A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Theme Analysis: Catholic Extremism
Throughout this novel the main character, Stephen Dedalus, struggles with his faith. The school that he he goes to is a Catholic school, of which is conmpletely run based upon Catholic beliefs and ideology. It is this very thing that he struggles with not only throughout his time at school, but throughout life as well.

Stephen's first viewpoint of his religion is one of fear and uncertainty. This is characterized through statements such as: "He had to undress and then kneel and say his own prayers and be in bed before the gas was lowered so that he might not go to hell when he died." He was fearful of the simple prospect of not getting in bed in time in fear of going, to hell. If that is not absurd then I do not know what is. Stephen has been so consumed in religious doxology and principles that he lives in a constant state of fear for his very life. And this fear only intensifies as his time at school lingers on.

Stephen's fear of death and the potential of going to hell is greatly increased when he falls into what he has learned to be "mortal sin." He sexual obsessions have afflicted him with so much guilt that he sees the world in a very different way. He describes everything as dark and dingy and dirty. For example the simple sight of coats hanging he pictures humans being tortured strung up in a cage. This is proof that the pressure to be good put on him by his Catholic upbringing has consumed his mind with guilt over sin which in retrospect is normal for men his age to go through, maybe not as extreme as him, but all guys go through it. After hearing the sermon on hell, in which it ws described as a "boundless fire", a place where "flesh is tortured", and filled with "frightful torment", Stephen is absolutely mortified. The sin that has consumed his life is one that is MORTAL, one that will send him to this place where "The blood seethes and boils in the veins, the brains are bursting, the bowels a redhot mass of buring pulp, the tender eyes flaming like molten balls."

Stephen is now at the point where his only option is to confess his sin in order to avoid his fate of going to an eternal hell. Now he is truly sad and convicted over his sin, not guilty, but convicted for what he did wrong. he confesses his sin and recieved forgiveness from the church and he is renewed and is his words is given "Another life! A life of grace and virtue and happiness!" This now opens another phase of his relationship with his religion.

So, from the beginning of the novel, through chapter 3, every single facet of Stephen's life has been bent and shaped by his religious convictions. After his confession he finally learns to embrace his religion rather then let it control his life and drive him into fear and guilt. he becomes extremely religious and devoted to the church and nearly becomes a priest. From this point on his religious life fades away somewhat to the point where he decides to simply not be very religious anymore.

So Stephen went from being guilty beyond belief over his sin, disgusted with it, and scared to death of going to hell, to content with life without such serious religious conviction. In the end he chooses rather to look at the world through the eyes of an artist, one who sees everything for its beauty, rather then the sin they may be in it of which he would have focused on if he remained religious.

Passage Analysis
"What birds were they? He stood on the steps of the library to look at
them, leaning wearily on his ashplant. They flew round and round the
jutting shoulder of a house in Molesworth Street. The air of the late
March evening made clear their flight, their dark quivering bodies
flying clearly against the sky as against a limp-hung cloth of smoky
tenuous blue. He watched their flight; bird after bird: a dark flash, a swerve, a
flutter of wings. He tried to count them before all their darting
quivering bodies passed: six, ten, eleven: and wondered were they odd
or even in number. Twelve, thirteen: for two came wheeling down from the
upper sky. They were flying high and low but ever round and round in
straight and curving lines and ever flying from left to right, circling
about a temple of air.He listened to the cries: like the squeak of mice behind the wainscot: a shrill twofold note. But the notes were long and shrill and whirring,
unlike the cry of vermin, falling a third or a fourth and trilled as
the flying beaks clove the air. Their cry was shrill and clear and fine
and falling like threads of silken light unwound from whirring spools."

