Tranditions#2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tranditions#2 - Essay Example There is a danger side of tradition which does not build people but rather make them miserable. For example, fraternity practices hazing which can lead to death; polygamy causes division and rivalry among wives and half-siblings and political power caused wars throughout the history of civilization. This paper entails two literary works namely, â€Å"Mending Walls,† by Robert Frost and â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson. The two works suggest that tradition should not simply be practiced and passed to the next generation. Rather, traditions should be well scrutinized whether they are helpful and relevant to the present and the culture. In â€Å"Mending Walls,† the notion that â€Å"good fences make good neighbors,† as indicated by Frost (222), is the belief that makes the characters build the walls every spring. The practice seems to be harmless but instead, has a purpose as the neighbor implies. However, the fence seems irrelevant to the characters time and place because there is nothing to be walled in or walled out. The narrator hates building the wall but his neighbor insists that â€Å"good fences make good neighbors† (Frost, 222) so they both have to build the wall. However, the narrator cannot make any sense of building the wall every year because they do not have any cows to keep away from each other’s yard. Obviously, the neighbors are not farmers who would have needed to build fences in order to keep their animals from messing with their neighbor’s yard. Therefore, unlike the neighbor, the narrator questions the tradition that has been passed on to them. If they continu e with their practice, they might pass the insensible tradition to their children without them questioning it. Thus, in exasperation, the narrator can only pose a challenge to question the importance of what has been established as a tradition. In essence, it appears that the tradition in important in creating good neighbors. This tradition strengthens the people staying in

Anaylsis Wordsworth A Slumer Did Steal My Sleep Essay

Anaylsis Wordsworth A Slumer Did Steal My Sleep - Essay Example There are many connotations of words and phrases. In the beginning, â€Å"a slumber did my spirit seal† connotes the idea of the author being unconscious or unaware of reality, in that a sleep has rendered him ignorant of reality. â€Å"The touch of earthly years† is a phrase which connotes the idea of immortality or agelessness. The last two lines are especially connotative â€Å"Roll’d round in earth’s diurnal force, with rocks, and stones, and trees†. These phrases and words are earthy and connote the physical world around us. They are also suggestive of nature and the natural lifecycle of the environment. The characters mentioned are both the author and the subject who appears to be female. The author speaks for himself at the beginning, then describes the fate of a woman, the subject of the poem. The relationship between the two is suggested in the lines â€Å"she seem’d a thing that could not feel, the touch of earthly years†. The author describes his perception of this woman, as someone who seemed otherworldly, or beyond physical interference. This suggests that he was in love with her, and that this love blinded him to her vulnerability and humanity. There are several images used. â€Å"Rocks and stones and trees† conjure images of death, burials, nature and of life cycles. â€Å"I had no human fears† and â€Å"the touch of earthly fears† convey images of a realm beyond physicality and time. â€Å"Slumber† is a symbolic word. Rather than literally meaning sleep, the author uses this word to symbolize his sense of being unaware of the vulnerability of this woman. â€Å"Human fears† symbolizes the spiritual dimension the author seems to have existed in when he was with this woman.†rocks and stones and trees† are symbolic of the fact that this woman is now dead and buried, in the ground, part of the earth. Themes in this poem appear to be loss and the feeling that