The past few weeks have been mostly devoted to our first read through of Shakespeare's Hamlet. I am so glad we did a read through in class, because there was a lot I would not have picked up on if Ms. Holmes hadn't been there to explain some of the aspects that made much more sense in Shakespeare's time, especially when it came to humor and figures of speech. I also really liked how Ms. Holmes gave us some political background, including the part about Hamlet complaining about Gertrude being incestuous and why Shakespeare had to include that so that he wouldn't get in trouble with Queen Elizabeth, whose father's marriage to his previous wife had been annulled on the grounds that it was incestuous. She also cleared up some of the confusion when it came to the fact that Shakespeare had the play take place during Medieval times, but most of the customs and events were much more relevant to Shakespearean times.
The way we handled Hamlet helped me a lot, but there is still so much I have yet to discover and I'm excited to see what we come up with in our class discussions. I'm a little worried about coming up with a theme statement for Hamlet, though. I think it will be even harder than it was for American Dream or Death of A Salesman, and not only because Shakespeare can be hard to decipher for modern day high schoolers. It seems to me that the other two works focus more on social commentary and less on plot than Hamlet, making it easier to pinpoint what they are trying to say. Hamlet has multiple complex plot lines going on along with religious, moral, and social commentary, and I think it will be hard to wrap it all up into one statement.
This system of wrapping everything up into one statement kind of bugs me, because I feel like a lot of works make multiple statements that don't fit together well, and deserve their own separate statements. I don't think it's possible to combine everything an author is trying to say into one or two sentences without leaving out something major, and I don't see the point in trying to do so. That's how I felt when we were trying to come up with a theme statement for Death of a Salesman. After all of our class discussions (some of which were in a unique shark tank (fish bowl) style, which I found both helpful, because it brought more order to our sometimes chaotic discussions, and aggravating, because I would find myself outside the shark tank dying to say something, only to get in, say it, and not know what to say next), we had a list of motifs ten miles long. We eventually came up with a theme statement about how America's conformist society inhibits the pursuit of one's true dreams, which can lead to tragic outcomes. Although I agree with our statement, I feel like it leaves out important aspects of the book about morals and needing to actually work towards your dreams to succeed. I just think it's silly to try to find an all encompassing statement when it's almost inevitable that something will get left out, but, as a friend pointed out to me, this class is supposed to prepare us for the A.P. Exam, so we have to cater to it. I get so much more out of this class that sometimes I forget that.
Outside of Hamlet and Death of a Salesman, we have done some really cool exercises with syntax and mood. We looked at some inverted syntax, and then we created a sentence of our own and inverted it. I thought it was cool how inverting the syntax can force readers to judge the subject of a sentence and only be able to see it in one certain way before they fully know what the subject even its. I also thought the mood exercises were really interesting. Our class debated for a while over whether the image we chose to describe was tranquil or not, and I was surprised at how varying the vibes people got from the image were. To my disappointment, our class had too many differing opinions to get a coherent sentence written the first time we did the exercise, but the second time we were more successful. I like the DIDLS exercises we do in class. They help me in my reading outside of the class. I'm currently on a Stephen King kick, reading It. As I am noticing the techniques King uses I can see how they contribute to the ominous tone of a lot of his work, which is definitely making the book seem creepier, as well as helping me appreciate his unique writing style and get more out of it than just a scare. I noticed how he will sometimes randomly stick a jarring sentence with some disturbing foreshadow in at a less intense moment of the book and then just keep on going as if that one random sentence never happened. The insertion of these dark details at seemingly random times keeps readers on their toes and makes them eager to keep reading. I am able to appreciate this more and get more involved in the book because the DIDLS exercises are training me to read more sharply and look out for the more subtle techniques (I guess the one I pointed out was rather blatant,but I definitely found some more subtle ones). I can't say enough how this class has helped me improve my reading and writing skills inside and outside the classroom
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Open Prompt Response #3
In response to the 2008 essays, which are responding to this prompt:
In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses
traits that
emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main
character. For example, the ideas or behavior of a minor character might be used to highlight
the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. Choose a novel or play in which a minor
character serves as a foil for the main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how
the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of
the work.
emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main
character. For example, the ideas or behavior of a minor character might be used to highlight
the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. Choose a novel or play in which a minor
character serves as a foil for the main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how
the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of
the work.
