"Death, be not proud" by John Donne

In the poem “Death, be not proud” by John Donne, the understanding that death does not deserve pride. Although death can end life, it is not the finale. Death is merely a portal to another world consisting of life after death, therefore taking away any pride from the personified Death of the poem. The poem states in regard to common perceptions of death, “Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so,” (Donne, 971) in order to remind the reader that death is not the end for them. Although death kills the body, it does not kill the spirit, which will go on to live forever. The author states that if items such as poppies, a type of flower, can make us sleep the same as death accomplishes, then why is Death portrayed as a much more terrifying and ominous prospect. Flowers are not terrifying, yet they accomplish the same thing as death. Furthermore, the idea that death is only temporary darkness before eternal light comes into our lives discredits the horror stories and terror behind the event. Once we are granted eternal life in Heaven, death itself dies, as the pride of ending a life is overruled. This poem explains the importance of not giving death the upper hand, as eternal life will always put it in its place.

"That Time of Year" by William Shakespeare

In William Shakespeare’s poem, “That Time of Year,” three major images are introduced through the three quatrains in the poem. These images are the comparison age to the fading of autumn, the fading of the twilight, and the fading of a fire. Each of these images also further represents death or upcoming death. Stated in the first quatrain, “when yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang,” (Shakespeare, 966) this quote represents the little life left in a person close to death. When one is nearing his end, there are few leaves left within him to keep him going. Furthermore, the empty, bare boughs described in the poem represent the little fight left within a person before death. The second quatrain focuses on the fading of the twilight as comparison to death. Death is commonly associated with the lights going out, and the disappearance of any light left from twilight represents a life extinguished. The sunset is slowly diminished by the darkness of the night, just as life is diminished by the darkness of death. The fading of the fire described in the third quatrain further extends this analogy. The only thing keeping the narrator alive are the “ashes of his youth,” and in the end, these ashes lead to the death just as eventually life leads to death.

"Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

“Crossing the Bar,” a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, creates two sets of figures within the poem. The first of these is “sunset and evening star,” and the second set is “twilight and evening bell.” Both of these sets are used to portray approaching death. The idea of the poem is crossing into another world after death, which is exemplified through Tennyson’s use of sea and sailor imagery. In the first set, the precise moment of death occurs when Tennyson states, “When I put out to sea,” (Tennyson, 886). Through this phrase, the author successfully portrays embarking on a journey; going out into the sea.  The moment of death in the second set occurs with the line, “When I embark,” (Tennyson, 886). This statement quite clearly explains the journey after life into another world. When one “embarks” from earth, their soul has moved on to another place, which Tennyson portrays through his poem. The narrator of the poem expresses a desire to see his pilot, and the capitalization of the word pilot and the prior knowledge that the poem involves death suggests that the Pilot is synonymous to God. Through these sets, Tennyson effectively portrays the journey to life after death.

"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

The short story "A Rose for Emily," authored by William Faulkner, takes an interesting turn when a decomposed body was discovered in the house of the main character Emily. The man is presumed to be Homer Baron, a homosexual man who had previously been a possible husband for her, and this brings up the idea that Emily killed him. However, her reason for this never stated. It is likely though that Emily was motivated by her fear of change and her desire to preserve the past. Past events including Emily’s refusal to accept her father’s death and her refusal to both pay taxes and get a house number support this fear. By murdering Homer Baron, Emily ensured that he would never leave her, which because of his homosexuality he was considering. Emily even continued to live as though Homer was her husband, treating the corpse as though he was simple sleeping. The first person plural narrator mentions, “Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head,” (Faulkner, 289). Emily’s total detachment from the present day is reflected through these details. Terrified of being abandoned, she did everything in her power to avoid losing what she knew. Unfortunately, this included Homer Baron.

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

“The Lottery,” a short story by author Shirley Jackson, focuses on a theme of great importance, what can happen when tradition is not questioned in society. The way something has always been done is not necessarily the most appropriate way with how times have changed, and this story is an example of this fault. The idea of “The Lottery” is that every year, one member of the community is stoned to death, simply because it is tradition. One of the characters, Old Man Warner, states in the story, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,” (Jackson, 268). This quote was an old saying that the townspeople had used in the past as a reason for the barbaric lottery. They saw the lottery as some sort of ritual to bring in a bountiful harvest. However, during the present time of the story, this explanation is no longer applicable. It is even stated that many of the aspects of the ritual had been disregarded over the years, with only the stoning remaining. This proves that there really was no reason for the lottery other than tradition. Furthermore, many of the surrounding towns, the northern town specifically mentioned, had done away with the lottery, only further emphasizing the fact that it was not necessary. As the lottery was unjustly and barbarically killing an innocent person every year, the theme of the importance of questioning tradition is well explained.

The Glass Menagerie: Absent Amanda

After reading The Glass Menagerie, a play by Tennessee Williams, I noticed the presence of dramatic irony in the Scene Seven of the play. In the final encounter between Amanda and her son Tom, Amanda yells at him for once again avoiding the family and going to the movies. She yells, “You don’t know things anywhere! You live in a dream; you manufacture illusions!” (Williams, 1288). This statement is terribly ironic, as Amanda was the character who consistently created her own illusions throughout the entire play. Although Tom did write poetry and wish to escape his overbearing mother, he did not lose himself in the past like Amanda, who devoted her time to childhood memories. Tom wished to create a better future for himself, where he could make his own decisions and escape the ditch he was stuck in. Furthermore, Tom’s dream is proven to not be an illusion, as he does leave his mother and his sister in search of a better life. However, Amanda is still trying to live vicariously through her daughter Laura, dreaming up the gentlemen callers that flocked to her door during her youth. These flashbacks to the past prove that the character who is really living in a dream and manufacturing illusions is Amanda.

