There are obstacles and there are opportunities when on a journey into the world. It is important that an individual chooses a path which they believe is right for them, regardless of what any family member, friend or what society thinks of them. Often times there are obstacles which obstruct the individual’s pathway to success, growth and change. These obstacles could be internal or external, depending on the person. There are examples of obstacles and opportunities which block an individual’s transition shown in Stephen Daldry’s film Billy Elliot (2000), the poem ‘First Ice’ by Andrei Voznesensky and another poem ‘Follower’ by Seamus Heaney. These three texts depict how people find that there are just as many difficulties as there are opportunities. …show more content…
The protagonist, eponymous Billy Elliot, is truly passionate about dance to the point that he pushes himself past the boundaries of society’s gender expectations. In doing this, he can save his family from a life of poverty during the 1984-5 miner’s strike. After the death of Billy’s mother, his father is left as a bitter, angry man, his older brother behaves in an aggressive manner and his grandmother is vague. Therefore, it is hard for Billy to get his family to understand him. When Billy’s father and brother find out that he is taking ballet lessons instead of boxing lessons behind their backs, they are opposed to his love for dance, typically towards the ‘feminine’ ballet. They hold the traditional belief that ‘boxing is for lads’ and ballet is solely for girls. His family holds him back from taking the chance to become a dancer which is an obstacle of his, aside from the traditions of society. However, his dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson encourages him to follow his …show more content…
The first stanza describes the girl in an icy winter atmosphere, “A girl is freezing in a telephone booth”. The coldness which is described in the poem reflects how the narrator views the girl - Voznesensky portrays her sadness (to be more specific, her tears) as the beginning of winter in the last stanza, “It is the start of winter glittering on her cheek / the first frost of having been hurt”. The themes of entering a new world full of coldness and negativity is depicted in First Ice. The ‘beginning of losses’ is the girl’s obstacle for the moment. The first ‘ice’ is symbolic for her feelings of loss, though it is not clear what the loss is, it has led to her depression. There are no themes of opportunity in this poem. Consequently, there are obstacles which are described as “the first frost”- the girl is perhaps frozen and unable to move forward from this day