APO 96225

APO 96225
Larry Rottman

In this poem, a young soldier wrote to his family multiple times expressing the amount of rain, encounters with monkeys, and views of sunsets. His mother returned each of his letters demanding he tell them everything. The soldier returned the letter telling his mother and family that he "killed a man...helped drop napalm on women and children"(Rottman). The father returned this letter asking him not to write letters like that because it upset the mother. The events of this poem could represent largely the American people during the war in Vietnam. People in America wanted to know what was happening, but upon discovering the events were appalled the actions. People enjoy living in an ignorant bliss. Yes people knew of the war, but they did not know the toll it took on the individual soldiers. People much rather preferred to assume that war was filled with rainbows and smiles rather than actual fighting. This poem presents the irony present in the families of soldiers. The families desperately want to know the details about the war, but upon learning the details, the families quickly want to shut the thoughts out of their minds. Some things cannot be UN-seen or UN-thought. The families discover that what they really want is not to know about the war, but to know that their loved one is safe from harm.

Much Madness is divinest Sense

Much Madness is divinest Sense
Emily Dickinson

In this poem, Dickinson questions society on its views of what is considered sane. She begins the poem by stating that madness makes sense and making sense is madness. She continues by stating that a majority of people look to make sense. "much Sense- the starkest Madness- 'Tis the Majority" (Dickinson). She challenges the view that those who present madness are insane. Indeed throughout history, many great figures presented mad claims for their time that now the world holds as facts and common knowledge. For example, most people no longer think that the world is flat. Of course this seems elementary, but at the time, this proposal was outlandish. People who question authority, whether it be  government,  religion, or science, tend to be cast out as madmen. And if being labeled insane were not enough, people even go as far to label the dissenters as dangerous. Questioning authority provides essential changes to society. Without questioning tradition, the world would be like the town portrayed in "The Lottery". Dissent makes far greater sense than blindly following the sane path.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain
Emily Dickinson

The first stanza of this poem seems to suggest that the speaker is losing his mind. The funeral "in my Brain" implies that the speaker feels as though his ability to think has died. However, the speaker has not completely lost his mind yet because of the last phrase "That Sense was breaking through-" (Dickinson). In order for one to make sense of something, he must maintain some ability to think. The speaker continues his impression that he is losing his mind by stating that his "Mind was going numb" at the end of the second stanza (Dickinson). When a body part is numb, one struggles to use it properly. Numbness of the mind would suggest the speaker's inability to think properly. The speaker continues his path towards insanity by comparing his mind to space and isolation. The speaker felt isolated within his own mind, and felt lost by the empty space within his thoughts. The poem ends with the phrase "And Finished knowing-then-" (Dickinson). This implies that the speaker feels that he has completely lost his mind.

Bartleby the Scrivener

Bartleby the Scrivener
Herman Melville

In this story, characterization played a key role. By acquainting the reader with the characters in the story, Melville allows the reader to look further into the actions of the story. Melville begins the story by having the speaker briefly describe himself as a someone who doesn't let his work "invade his peace" (Melville). The reader keeps this piece of information in mind while reading the characterizations of the other characters. In describing Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut, the speaker briefly describes each character and provides anecdotes for each to explain further their characteristics. For example, the speaker described Turkey as an overly energetic man. The speaker explains his statement by providing an anecdote about Turkey's ink blots and an instance that he attempted to send Turkey home after lunch. The speaker goes on in the story to describe Bartleby.  Bartleby refused to do anything, which upset Turkey, Nippers, and even the "peaceful" speaker. Melville revealed that Bartleby was actually more stubborn than he was passive. Although Bartleby refused to argue, he was stubborn because he refused to comply with others requests. Instead of doing as he was told, he replied "I would prefer not to" (Melville). In a sense, the entire story could be considered a characterization of Bartleby. The speaker described the other characters through anecdotes, and the speaker described Bartleby's character through a prolonged anecdote.

Miss Brill

Miss Brill
Katherine Mansfield

As this short story begins, Miss Brill enjoys her walk to the garden and her time listening to the band. She observes the other people out that Sunday and makes judgements on them. She finds others peculiar and even describes old people as "odd...as though they'd just come from dark little rooms or even -- even cupboards" (Mansfield). As the story progresses and nears an end, the mood of the story changes. Miss Brill tried to listen to a conversation between a young boy and girl; however, the girl refused to speak to the boy until Miss Brill left. This young couple passed judgements on Miss Brill saying that she was a "stupid old thing" and asked "why does she come her at all-- who wants her" (Mansfield). Upon hearing these judgements, Miss Brill realizes that she is not as young as she thought. She has more similarities with the older people, upon whom she previously deemed odd, than she has with younger people. The story ends with Miss Brill returning to her home "the little dark room- her room like a cupboard"(Mansfield). The mood at the end of the story is sad,and Miss Brill appears to be crying. The story started out with a cheery feel, but it ends in with a sad feeling. A couple interesting points in the story that suggest the sad outcome. At one point, Miss brill felt "something light and sad- no, not sad, exactly-something gentle seemed to move in her bosom" and later described the music as having  "just a faint chill- a something, what was it? - not sadness- no, not sadness"(Mansfield).  These quotes seem curious because the story ends in sadness, but in two different places in the story Miss Brill denies feelings of sadness.  Perhaps Miss Brill was denying sadness which she felt more than other emotions.