The Glass Menagerie: Ordinary O'Connor

In Scene Six of The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, the readers are finally introduced to the long awaited gentleman caller of the play, Jim O’Connor. In the character descriptions, Jim is characterized as “a nice, ordinary, young man,” (Williams, 1234). Furthermore, Tom, the narrator, continues to describe Jim as “the most realistic character in the play, being an emissary from a world of reality that we were somehow set apart from,” (Williams, 1236). When Jim does call on the Wingfield family, these characteristics shine through. Although Amanda is overbearing and showy, Jim proves his kind personality by laughing at her jokes and paying attention to her. Furthermore, although Laura is incredibly shy and awkward, Jim spends time with her and even encourages her to branch out and break through her introversion. Jim also has formed a friendship with Tom at the warehouse where they both work, even though Tom is considered strange by others because of his love for poetry. Although some people might be put off by the Wingfield family, Jim O’Connor embraces them. Unlike the Wingfields, Jim is also what one might call ordinary. He has a stable job that he works hard at, he is engaged to an equally ordinary girl, he is friendly, and most people like him. However, Jim is also described as the most realistic character. His realism shines through many of the characteristics with which he was described. While Amanda is lost in her past, Laura is lost within herself, and Tom is lost in his desire to escape, Jim is happy with the situation he is in and completes his daily tasks without complaint. The fact that Jim goes through an everyday schedule proves his realism, as most people today live their lives on a schedule. They go to work, do their errands, and have a family, and Jim embodies this person perfectly. His realism is contrasted with that of the Wingfields, where each family member lives in their own world on a day to day basis.

The Glass Menagerie: Shattered Sister

The title of Tennessee William’s play The Glass Menagerie holds great symbolism to one of the characters in the story. Laura, a shy and crippled girl, owns what is referred to in the play as a glass menagerie. However, these little glass pieces symbolize something much greater. Because of her crippled leg, Laura is so shy and separated from society that, as stated in the character descriptions, “she is like a piece of her own glass collection, too exquisitely fragile to move from the shelf,” (Williams, 1234). Every time one of her glass pieces breaks, it is like another piece of Laura shatters. In Scene Three, Tom, Laura’s brother, breaks several glass pieces, causing her to break down. Because the only thing Laura can relate to is her collection, each time a piece breaks it emotionally wounds her as well. Constantly exposed to the incessant arguing between Tom and her mother Amanda, Laura sits by and watches these scenes play out, just as her glass collection of the shelf. Portrayed as Laura’s favorite piece of glass, the little unicorn, symbolizes Laura more specifically than her collection as a whole. Nonexistent in the real world, the unicorn explains how Laura lives in her own world, separate from the realism most people face every day. Furthermore, as the unicorn is placed on a shelf with many glass horses, it describes how Laura is a unique character, living in a world of similar people. She stands out, and to her, that is a disappointment rather than something to take advantage of.

The Glass Menagerie: The Fleeing Father

The Glass Menagerie, a play written by Tennessee Williams, introduces four characters who actually speak during the play, however there is also a fifth character who is not physically present in the play. This character is the father of the Wingfield family. He is simply portrayed by a smiling picture in the Wingfield house. However, the father plays a much greater role in the play than a simple picture on the wall. A man who escaped the delusional Amanda, Tom, his son, almost seems to look up to his absent father for his ability to get away. Tom feels as though Amanda’s illusions and dreams from the past have the entire Wingfield family stuck in a rut that they cannot escape. Tom even describes a magic show he saw one evening where a man escaped from a coffin. It is afterwards that Tom states, “You know it don’t take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin, Laura. But who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail?” (Williams, 1249). After Tom questions this, the stage directions of the play call for a spotlight on the picture of Tom’s father. This shows how Tom believes his father was able to escape the coffin of Amanda that he had nailed himself into. It is also through this scene that the reader discovers that Tom might just admire his father’s ability to escape. Tom feels as though he is trapped by the nails of his crazy mother, introverted sister, and horrible job, and all he wishes to do is escape from it all, yet he cannot figure out how to. When Tom finally does escape, he is still not as successful as his father as Tom does remove a few nails, as thoughts of Laura still haunted him.

The Glass Menagerie: Sensational Stage Directions

After reading The Glass Menagerie, a play written by Tennessee Williams, something that became apparent to me was the importance of the stage directions. Although stage directions are always beneficial so that actors and directors know what the author imagined, the stage directions of The Glass Menagerie take it a step further. These stage directions help explain the story, answer questions, and portray the symbolism of certain objects. One object the stage directions especially help come to life is the portrait of the father of the Wingfield family. Though the stage directions, the reader learns what happened to the father, why he is not physically present in the story, and the effect he has had on the other characters. In the stage directions, the father in the portrait is described as “gallantly smiling, ineluctably smiling, as if to say, ‘I will be smiling forever,’” (Williams, 1235). As the reader later learns, the father had escaped the family years before in hopes of a better life, explaining the description of “smiling forever.” Furthermore, the stage directions further explain the symbolism between Laura and her glass collection. When one of her pieces breaks, the stage directions describe Laura as having been wounded simultaneously. This description of a person being wounded from a piece of glass shattering portrays the connection Laura has to the glass and the similarities she feels towards her little figures.