Death is most of the time present as a negative aspect in the life of each person. Many writers have shown their point of view toward death and just a few of them as in the case of Walt Whitman, have presented the goodness and luck of death in their explanations of the eternal soul.
In the poem ‘To think of time’ he presents a different perspective of death, in which he shows the positive aspects of death. This idea is clearly expressed when he says ‘and I have dreamed that the satisfaction is not so much changed…and that there is no life without satisfaction’. Here the speaker wants to state the fact that it is very important to enjoy life in order to accept death.
The ideas of eternal soul and immortality are also present in this poem, especially when the writer says ‘I swear I see now that every thing has an eternal soul’ and then, in the same stanza he continues ‘I swear I think there is nothing but immortality’. Here the author highlights his beliefs that there is more important life waiting for us.
In page 55, the author starts asking the reader whether we enjoy of many aspects of our lives. He says ‘Have you pleasure from looking at the sky? Have you pleasure from poems? Do you enjoy yourself in the city?...or with your mother and sisters?...’. Here Whitman makes us think whether we appreciate the simpler facts in life that can make us feel better if we pay them a little bit of our attention.
For what I noticed in Whitman’s works, he does not use rhyming in his poems. He seems to change rhyming for alliteration and a clear example of this use of alliteration can be found in this poem. H e begin this poem ‘To think of time…to think through the retrospection, to think of today…’(Whitman page 53). With this use of alliteration Whitman lets the poem be easy to read and understand.
In this poem, Walt Whitman guides human beings through the many aspects of their lives. He thinks human beings should accept death and he lets us know clearly his beliefs in the eternal soul and immortality.
Walt Whitman’s aim was to project his works to the readers of the future and that is why he was constantly changing his works in order to make them good enough for us and I have to say that he has already accomplished such a task.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Work
Having a good job is what makes people feel the security that they will have a comfortable style of life. Some people have the possibility to achieve their aims and have their dreamed jobs; in other cases people have to deal with the feeling of boredom and lack of satisfaction for not having the ideal job they would like to have. In ‘Work’, four writers explore what is interesting, boring, dangerous and exciting about people’s working lives.
Jane Mckie’s poem ‘Tin Quartet’ refers to those jobs that no longer exist and tells the story of a harsh and uncomfortable occupation. The poem also makes reference to working in very bad conditions and this fact reminds me of a situation that I noticed while I was doing the subject Trabajo de Campo in second year. I remember my group and I had to observe an English lesson in Escuela de Comercio Nº 3 and the teacher was really nice with us. The thing is that there was not enough physical space and the students sat uncomfortably. The board was all written and there was very little space left where the teacher wrote whatever was necessary. It was also too hot and they did not have a fan either. It was evident that none of them were cosy there. Then we spoke with the teacher and she told us that unfortunately students are victims of bureaucracy and we, as future teachers will have to learn to work with the little resources we may have.
In the two short stories ‘The Secret Life of Dads’ and ‘Seagulls’ I could notice that they both make reference to work and identity and also to power, expectations and disappointment. In ‘Seagulls’, when the protagonist, who is a puppeteer, talks about not having much luck in the job he has chosen. This reminds about my parents’ expectations when I told them the career I wanted to follow. They said that I was going to be underpaid and that because of my temperament it was going to be very difficult for me to deal with children and adolescents. Thanks God this have changed and in the last years I became in a person much more patient and I learnt to deal with adolescents and in the case of working with children, I have realised that working with them means coming back to my childhood and I really enjoy teaching them. They have something special that when I spend time with them I feel full of life…I feel happier.
