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west_coast_best) wrote2012-01-14 10:15 am
west_coast_best) wrote2012-01-14 10:15 am
Blog #1
Part 1
In reflection of the poem "This Be the Verse" by Philip Larkin, my understanding is that the author is speaking about how our parents effect how we grow and develop as individuals. Their thoughts, opinions and habits become transferred to us and affect our ideas about the world as well as our behaviors and reactions to different circumstances in life. In the statement "Man hands on misery to man", Larkin speaks about parenting in past generations. This is referring to our parents-parents, who were responsible for inflicting their views into our parents and how the disastrous consequences managed to trickle down from there until they make their way to us. "Get out as early as you can", flee the nest and move on into the real world where you are forced to make decisions and form opinions for yourself rather than be sheltered by your parents and living by their rules and their way of life. You are your own person. Live your own life. This poem is very much expressed in such a manner that we can all relate to it in some way or another. The theme of parenting and the issues we all face with our own families, and even the challenges our own parents faced with their parents, is a theme that is universal to the general population. I think that the tone of the language tends to toggle between a somewhat serious attitude and a comic approach throughout the poem. The use of certain curse words makes for a little bit of a shock at the start, but I can just picture a comedian reading this aloud and seeing the reactions from the crowd. The representation of “fools in old style hats and coats” makes us think of our grandparents and that same image when our own parents say “back in my day”. These thoughts of our parents as kids is humorous to us as we often used to think to ourselves as kids that our parents were horrible for imposing rules and discipline, and how there was no possible way they knew what it was like to be a kid and have the set of laws they would lay down on us. Stop this misery and just “don’t have any kids yourself” as Larkin says. Highly unlikely, but it’s funny to think that our own off spring will be little reflections of us and those before us. Scary! Makes us think “what will I do differently?”.
Part 2
The story “Eveline” presents a similar theme to that of Larkin’s poem is written in a tone that is more solemn and less comical. The story about a young grown up with a childhood of unhappy home-life. The story expresses once again how children are affected by their upbringing and how their parents cause corruption of their otherwise imaginative minds. She made a promise to her mother before she passed away that she would always keep it together no matter how bad things got. Even when Eveline was presented the opportunity of a new life, with a man who truly loved her, she backed out at the last minute and decided to stay. She gave up a chance to have all the things she had wanted; happiness, love and a family of her own, all because she did not have the courage to go against her father. His abusive behavior, both mentally and physically, seemed to have left her feeling worthless and empty and I believe that she just began to think that this was how it was going to be for her for the rest of her life. People in broken relationships and those who are always being fed negative comments will begin to believe those things are in fact true. I believe that Eveline had been beaten down so many times that she just began to accept it and consider that maybe it was what she deserved. Because she never left she will continue to be corrupt by her father because she did not have the courage to stand up to him. The theme begins to become more complicated in comparing the two pieces of literature because it shows the effect some crooked parents have on their children and how they are raised can either open their doors or close them. Both of these pieces of writing cause readers to think deeper and understand what affect we have on others and I think that people that come from all different backgrounds can relate to or understand the theme of this literature whether they relate it to their own life or take a piece of it with them to apply in the future.
In reflection of the poem "This Be the Verse" by Philip Larkin, my understanding is that the author is speaking about how our parents effect how we grow and develop as individuals. Their thoughts, opinions and habits become transferred to us and affect our ideas about the world as well as our behaviors and reactions to different circumstances in life. In the statement "Man hands on misery to man", Larkin speaks about parenting in past generations. This is referring to our parents-parents, who were responsible for inflicting their views into our parents and how the disastrous consequences managed to trickle down from there until they make their way to us. "Get out as early as you can", flee the nest and move on into the real world where you are forced to make decisions and form opinions for yourself rather than be sheltered by your parents and living by their rules and their way of life. You are your own person. Live your own life. This poem is very much expressed in such a manner that we can all relate to it in some way or another. The theme of parenting and the issues we all face with our own families, and even the challenges our own parents faced with their parents, is a theme that is universal to the general population. I think that the tone of the language tends to toggle between a somewhat serious attitude and a comic approach throughout the poem. The use of certain curse words makes for a little bit of a shock at the start, but I can just picture a comedian reading this aloud and seeing the reactions from the crowd. The representation of “fools in old style hats and coats” makes us think of our grandparents and that same image when our own parents say “back in my day”. These thoughts of our parents as kids is humorous to us as we often used to think to ourselves as kids that our parents were horrible for imposing rules and discipline, and how there was no possible way they knew what it was like to be a kid and have the set of laws they would lay down on us. Stop this misery and just “don’t have any kids yourself” as Larkin says. Highly unlikely, but it’s funny to think that our own off spring will be little reflections of us and those before us. Scary! Makes us think “what will I do differently?”.
Part 2
The story “Eveline” presents a similar theme to that of Larkin’s poem is written in a tone that is more solemn and less comical. The story about a young grown up with a childhood of unhappy home-life. The story expresses once again how children are affected by their upbringing and how their parents cause corruption of their otherwise imaginative minds. She made a promise to her mother before she passed away that she would always keep it together no matter how bad things got. Even when Eveline was presented the opportunity of a new life, with a man who truly loved her, she backed out at the last minute and decided to stay. She gave up a chance to have all the things she had wanted; happiness, love and a family of her own, all because she did not have the courage to go against her father. His abusive behavior, both mentally and physically, seemed to have left her feeling worthless and empty and I believe that she just began to think that this was how it was going to be for her for the rest of her life. People in broken relationships and those who are always being fed negative comments will begin to believe those things are in fact true. I believe that Eveline had been beaten down so many times that she just began to accept it and consider that maybe it was what she deserved. Because she never left she will continue to be corrupt by her father because she did not have the courage to stand up to him. The theme begins to become more complicated in comparing the two pieces of literature because it shows the effect some crooked parents have on their children and how they are raised can either open their doors or close them. Both of these pieces of writing cause readers to think deeper and understand what affect we have on others and I think that people that come from all different backgrounds can relate to or understand the theme of this literature whether they relate it to their own life or take a piece of it with them to apply in the future.