Poetry essay

In the poem "Here" by Philip Larkin, there is a compare and contrast of city life against country life. Larkin uses diction, tone, and imagery to show his attitude towards the subjects.
Larkin starts off by saying how busy the city is and he goes into great detail to show the reader how it is like to live in the city. Then he goes on to say how lonely it is to live in the country and how their is nothing to do there. Larkin's tone towards the city is very upbeat and happy but his tone towards the country is depressing. This causes the reader's mood to to be happy towards the city and sad towards the country.
The author's diction portrays what his feelings are towards the city and country life. When he describes the country he uses words such as: isolated, removed,solitude, and loneliness. These are all words that would not make someone want to go to the country. When he talks about the city he describes how the people live and he says how the people are "urban yet simple." He says how they are happy with their lives because they can have anything they want.
Larkin's use of imagery in this poem is very important in getting his attitude towards these two places across. The way he describes the country is vague compared to his description of the city, this helps the reader get the right image of the two places. When he describes the city he tells the reader exactly what the reader would see but when he talks about the country he just talks about how isolated the people are.
Larkin uses the use of diction, tone, and imagery to allow the reader to understand his attitude towards country and city life. He loves the city and dislikes the country and shows this with the use of many poetry terms.

The Metamorphosis- Writing Prompt

In the novella "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka, two of the characters, Gregor and Grete "morph" from one state to another. With Gregor his metamorphosis is both physical and emotional but with Grete it is only emotional. Their metamorphoses contribute to the message of the novella which is: you can not always count on your family to be there for you.
Gregor's metamorphosis is more apparent than Grete's because he changed physically. If Gregor had not changed into a bug chances are that neither Gregor or Grete would have changed emotionally. When Gregor changed it gave him a chance for the first time to sit back and think about his life and his family. Before he morphed into a bug his life revolved around his job and providing for his family. When he became a bug his family did not return the favor, they basically thought of him as dead and it sickened them to look at him. The only one that helped Gregor was his sister Grete and she even had her boundaries. Gregor's father was very violent towards Gregor and his mother would pass out at the sight of him. With of this happening to him he changed emotionally. While he never regrets the sacrifices he made for his family he becomes depressed because he can no longer provide for his family. While he is a bug he becomes more human than when he actually was human. He becomes highly sensitive towards everything and dependent on his family's acceptance of his bug-state and of their hope that he will one day return to his human-state. When he learns that even his sister wants him gone it breaks his heart and ultimately leads to his death. With his new maturity he realizes that the best thing he can do for his family is to sacrifice himself for that happiness. His sacrifice shows that he did not just change physically he also changed emotionally.
Grete on the other hand only changed emotionally. With Gregor's metamorphosis Grete had to grow up and take on more responsibility than she is used to. She is the only one willing to care for Gregor and this takes a toll on her. After a while caring for him becomes too much for her and she stops doing it. Instead she goes out and gets a job and for a time gives up her dream of playing the violin. She eventually goes against Gregor completely which shows the evolution of her character because at the beginning she loved her brother unconditionally but once he changed into a bug she realized that she had boundaries with her love towards him. By the end of the novella Grete has gone from being a girl to a young woman. She is now ready to be the center of attention of her family and able to start her new life. With the death of Gregor, Grete realized that she must grow up and make her parents happy. She becomes very self involved and she does not care about other people. She sees the world as having great possibilities just waiting for her to find and accomplish.
Gregor's metamorphosis proves Kafkas's message which is: you can not always rely on your family. When Gregor became a bug his family turned against him and in a way disowned him. For a little while Kafka had the reader thinking that at least Grete would stay loyal to Gregor but then he diminished that thought also. Even though Gregor sacrificed his entire life for his family they never appreciated his as their provider or son/brother. His family took advantage of him and when he needed them the most they were not willing to help him. By writing this novella, Kafka was able to prove that not all family members are loyal towards one another.
Without Gregor's metamorphosis, Grete would have stayed the little girl she used to be and Gregor would not have gotten human emotions. It took Gregor's life to make his family happy but this was necessary in order for Kafka's message to be understood. With the metamorphosis came great trials and tribulations in all of the characters' minds, Gregor and Grete just happened to have the most domineering effect on the novella, "The Metamorphosis."

Metamorphosis Chapter Three

3) I think Gregor's family moved the furniture out of his room because they noticed that he would rather climb around on his walls than use his furniture.

5) Gregor gets depressed over his family's reaction to his metamorphosis because I think he thought that his family would of supported him no matter what and he found out otherwise.

