Sharon Olds’ “Primitive” is about an unconventional but loving relationship. The speaker explains that although her relationship isn’t as civilized as others appear to be, she’s satisfied and thankful for the bond she shares with her partner. Through her use of diction, symbolism, and imagery, Olds expresses the theme that each relationship should be unique. By using diction, Olds shows the benefits of being in a unique relationship. The poem begins with, “I have heard about the civilized,/ the marriages run on talk, elegant and honest, rational” (lines 1-2). Although the speaker is describing seemingly positive relationships, her word choice reveals an underlying meaning. “Heard” implies that she’s never actually witnessed or …show more content…
In this poem, the speaker explains that her partner brings her Moo Shoo Pork. It states, “I know Moo Shoo Pork when I smell it/ and understand the message: I have pleased you greatly last night” (5-7). The speaker is implying that the Chinese food serves as a reward for pleasuring her partner, and because the smell of the Moo Shoo Pork is so distinct and symbolic for her, this is a reoccurring aspect of their relationship. They then sit in silence and devour the meal, comfortable enough with each other to eat messily, letting the pancakes dangle and the sauce drip. However, Moo Shoo Pork doesn’t mean their relationship is on great terms. It states, “and glance at each other askance, wordless” (11). This means that after they’ve finished their meal, they look at each other suspiciously, showing that tension exists within their relationship. Nevertheless, the Moo Shoo Pork symbolizes the everlasting love and tolerance they have for eachother. While they may be frustrated with each other, they can sit side by side and enjoy a meal that they’ve made a tradition, meaning they still value this unique part of their relationship. The Moo Shoo Pork is clearly important for them and helps keep their bond strong, ultimately emphasizing the importance of having a unique
‘He probably began to see me as a series of dos and don’ts’ (Page 265) Alice feels that her relationship with her parents impacts her relationships with others and this is again seen as a barrier her culture creates. ‘Don’t you feel frustrated sometimes?’ (Page 239) Alice observes the views Michael has of her relationship and she sees it to be different.
While the narrator has a Japanese background, her likings do not solely consist of traditional Japanese cultural values; instead, the author characterizes her as preferring non-Japanese food and pursuing her interests. The poem states, “I will tell you I have always felt funny using chopsticks and my favorite food is hot dogs.” People usually consider hot dogs as American food, and chopsticks are part of Asian culture; thus, the author demonstrates the narrator's preference for and identification with at least some aspects of American culture. One instance of the author characterizing the narrator as dissociative from Japan or any culture is when the narrator says she has “bad spelling and a messy room.” Meanwhile, the narrator is friends with a peer named Denise, who is not of Japanese descent, as Denise does not become interned like the narrator.
As Janie sees “a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom”, she witnesses the “thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom.” (Hurston 11) To her, this is deemed “marriage” ; it is a merger of two, a union of matrimony and she aims to fully grasp such a sensation. Taken back by the thrill of it all, Janie manages to formulate her own perceptions of what true love must be like; raw and passionate within the moment, like the bees and pear blossoms. Elated at most, she then shares a brief moment with neighborhood-friendly, Johnny Taylor, a young man who she begins to develop sexual feelings for.
”19 It beautifuly links with the quote from his other work, Cat 's Cradle, “there is love enough in this world for everybody, if people will just look,”20 and by combining those two he creates the perfect utopia, with love, and with it, a family, the force that powers the world and the society. Both, the society and the family are interdependernt, the first needs the second to prosper, the second needs the first to
In particular, Corso’s structure, examples that encourage tone, and theme can help us understand Updike’s story in a clearer way. Corso organizes his thoughts in a similar way throughout the entirety of the poem. While the author clearly depicts the features of a marriage, acknowledging both the positive and negative aspects, he does not fail to include how these features contribute to the experience of a committed relationship. The author uses a set topic to establish structure in his poem, but then follows up his statement with a counter-argument that presents the opposite point of view. For example, Corso begins his stanza by reflecting, “Grocery store Blue Cross Gas & Electric Knights of Columbus / Impossible to lie back and dream
Love is different for each and every person. For most people it comes easy and happens early in life. “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, written by Zora Neale Hurston portrays that romantic love is the protagonists ultimate goal. The protagonist’s vision of true love us associated with innocence, openness, understanding and equality between Janie’s lovers. Marriage does not immediately lead to love, though it can be expressions of it.