Essay 3A
This essay has some really nice analysis of The Joy Luck Club, and it shows a thorough understanding of how the relationship between Lindo and Huang highlights the importance of being true to one's self and knowing one's self worth. Other than a little bit of summary at the beginning, this essay does a nice job of focusing on the thesis. I would have liked, however, for this student to be a little more clear on what makes Lindo and Huang foils. The student never directly states the specific qualities of the characters that contrast. It talks about how Huang's oppressive treatment of Lindo help her discover her self worth, but it doesn't clearly explain how they are opposites and the role that their contrasting qualities plays in Lindo's transformation. This is more of a matter of opinion though, as others might think that the contrasting qualities are implied in the description of each character. Also, the essay switches off between past and present tense when describing events in the book, and literature should always be discussed in the present tense. Other than the few details I mentioned above, I think this is a very insightful essay, and it deserves the 8 it received.
Essay 3B
This essay basically summarizes the book and talks about its meaning, and then throws in a few sentences about foils at the end as an after thought. The student doesn't even state a foil until the last paragraph. They also go into a lot of detail about Shug, one of the characters in the book, leading readers to think that Shug is the foil, and then at the very end they say that Celie's father is the foil. The in depth analysis of Shug, though insightful, is not relevant to the prompt. I actually think Shug would work better as a foil, because her contrasting qualities to Celie help Celie learn to find herself and stand up for herself, which is a key message of the book, but since Shug is not the stated foil, there is no need for the writer to go so in depth on her. Also, the essay doesn't say anything on what specific qualities make Celie and her father foils, or how their relationship contributes to the meaning of the play as a whole. Although this essay shows a pretty complete understanding of the book, it fails to even address the prompt until the very end, and does not thoroughly answer the prompt. Also, it refers to events in the book in past tense, and literature should always be referred to in present tense. Based on what I said above, I think this essay deserves lower than the 6 it received. I would give it a 4 or 5.
Essay 3C
I find this essay pretty confusing. First of all, in the first paragraph, it says that Baba is Hassan's father, but in the third paragraph it says that Baba is Hassan's brother. This is a pretty major contradiction, and along with the shows that the writer does not have a completely clear understanding of the book. It also refers to literature in the past tense. This seems to happen in a
lot of the essays... I wonder why the scoring commentary never mentions it. One of the main flaws of this essay is that it talks a lot about characteristics that the stated foils have in common, which implies that the writer does not understand the concept of a foil. The essay does, however, state a foil at the beginning with a thesis, and it stays on track and avoids summarizing pretty well. Overall though, I would say the lack of understanding of what a foil is and the shallow supporting evidence and analysis the book's meaning are pretty overpowering, and I would probably give the essay a 3.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Summary and Analysis of Death of a Salesman
The Basics:
Author: Arthur Miller, wrote the book in 1949
Setting: Most of the play takes place in the Lomans' shabby, run down house and yard in Brooklyn, New York in the late 1940's (just after WWII). The house is crowded by other apartments, cutting it off from all nature. Throughout the play, the main character Willy has several flashbacks to different times in his life, usually when his two sons were in high school. There are also a few scenes that don't take place in the Loman house, including one in a hotel room in Boston, one in Willy's boss's office, and one in a fancy restaurant.
Characters:
Willy Loman: an unsuccessful, high strung salesman in his 60's who is prone to having flashbacks and babbling nonsense from his past. His mind has been diluted by the pressure of conforming to the new, more materialistic American Dream. Throughout the course of the play he spirals further and further out of control.
Linda Loman: Willy's devoted wife who always stands up for him and has unconditional love for him. Linda puts on an act for Willy to make it seem like he is the competent, successful head of the household, which puts Willy in a bubble and ends up hurting him even more.
Biff Loman: Willy's oldest son (mid 30's), who in his high school years shows potential to become the epitome of Willy's idea of success, but he pretty much gives up on it. Throughout the play he is conflicted between the pressure to fulfill Willy's flawed idea of success and the American Dream and his real desires to move out West and start a farm or something similar.
Happy Loman: Willy's youngest son (early 30's), who spends the whole play lying about his life and success in a desperate attempt to get Willy's attention, but ends up getting ignored the whole time.
Charley: The Lomans' next door neighbor who puts in the hard work necessary to truly become successful and fulfill the American Dream. He offers Willy a job and loans him money often.
Bernard: Charley's hard working son who becomes a successful lawyer. Willy considers him to be a nerd.
Ben: Willy's dead older brother who often appears in Willy's visions. He is wealthy and represents the success that Willy wants.
