Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Burning Monk comparison

I think that both the Monk and the Fruit Vendor new that the strongest and maybe only way to get people to notice their protest, was death.

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Option 1

I chose option one

My topic is the start of the war and the poem about it titled “The Lover” written by Richard Aldington

The Lover
Though I have had friends
And a beautiful love
There is one lover I await above all.
She will not come to me
In the time of soft plum-blossoms
When the air is gay with birds singing
And the sky is a delicate caress;
She will come
From the midst of a vast clamour
With a mist of stars about her
And great beckoning plumes of smoke
Upon her leaping horses.
And she will bend suddenly and clasp me;
She will clutch me with fierce arms
And stab me with a kiss like a wound
Thad bleeds slowly.
But though she will hurt me at first
In her strong gladness
She will soon soothe me gently
And cast upon me an unbreakable sleep
Softly for ever.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/poetsandprose/aldington.htm
First of all, in this poem, I think the Lover is war. I realize a lot of people seem to have a love for war and violence. The reason I think that is because he says And great beckoning plumes of smoke upon her leaping horses. Plumes of smoke are probably from bombs or gunfire, and horses were probably like the horse mounted soldiers. The part about the Kiss like the Wound, is like the wound you would get in battle.The cast on unbreakable sleep most likely refers to death. I think that the poem infers that a war is coming that people have thrown us into on purpose, and for the love of war and death. It makes me realize what animals we were back then and still are these days.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The White Man's Burden & Imperialism

1. Determine what Kipling means by "the White Man's Burden."
I think by the White Man's burden, he means world war one and imperialism. Especially by the line Take up the White Man's burden-
The savage wars of peace-
Fill full the mouth of Famine,
And bid the sickness cease
2. Does Kipling justify imperialism? How so? He describes them as the white man's burden and speaks of them as the toil of terf and sweeper
3. Why might such a justification might be so appealing? Because It had no Iron Rule of Kings and was more free.