In this passage Stephen contimplates for a long time the movements and of the birds circling overhead. This prolonged study of the bird parallels Stephen's life at the time. The birds cause him to think that the birds are a sign of a flight of his own. In this passage he cannot seem to identify the species of the birds, which is similar to his own life in that he in unsure of his own nature. He simply knows that the birds are slying and that he will be doing the same too. Stephens last name, Dedalus, is an allusion to the Greek myth which involved humans building wings to fly. So his last name is in direct coorelation with flight. The birds also offer Stephen relief, the cries are harsh but the ""inhuman clamour soothed his ears in which his mother's sobs and reproaches murmured insistently." But Stephen is unsure of whether the birds are good or evil. This is similar to his life in that he is unsure that his decisions to leave his family, friends, the university as well as other decisions are just or not. The birds cause Stephen to take a serious step back and question his life decisions.

Personal Reflection
This novel, however difficult to read and at times understand completely, I believe truly encompasses human nature as a whole. The stream of conciousness style of the novel gives the reader an inside look into the initmate mind of Stephen. I have never read a book that had such intricate detail over the simple thoughts and emotions of a human being. This in depth detail made Stephen a very relatable character. Many of the temptations, thoughts, ideas and struggles that Stephen endures I can relate with because I have gone through similar things as him. Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel and liked the style of it.

"War is Kind" by Stephen Crane, Analysis and Reflection

POEM #2

“War is Kind” by Stephen Crane

Page 352

Analysis

“War is Kind” by Stephen Crane is a piece that is extremely critical on war and questions if war and the death and destructions that results is truly worth it. Through the use of structure and sarcasm, Crane attempts to sway the mind of the reader to be critical towards war and to see it for what it really is.

The structure of the poem is truly brilliant in showing the two contrasting viewpoints on war. The first, third and final stanza are the false view of war, the one that is devised to give meaning for it, an excuse. The theme of these three stanzas is consoling those effected by a death in war. The speaker pleads to them to not be sad in saying: “Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind”, “Do not weep babe for war is kind” and “Mother…/do not weep.” Although the speaker is trying to console these people, he does not paint a pretty picture for them as to how their loved one died. He states plainly the manner of their death in “your lover threw wild hands toward the sky”, “your father tumbled…/gulped and died” and “shroud of your son.” The stereotypical view of someone consoling another who lost a loved one in war is the scene in which they describe how glorious they were and the valiant manner of their death. But Crane knows this, but shows that if one were honest, they could not paint war as glorious or kind at all. The second and fourth stanza provide the reader with the gritty truth of war. It is almost as if the consoling stanzas are like a speech, and the gritty parts are an aside, a secret being revealed to the reader by a whistleblower, denouncing the understating speech of the consoler.  The asides portray the true manner in which war is conducted. Men do not simply die as the speech wants you to believe. There is a soul there ripped apart, a body torn and heart shattered. As the aside repeats “These men were born to drill and die”, they were not treated as souls, but as pawns of war, pointed towards “the virtue of slaughter” who were trained to believe in the “excellence of killing”. The structure used by Crane exposes those who release information on war as understating deceivers, portraying war as kind.

When one thinks of war, they oftentimes think of the glory, honor and patriotism expressed during it. But Crane is begging the reader to re-evaluate their view on war by exposing it for what it really is. “War is Kind” follows a specific pattern that is infused with sarcasm. The very title of the poem is a curious choice of words that immediately displays the sarcasm that will come up throughout the piece. The speaker constantly tells individuals to not weep after describing in detail the manner of their loved ones deaths. He says things such as “your lover threw wild hands toward the sky” and “Raged at his breast, gulped and died.” How could the speaker, after describing that, not expect someone to weep? It is a horrible revelation to these people yet he is sarcastic is saying “Do not weep” and reiterating the satirical statement “War is kind.” The second and fourth stanzas (the asides) also possess sarcasm to persuade the reader to not believe the consoler. The sarcastic statement “unexplained glory flies” in line 9 comments on the misconstrued and misunderstood “glory” of war. Soldiers are often told they will achieve glory, honor and respect if they fight and die for their country or cause. But in reality they are only “born to drill and die” and lie in “A field where a thousand corpses lie.” Crane implores them to not fight for their foreseen glory, for all they will achieve is a painful death. The most sarcastic lines of the piece are in lines 21-22 where it says “Point for them the virtue of slaughter,/Make plain for them the excellence of killing.” This is truly a shocking combination of words to form two satirical lines that are used to comment on the absurdity of thinking killing and death is a glorious affair. There is not virtue or excellence in killing, but the consoler would have you to believe there is and that it is worth suffering and dying for. Without these sarcastic statements, the anti-war sentiment of the piece would not have been as strongly evident and would have certainly taken away from the piece.