Plot Summary: The play focuses on Willy as his mind deteriorates and he fails to achieve his superficial idea of success: money and popularity without a lot of work. As Willy fails to make sales on business trip after business trip, he lies about his success to Linda and borrows money from Charley to cover up his failure. Linda, who knows that he's not actually making money, is very supportive of him and makes him think he is doing a great job as head of household (even though Linda is actually head of household). Willy often has flashbacks to the time his sons were in high school, where we see a popular, passionate Biff-with a close relationship to Willy-who sharply contrasts the Biff in current time who has given up on becoming a salesman and achieving Willy's dream, and is struggling to find his true passion. When Biff finds out that Willy has been having thoughts of suicide, he decides to try to "straighten out" and become a sporting goods salesman. He plans on asking his old boss, Bill Oliver, for a loan under the impression that Oliver will still remember him as one of his best workers. Willy goes up to his boss to ask for a job that doesn't involve traveling, and ends up getting fired. Biff fails to get the loan from Oliver, who doesn't even remember him, and realizes that he had only been a shipping clerk for Oliver before and that he probably barely ever knew his name. Disheartened, Biff (along with Happy) ditches Willy at a restaurant, leaving him babbling in the bathroom. In another flashback, we see the main turning point between young, full of potential Biff and current, lazy, wandering Biff when Biff walks in on Willy having an affair. Devastated, young Biff fails to finish his last course of high school and proceeds to wander the countryside, trying to start a farm. Willy snaps back to the present and goes home and tries to plant carrot seeds in the back yard. Biff and Happy return home to an angry Linda, who criticizes them for ditching Willy and failing to appreciate him and fulfill his wishes while he works so hard only to fail. Willy comes inside and has a loud confrontation with Biff, who passionately proclaims that he and Willy are insignificant "dimes a dozen." That night, Willy discusses with a hallucination of his brother (whom we have seen before in Willy's daydreams) the idea of committing suicide and ultimately sells the idea to himself on the basis that his death will provide his family with $20,000. The only people at his funeral are his family and Charley. None of the many "friends" Willy had claimed to have show up.
Narrative Voice:
Because this is a play, it is not told from anyone's point of view; however, the author's point of view is reflected in the work. Arthur Miller is sick of the way American society is conforming to the new, materialistic American dream that involves achieving success through popularity rather than hard work. Miller has seen his uncle and cousins suffer from the pressure of this conformity, which strongly influences his work in Death of a Salesman, where this pressure leads to the deterioration and eventual downfall of Willy Loman (who is based off of his uncle).
The tone of this play is ominous; Miller is constantly hinting at the tragic ending-even in the title. There is also some mockery in the tone, as Miller criticizes Willy for being so close minded-ly intent on achieving the materialistic new American Dream. Most of the imagery Miller uses involves the setting. Miller crams the Loman house among a ton of other houses and apartments, blocking it off from all nature. This imagery of nothing but tall, dark, shabby buildings suffocating Willy's house shows the audience how trapped he is in this conformist society, unable to escape to the freedom of nature. Symbolism plays a major part in Miller's work. One of the main symbols in the play is seeds. The seeds represent the legacy that Willy so badly wants to leave. His failure to successfully plant the seeds represents his failure to achieve his idea of success, which is based off of popularity. Another symbol in the work is the obsession with brand names. The brand names of the car, fridge, etc., are constantly brought up, representing the materialistic attitude that Miller feels much of society has taken on. Diamonds are also brought up a lot, especially by Ben. They represent the money aspect of the materialistic success Willy is trying to achieve. The tape recorder is also important. Its ability to play back the past perfectly brings out the flawed nature of Willy's memory, and forces him to recognize his flaws. Biff symbolizes the fight between true dreams and conformity through his constant battle between becoming a salesman and going out West and performing physical labor. Bernard represents the old American Dream, because he achieves his success through hard work, not popularity. All of this symbolism helps Miller relate the work to the rest of society.
Quotes:
"Biff: Pop! I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you!"(Miller 105).
This line feels very climactic, and it adds to the tragedy of the ending. Willy spends the entire play building himself and his sons up (he convinces himself that he is super popular and he even convinces Biff that he was one of Bill Oliver's favorites), and this line completely shatters that. The fact that Willy refuses to accept this line makes it even more sad.
"Biff: Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?"(Miller 106)
I feel like this line sums up a lot of what Miller is trying to say. Willy is conforming to this superficial American Dream, and it's threatening to lead to tragic consequences. This quote fits right in with my theme statement, and provides powerful foreshadowing for events soon to come.
