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Similarities Between Woodchucks And The Fish

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The poem “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kuman and the poem “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop give the reader two examples about how man interacts with nature. Charles Darwin wrote “the love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man”; it is clear that the narrator of one of the poems is much more noble than that of the narrator in the other poem. Not only do the narrators contrast each other in the two poems, the poems also differ in the theme, tone, and situation (Citr).
The theme of the poem “Woodchucks” is no regard for the life of living creatures and death. The theme is apparent from the first sentence of the poem when Kumin writes of the narrator’s thoughts; the narrator is dissatisfied when attempting to eradicate what he thinks …show more content…

The tone of “Woodchucks” changes throughout the poem, it starts out with an irritated narrator who becomes obsessed at the end. In the beginning of the narrator is irritated that his “hands off” approach to killing the woodchucks by gassing them and failed. As the poem progresses he slowly takes pleasure in shooting each woodchuck and as days pass and he fails to eradicate all of the woodchucks the narrator becomes more obsessed and driven to kill. The narrator’s obsession is apparent towards the end of the poem when Kumin writes of the narrator keeping his gun “cocked and ready day after day after day” and dreaming of killing the elusive last woodchuck that he yet to kill …show more content…

Woodchucks is a story told by an unknown narrator who we, as readers, assume is a male due to the narrator trying to protect the crops from the invading woodchucks and from the hideous acts and thoughts. It is apparent by the narrator going to the “Feed and Grain Exchange” to get gas bombs to kill the woodchucks then the use of firearms the story takes place in a rural or farming area. The poem tells a story of a man who is being driven to the brink of insanity trying to control nature; as the man fails he becomes more and more driven and sinister and begins to develop a godlike complex and is unwilling to stop until every woodchuck is

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He could imagine his deception of this town “nestled in a paper landscape,” (Collins 534). This image of the speaker shows the first sign of his delusional ideas of the people in his town. Collins create a connection between the speaker’s teacher teaching life and retired life in lines five and six of the poem. These connections are “ chalk dust flurrying down in winter, nights dark as a blackboard,” which compares images that the readers can picture.

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Response to Living Like Weasels by Annie Dillard: This was one of my favorite readings from this semester. This piece was about a small encounter with a wild weasel. Dillard’s ability to pull such deep meaning from this seemingly small encounter is what makes this essay so special. Since this a creative nonfiction piece, one might expect some big, extravagant tale; instead Dillard keeps it short, sweet, and meaningful.

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One of these other intentions is the use of comparisons by the writers to connect nature with that of everyday human life. For instance, in “Peach Tree Soft and Tender” the writer compares a blossoming peach tree with a newlywed bride adjusting to her new home and family. As the fruit of the peach tree blossoms so does her acquaintance with her new home stated on the bottom two lines of the final stanza, “The bride is going to her home, she well befits these folks”(1324). Also, in “Fishhawk” comparisons made between a prince and the cultivation of the watercress to express his restlessness of his longing for a “gentle maiden”(1323) whom he sees; comparing the way the watercress is harvested to the ways of which he courts the woman. First, as

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Line 1 of the poem, the poet states he found a deer while traveling in night. This is relatively normal in some area. Seeing a deer while traveling can leave an “awe” impression and can be a good sign. However, in line 2, the readers found out that the deer is dead and is on the edge of the Wilson River road. The initial impression of seeing a deer became sad since the deer is dead and near the road of the traveling poet.

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The male moose being mentioned throughout the poem is not literally the forest creature, but rather, a symbol for nature. A moose is described as silent, but strong. Proof of that can be found in stanza 7, line 3 “like a scaffolded king, straightened and lifted his horns”. This defines the moose as a being that is regal, noble, and strong. Using the moose as a symbol is important because the author can now make nature into a persona, who can perform actions, have feelings, and be associated with the other traits which define the symbol.

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It is not human nature for all men to tread the same path of development. Both the boy and man wanted to be acknowledge and remembered in the poems. Otherwise Robert Frost’s poem, “Out, Out,” theme can be compared to “A Man Said to the Universe,” by Stephen Crane. Both Frost and Crane are urging the readers to consider that life goes on, with or without you. However, Frost’s tone can be contrasted to Crane’s tone because of the speaker’s connotation.

