In "Siren Song" by Margaret Atwood uses conceit to show the ego of men. The theme shown throughout the poem is one of "everyone falls for flattery". However, the author also manages to portray the cry of desperation of women; a cry that makes them feel like sirens.
Sirens are mythological creatures that are half women and half bird. The tale of these creatures reveal to the reader that these sirens seduce men into jumping out of their votes so that they can listen to their song. However the intent of the author is to show the human side of the sirens.
Atwood writes in the third stanza of her poem "Shall I tell you a secret, and if I do, will you get me out of this bird suit?". The bird suit is a representation of the stereotype that women have been placed under. The song that many call to be a "bad song" is nothing but a cry of desperation, a cry for help and not a dangerous trick that the siresn play on the sailors. The siren also reveals in this stanza that she does not enjoy sitting on the island looking mythical and picturesque. In a way or another Atwood is telling the reader that women do not enjoy conforming to the role in which society has placed her.
Although, the above mentioned theme is very importan, Atwood changes the direction in her writting on the fourth stanza. She begins to make the siren seduce the men by telling them that they are the only one that can save her. By doing this Atwood presents the idea that all men are very egotistical and want to be the hero in every situation and also shows that women know this. But why is this is? Seems to be Margaret Atwood's question to society. Why have we converted women into strange mythical creatures that need to be saved by men?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Heaney Blog 2
Follower
My father worked with a horse plough,His shoulders globed like a full sail strungBetween the shafts and the furrow.The horses strained at his clicking tongue.An expert. He would set the wingAnd fit the bright-pointed sock.The sod rolled over without breaking.At the headrig, with a single pluckOf reins, the sweating team turned roundAnd back into the land. His eyeNarrowed and angled at the ground,Mapping the furrow exactly.I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,Fell sometimes on the polished sod;Sometimes he rode me on his backDipping and rising to his plod.I wanted to grow up and plough,To close one eye, stiffen my arm.All I ever did was followIn his broad shadow around the farm.I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,Yapping always. But todayIt is my father who keeps stumblingBehind me, and will not go away.
Commentary:
In "Follower" by Seamus Heaney the author uses an extended metaphor to compare his dads labor to that of a sailor. Heaney manages to create a mood and sense of admiration by doing this. The poem carries the overall effect and impact that this idea on the mind of the son throughout the entire poem.
On the opening lines of the poem Heaney choses to compare the hard working farmer dad to a sailor. By doing this he constructs this picture of admiration and the pride as seen from the eyes of his son. This is because the son views the hard labor of his dad as a heroic move from his part which ellaborates on the idea of a role model which in turn connects to the presentation of the task that the father accomplishes as a set example and role figure for the child to follow.
Sailors are often seen as brave and very attrective figures in the eyes of many. To a small child a sailor or the dream of being like on is just too amazing to even comprehend so the child or speaker of the poem uses this picture and idea to associate it with his father and his ability to do all this hard work.
As the poem comes to a conclusion we see that the author mentions that it is his dad that is now doing the following and we comprehend the idea of this trasitional circle of life that the author is tryinf to represent in this poem.
My father worked with a horse plough,His shoulders globed like a full sail strungBetween the shafts and the furrow.The horses strained at his clicking tongue.An expert. He would set the wingAnd fit the bright-pointed sock.The sod rolled over without breaking.At the headrig, with a single pluckOf reins, the sweating team turned roundAnd back into the land. His eyeNarrowed and angled at the ground,Mapping the furrow exactly.I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,Fell sometimes on the polished sod;Sometimes he rode me on his backDipping and rising to his plod.I wanted to grow up and plough,To close one eye, stiffen my arm.All I ever did was followIn his broad shadow around the farm.I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,Yapping always. But todayIt is my father who keeps stumblingBehind me, and will not go away.
Commentary:
In "Follower" by Seamus Heaney the author uses an extended metaphor to compare his dads labor to that of a sailor. Heaney manages to create a mood and sense of admiration by doing this. The poem carries the overall effect and impact that this idea on the mind of the son throughout the entire poem.
On the opening lines of the poem Heaney choses to compare the hard working farmer dad to a sailor. By doing this he constructs this picture of admiration and the pride as seen from the eyes of his son. This is because the son views the hard labor of his dad as a heroic move from his part which ellaborates on the idea of a role model which in turn connects to the presentation of the task that the father accomplishes as a set example and role figure for the child to follow.
Sailors are often seen as brave and very attrective figures in the eyes of many. To a small child a sailor or the dream of being like on is just too amazing to even comprehend so the child or speaker of the poem uses this picture and idea to associate it with his father and his ability to do all this hard work.