Theme Statement: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman comments that America’s conformist society inhibits the pursuits of one’s dreams which can lead to tragic outcomes.
Explanation: Willy Loman spends the entirety of the play stuck on the idea that the only way to achieve success is by being will liked. This has been drilled into his head by society, and it's impossible for him to see it any other way. A few times throughout the play, Willy mentions some of his carpentry work, and it becomes apparent that carpentry is his true passion and calling. He refuses, however, to even consider going into carpentry, because he is so intent on achieving his (and according to Miller American society's) idea of success. Because Willy conforms to American society's materialistic American dream based on popularity rather than hard work, he fails to achieve his true dream, which most likely involves carpentry. His failure to achieve his true dream leads to tragic consequences, such as his family falling apart due to his failure to fulfill his responsibilities to them, and eventually his death. Although I wouldn't say this play is a true allegory, the symbolism and imagery I mentioned above help relate this story and its morals to American society.
Author: Arthur Miller, wrote the book in 1949
Setting: Most of the play takes place in the Lomans' shabby, run down house and yard in Brooklyn, New York in the late 1940's (just after WWII). The house is crowded by other apartments, cutting it off from all nature. Throughout the play, the main character Willy has several flashbacks to different times in his life, usually when his two sons were in high school. There are also a few scenes that don't take place in the Loman house, including one in a hotel room in Boston, one in Willy's boss's office, and one in a fancy restaurant.
Characters:
Willy Loman: an unsuccessful, high strung salesman in his 60's who is prone to having flashbacks and babbling nonsense from his past. His mind has been diluted by the pressure of conforming to the new, more materialistic American Dream. Throughout the course of the play he spirals further and further out of control.
Linda Loman: Willy's devoted wife who always stands up for him and has unconditional love for him. Linda puts on an act for Willy to make it seem like he is the competent, successful head of the household, which puts Willy in a bubble and ends up hurting him even more.
Biff Loman: Willy's oldest son (mid 30's), who in his high school years shows potential to become the epitome of Willy's idea of success, but he pretty much gives up on it. Throughout the play he is conflicted between the pressure to fulfill Willy's flawed idea of success and the American Dream and his real desires to move out West and start a farm or something similar.
Happy Loman: Willy's youngest son (early 30's), who spends the whole play lying about his life and success in a desperate attempt to get Willy's attention, but ends up getting ignored the whole time.
Charley: The Lomans' next door neighbor who puts in the hard work necessary to truly become successful and fulfill the American Dream. He offers Willy a job and loans him money often.
Bernard: Charley's hard working son who becomes a successful lawyer. Willy considers him to be a nerd.
Ben: Willy's dead older brother who often appears in Willy's visions. He is wealthy and represents the success that Willy wants.
Plot Summary: The play focuses on Willy as his mind deteriorates and he fails to achieve his superficial idea of success: money and popularity without a lot of work. As Willy fails to make sales on business trip after business trip, he lies about his success to Linda and borrows money from Charley to cover up his failure. Linda, who knows that he's not actually making money, is very supportive of him and makes him think he is doing a great job as head of household (even though Linda is actually head of household). Willy often has flashbacks to the time his sons were in high school, where we see a popular, passionate Biff-with a close relationship to Willy-who sharply contrasts the Biff in current time who has given up on becoming a salesman and achieving Willy's dream, and is struggling to find his true passion. When Biff finds out that Willy has been having thoughts of suicide, he decides to try to "straighten out" and become a sporting goods salesman. He plans on asking his old boss, Bill Oliver, for a loan under the impression that Oliver will still remember him as one of his best workers. Willy goes up to his boss to ask for a job that doesn't involve traveling, and ends up getting fired. Biff fails to get the loan from Oliver, who doesn't even remember him, and realizes that he had only been a shipping clerk for Oliver before and that he probably barely ever knew his name. Disheartened, Biff (along with Happy) ditches Willy at a restaurant, leaving him babbling in the bathroom. In another flashback, we see the main turning point between young, full of potential Biff and current, lazy, wandering Biff when Biff walks in on Willy having an affair. Devastated, young Biff fails to finish his last course of high school and proceeds to wander the countryside, trying to start a farm. Willy snaps back to the present and goes home and tries to plant carrot seeds in the back yard. Biff and Happy return home to an angry Linda, who criticizes them for ditching Willy and failing to appreciate him and fulfill his wishes while he works so hard only to fail. Willy comes inside and has a loud confrontation with Biff, who passionately proclaims that he and Willy are insignificant "dimes a dozen." That night, Willy discusses with a hallucination of his brother (whom we have seen before in Willy's daydreams) the idea of committing suicide and ultimately sells the idea to himself on the basis that his death will provide his family with $20,000. The only people at his funeral are his family and Charley. None of the many "friends" Willy had claimed to have show up.