Reflection

War is a horrible thing. I believe that if war can be averted in any way then it should be. This poem does an excellent job of exposing the war mongering argument that war is always glorious and just, which is not always true. From seeing documentaries on war and having relatives who have lived through war, I am convinced there is no glory in it. The amount of destruction and death war causes, reverberates for centuries. Having said that, I think this poem is too critical of war. It really presents no defense for it, which I believe there is. While I believe there is no glory in war, I do believe there can be virtue and honor. There have been many wars fought for virtuous and honorable causes such as the American Civil War to defeat slavery and WWII fought to crush evil and oppression throughout the world. Crane fails to acknowledge this. But, besides that aspect I found this poem to be very well written and I enjoyed it very much.

"Siren Song" Analysis and Reflection

POEM #1

“Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood

Pages 342-343

Analysis

“Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood, is a concise and cleverly written piece that uses both allusion and diction to convey the meaning of the poem, that women should fend for themselves, and that men should let them fend for themselves, or suffer the consequences.

In Greek mythology there existed three “Sirens”. These individuals were not normal humans like us, but rather, they were half-bird, half-woman beings. There were three Sirens and they would play sweet music to allure ships towards them as cause them to crash on the rocky shore. This is evident in lines 4-9, which say:

“the song that forces men

to leap overboard in squadrons

even though they see beached skulls

the song nobody knows

because anyone who had heard it

is dead, and the others can’t remember.”

The allusion of the Sirens is essential to the entire piece, because if the reader is familiar with these creatures, then from the moment they read the title, they know of the speaker’s (who is a siren) true intentions. The Siren who is the speaker expresses how they lure men in from the sea by how she plays the “damsel in distress” character. She says “…Help me!/Only you, only you can,/you are unique”. In saying this she gives the man worth, meaning, purpose, and that purpose is to save her. While he was passing he saw the “beached skulls” but disregarded them because of the sweet music and cries for help coming from the Siren. This allusion, and the way men fall into the trap, contribute to the meaning of the poem that calls for men to let women save themselves because they are fully capable, and for women to not plead for men’s aid.

The diction of this piece is also key to discovering the meaning. The speaker describes herself and the other two Sirens in a somewhat humorous in phrases such as “bird suit”, “two feathery maniacs”, “fatal and valuable”, “squatting on this island” and “picturesque and mythical”. All of these phrases, no matter how ridiculously sounding they may be, are used by the speaker to sway the mariner into falling into her trap. By describing the other two Sirens as “two feathery maniacs”, she makes herself ou to be the victim and the innocent one, making even more easier for the mariner to be deceived.

Reflection

With knowledge of other works by Atwood, such as “The Handmaid’s Tale”, one can reason that this is written to promotes feminism.  The allusion of the Siren represents women, and pleading for women to not always seek the help of men, and to not play the “damsel in distress” character, because you can help yourself. On the other hand, one could also view this piece as purely a comedic one, simply because of the cunningness of the Siren and the humorous diction used. The comedic theme is capped off with the few lines: “…Alas/it is a boring song/but it works every time.” I picture the Siren releasing a big sigh after leading the mariner to his demise, sitting on a rock reflecting on her deception as if it were no big deal, that it happens all the time. I do believe though that this poem is meant to implore women to not be bored and keep asking men to fix all their problems and to fight their own battle. But, the comedic tone takes the deceptive edge off the piece, making it a thoroughly enjoyable read.