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The two poems in the book Holes, have contrasting meanings and purposes, but they both help the reader to comprehend the story. The meaning of the first composition is that it is very hard to be content with what you have and the circumstances you are in. The wood did not fulfill the woodpecker’s desires. The wolf was lonely. In the book, Stanley consistently was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he often thought back to some of those situations and wondered how they would have been different if he would have solely done something else.

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Richard Louv, a novelist, in Last Child in the Woods (2008) illustrates the separation between humans and nature. His purpose to the general audience involves exposing how the separation of man from nature is consequential. Louv adopts a sentimental tone throughout the rhetorical piece to elaborate on the growing separation in modern times. Louv utilizes pathos, ethos and logos to argue that the separation between man and nature is detrimental.

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The girls feet bring her closer and closer to the reddish stain, until she is standing right in front of the pile of wood and there she crouches, there in the snow, just beside it. Her red rimmed eyes scan the expanse of snow all around the chopped logs, taking in the uneven tone – darkest red in some places, turning the snow to a thinning, slushy consistency; pink in others, almost as if less of whatever it is that has discolored the ground has spread there. There is a darker ring just around the woodpile. As the stain halos out, the color fades to pink, to white. There is a feeling in the pit of her stomach, even as she leans forward and reaches out with her index finger, that this is a bad idea, that there is something very, very…off – wrong…about this place, about this town.

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Things can be seen different in many perspectives. It can be interpreted in ways others can’t see. But in order to regulate and adjust our lives, to show the meaning of what we see, we need the solitude to consolidate our thoughts and see things that were hidden in the first place. In “Nature,” Ralph Waldo Emerson applies rhetorical strategies for instance the imagery of unity and the allusion of God to experience the nature in solitude. Emerson starts off his piece with imagery of the unity between man and nature.

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Washington Irving is known as being one of the most famous American authors in history. He has created fresh and exciting stories such as “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle” that continue to captivate those who read them even today. What makes his works so exciting is the tone and mood that he creates in each of his stories. In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” “Rip Van Winkle,” and “The Devil and Tom Walker,” Irving creates a mood of uncertainty and peculiarity. Irving uses contrasts, personification and imagery in his description of setting, and symbolism to create an atmosphere of mystery in his stories.

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John Muir’s essay, The Calypso Borealis, and William Wordsworth’s poem, I wandered Lonely as a Cloud, are two wonderfully written works centered towards their love for nature. They were able to create vivd images in the reader’s head through their writing as well as emotional transitions. Both works, inspired by events in the 19th century, have their differences, however, their emotion and love for nature is the same and creates the same impact with the

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Nature is easily projected onto, as it allows for a sense of peacefulness and escapism. Due to its ability to evoke an emotional reaction from the masses, many writers have glorified it through various methods, including describing its endless beauty and utilizing it as a symbol for spirituality. Along with authors, artists also show great respect and admiration for nature through paintings of grandiose landscapes. These tributes disseminate a fixed interpretation of the natural world, one full of meaning and other worldly connections. In “Against Nature,” Joyce Carol Oates strips away this guise given to the environment and replaces it with a harsher reality.

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In Jean De La Fontaines fable “The wolf and the lamb” the lamb is confronted by the wolf. The Lamb shows the value of reason as he gets questioned by the wolf. The wolf accuses him of many things such as Dirtying up the water to calling the wolf names before this confrontation. The Lamb is getting treated as an peasant as the wolf is perceived as an person of power, who is abusing it to get what he wants, and that’s the Lamb. Even though the lamb gives Logical answers to the wolfs question he still ends up being taken to the woods and eaten for dinner.

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In the essay, “Their Deaths Are Not Elegant: Portrayal of Animals in Margret Atwood’s writings” Maria Moss Analyzes Margaret Atwood’s works and presents an argument that implies an underlining meaning in her stories and novels. Moss asserts that Atwood’s works present animals as independent individuals and as entities that do not promote humanistic uniqueness. Moss is right in her claims that animals are independent of humans, but she seems on more dubious ground when she claims that the animals in Atwood’s poems are independent in the notion of promoting humanistic uniqueness. In this essay I will contend that Atwood uses her works to compare humanistic and animalistic traits in a way that foreshadows human uniqueness. For instance, in Our Cat

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