Narrative Voice:
Because this is a play, it is not told from anyone's point of view; however, the author's point of view is reflected in the work. Arthur Miller is sick of the way American society is conforming to the new, materialistic American dream that involves achieving success through popularity rather than hard work. Miller has seen his uncle and cousins suffer from the pressure of this conformity, which strongly influences his work in Death of a Salesman, where this pressure leads to the deterioration and eventual downfall of Willy Loman (who is based off of his uncle).
The tone of this play is ominous; Miller is constantly hinting at the tragic ending-even in the title. There is also some mockery in the tone, as Miller criticizes Willy for being so close minded-ly intent on achieving the materialistic new American Dream. Most of the imagery Miller uses involves the setting. Miller crams the Loman house among a ton of other houses and apartments, blocking it off from all nature. This imagery of nothing but tall, dark, shabby buildings suffocating Willy's house shows the audience how trapped he is in this conformist society, unable to escape to the freedom of nature. Symbolism plays a major part in Miller's work. One of the main symbols in the play is seeds. The seeds represent the legacy that Willy so badly wants to leave. His failure to successfully plant the seeds represents his failure to achieve his idea of success, which is based off of popularity. Another symbol in the work is the obsession with brand names. The brand names of the car, fridge, etc., are constantly brought up, representing the materialistic attitude that Miller feels much of society has taken on. Diamonds are also brought up a lot, especially by Ben. They represent the money aspect of the materialistic success Willy is trying to achieve. The tape recorder is also important. Its ability to play back the past perfectly brings out the flawed nature of Willy's memory, and forces him to recognize his flaws. Biff symbolizes the fight between true dreams and conformity through his constant battle between becoming a salesman and going out West and performing physical labor. Bernard represents the old American Dream, because he achieves his success through hard work, not popularity. All of this symbolism helps Miller relate the work to the rest of society.
Quotes:
"Biff: Pop! I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you!"(Miller 105).
This line feels very climactic, and it adds to the tragedy of the ending. Willy spends the entire play building himself and his sons up (he convinces himself that he is super popular and he even convinces Biff that he was one of Bill Oliver's favorites), and this line completely shatters that. The fact that Willy refuses to accept this line makes it even more sad.
"Biff: Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?"(Miller 106)
I feel like this line sums up a lot of what Miller is trying to say. Willy is conforming to this superficial American Dream, and it's threatening to lead to tragic consequences. This quote fits right in with my theme statement, and provides powerful foreshadowing for events soon to come.
Theme Statement: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman comments that America’s conformist society inhibits the pursuits of one’s dreams which can lead to tragic outcomes.
Explanation: Willy Loman spends the entirety of the play stuck on the idea that the only way to achieve success is by being will liked. This has been drilled into his head by society, and it's impossible for him to see it any other way. A few times throughout the play, Willy mentions some of his carpentry work, and it becomes apparent that carpentry is his true passion and calling. He refuses, however, to even consider going into carpentry, because he is so intent on achieving his (and according to Miller American society's) idea of success. Because Willy conforms to American society's materialistic American dream based on popularity rather than hard work, he fails to achieve his true dream, which most likely involves carpentry. His failure to achieve his true dream leads to tragic consequences, such as his family falling apart due to his failure to fulfill his responsibilities to them, and eventually his death. Although I wouldn't say this play is a true allegory, the symbolism and imagery I mentioned above help relate this story and its morals to American society.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Close reading #3
You can find this article at http://www.pifmagazine.com/2012/01/my-father-stood-loading-his-gun/
Lucas Dean Fiser's, "My Father Stood Loading His Gun," makes the point that it's important to not shelter people and to let them be exposed to hardship, but it's also important to show love along the way to help them through. As Fiser takes us through a fourteen year old's first person account of his traumatic experience witnessing his suffering dog getting put down, we see how his use of details, imagery, and language come together to make this point.