Some people work because they have needs. They have responsibilities and though they do not like what they do, they do it anyway because it is just a job for them. For some others, and I include myself, our work shape our identity, making our labour significant and part of our every day lives. I have to say that I consider my job a blessing. I have the pleasure to teach people, especially children and I feel I am being part of the development of our future, and that makes me feel very proud of. Sometimes people ask me why I chose this career and the first thing I answer is ‘because I enjoy it’, and I think that it is great when you do what you like and what you enjoy, and that is what I feel about my work. I love it and the love that I have for the English language becomes me in someone more patient and helps me to encourage and motivate my students to learn it. The day that nobody enjoys my classes I will seriously consider giving up as I would not like my students to feel they are obliged to stay in my classes. I want to transmit the same passion I have for this language, otherwise I will put an end to this.
Jane Mckie’s poem ‘Tin Quartet’ refers to those jobs that no longer exist and tells the story of a harsh and uncomfortable occupation. The poem also makes reference to working in very bad conditions and this fact reminds me of a situation that I noticed while I was doing the subject Trabajo de Campo in second year. I remember my group and I had to observe an English lesson in Escuela de Comercio Nº 3 and the teacher was really nice with us. The thing is that there was not enough physical space and the students sat uncomfortably. The board was all written and there was very little space left where the teacher wrote whatever was necessary. It was also too hot and they did not have a fan either. It was evident that none of them were cosy there. Then we spoke with the teacher and she told us that unfortunately students are victims of bureaucracy and we, as future teachers will have to learn to work with the little resources we may have.
In the two short stories ‘The Secret Life of Dads’ and ‘Seagulls’ I could notice that they both make reference to work and identity and also to power, expectations and disappointment. In ‘Seagulls’, when the protagonist, who is a puppeteer, talks about not having much luck in the job he has chosen. This reminds about my parents’ expectations when I told them the career I wanted to follow. They said that I was going to be underpaid and that because of my temperament it was going to be very difficult for me to deal with children and adolescents. Thanks God this have changed and in the last years I became in a person much more patient and I learnt to deal with adolescents and in the case of working with children, I have realised that working with them means coming back to my childhood and I really enjoy teaching them. They have something special that when I spend time with them I feel full of life…I feel happier.
Some people work because they have needs. They have responsibilities and though they do not like what they do, they do it anyway because it is just a job for them. For some others, and I include myself, our work shape our identity, making our labour significant and part of our every day lives. I have to say that I consider my job a blessing. I have the pleasure to teach people, especially children and I feel I am being part of the development of our future, and that makes me feel very proud of. Sometimes people ask me why I chose this career and the first thing I answer is ‘because I enjoy it’, and I think that it is great when you do what you like and what you enjoy, and that is what I feel about my work. I love it and the love that I have for the English language becomes me in someone more patient and helps me to encourage and motivate my students to learn it. The day that nobody enjoys my classes I will seriously consider giving up as I would not like my students to feel they are obliged to stay in my classes. I want to transmit the same passion I have for this language, otherwise I will put an end to this.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Poem 'a lo Whitman'
Walking around the streets of my city I notice
Music too loud at the shops
Children playing and escaping from their parents
Lovers kissing each other alongside the pedestrians
The older complaining about the weather and the noise
The younger showing their new looks and walking so confidently
Angry people cause their salaries haven’t been paid yet
Families walking around the main square with pictures of their loved ones and claiming for justice
The presence of those ones who would like to be there physically, but they can’t
Little children with dirty hands and clothes asking for money and adults hiding themselves and observing these children
The artist, the businessman, the couple, the offspring, the younger and the adults. All of them are part of what Tucuman is for me.
Music too loud at the shops
Children playing and escaping from their parents
Lovers kissing each other alongside the pedestrians
The older complaining about the weather and the noise
The younger showing their new looks and walking so confidently
Angry people cause their salaries haven’t been paid yet
Families walking around the main square with pictures of their loved ones and claiming for justice
The presence of those ones who would like to be there physically, but they can’t
Little children with dirty hands and clothes asking for money and adults hiding themselves and observing these children
The artist, the businessman, the couple, the offspring, the younger and the adults. All of them are part of what Tucuman is for me.
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