The author describes the beautiful sound of air; she places value on her partner's life, considers him to be precious. She also mentions
Christopher Marlowe’s, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” is a beautiful poem written in 1599 about a wholehearted lover who promises his beloved to join him to have a prosperous and blissful future. Marlowe’s poem has a gentle and harmonious tone and appeals to all of the senses except taste. C. Day Lewis’s, “Song”, written in 1935, follows Marlowe’s, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”, but Lewis brings the shepherd to a modern twentieth century time and makes reality the focus. He emphasizes the slap you get when you experience the difficult reality. Both speakers present their individual views on what can be made from their love and both also create different request to love with differences in what they will offer or expect.
Sharon Olds is a contemporary poet and is known for writing intensely personal, emotional and political poems. “Sex Without Love” is an erotic poem that captures the beauty of having meaningless sex without love or pleasure. Sharon Olds shows the reader that the sex described in the poem is a cold and lonely act by effectively using imagery and theme, but she also puts an emotional and personal feeling in the poem. In the beginning of the poem, the imagery created seemed like the poet was not criticizing having sex without love, but rather supporting it.
The short story “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love” by Raymond Carver is about four friends- Laura, Mel, Nick, and Terri, gathering on a table and having a conversation. As they start to drink, the subject abruptly comes to “love.” Then, the main topic of their conversation becomes to find the definition of love, in other word to define what exactly love means. However, at the end, they cannot find out the definition of love even though they talk on the subject for a day long. Raymond Carver in “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love” illustrates the difficulty of defining love by using symbols such as heart, gin, and the sunlight.
The Constant Contemplation of Sharon Olds’ “Sex without Love” This poem dramatizes the conflict between the speakers opinions on sex, opposed to others. In this poem, Olds presents a speaker who is contemplating the mentalities and thought processes of people who are able to have sex without love, compared to themselves. Although no first person dialogue is presented in the poem, contrasting statements and implications of phrases used highlight how the speaker feels about the subject. The theme of the poem is largely one of personal contemplation and of human emotion.
This poem is written in free verse, has an irregular meter, uses the literary element of poetic sounds, and does not use rhymes to express its meaning. The poem is an ode that is written to describe a strong emotion about something. In this case, the emotion of eating pork. Young writes the poem to describe his love and enjoyment of eating pork, but also addresses the sins this food has when partaken. The tone of the poem is contentment; eating the pork makes him happy and satisfied.
“The Race” by Sharon Olds utilization of literary elements conveys meaning in the poem. Throughout the poem, Olds’ continuous use of tone and personification help s describe the main character’s struggle and change of emotion throughout her journey. These literary elements employ understandable emotions and situation that in the end convey the meaning of the poem. The consistent change and use of tone help to unshroud and display the meaning of the poem.
“Far from my mind was the situation I now find myself engulfed, when the scent of Jasmine flowers that covered the entrance to my parents’ home, waffled towards me as I meandered my way along the dusty avenue, without a care in the world and madly in love with the man who had just asked me to marry him, that my little life would stir such conflict in a country almost five thousand miles away”.
Buvanasvari A/P Palakrisnan AEK140003 ACEA 1116 Elements of English Literature Dr. Nicholas Pagan Paper #3 From “Marriage” By Marianne Moore This institution, perhaps one should say enterprise out of respect for which one says one need not change one’s mind about a thing one has believed in, requiring public promises of one’s intention to fulfill a private obligation: I wonder what Adam and Eve think of it by this time, this firegilt steel alive with goldenness; how bright it shows— “of circular traditions and impostures, committing many spoils,” requiring all one’s criminal ingenuity to avoid!