anxious to go to Hawaii for the end of year get together party. The organization is located in the rural and somehow, that was my last year with the organization. Sam, one of the children in the Home, had been rushed to the hospital for an emergency surgery involving his perforated ulcers and paralysis. Everything became even worse when the doctor overtly expressed his fears when he said, let us hope for the best.., things are tough.

Christmas was approaching and my thoughts as a young man kept hovering on the gifts I could possibly give the children as the only way to bid them bye (Whitaker, 2005). They had in so many ways touched my heart. Apparently, I thought about very special, homemade gifts, composite of practical necessities. I thought about Sam and pitied him for what he was going through. He had been in the Home for six years and at the age of twelve, it was too early for him to suffer a paralysis. His conditions deteriorated and everybody became concerned and unhappy. The depression was suffocating.

The Director had to be factual. She announced to us that This year, there would be no Christmas holiday and the planned trip to Hawaii had been cancelled. Actually, the cancellation of the trip was based o the argument that the get together party was meant fro the whole Care Childrens Home. The remorsefulness in her heart was noticeable and the whole atmosphere became somber. Sam had been unable to eat, play or sleep and the doctors were forced to put him on strong painkillers to at least ease his pain.

At first I was humiliated at the fact that there was no holiday for me but later on realized that the Care Childrens Home was more like a family and whatever affected Sam, affected everybody including other children (Whitaker, 2005). Worse still, knowing that Sam was going to die, left me more desperate, prompting me to forget about Christmas and holidays and then concentrate on doing my best to the children in the home. That was the hardest of times of the organization. It made the whole Christmas strange and painful.

Both staff and the children assembled on the eve of Christmas and we had some kind of Christmas tree dedicated to Sam. As the celebration began and continued, the director maintained her silence. She looked remorseful and her silence scared but we all knew she missed Sam. She had adopted him as her own bloody son. She therefore felt for him. What was meant to be a celebration of happiness was then overtaken by lack of warmth and the coldness in our hearts. I retreated to my room and cried out to God that He may just spare Sam. Later on I remembered the child who had died early in the year in the same home. This time round, the whole organization was brought together by Sam. I forgot about my family and wanted to in the Childrens Home joining my hands in praying, wishing well and doing everything for Sam. As a teacher, I spent every minute watching about the children

Everyone gave gifts cards to Sam although in absentia. The director, whom the children called mama something that extended to we members f the staff, gave a unique gift. It was just the gift card but marked Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday. I wondered why the director had to mark the card that way and I asked her why do it that way. After a long silence, she called everyones attention and told us that she from seeing Sam in the hospital and she is afraid, we may lose him. That was the reason she thought of celebrating Sams birthday on a Christmas day.

It later emerged from the records that Sam was born on January 3rd. Irrespective of all these I felt that we were shortchanging Sam of one holiday even if his future was unpredictable. However, the gifts were sent out of love and we all had to be thankful. On the eve of Christmas day, I remembered the procedures that were followed in the decoration of Christmas tree. As children, we were obviously isolated from the process. I could remember the impatient and eager anticipation of the moments when my parents could ring the small brass bell that hung on the tree to allow us to get to the room. This was not the case. We spent our eve commemorating the good time we have had At Care Childrens Home.

On Christmas day, the director led us in taking the children to Sunday school and it was there that I learnt that there was more to Christmas than presents and feasting. I learnt about Santa Claus story in a more kids version and accepted that the Gods greatest gift for me on Christmas was my self. It was amazing to see every child dedicating their prayers to Sam. This made us stronger and gave us some peace of mind during this difficult time. But the magic of my childhood image of Christmas could not be lost. Somehow, I was reminded of how Christmas was when I was a child. The message of the day remained to hope for a better tomorrow for Sam irrespective of the situation.

