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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