Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Analysis 3


Victoria Jamiel
Dr. Ellis
Understanding Literature 
29 September 2013

My Pride and I

            In the poems “Liberty,” and “Suburban,” and also in the short story “The Cask Amontillado,” personal pursuit on one’s own desire becomes evident.  John Lynch discuses the liberating feeling of simply peeing in nature in his poem “Liberty.”  In the poem “Suburban,” by John Ciardi, the speaker follows his desired path to avoid the tedious discrepancies between neighbors. Lastly, in the short story “The Cask Amontillado,” Edgar Allen Poe describes a protagonist whom refuses to stop until he gets revenge. Judgment and orders given by others trigger self-pride and liberation within oneself.

            In the poem “Liberty” by John Lynch, the speaker expresses the importance of natural liberty from manhood that has surpassed generations. When instructed by he ex-wife to stop his improper habit of peeing outside, he responsively stands by his actions and continues to promote them. He reacted with self-pride in saying, “it was gentility envy, I supposed, because I could do it anywhere, and do whenever I begin to feel cumbersome”(Myers 538). It is evident that the opinions of others, especially his ex-wife, do not affect him. If anything, he takes negative opinions, or criticisms to change, as a positive aspect—concluding they’re rooted from jealousy. Doubt and judgment promote his passion from within. The speaker is proud of his actions and believes it is his right, an example of his freedom.

            In the poem “Suburban”, by John Ciardi, the speak deals with his neighbors rash judgments and false accusations by initiating his sense of humor. His neighbor is caught up in the drama of a dog pooping in her garden and automatically blames it on the speaker. His initial thought is, “have you checked the rectal grooving for a positive I.D.?” (Myers 511). He could have easily denied the poop being his dogs, but instead acts upon his humor to dilute the tension with his neighbor. Even though he criticizes the mundane life of the suburbs, he is content with his current state. He is confident with himself and his self-pride restrains him from acting out towards his neighbor.

            The short story, “The Cask Amontillado” written by Edgar Allen Poe, describes the protagonist’s desire to stand up for himself and seek revenge to the man who caused him a “thousand injuries.” Montresor, the protagonist, tricks Fortunato, into joining him to his family’s vault in search of a wine pipe. Once there, Montresor chains him into a small crypt, where he leaves Fortunato to die. Fortunato screams in the name of God for help, and Montresor slyly responds, “Yes… for the love of God” (Poe 5). It is clear that Montresor is happy his plan has worked. He was ashamed and hurt by the acts of Fortunato, and finally achieved a blissful state of revenge. His self-pride and devotion to “payback” encouraged him to continue along his journey.

            On Friday, September 20th, I attended a Jesuit inspired lecture in Knott Hall B03. Catered food lined the entrance to the room, so I was excited to hear was I was about to endure. The lecture started out rather typical, but then the speaker began reading a poem about Mary, and sacrifice. I was intrigued by the joy and passion he emphasized while reading. It was clear he loved the poem, and was proud to share it with the audience.  Once he finished, everyone starting clapping, and ranting about how wonderful the lecture was. Unfortunately I was not familiar with him or his work so I could not fully appreciate it but I did really enjoyed sharing this moment with a room full of people I had never met before.

            It is often that people pick the common road to avoid confrontation and go along with the crowd. They do not take the risk of putting themselves out there and doing what they truly are passionate about. It is important to make an impact on society based on one’s true feelings and beliefs, in order live a meaningful life. 

Works Cited 

Myer, Michael. Poetry. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. Print.

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