It was my different Christmas altogether. In the evening of Christmas day, things seemed to move from worse to worst. There were no lights and we spent the evening in the dark. The news came that Sam had succumbed to the pain. He had died on the Christmas day. I kept myself in the house because nothing had been the same all day and throughout the season. The darkness briefly suspended me and my thoughts into decades of silent and breathless future that peered down into the unknown. I thought about my life and the possibility that I may also die. I thought about Sam and I missed him more painfully.

I retreated to corridors leading to the common room and cried out my heart for Sam. Life was futile. I cried like a little child. It was shortly that lights came back .The director, who had hitherto been strong and seemed happier, called us together and embraced each on of us on her chest something that was unusual of her. She then reminded us that we are a family irrespective of our diversity and Sam had brought us closer to each other. She regretted that the conditions of Sam had made our Christmas bitter but promised that once the funeral is over, we will as a family go to Hawaii

Every Christmas that followed even up-to-date always rekindle the thoughts of this black Christmas. With a flurry of activities, the joys and celebration that have accompanied every Christmas brings back the sad memories of that dark Christmas that stole my happiness. But at least, I spent it working for the poor.

There are many different forms of literature, but perhaps most famous and most loved of the many kinds is poetry. Compared to other forms of literature like short stories and novels, poetry has been famous dating back to the time of Ancient Greece until now, wherein even poems are converted into modern songs. The wonderful thing about poetry is that not only would the readers be able to imagine the images conjured by the carefully selected words, but the lines in poems would also appeal to the hearing of a person as it involves rhyme and rhythm. After all, poetry is both sights and soundssights being the images imagined by a reader and sounds being the playful or melodramatic onslaught of words. These sights and sounds are both evident in Lisa Parkers Snapping Beans, Mary Olivers Answer, and Glenis Redmonds Naming. But more important than these images and sounds are the lessons or messages that the poems want to show the readers. In this case, the three poems showcase the relationship that each speaker has for the other character mentioned in the poem, and this relationship brings out the unquestionable truth regarding the poems real message, which is admiration for what the other  character has in life.

In the poem Snapping Beans, the usual problem of a student who is at lost over a new culture and new life is portrayed. The speaker comes home from school for a vacation I was home for the weekend  from school, from the North (Parker, lines 4-5). The descriptions of the surrounding seem to suggest that the home is located in the countryside as the sun rose, pushing its pink spikes  through the slant of cornstalks (7-8). The main issue that the poem presents is the dishonesty of the student as his or her grandmother wants to know his or her school life, and though the student wants to tell the real things that happen in school and the feelings that he or she has about them, he or she opted not to.

That about summarizes the poem of Parker, but the theme of the poem exists in the relationship that the student has for his or her grandmother. The student is in conflict of whether informing the grandmother about the reality of things concerning life and school such as the evening star was a planet  that my friends wore nose rings and wrote poetry  About sex, about alcoholism, about Buddha (29-31). Although the student wants to let the grandmother to know his or her real predicament in school, in the end, he or she refuses to tell her to save the grandmothers innocence. This is mainly what the student admires regarding the grandmotherher innocence and ability to be carefree regarding the world as a whole and life at large. The grandmothers main past time is to listen to nature in the countryside while snapping beans, and the student more or less wants this lifestyle as well as he or she feels homesick for the simple life that the grandmother has or is out of place in such a strange world he or she does not truly want and belong to
I wanted to tell her
about the nights I cried into the familiar
heartsick panels of the quilt she made me,
wishing myself home on the evening star. (25-28)

The great yearning of wanting to be home by the student is expressed in these lines that he or she even criesan imagery that presents tremendous longing within the student.

Yet, the grandmothers situation of being at home while the student is in the progressive city is not entirely what he or she admires about the grandmother instead, it is the grandmothers ability to see through things like seeing through the student that even if he or she said that he or she was doing fine in school. The grandmother makes an ominous remark about how funny things are when things blow loose like that (43) which could just mean that the student might suddenly explode one day and his or her feelings of misery might take over him or her entirely.

