A Barred Owl And The History Teacher Essay

What remains the one saying that parents always tell their child? Get an education. Humans have heard it over and over again. One needs a good education to get anywhere in this world. The positive impact of education has proven as one of the most important factors for every human. In Chapter 4: “Education” of the book The Language of Composition by Renée H. Shea, different views on education become apparent. Moreover, our schools may not serve the goals of true education because of the way students participate in teachings, why and how the teachers teach, and the way the students get taught to comprehend information given to them.

Living life everyday in a monotonous mechanical fashion is considered a subpar style of life for many. In Small Frogs Killed on the Highway By James Wright, Wright conveys a message perfectly touching on the issue of taking chances. The speaker of the poem reflects on his past choices through describing frogs optimizing their opportunities by deciding to risk death and attempt to cross a road. Throughout the poem Wright uses objects riddled with either deeper meanings or dual meanings. Why are frogs latently compared to humans? What is the purpose of all the contrasting, descriptive imagery? What elements underlyingly stand for other items?

It was another pitch black midnight, the stars were shining, and the full moon bathing the small city in light like a waterfall from heaven. A pair of strange creatures stirred through a tangled and dark forest, growling softly. The creatures had skinny black arms with ebony black claws, straight burgundy bodies and horrifying white eyes. To top off the hideous beasts they had crooked yellow fangs and drool running from their mouths. The creatures had a horrible and twisted name, Ronnie and Towel, the duo of destruction. They two creatures watched over the city, stealing the town 's freshly grown tangerines. "Yes, the humans shall suffer without their delicious fruits known as the tangerine." "Yes." Towel said. "So dastardly." Ronnie exclaimed.

She utilises a diptych structure which portrays the contrast of a child’s naive image of death to the more mature understanding they obtain as they transition into adulthood. This highlighted in ‘I Barn Owl’ where the use of emotive language, “I watched, afraid/ …, a lonely child who believed death clean/ and final, not this obscene”, emphasises the confronting nature of death for a child which is further accentuated through the use of enjambment which conveys the narrator’s distress. In contrast, ‘II Nightfall’, the symbolism of life as a “marvellous journey” that comes to an end when “night and day are one” reflects the narrator’s more refined and mature understanding of mortality. Furthermore the reference to the “child once quick/to mischief, grown to learn/what sorrows,…/no words, no tears can mend” reaffirms the change in the narrator’s perspective on death through the contrast of a quality associated with innocence, “mischief”, with more negative emotions associated with adulthood, “sorrows”. The narrator’s changing understanding of the inevitability of death across the two sections of the poem illustrates the dynamic and contrasting nature of the human

The two poems, “The Barred Owl” and “The History Teacher”, display different ways of soothing child fears and attempting to protect the children's innocence with their tone, rhyme scheme, and humor. Wilbur specifically uses personification with a different point of view than Collins. Collins comes from a more ironic tone in his poem and portrays the history teacher as a protector of the children’s innocence, when in reality, they have already lost it.

In both poems, the adults avoid disclosing the actual truth to the children in order to protect their innocence. Both poems use devices that emphasize simplicity in order to make the message suitable for a child. “A Barred Owl” utilizes a ten syllable masculine rhyme, making the poem sound like a nursery rhyme while also emphasizing simple words like “boom” and “room”. The simple devices and sounds in which Wilbur employs, allows for the somewhat frightening existence of an owl to become diluted to a reality suitable for a child’s understanding. “The History Teacher” utilizes understatements like the “tiny atom” referring to the atomic bomb and “a series of questions” referring to the Spanish inquisition. In reality, both historical events

The two poems “A Barred Owl” and “the history teacher” both work to show the innocence of a child, and how the characters in the poem work to try to preserve it. In the first poem by Richard Wilbur, the child is frightened by the owl’s voice. However, the child is told, “All she heard was an odd question from a forest bird….” This shows the person trying to protect the child’s innocence.

The poem “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins has a greater lie than “The Death of Santa Claus”, in its intention to save the innocence of students. It is necessary to tell the truth when the lie is destroying students future and breeding ignorance. To begin, in this poem the history teacher is trying to protect the innocence of his students by simplifying most historic allusions to make them sound friendly and less important. For example Collins writes, “The Spanish Inquisition was nothing more than an outbreak of questions...” (Collins 7-8). This is a lie because the Spanish Inquisition was not a period of questions but a period of religious intolerance and brutality. Not only is this lie preventing students from expanding their overall

Barred Owls (Strix varia) are one of our more common owls. They are very large, up to 20 inches tall, with a wingspan of almost four feet. They are often grayish-brown with crossbars on its chest and neck. Barred Owls don't have ear-tufts like some other owls. They have dark eyes, and a small, hooked bill. Barred Owls have strong, sharp yellow talons on their feet. They nest in a variety of natural and anthropogenic structures, but are considered to be primarily cavity nesters. They use tree cavities created by other birds, disease, rot, and/or tree damage. Living primarily in mature forests and swamps, they nest in tree cavities but sometimes will use abandoned nests. Logging of mature and old-growth forests has been the primary habitat alteration

The short-eared owl resides in Pennsylvania and is protected and endangered under the Game and Wildlife Code. The can be found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. The most common time they can be found is in the winter. The population of these animals range from year to year depending on the prey densities. They can be found in the Piney Tract Important Bird area in Clarion County. They are often found in farmlands and wetlands throughout the state as well. This species is rare to the state and the nesting is hard to locate. The nests are often found to be on the ground and in groups. In 1985, these owls were considered endangered based on the survey that was done. Since they have a small breeding population and limited distribution they are considered endangered.

Wilbur uses an AABB rhyme scheme in his poem to express his opinion that lying to children can help them face their fears. Wilbur is defending his opinion through the scenario of a "wakened child" being terrified of an owl she heard while in her "darkened room". In the poem, an adult soothes the girl by telling her the owl was asking "an odd question".

The Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) is an endangered species that lives in the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. This species is declinging in numbers drastically and has been listed on the ESA since 1990. The spotted owl is native to the Pacific Northwest. They are found in Southern parts of Columbia, North Western America, and California. As a result of declining habitat, there are fewer than 100 pairs of Northern spotted owls in British Columbia, Canada, 1,200 pairs in Oregon, 560 pairs in northern California and 500 pairs in the state of Washington. They are a small to medium owl with a very small range and very specific needs. Their breeding season is february till April and they only lay two or three eggs at

Let’s start by looking at the protagonist of the poem who illustrates a lot of psychoanalytical issues in his ordeal with the raven. From the start of the poem to the end, the reader can recognize and identify many defenses. Some of them include selective memory, selective deception, selective perception, denial and displacement especially towards the end. The most significant issue presented in the poem is the fear of being abandoned. Let me delve deeper into the subject.

Macbeth is one of the tragedy plays written by William Shakespeare. It is about the tragedy of greed, ambition, and wish of power. Macbeth is a complex play and filled with symbols that progress the plot and theme. Symbolical motifs play an important role in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth throughout the play. Shakespeare uses symbolisms so that the reader may gain a deeper understanding and aware of this tragedy. There are many different prominent symbols which are related to the actions of Macbeth throughout the play. Some of the symbols in Shakespeare’s Macbeth are hallucinations, terrifying dreams, prophecies, sleep, etc.

“Milly!” My owner shouted as the snow drifted down. “Come in! It 's getting cold.”