Timed Writing

Robert Frost employs different literary techniques to expose his point of view. In his poem "Mending Wall", he uses descriptive imagery as well as metaphors to illustrate his point.

To separate two things and prevent them from mixing together, a barrier must be used. The type of barrier that Frost describes in his poem separates two different people. A wall separates the two houses, separating the two neighbors. According to Frost: "He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors." Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder if I can put a notion in his head: Why do they make good neighbors" (lines 27-30)? The barrier being set up creates separation between these two neighbors. The wall symbolizes the separation that one of the neighbors wants from the other. One of the neighbors states the importance of a barrier to "make good neighbors". The other one questions this statement. Frost portrays these two neighbors as opposite in their personality. He juxtaposes the personalities of each character by the differences in their opinion regarding the wall.

Likewise, frost incorporates descriptive imagery to describe the differences in both houses. One of the houses "is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines, I tell him" (lines 24-26). Frost employs the descriptive imagery of the fruits in each house. Through this he wants to make the reader picture the image described in a more precise way. The fruits mirror the characters' personality. Since there are different fruits growing in each house, there are different ideals in each neighbor. One of the neighbors wants to draw a wall and separate their ideals by employing this barrier. Frost describes this neighbor as afraid that his neighbor's ideals will "get across and eat the cones under his pines". In other words, he does not want to be close to his neighbor because he is afraid that he will change his ideals.

Robert Frost juxtaposes these two neighbors through the use of metaphors and imagery. Through imagery he conveys the differences in their houses which also show the many differences in their ideals. With these detailed descriptions he desires to portray to the reader a better idea of these differences. The metaphorical meaning of the wall and the fruits adds to these differences displayed by the two characters. In addition they show how one neighbor wants to widen the separation between them while the other desires to narrow it.

Timed Writing

Kevin Young, in his poem "The Mission", juxtaposes night and day. Through the use of imagery and metaphors he achieves this difference between day and night.

Young characterizes night and the moments in the day when night approaches as negative. According to Young: "Afternoons I'd look out the shade & think of the graveyard behind Emily Dickinson's house – how death was" (lines 3-7). An afternoon describes the point where the darkness swallows up the light, changing from day to night in a sudden moment. The afternoon symbolizes the exact moment when evil overrides the power of good. Young's use of the word death as one of his activities when the afternoon arrived adds greatly to his conception of day and night. Death manifests itself during the night. On the other hand, day symbolizes life.

Young's use of vivid imagery to describe the day differs greatly from that used to describe night. Young describes the day as, "Maybe it was the sun of the Mission, maybe just being more young, but it was less disquiet than comfort days the streets filled with cars for a wake- children played tag" (lines 11-19). The image that he wants to portray through this description reflects the happiness of the day. Children played during the day, evoking the joy in life. The sun shined bright and shined its light upon all darkness available. The "Mission" referred to religion. During the day the sun and religion shined, repelling the negative forces of evil caused by the night.

Young makes a clear distinction between night and day. He characterizes night as a time where evil roamed freely. The night and afternoon where the times during which death took action. In other words, night symbolized evil. Through Young's employ of descriptive and happy imagery he displays day as a moment of joy where all darkness was destroyed by "the sun of the Mission." By juxtaposing the two times of a day, he creates an image of two opposite times. One characterized by light, the other by evil.

Song Of Solomon: A Black Person In A Society Controlled By White People

Toni Morrison's interview with Charlie Rose exposed many ideas that the author has regarding her books. She talked specifically about her book A Mercy, but also gave many insights that aid the understanding of all her novels. In her novel Song Of Solomon, we are presented with a different society. She sets this novel in the North, especially in the free slave part. Through the actions and ideas of her characters, she conveys her opinion on different subjects of concern in that society. Discrimination characterizes the relationship between white people and black people. Racial differences, the major concern of Morrison's novel, is also one of her major points in the interview.

Free slaves going to the North created a new group which was reluctantly accepted by white people. The idea of black people being equal to white people was rather new and the differences in opinions caused aggressions between them. According to Morrison: "A young negro boy had been found stomped to death in Sunflower County, Mississippi. There were no questions about who stomped him- his murderers had boasted freely" (Morrison, 80). Violent actions against black people seemed as a victory for the white people. After a murder a person will normally be ashamed. In addition, for respect of the dead person's soul he should definitely not brag about his actions. The extreme degree of racial discrimination shown by the white people describe the society in which a black person had to live in a world controlled by whites.

