A Rose For Emily

“ A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner is great novella, characterized by a mystery that slowly unfolds piece by piece. Faulkner uses first person multiple narration to set up the story as pieces of puzzle as he tries to tell the story of the eccentric Miss Emily. The story is set in a small town that is close enough where people know each other by name, and the subject of their gossip is Miss Emily. Each townsperson only knows a snippet about the events in her life, so with more of these tales we are able to characterize her. With that the story takes a kind of creepy, yet sad motif. From what enfolds, the audience finds out that Miss Emily was a loner, who mostly kept to herself. She shuts herself up in the house after her father dies, and refuses to let go of his corpse, adding again to this creepy motif. The only time after her father’s death that Miss Emily comes out of her house is when she meets her lover Homer Barron, who disappears just when it seems that she might finally get married and be happy. She then begins her descent into lifelessness, just as her home does, as it decays and emits a pungent smell, which fills the town. With this the story descends into a sad motif, as the audience is left pitying the poor heartbroken Miss Emily. Yet the mystery does not end there, as it seems Miss Emily has been hiding a big secret from the town. I definitely would recommend this story for those who enjoy putting together mysteries, as well as those who love eerie stories.

Bartleby Has Rejected Your Friend Request

A person’s Facebook page can tell an outsider at least a hundred things about them, and give them a little peek inside who they are as a person. Bartleby’s page is no different, yet it has few words and only gives readers a small look into who he really is. Those curious enough to want to know more have to put together the puzzle of the page. It is mostly blank with only a few slots filled out, with only one sentence sticking out “I’d prefer not too”. His profile contains a single picture of him at his desk at work, blankly staring in the dark. In his info tab, he lists his workplace on Wall Street, as well as his former job at the post office and under contact information, he writes “I would prefer nobody contact me”. He lists his interests as hanging out in the office, reading, staring blankly into the night, and enjoying silence. As for music, he does have a few songs listed, but all of them are what might be considered elevator music, showing his enslavement to the office. Bartleby’s status states “I’d rather not have a status”, conveying his indifference with social activities. His wall is pretty blank with only a few invitations by his friends to go out on the town with them, which go unanswered. He does not accept new friend requests, choosing instead to ignore them. The select few that are his friends are those who have prodded him consistently to accept their requests. Bartleby’s blank page really emphasizes his lack of social skills, as well as the mystery surrounding his character, as he does not reveal anything to the public, we have to look deeper to find him.

Madness

“A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.”(Poe).

Poe’s short story, “The Cask of Amontillado” presents the revenge plot of main character Montresor against Fortunato. The story is told through Montresor’s first person point of view, making the account very untrustworthy. His account is sketchy partially because of his unwavering hate towards Fortunato, as well as his obviously psychologically damaged demeanor.
In the beginning of the story, Montresor lays out his plans for revenge against Fortunato , yet he does not state what it is exactly he did to warrant revenge, only going as far as to say he “ventured upon insult”. Without this piece of knowledge, the audience does not know whether or not his attack is merited. Yet is death really a suitable punishment for whatever Fortuanto did?
Montresor’s psychological damage is evident by his rash decision to kill Fortunato. First he manipulates Montresor to going into the vault, by telling him of the amontillado that lay within and telling him that he does not want to trouble him by going down there. He even falsely seems to care about his welfare “It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted.” Montresor even seems to grow crazier as he continues through the catacombs as his “own fancy [grows] warm with the Medoc.” As he lays down the masonry to kill Fortunato, he shows no remorse in his actions, and continues to build the wall. He even lets him suffocate underneath the masonry, as Fortunato cries out for his life. These actions show the true unreliability of Montresor’s character and that his actions are clouded by his evident madness.
Yet a hint of humanity is exposed at the end after Fortunato’s death, when he says “ In pace requiescat!”. He wants him to rest in peace, signaling the fact that he no longer wants Montresor to suffer for his misdeeds.