The details Fiser chooses to add in this story really help us understand actions of the speaker's father. The dark details Fiser includes about the father's past and how his father was abusive show us how he was too un-sheltered, to the point where he wasn't given the love he needed and he was only experiencing the hurt. The father is stronger now because of this, but he is scarred. We see how the speaker's father also wants his son to be strong and not to be too sheltered when he says "You need to see this... ...you need to see how things are handled"(Fiser). The author also includes details of the father whispering lovingly into the ears of both the speaker's mother and the dog. This shows us that the father still finds it important to show love and compassion, and that he is not putting the dog down just to be cruel. The details Fiser chooses to include show us how it's important to let people be exposed to the hard parts of life but to still provide love to help them get through.
A lot of the imagery of this peace centers around the scars on the fathers arms. Images of purple scars make the audience think of pain, and how some pain can never be forgotten. The line near the end where Fiser says, "His purple burns were the only color in the landscape" forces readers to think about the burns and how this is a moment of pure pain for the speaker. The sadness of knowing that something like this has to be done, even if it will stop the dog's suffering is quite traumatic for a fourteen year old. This image of just the scars shows readers that this moment will stay with the speaker forever, and that it will become part of the speaker like the scars from the speaker's father became part of him. Pain is a part of life that needs to happen sometimes. Some of the other imagery, however, show us how the speaker will still be shown love to help him through this difficult time. Snow is brought up a lot throughout the story. The way the snow is described as lightly falling flakes and the way the dog dies in a blanket of snow makes it seem peaceful and loving, like it's comforting the characters in their hard time and it's caressing the dog into sleep. The contrasting images of the harsh scars and the constant but loving snow show readers love should always be there, especially in hard times.
The lack of figurative language in this piece is powerful and further adds to the point Fiser is trying to make. With a few exceptions such as the personification of the pen the sixth paragraph, this story uses all literal language. This makes the work seem more real and forces readers to see the raw pain of this experience on their own. The author doesn't want to shelter readers with the aid of figurative the same way the speaker's father doesn't want to shelter the speaker. He wants readers to feel the raw emotion of the piece for what it is.
Lucas Dean Fiser's, "My Father Stood Loading His Gun," makes the point that it's important to not shelter people and to let them be exposed to hardship, but it's also important to show love along the way to help them through. As Fiser takes us through a fourteen year old's first person account of his traumatic experience witnessing his suffering dog getting put down, we see how his use of details, imagery, and language come together to make this point.
The details Fiser chooses to add in this story really help us understand actions of the speaker's father. The dark details Fiser includes about the father's past and how his father was abusive show us how he was too un-sheltered, to the point where he wasn't given the love he needed and he was only experiencing the hurt. The father is stronger now because of this, but he is scarred. We see how the speaker's father also wants his son to be strong and not to be too sheltered when he says "You need to see this... ...you need to see how things are handled"(Fiser). The author also includes details of the father whispering lovingly into the ears of both the speaker's mother and the dog. This shows us that the father still finds it important to show love and compassion, and that he is not putting the dog down just to be cruel. The details Fiser chooses to include show us how it's important to let people be exposed to the hard parts of life but to still provide love to help them get through.
A lot of the imagery of this peace centers around the scars on the fathers arms. Images of purple scars make the audience think of pain, and how some pain can never be forgotten. The line near the end where Fiser says, "His purple burns were the only color in the landscape" forces readers to think about the burns and how this is a moment of pure pain for the speaker. The sadness of knowing that something like this has to be done, even if it will stop the dog's suffering is quite traumatic for a fourteen year old. This image of just the scars shows readers that this moment will stay with the speaker forever, and that it will become part of the speaker like the scars from the speaker's father became part of him. Pain is a part of life that needs to happen sometimes. Some of the other imagery, however, show us how the speaker will still be shown love to help him through this difficult time. Snow is brought up a lot throughout the story. The way the snow is described as lightly falling flakes and the way the dog dies in a blanket of snow makes it seem peaceful and loving, like it's comforting the characters in their hard time and it's caressing the dog into sleep. The contrasting images of the harsh scars and the constant but loving snow show readers love should always be there, especially in hard times.
The lack of figurative language in this piece is powerful and further adds to the point Fiser is trying to make. With a few exceptions such as the personification of the pen the sixth paragraph, this story uses all literal language. This makes the work seem more real and forces readers to see the raw pain of this experience on their own. The author doesn't want to shelter readers with the aid of figurative the same way the speaker's father doesn't want to shelter the speaker. He wants readers to feel the raw emotion of the piece for what it is.
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