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Mind By Richard Wilbur

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In the poem “Mind” by Richard Wilbur, the author describes the human mind through similies and peaceful diction that convey how the human mind and consciousness control decision-making. The author reveals that he believes one wrong decision can entirely change our course of life. The author uses figurative language to identify the comparison between the human mind and a bat soaring through a cave. The author concludes the poem by saying, “The mind is like a bat. Precisely.” The repetition of this simile throughout the poem illustrates how the mind is navigating through life making crucial decisions every day. The author is comparing these everyday decisions to a bat flying through a pitch-black cave. The human mind faces adversity but tries to avoid it like a bat avoids obstacles within the cave. The author also describes the bat by saying, “beats about in caverns all alone,” in order to illustrate how the mind must make these choices on its own without the influence of others. The mind makes these decisions …show more content…

To end the first stanza, the author writes “Not to conclude against a wall of stone.” The author’s decision to use the word “conclude” creates a more relaxed tone within the poem. This wording is almost confusing for the reader because it is used to describe a clueless bat slamming into a stone wall. Rather than using a harsh word to show the end of life, the author uses the word conclude which gives a feeling of a natural, gentle ending. He conveys how awareness is an extremely important part of navigating life. At the end of the last stanza, the author says “A graceful error may correct the cave.” The author showcases how even those who seem to enjoy life the most make decisions that can ruin their lives forever. The author describes the mind as being intelligent although many spend their time on meaningless

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Over the course of millions of years, it is believed that the human brain evolved to become the intelligent machine that it is today. Decision making is one of many adaptations the human brain has made. . However, there are theories now that humans do not make all decisions in their conscious mind. Something known as the “adaptive unconscious” is thought to process and order data quickly so as make impulsive decisions without the brain even thinking. This can be identified when one gets a gut instinct.

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Furthermore, Warren uses the same elements in lines 19-21 to appeal to the reader’s perception of sound: “If there were no wind we might, we think, hear/ The earth grind on its axis, or history/ Drip in darkness like a leaking pipe in the cellar.” That is to say, if there were no distractions around, “no wind”, if everything were shown in clear light, one would be able to observe how time after time, or as “the earth [grinds] on its axis”, the wrongful character which humans conceal deep within, or “in darkness”. Thus, through the usage of the literary elements imagery and diction, Warren suggests the concept that the bat, taking flight in the night sky, represents man’s true character that he hides within

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Symbolism In the novel, Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, she uses a lot of symbolism. One example of this is the recurring importance of rain. The novel is set in the Great Depression, which plays a large role in how her life is played out throughout. Billie Jo’s father is a white wheat farmer, struggling due to the lack of rain for his crops.

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The book I read was Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. The title of the book represents so much of the entire book even though it’s just one simple word. The main character, Melinda, was raped at a high school party while she drank too much. She later called the cops and lost all of her friends. After the party, she was an outcast.

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Finding your true passion can brighten your mental health and change your life. Especially if that passion is art, just like Melinda Sordino’s. Trees in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, serve an essential purpose as an object that symbolizes Melinda Sordino's mental health, and the growth that follows. Ever since she has been assigned trees for her art project, her life began to change. When she draws trees, it acts as an important reflection and checks in with her inner mental health and mind about the issues and feelings she is experiencing.

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One night, one party, one person, one call, that is all it takes to change somebody’s identity and shape them into the person they truly are. Melinda Sordino is the victim of a horrible night that changed her life. In the novel speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character Melinda is faced with many challenges. Melinda attended a party the summer before ninth grade. She wasn’t thinking about the consequences that come with drinking, she was not thinking about how one little action could ruin her relationship with those around her,one action that could shape her identity into who she truly is, one action that she would be to traumatized to tell anyone about.

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In Anthony Doerr's novel "All the Light We Cannot See," two literary techniques that are particularly significant are symbolism and imagery. Symbolism and imagery are intertwined throughout the novel and provide a means of exploring the characters, setting, conflict, and outcome of the story. Anthony Doerr's novel "All the Light We Cannot See" employs symbolism as a crucial literary technique to deepen readers' understanding of the characters, setting, conflict, and outcome of the story. One of the most prominent symbols in the novel is the radio. The symbol of the radio provides a lens through which to view the conflict of the novel.

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Change by Rape Only 7% of the perpetrators of sexual assault are not related to the victim based off of reported cases that RAINN, a National Sexual Assault Hotline, recorded. The book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, shows where this statistic is true. Following the protagonist, Melinda Sordino, during her freshman year after having been raped in the summer, the book highlights external factors that affect her identity. She struggles to cover up what happened while she meets new people who change her identity in many ways, sometimes helping and other times changing it for the worse. The main people who externally affect her identity are her parents; her peers; and her rapist, Andy Evans.

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Speak Loneliness is very bad for you when you don’t talk to people. Loneliness is bad because you can’t talk to anybody about your problems. So, Melinda shuts out the world and becomes alone. Laurie Halse Anderson (author), the main plot for “Speak” is to speak up of what you did wrong. Loneliness is very bad when you can’t talk or speak to anybody because everyone is hating Melinda.

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Nagel offers the example of the bat and states that one could try to imagine what it is like to be a bat by “imagining some combination of additions, subtractions, and modification”(Nagel 5). However, we can see that this imagining would only tell us what it is like for ourselves to be a bat. This is important because it shows that, although we can break down the objective properties of a bat, it doesn’t allow us to understand the bats subjective character. Lastly, the two-pronged conclusion.

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The narrator within the poem perceives himself as superior to the subjects that he observes, and recognizes that they behave as savages due to the absence of rules and boundaries. They fail to acknowledge the error in their destructive behavior and continue to act with free will, which portrays human nature as wicked and unruly. One of them glanced at the narrator and insinuated that they were equals, which implies that the narrator also indulges in sinful behavior with the rest of them. Despite the narrator’s feeling of superiority, their actions reflect the same manner as those they view as beneath them. There exists a domino effect that causes the behavior of others to influence the nature of those surrounding them.

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Diane Ackerman, in her excerpt from “In Praise of Bats,” wants readers to recognize that life is beautifully strange, and it is the small moments that count. Ackerman takes on a gentle, calm tone to get her message across; to do this, she gives readers vivid imagery of bats, relating them to the beauty and abstractness of life. With the short-lived event of the event of the emergence of bats, Ackerman develops her meaning that the miniscule, seemingly insignificant moments in life is what we should look forward to the most. Ackerman introduces her excerpt with the brief description of her pet bats, Zuri and Rafiki: Zuri licking the “human essence” off of himself in an effort to show that he is distinct from the author and reader.

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Everyday, people are faced with the task of making decisions. Most people decide when to wake up, what to eat, what to wear, who to interact with, and countless other choices. In a world surrounded by choices, people are confronted with easy-to-make and, conversely, challenging decisions. A decision can be influenced by one’s own experience, logic, and feelings. Making a decision is synonymous with a result; whatever choice one accepts, results in a particular outcome.

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