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#Post#: 33874--------------------------------------------------
La galería de indeseable amante
By: UndesireableLover Date: November 23, 2011, 11:07 am
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For those who have read Homer's The Odyssey, this essay explores
the mind of Nausicaa and the impact Odysseus had on her when he
went to Schiera. I hope everyone enjoys.
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Alas, sweet Dawn with her rose-red fingers found me on this
particular morning sitting on the ground near the river where I
first laid eyes on handsome Odysseus. My mind recalls this day
as if it transpired more recently than months prior. Ever since
that fateful day, my entire life has changed. Before meeting the
King of Ithaca, I was merely a girl, ignorant to the
responsibilities that soon would be greeting me. It was as if
meeting him was planned by the Gods themselves. Not only did
they want him here so we could send him home, but also to alert
me to the fact that I must shed my childish ways. Although the
King and Queen never spoke a word, I knew my hopeful parents
willed me to transform into a young lady who one day would meet
the man I would be betrothed. As a child, engagement never
crossed my mind, that was, until I met King Odysseus.
I take pride in the fact I was the first Phaeacian to meet him.
From our first conversation, I knew there was something
different about him. My intuition told me Odysseus was not a
common man. It was this feeling that caused me to feel inclined
to help him from his downtrodden state. As I reflect on it now,
I recall the feeling I got when I saw him emerge from the river,
how God-like he appeared. At this moment, my heart stopped
momentarily as my lungs did not draw in air. Never before had I
experienced anything like this. It was a novel yet welcomed
feeling. This feeling, combined with my intuition, encouraged me
to bring Odysseus back to the palace. I knew if the citizens saw
me walking back to town with a stranger, word would spread like
wildfire. Due to my position in society I could not allow this
to happen. This caused me to give Odysseus directions to the
palace and advice him to please my mother initially.
We Phaeacians have never been truly comfortable with newcomers
on Scheria. Because of this, there was a chain of command each
person had to follow before being accepted. Not only was I
following tradition by giving Odysseus explicit instructions, I
was essentially forcing him upon my mother and father so they
could approve of him. Without their approval I knew there was no
hope of him and I sharing a future together. When I heard he
would be competing in the games my heart became overjoyed.
Although I had just met him, I had all of the confidence in the
world he would be triumphant.
Masterfully, he won their hearts and their approval with his
success in the games. As I watched the games transpire, I
couldn’t help but to think of the future we would have shared if
he remained on Scheria. Every once in a while my daydreams would
end, but, inevitably, they would always return back to Odysseus.
Sometime after the games ended, the King announced he would be
honored for Odysseus to take my hand in marriage. I and
Odysseus, married! Receiving this news caused my heart to become
extremely elated. Deep within me, I had a desire to immediately
embrace Odysseus and begin our lives together at that exact
moment. Unfortunately, I had to be a mature woman and suppress
such an immature action.
All too soon, his adventures on Scheria came to an end.
Reminiscing on these past occurrences caused me to feel sorrow
in my heart. I tremendously missed Odysseus but I knew I would
never forget him. Although I may not be his bride, my mind and
heart know the qualities he possessed. I take comfort in this
for I believe my heart will constantly be searching a man who
shares the same personality characteristics. In the mean time, I
am focused solely on being of service to help my people. Mother
and Father have taken notice of my newfound maturity. Whether or
not they know what caused the near sudden transformation is left
to be unsaid. However, I know the truth. I owe it to Odysseus
for unleashing the woman who was hiding behind the mask of a
girl.
#Post#: 34295--------------------------------------------------
Re: La galería de indeseable amante
By: UndesireableLover Date: November 23, 2011, 9:18 pm
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This is a paper written about death utilizing two poems in
analyzing humans perception of death.
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Throughout life humans experience the greatest joys and the
deepest sorrows. One such example of a moment plagued by anguish
regards the death of a personal friend or a beloved family
member. While there is no escaping its cold, icy grasp, humans
traditionally grieve death. However, before death removes a
special person from the warmth of life, friends and family
attempt to keep death at bay by encouraging the dying to fight
for their life. Because of this, the theme of death is repeated
multiple times in literature, from the archaic ideals of the
past to the modern and novel beliefs of the contemporary world.
Sharon Olds, author of the poem “The Glass”, and Dylan Thomas,
known for his work “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night”,
embrace death within their works. The narrators of each literary
composition favors the belief that, although life may seem
difficult and cruel at times, humans must fight to remain alive
and separate themselves from death if even for an instant
longer.
Utilizing the visual aspect of her experience with death in “The
Glass”, Sharon Olds depicts gruesome scenes through her use of
vivid imagery. She accomplishes this by describing particular
instances associated with her father’s terminal illness, throat
cancer. The overlying theme of death is laced throughout the
poem as Olds places a strong emphasis on her father’s pain. One
such instance transpires as the narrator recounts her father’s
inability to eat much, aside from diluted milk. Unfortunately
there are times when not even this simple drink can pass by his
tumor. Again, the sights and sounds of the regurgitation of
saliva and phlegm are employed by Olds to present the reader
with an example of part of the unpleasantries inevitable death
is bringing to her father.