Introduction

“Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”(Thomas 18-19).
The scene is depressing: a son sits and watches as his father slowly loses his fight to live, descending into death. Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” relates to his own experiences, as he watched his father on his deathbed, urging him not to give up on life. Death or a “dying of a light” is a tragedy especially if one loses a loved one as a result. Many even encourage their loved ones to not let go, and Thomas especially uses this villanelle to convince his father to continue to “ rage against the dying of the light”. Throughout the poem, he uses many images to describe death’s fixture in everyone’s life. Thomas uses images such as “lightning” and “meteors” to illustrate the natural appearance of death in everyone’s life. He even uses four types of men: wise, good, wild , and grave to convey that, his message applies to every man out in the world. Each type of man lives their life in a different , but converge similarly in their need to fight as they reach the end of their life. In the end, he transitions to how they all connect the same with his father’s current situation, illustrating his despair.
Thomas uses a strict style of poetry, the villanelle, to show that even life itself follows a strict cycle of life and finally death. Yet why does Thomas describe death, an image which everyone should fight against as a “good night”? This brings up the feeling that even though one should fight against death, in the end it still brings one peace. As his father’s struggle to live both “curses” and “blesses” Thomas, as he knows that his father is still painstakingly fighting. From this, Thomas conveys the message that everyone must not give up in the fight against death because in the end life is too short not to fight.

Save Me Spiderman

Note: This was posted on time but the poem wasn't viewing correctly, so i had to edit it..

Save Me Spiderman

By Kelsie Valone

Spiderman take me far away
Cries me, the fair Mary Jane
Save me from these horrors, I pray

Take me up into your web, where we can lay
Up high where we can feel the rain
Spiderman take me far away

Trapped and tortured I am not okay
As villains bring my life pain
Save me from these horrors, I pray

So I cry and wait for the day
When you’ll come make my life sane
Spiderman take me far away

In the darkness of New York City I stay
With the Green Goblin running up the lane
Save me from these horrors, I pray

Without you my skies area bleak gray
Life without you I cannot sustain
Spiderman take me far away
Save me from these horrors, I pray

I decided to write this villanelle about Spiderman because I was inspired by Bucky Sinister’s poem to write about a superhero. I just recently got into watching the Spiderman movies, and was watching them while I created this poem. Mary Jane’s character was especially inspirational to me, so I decided to write this as a love poem from her perspective.

William Blake's "The Tyger"

Blake’s poem “The Tyger” offers up many contradictions and paradoxes with Blakes view on industrialization . The tiger is a figure that he is enamored with throughout the poem,. describing it as " burning bright".He seems even more interested with god’s creation of his tiger rather than the lamb, in a sense questioning his existence. He poses the question “Did he who made the lamb make thee? The lamb a symbol of innocence and purity is something considered “good”. Yet on the other hand the tiger is something created by a “hammer” and “chain”, a product of industrialization. Yet Blake worships this product of industrialization rather than the pure lamb, conveying people's preoccupation with technological advancement over nature. The poem also contains with it a figure of a limp robotic tiger, almost to show the consequences of industrialization, and how people like the tiger are loosing themselves to it.
The poem is in trochaic tetrameter, creating a rhythm similar to a child’s nursery rhyme. Rhyming couplets also make it as if almost the poem like many other nursery rhymes is created so children can easily repeat it. He also includes the same repetitive questions throughout the poem, much like the insistence of kids in asking adults the same questions. The ending paragraph also serves as a repetition of the first paragraph, furthering the poem’s simplistic structure. Yet within it the poem also asks complex questions, seemingly coming from the mind of Blake himself. Overall, "The Tyger" seems to serve as a cautionary tale for children, coming from the mind of Blake to try warn future generations of the consequences to industrilization.

"In a Station of A Metro"

Ezra Pound’s poem “In a Station of the Metro” supports modernism on one hand, yet refutes it with the other. On one hand the poem sees the modernist movement as positive. In his first line, “the apparition of faces in the crowd”, gives an otherwise negative image, a crowd, and gives each person a face, allowing them to become human. He compares the faces in the crowd to petals on a tree, transforming them into beautiful nature. The tree is otherwise barren and dark, except for these petals, which are a symbol of beauty. This creates an image of the first few flower petals emerging in late winter, light emerging from a period of darkness. This can further infer the sense that modernization can help lift some places out of a metaphorical darkness brought upon by a lack of technology.
Conversely, “In a Station of the Metro” also holds in it an argument against modernization. Pound's first line "The apparition of these faces in the crowd", carries a negative connotation. His choice of the verb “apparition” creates a sense of surprise and shock, making readers feel as if the crowd suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Urbanization often accompanies modernism, forcing many into a crowded urban lifestyle. Pound then uses an image from nature, as in his second line he uses the image of “petals on a wet, black bough”. This image is reminiscent to one of wintertime. His choice of the color black signifies the death and destruction that occurs with modernization .The “wet” bough symbolizes tears, which convey a feeling of sadness amongst the crowd. This is often coupled with modernization, as many times native cultures and individualism is lost when people conform to modernism.
Yet in the end I believe Pound intended his poem to serve as ambiguous, in between both movements, not completely siding with either.