During the interview, Morrison's opinion regarding the discrimination of whites and society towards blacks, agrees greatly with the ideas shown in the novel. According to Morrison: "The interesting thing to me was the laws established after because what they said was any white can kill any black for any reason" (7:13, Interview). The laws that were enforced gave the upper hand to the white people. It shocks me that the laws were supposed to enforce equality between these two races, but when a dispute of any case appeared, the laws gave the white person the advantage. I really liked this interview with Toni Morrison because it gave me a real life experience of what it was to be a black person living in the North. Through the book she attempts to accomplish this as well, by showing how the discrimination of the white people affected her characters.

Song Of Solomon: Money And Discrimination

The names that Morrison incorporates into her story are very strange. There are names from the bible like Pilate, Magdalene, and First Corinthians. These names were not given to each character in Song Of Solomon (which also includes a biblical name) by coincidence. Maybe the fact that they had once been slaves had made them very religious. Also all of the female names in the Dead family have biblical allusions. Religion must be a very important part of their lives and the biblical references will be continued throughout the novel. Macon and Milkman are the only males in the Dead family and both of their names start with the letter M. Money starts with the letter m and Macon is obsessed about it. The fact that Morrison chose that both of these names started with the letter m, suggests that they will end up in a close relationship with money. Regardless of sharing a similar name, Macon and Milkman are very different. According to Morrison: "Macon wore bow ties; Milkman wore four-in-hands. Macon didn't part his hair; Milkman had a part shaves into his. Macon hated tobacco; Milkman tried to put a cigarette in his mouth every fifteen minutes. Macon hoarded his money; Milkman gave his away" (pg.63). They differ greatly in many aspects of their lives. They even differ in the way they spend their money. Macon and Milkman represent opposite sides of using money. Macon saves and hoards his money while Milkman uses it up quickly and gives it away.

Racial discrimination presents itself all along the book because of the society it takes place in. Free slaves were able to start their new life in the north but the racial differences between the white and the black are still very marked. This is due to the fact that the idea that white people and black people are equal was pretty new. It can't be expected that in a small amount of time society's conception of equality will change. In fact many injustices and faults have to be committed in order for the laws of equality to sink into people's brains. For example, when Hagar says, "Can if the winner is Reba, the only reason they got a second was cause she was first. And the only reason they gave it to her was because of the cameras" (Morrison, 46). It shocks me greatly how there had to be a second place for a white man. In addition, this was done only to be able to take pictures of him. Witnesses were the only way for justice to play its role. What would have happened if there were no cameras to testify that Reba had won? Probably the prize wouldn't have gone to her but to the next costumer to enter the store. The racial injustices and discriminations committed were vast and it is certain that throughout this novel Morrison finds a way to expose the discriminations made.

Song Of Solomon: Material Inequality

I picked up my copy of Song Of Solomon, by Toni Morrison. Since I hadn't heard about this book before I had no expectations about this book. Upon reading the first few pages I found a theme that was clearly expressed. Morrison shows the racial conflict between white people and black people through the characters. One of these actions is described as, "The North was new to him and he had just begun to learn he could speak up to white people" (Morrison, 7). Through this sentence we can learn that the concept of black people being equal to white people was rather new. Since the rules regarding this equality are rather new, the separation between races still reigns over society. With these new laws, the separation and inequality between races will decrease greatly. The racial inequality will constantly appear throughout the development of the book, especially because the society in which the book takes place joins these two cultures.

The relationship presented between Macon Dead and everyone else in the story characterizes hatred. He doesn't seem to love his family. Money, the only thing that interests him, guides his life. According to Morrison: "[She] was the one person in the world he hated more than his wife in spite of the fact that she was his sister … Letting their bunchy solidity calm him. They were the keys to all the doors of his houses" (17). Morrison reveals Macon's materialistic beliefs since the only thing that calmed him were the keys to his houses. These keys symbolize his possession. If he posses these houses he will feel good about his life. Before this argument is shown to the reader, she shows that Macon has some problems with his sister. These problems have an unknown origin but the reader can infer that they regard money. Macon's ambitious dependence on money probably created these problems. Morrison depicts Macon as a materialistic person just after explaining his relationship with his sister, showing how money defines their relationship. Macon's dependence on money will be present throughout the book as well as his relationship with his sister.

