The Art Of Drowning Billy Collins Analysis

Anne Fadiman’s “Under Water” strikingly relates a particularly morbid, yet surreal experience: the death of a teen, Gary, in a freak canoeing accident. From writing about this particular incident, Fadiman reflects her own development and maturation as a person, from an “impatient” person to one who is “no longer in a hurry.” However, in a more general sense, the essay also deals with how people react to death. In the seventh paragraph of “Under Water,” Fadiman’s use of personification and the use of a metaphor describing the body of Gary highlights how individuals insistently attempt to detach themselves from death, refusing to accept the truth of the situation, ultimately damaging themselves in the process.

In the book Drown by Junot Diaz, there was a father that really never settled. Ramon was portrayed as the father figure in the book and it shocked me how he left his family in San Diego, and went to the United States to earn some more money but also did something bad. It 's hard to see when a father with kids cheats on his wife, lies to his father in law in order to secure money and comes to the United states to make more money. It is understandable that when you travel to get a better job and do that in order support a family you would come back to the family and share the earnings. It is cruel what Ramon did because as he arrived to New York and started working but also found someone to have an affair with and forgot about the committed marriage

In Robert Kurson’s book, “Shadow Divers,” he reveals how a group of divers solve one of the last mysteries of World War II. Captain Bill Nagle owns the Seeker which is a charter boat that people can rent to take them to shipwrecks. Nagle is a world renowned deep sea shipwreck diver, because he pushes the limits on how far and where divers can go. Nagle has explored some of the most dangerous shipwrecks such as the Andrea Doria and Texas Tower. He has also retrieved various souvenirs from wrecks such as china dishes and the boat’s bell, but Nagle has massive respect for the history of sunken watercraft. Nagle’s sworn enemy is Steve Bielenda, also a shipwreck diver, who was crowned, “King of the Deep.” The bad blood was developed due to the fact that Bielenda doesn’t respect others and

Every Once and awhile, tragedy strikes, and the whole country sits still. On January 13th, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed. An event such as this one, though tragic, is sadly fairly common. Although, on January 13th, every soul in the united states had their eyes glued on the news channels, following the crash. There are many speculations about why this crash, in particular influenced the public so dramatically. On this day, a multitude of innocent people fell victim to the catastrophe, while some became heroes in the process. One man, known as the man in the water, had a particular pull on the hearts of the country. The man in the water showed a great deal of courage, strength, and selflessness in a time of disparity. The article, The Man in The Water, by Roger Rosenblatt, follows a central theme of heroism.

The short story “The Scrap Of Time” the narrator uses visual imagery, heart-wrenching vocabulary, and to establish a sense of fear into the reader. The narrator does this to show us the reader the appeal known as pathos

“Breathing Underwater” by Alex Flinn is about two people who love each other but have conflict within their relationship. The main character Nick, is in love with the other main character, Caitlin. Nick is in court for hitting Caitlin. Nick lived with his dad who was abusive towards him and his mother left them. He wrote everything that has happened to him in a journal: He gave the journal to the judge. This quote I have chosen is one of many I could have chosen, but this one seems relevant to the matter at hand. In this quote his teacher is talking to Nick about abusing Caitlin. I think his teacher is trying to make him feel guilty about it, or make him live to regret it. The book starts off with Nick walking to the courthouse with his dad to settle a restraining order initiated by his ex-girlfriend Caitlin; They get to the court

Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant is a Fireside poem about death. The central message throughout this poem is that death is an inevitable part of life that we should not fear, but embrace. The use of personification throughout the poem helps develop the central idea. Personification is the giving of human-like qualities to a non-human subject. In lines 1-3 Bryant uses personification “To him who in the love of Nature holds/Communion with her visible forms, she speaks/A various language…” With the use of the personification Bryant shows that there is a unique relationship between an individual and nature, which is a characteristic of the fireside poems. “She glides/Into his darker musings, with a mild/And healing sympathy…” Bryant is showing in lines 5-7 that even when you are sad that nature has these healing qualities that remove the pain. He is saying that there is no sadness too great that nature cannot fix. Through the use of personification William Cullen Bryant makes death seem less frightening.

Humans are a fragile species, and we are capable of dying at any moment regardless if we are ready or not. In Sherman Alexie’s “War Dances”, he illustrates the narrator’s coping with death and compares it to that of those around him. Upon figuring out that his death is no longer a looming threat, the narrator goes back to living life as if nothing happened cementing the idea that the threat of death is ever present but we choose to live as if it is not. Throughout the short story, Alexie utilizes the narrator’s experiences with the deaths of others and with the threat of his own to demonstrate the theme that death is always a possibility and there are many ways of coping with it. The narrator is hopeless about fighting his own death but utilizes humor to cope with the idea of dying.

Alex Flinn’s own gender likely influenced the writing in Breathing Underwater because Alex knows how it feels to feel less than a man.

His first published book was a collection of stories titled Drown in 1996. The best way to learn about the life of Diaz is through his fiction. His fictional stories are based on his own life experiences. His work reveals the difficulties faced both in the Dominican Republic and the United States as an immigrant. The theme of alienation, of living between two worlds without feeling as part of any, comes out in his work.

The article “ Into the Dark Water “, by Lauren Tarshis has many quotes from 17 year-old Jack Thayer, a passenger and survivor of the Titanic. Tarshis used these quotes to intensify the article and make it more interesting for the reader. The story feels more real with these quotes.She also used quotes to give the reader the emotions that Jack had and make the reader feel as if they were there.

Laurie Colwin (1944-1992) was born in Manhattan, New York. She was a prolific writer and her very first works were published in the New Yorker. Her first short story collection was published in 1974. Her stories were written about love, relationships, and being happy in general, however, this story “The Man Who Jumped into the Water” is quite a bit different from the others. Hiding behind a persona to get away from reality can lead someone to a breaking point because a person 's troubles catch up to them.

Richard Wilbur’s “Death Of A Toad” successfully utilizes imagery, diction, and structure to describe the thoughts of the narrator who witnesses a toad’s death and begins to question life’s purpose for all creatures.

How does technology take a toll on our minds through the increase of information from media? How does this affect the way we live our everyday lives? Nicholas Carr the writer of The shallows says that he thinks the internet is affecting the way our minds work, and it does in fact affect our everyday life. Throughout his book he uses personal experiences in other studies people have done in the past to support his argument.

One thing that Pablo Picasso’s famous self-portraits and John Green’s Looking for Alaska have in common, is their ability to express the theme of mental mortality. Mortality is most commonly associated with the complete death of someone mentally, emotionally, and physically; however, both Green and Picasso attack the idea of mental mortality on it own through their work.