“The Glass” also enlightens the reader as to the relationship
developed between father and daughter, as well as the daughter
and death, due to his cancer diagnosis. Although there is no
information as to the relationship between father and child
prior to the events in this poem, the current relationship
between the two is easily ascertained. Without the constant
heaving of phlegm into the glass, the daughter would have a
minimal role in taking care of her father throughout his time in
need. Symbolically, the mucus represents the foundation for not
only the relationship between father and daughter but as well as
any relationships any individual may form throughout their life.
Due to the diction used by Olds throughout the poem, she
concludes the narrator is at peace with death and accepting of
its inevitable nature. While acknowledging the seemingly harsh
manner of death, she feverishly attempts to make her father’s
last moments on earth as spectacular as possible despite his
downtrodden, weak, and ailing state. By the description of
events, fun, enjoyment, and entertainment have disappeared from
the father’s life. Because of the cancer, his life has dwindled
to merely coping with his illness. The simple act of his
daughter removing, cleaning, and returning the namesake of the
poem indicates her caring and compassionate personality as well
as a reason for the father to continue living.
When the death of a loved one is upon an individual, pleas are
often called out for that person to hold on, to keep fighting if
just for one more day of life. Thomas portrays one example of
such appeal in “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night.” Four
verses in his poem describe the different personalities of man,
wise, good, wild and grave, and their fight against being
silently stolen by the omnipresent grasp of death. Two stanzas
compose the narrator’s desire for his father to continue on with
the struggle of life despite the difficult challenges he may
face along the way.
The first man the narrator characterizes is the wise man, with
knowledge that surpasses many common men on earth. These men
have come to an understanding that the end of life leads them
into a dark abyss, void of any of life’s pleasantries. They know
their knowledge will be of little use to them when it comes to
death. This enables empowerment to fight against the destined
ending of life. Sequential order places the good men behind the
wise men. Those who are good in life, according to Thomas, are
those who partake in invaluable actions unbeknownst to the
public eye. They spend their life vigorously involved with
charity work in order to better the lives of the poor,
misfortunate, and ill-fated individuals. These men, while
helping the general population, acknowledge they could have done
more to fight against death, causing them to pass away silently
without as much as a turn of the head from someone who did not
know them personally.
Both the wild men and grave men approach death lacking some of
the key acquisitions a majority of people obtain throughout
their life. Wild men are those individuals who lived life to the
fullest from the time they woke up in the morning until their
bodies signaled the desire for rest. A majority of people
believe this is the manner how people should live, without
regretting decisions made and enjoying each minute on earth
because there is no telling when it all will end. Thomas depicts
them, although enjoying their time, incapable of forming true
relationships. It is these relationships which often give humans
a reason to fight death and continue living no matter how hard
life may be. Without these relationships, the wild men could not
fight against death and eventually succumbed to its constantly
looming presence. The wild men differ from the grave men in the
critical aspect of obtaining happiness during their life. The
grave men greet their end with the realization that life is
virtually void of meaning without a source of pleasant moods
throughout their life.
Eager to see his father continuously fight against death, the
son alerts his father to each of these varying personalities.
This is accomplished in the desperate attempt to encourage his
father to remain amongst the living. The narrator also expresses
anger at the notion of his father giving up and succumbing to
death. Often, Thomas uses the sentence “Rage, rage against the
dying of the light”, to emphasize not only anger toward his
father for wanting to die but as well as a means to restore his
outlook on life.
Despite being written at different times in the earth’s history,
the two poems share similar outlooks on death and its impact
amongst individuals. What is notably contrasting, however, is
the difference in attitudes toward death. Olds depicts a
scenario that, while gruesome even in the “lighter” aspects of
the poem, both the daughter and father appear to be generally
accepting of death. In Thomas’ poem, anger is expressed at the
mere thought of the father slipping away without as much as a
thought. This anger translates into the son not coming to terms
with something in which he has no control over.
The narrators in each encourage their fathers to not take the
concept of death lightly and not allow it to sweep them away.
“The Glass” conveys this message in an indirect way when
compared to the direct approach taken in “Do Not Go Gentle into
that Good Night.” The simple task of the daughter removing,
cleaning, and replacing the glass for her father indicates to
him he still has a life worth living, and a person worth living
for. Traditionally, those who are elderly are said to have
passed on due to missing their spouse or because there is no
earthly man or woman keeping them bound to life. The simplistic
action of the daughter subconsciously indicates her importance
in the father’s life, no matter the circumstances, and
revitalizes his desire to live.
Characterized primarily by anger, the narrator in Thomas’ poem
prods his father’s desire to live by giving him examples of
every man who the father is unlike. By indicating to the father
how he is different, and perhaps better than the other men, he
will want to continue to the never ending fight against death.
While dictating this notion to his father in an unconventional
manner, he remains honest and steadfast in his words, truly not
wanting his father to die.
Although death is an ever present ominous threat looming in the
air like heavy morning fog, both Olds and Thomas encourage their
loved ones to keep battling away its inevitable grasps. Each
poet does this in a different manner, Olds using softer,
delicate language amongst the appalling imagery where as Thomas
expresses his agitation with his explosive diction. Their
differences highlight the critical diversity amongst individuals
and their manners of dealing with death.
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