As the poem comes to a conclusion we see that the author mentions that it is his dad that is now doing the following and we comprehend the idea of this trasitional circle of life that the author is tryinf to represent in this poem.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Heany Blog 1
Mid-Term Break
Mid-term Break
I sat all morning in the college sick bayCounting bells knelling classes to a close,At two o'clock our neighbors drove me home.In the porch I met my father crying--He had always taken funerals in his stride--And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow.The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pramWhen I came in, and I was embarrassedBy old men standing up to shake my handAnd tell me they were "sorry for my trouble,"Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest,Away at school, as my mother held my handIn hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.At ten o'clock the ambulance arrivedWith the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses.Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops And candles soothed the bedside; I saw himFor the first time in six weeks. Paler now,Wearing a poppy bruise on the left temple,He lay in the four foot box as in a cot.No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.A four foot box, a foot for every year.
Commentary:
In Seamus Heany's "Mid-Term Break" the speaker uses diction to show the theme of separation between the speaker and his family. The first instance in which this theme is shown is in the title of the poem. "Mid-Term" represents the interruption of the lifestyle that the narrator has felt so far from his family. "Break" show the separation that the narrator or speaker has with his family.
The word choice that the author uses and his constant reference to time add to theme of separation because the use of these elements create an atmosphere of disconnection and separation that the narrator is in. Word such as sick, crying and hard also add to the effect that the diction used by the author is trying to convey on the reader.
The theme of separation is also seen in the line in which the speaker claims to feel embarrased by old men stading to shake his hand and telling him they were sorry for his troubles. This portionm shows the separation between the narrator and his family in two different ways. First the use of the word embarrased shows his discontent to be at the funneral of his younger brother and thus making him feel a disconnection with his family. The second interpretation could be that he feel embarrased to be given sympathy from those around him because he feels as if he wasnt part of the family.
Once more the diction shows his separation as one line says "my mother held my hand in hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs." This line show this theme because we see that it is his mother who is reaching for his hand and not him who is and she also cries angry tearless sighs which shows his moms discontent with his separation from the family. As the poem comes to a conclusion the narrator says that he goes up to see his brother for the first time in six weeks which once more illustrates the theme of separation as he hasnt been around for a long time and seems as if he didnt mind that. Overall the wording and the concluding thoughts of the poem show his disconnection not only physically but also emotionally from his family.
Mid-term Break
I sat all morning in the college sick bayCounting bells knelling classes to a close,At two o'clock our neighbors drove me home.In the porch I met my father crying--He had always taken funerals in his stride--And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow.The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pramWhen I came in, and I was embarrassedBy old men standing up to shake my handAnd tell me they were "sorry for my trouble,"Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest,Away at school, as my mother held my handIn hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.At ten o'clock the ambulance arrivedWith the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses.Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops And candles soothed the bedside; I saw himFor the first time in six weeks. Paler now,Wearing a poppy bruise on the left temple,He lay in the four foot box as in a cot.No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.A four foot box, a foot for every year.
Commentary:
In Seamus Heany's "Mid-Term Break" the speaker uses diction to show the theme of separation between the speaker and his family. The first instance in which this theme is shown is in the title of the poem. "Mid-Term" represents the interruption of the lifestyle that the narrator has felt so far from his family. "Break" show the separation that the narrator or speaker has with his family.
The word choice that the author uses and his constant reference to time add to theme of separation because the use of these elements create an atmosphere of disconnection and separation that the narrator is in. Word such as sick, crying and hard also add to the effect that the diction used by the author is trying to convey on the reader.
The theme of separation is also seen in the line in which the speaker claims to feel embarrased by old men stading to shake his hand and telling him they were sorry for his troubles. This portionm shows the separation between the narrator and his family in two different ways. First the use of the word embarrased shows his discontent to be at the funneral of his younger brother and thus making him feel a disconnection with his family. The second interpretation could be that he feel embarrased to be given sympathy from those around him because he feels as if he wasnt part of the family.
Once more the diction shows his separation as one line says "my mother held my hand in hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs." This line show this theme because we see that it is his mother who is reaching for his hand and not him who is and she also cries angry tearless sighs which shows his moms discontent with his separation from the family. As the poem comes to a conclusion the narrator says that he goes up to see his brother for the first time in six weeks which once more illustrates the theme of separation as he hasnt been around for a long time and seems as if he didnt mind that. Overall the wording and the concluding thoughts of the poem show his disconnection not only physically but also emotionally from his family.
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