On the other hand, in Glenis Redmonds Naming, a misunderstanding happens between a mother and the child over the naming of a flower. The speaker who is also the child tries to explain to the mother about the Forsythia, but the mother tells the child that they call it Yellow Bell and the other word is too hard (Redmond, line 3). This naming of the same flower is what causes the conflict as the child uses a more complicated term most likely learned from school and the mother uses a much simpler term most likely learned from their community. The speaker goes on about the differences that the two words cause to both of them with the mother being able to look back on her life caused by the mention of the flower and the child being able to appreciate the simplicity of life brought on by the mention of the simpler term for the flower. The term used for the flower causes conflict, and the fact that the younger person uses a more complex term manifests that he or she has an education while the mother is more used to the simpler and non-complex things provided by her being uneducated or just not knowing a lot of technical things. As how the speaker describes it, the foreign words anguish hisher mothers tongue (16).

Compared to the poem by Parker, Naming by Redmond is more open with the feelings that the speaker has for the mother. The young childs affections towards the mother are shown in the simple confusion over the name of a flower and yet, the child expresses the admiration that he or she has for the mother Her folklore lessons unfold like the bush that inspires (5). While the child may be educated with all the technical and complex terms such as the name of the flower, he or she yearns for the simple things that the mother has like the folklore lessons. On a deeper analysis, such lessons can point to the mother belonging to a close-knit community that could have shared folklores together. Thus, the child wants such relationships which the mother had experienced before.

There are other things which the child further admires concerning the mother, which also further proves the yearning for a relationship with other people that he or she wants her looking back always carries me like a river forward.  The balm of her history flows from the heart without tire (10-11). The childs reference to looking back and the history of the mother being something which carries himherforward and like a balm is an indicator that the child thinks highly of the mother and the mothers past. This past is what he or she admires and what he or she wants to have, though it is expressed in a subtle way Her simple words heal and light me gently higher (17).

In Mary Olivers poem, Answers, the same sentiments are expressed as that of the poems of Parker and Redmond. The speaker in the third poem seems be a person to have advanced in the ways of the world, and this persona recalls his or her time with the grandmother who has encouraged him or her with such ways.  The poem features the wide gap between the grandmother and the grandchild like the lines of the grandmother being uneducated with faulty grammar and how there is such confusion within her (Oliver, lines 5-15). The grandchild meanwhile is the one who is supposedly educated with his or her books and music and circling philosophies and with the lofty career that the grandmother even encouraged (8-12). Yet, even if the grandchild and the grandmother are very different from one another, the grandchild still envies the grandmother while the grandmother is very much supportive of the grandchild and even cools... hisher wild sauces (15-16).

The student in Olivers Answers also has the same situation in Snapping Beans. The student has changed because of what he or she has experienced but he or she still relies on the grandmother to comfort and console him or her. This is because the student yearns for what the grandmother hasthat of the innocence and naivet with her being termed as uneducated (5). As with the child in Naming, the student in Answers is also more open about his or her emotions concerning the affection and admiration that he or she has for the grandmother If I envy anyone it must be  My grandmother in a long ago (1-2). The envy that the student feels is for the simple life that the grandmother has and for the innocence that she has. As with the student of Snapping Beans, the desire to just have a simple life that is devoid of complications is wanted by the student in Answers.

In conclusion, the three poems revolve around the young children or students and the relationship that they have with their elders. The young ones are supposedly the smarter ones with their education and yet, they are not that happy compared to their eldersthe young ones even yearn for what the elders have in their simple situationwhich is uncomplicated freedom. All three poems give out a lesson on how things are with the young and the ability to not be contented with who they are, what they have, and what they are undergoing through. Although the elders seem ignorant of things, it does not mean that they are unhappy. Naming, Answers, and Snapping Beans give out an invaluable lesson in life which is about how the young admire and desire the simple life of the oldproving that a fast-paced life is not the gateway to happinessit is contentment with what a person has that truly matters in the end.