6) When Gregor finally dies his family is sad that human-Gregor is gone but they are relieved that the bug-Gregor is gone.

8) Gregor's family got over him so fast because I think they never really thought of his bug self as Gregor. I think they saw Gregor as dead the day he turned into a bug so when he finally died they had already gotten over his being gone.

11) The family is quiet at the dinner table because they have come to the point where they don't want to talk about Gregor so they just don't talk at all.

12) Why does Gregor stop eating? He stops eating because he looses the urge to live. When his family gives up on him he realized that he had no hope so he quits eating. I think it also has to do with the fact that he just was not happy as a bug and he thought that if he stopped eating it would make him die, which it did.

14) Grete starts to play the violin again because it makes her happy and that is something she has not been ever since Gregor changed. She finally got fed up with her life and decided to do something that makes her happy, which is to play the violin.

15) While Gregor is a bug his feelings are more like a human than when he actually was a human. This happened because while he is a bug he is able to think about his life, family and feelings. Doing this creates more of a human feeling compared to him just being a bug that does not really think or have feelings.  While he was a human he concentrated more on other people but while being a bug he concentrates on himself, creating a more human self.

20) Grete decides to get a job now because it is a way for her to get out of the house and be a normal young girl. It is a chance for her to get away from Gregor and not have to constantly worry about him. Even though both her parents have jobs she still gets a job because it is the only way she will learn responsibility.

23) Kafka had Gregor die because it is more effective than having him turn back into a human. If he would have just turned back into a human everything would have been happily ever after and that's not how life really is so I think Kafka wanted to portray that in his story by having Gregor die. Gregor's death is necessary because it makes you even more sympathetic towards Gregor. 

Why the Future Doesn't Need Us

Joy's thesis is "Our most powerful 21st-century technologies-, robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech - are threatening to make humans and endangered species." Joy is worried that technology will go to far and ruin the human race as we know it. Humans can avoid becoming obsolete and/or unnecessary by not relying on machines to get things done. If people became less dependent on technological advancements and more dependent on their selves then we would not have to worry about technology going to far. Institutions are contributing to this "inevitability" by continuing to let technology advance without thinking about whether it is unethical. Huxley would agree with Joy's article because he was against the advancement of technology. He wanted people to refrain from relying on technology to get things done. Some rhetorical strategies Joy employs in his article are that robots, genetic engineering, and nanotech will change the future of human kind worse.  No I do not think that Joy is a fear monger, he is just stating the facts. If the facts happen to scare people that is just a perk to his article. He is just showing the side of technology that most people do not want to talk about or they are just scared to talk about. Joy's use of literature helps him prove his point that the expansion of technology will ultimately hurt humans. The literature contributes to the message/meaning of the piece as a whole by it shows that technology could become devastating for the future and overcome the human race. This article connects to BNW by in a way BNW is what Joy is predicting. In BNW technology is very involved in the peoples lives, it is not to extent that Joy is predicting but it is fairly close. 

WP #2 Power in 1984

In the novel 1984 by George Orwell the main character, Winston Smith struggles to free himself from the power of the Party. He attempts to go against the Party and become an individual but even Winston is not strong enough to overcome the Party. George Orwell uses Winston's power struggle as a way to enhance the meaning of 1984. Without the power struggle there not have been a message behind the novel 1984. 

Winston Smith is an average man, he is not the best looking or the smartest but he is smart enough to know that the way of the Party is wrong. He goes most of his life accepting the fact he will never be free but then one day he decides that he is not going to live the way the Party wants him to live anymore. The first step to him act of rebellion is when he starts writing in a diary. While he is keeping the diary he feels a little guilty and scared but he continues to do it any way. He knows that he is  right and the Party is wrong so he takes his rebellion to the step. Winston beings to have an affair with a fellow party member, Julia. She is the driving force behind his rebellion after he gets involved with her all he wants is to take down the Party. His last act of rebellion is he joins the Brotherhood. With all his acts of rebellion the struggle he has with himself grows weaker as time goes by. He eventually becomes so involved bringing the Party down that he is willing to do anything that might bring down the Party. Although he is never successful in his rebellion he gets a lot further than anyone else.  

The author uses power struggle as a way to enhance the meaning of 1984 by he makes this the main theme in the book. George Orwell makes Winston so obsessed with overthrowing the Party that the reader also becomes obsessed. It is the driving force behind 1984 and the books meaning. Without the power struggle the book would have never become so popular.

With Winston's power struggle he learns to become a better man and his own individual. George Orwell uses Winston's power struggle as a way to get the reader in and keep them reading.