 

Heart Of Darkness And King Leopold’s Ghost: The Strongest Will Reign

I have always wondered how the natives reacted to the first colonizers to step on their land. I have always thought of a violent reaction since humans tend to react aggressively in hostile and uncomfortable situations. Imagine seeing many figures descend from strange vessels. These figures difference greatly from what you are accustomed to see. They dress strangely and their skin's color is different. If they come and start to invade your space without permission, they will most likely be attacked by yourself and your compatriots. The arrival of the Portuguese to the Congo is described as: "The Manikongo who was then on the throne greeted the Portuguese warmly. His enthusiasm was probably due less to the Savior his unexpected guests told him about than to the help their magical fire-spouting weapons promised in suppressing a troublesome provincial rebellion" (Hochschild, 9). I can easily imagine myself as the Manikongo and seeing these strange creatures that had the ability to kill people without touching them directly. If they promised me this power, fascination would overcome me and have welcomed them warmly.

The power of technology clearly shows itself in the colonization period. Whoever had the upper hand in technology dominated the other civilization. Conrad shows this clear idea when he expresses how the colonizers enslaved the natives and were able to exploit their ivory. The colonizers had clearly the upper hand with guns. This reminds me of a movie titled Guns, Germs, And Steel, which showed how the Europeans had a clear advantage over the civilizations they were colonizing. Through the ability to have long range kills, constructions with a stronger material, and the killing of millions through diseases that the Europeans were already immune to, they managed to eradicate these civilizations and exploit their land. I thought this barbarian act of the strongest person abusing of the weaker person and exploiting his resources had been eradicated. I came to find out the opposite in King Leopold's Ghost when it says, "Consider Mobutu again. Aside from the color of his skin, there were few ways in which he did not resemble the monarch who governed the same territory a hundred years earlier" (Hochschild, 304). Mobutu's dictatorship didn't differentiate greatly from King Leopold's monarchy. Both profited greatly from the abuse of the Congolese, extracted all the money from the land, and used all this money for their personal benefits and use. Mobutu's exploitation shocks me greatly since he is taking the money away from his own land and his own people. Yet again, money has the power to corrupt everyone, even if it means hurting your own race.

The Age Of Wonder And Heart Of Darkness: Exploit Vs Coexist

The Age Of Wonder narrates the story of an expedition sent to explore the Pacific Islands. This story, as well as Heart Of Darkness, deal with colonization. The idea of colonization is through explorations done by more powerful countries colonize or name the land they find as theirs. What the Europeans decide to do with this land differs but the concept of colonization is present in both stories. In fact, the colonization of the Congo greatly differs from the colonization of Tahiti. To get the ivory that the natives had in their land, the Europeans used force and exploited their land. They enslaved the population to increase the effectiveness of the exploitation. On the other hand, their purpose in Tahiti consisted of botanical exploration, astrological readings, and mapping of the Pacific Islands.

As a matter of fact, their relationship with the natives differed greatly. In the case of Tahiti they become friends and managed to coexist with them. The relationship of Banks with the Tahitians is an example of acceptance "Trading also brought him into regular contact with Tahitians of every class, and helped him establish a broad base of good friendships […] His journal shows him constantly enlarging his Tahitian social circle, referring to people by their names, many of them in terms of trust and affection" (The Age Of Wonder, 20). When compared to the relationship forged in the Congo, the one Tahiti seems better because they trade and have the ability to coexist. Developing good friendships replaces the exploitation of land and trading replaces slavery. Through Banks, as well as trough Kurtz, the relationship with the natives is defined. Kurtz wanted exploitation and ivory, on the other hand Banks searched for intellectual enrichment through the understanding of their culture and their flora and fauna. One of Banks observations of this culture is "It is almost beyond belief that Indians could raise so large a structure without the assistance of Iron tools to shape their stones or mortar to join them" (The Age Of Wonder, 31). Throughout his discoveries and his understanding of the Tahitian culture, Banks suffers a change. He comes to understand their culture so much that he realizes that they were doing fine without colonization. They didn't need their innovations to build vast structures, and certainly didn't need their idea of property to make them greedy.