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Sloth In Algernon's Guilty

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Although Algernon seems to be guilty only of harmless sloth, he is the lowest on the axis for not only his complete lack of guilt, but for making fun of those who take any responsibility. While Algernon’s sloth may seem harmless, only going “Bunburying” to escape from tedious family dinners, his actions cause a great deal of trouble for the other characters, and his lack of responsibility leads him into deep debt. Whereas Algernon at first seems to have absolutely no concerns in his life, at the end of the first scene his butler, Lane, presents him with bills which he immediately tears up before announcing that he is going “Bunburying,” or taking a trip to the country under the guise of caring for a sick friend. He also shows a complete lack …show more content…

However, the poem also hints at a deeper sloth, a sloth that tempts the narrator into death and despair. The narrator of this poem seems to show slight, though not overwhelming, guilt for indulging in this shallow form of sloth, watching the woods rather than continuing home, when he says “My little horse must think it queer/ to stop without a farmhouse near…He gives his harness bells a shake/ to ask if there is some mistake” (Frost 5-6, 9-10). These lines hint that the narrator knows that he has work to do and should be continuing home, but does not feel too guilty for indulging in this virtuous sloth. However, he shows slightly more guilt for being tempted by the deeper despair of sloth saying, “But I have promises to keep/ and miles to go before I sleep/ and miles to go before I sleep” (Frost14-16). Though it takes only the jingling of bells to pull him from his shallow sloth, it is these promises that pull him from this despairing sloth, suggesting that he feels guiltier about the temptation to break these promises than avoiding work. While the other characters and authors below the narrator on the scale seem to renounce guilt in some way and those above the narrator seem to be quite wracked with guilt, this narrator is neutral, with only slight hints of guilt. Instead of being overwhelmed by sloth or scorning it, he seems to be simply observing

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Secondly, another insight that I gained from this podcast is that sloth involves the resistance to the effort we need to make to be changed by love. This resistance is a consequence of the desire to stay in one’s comfort zone. Our relationship with God and our neighbors involves accepting a new identity that needs to be lived out daily for the rest of our life.

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William Shakespeare once said, “Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast.”, and the sloth sure can't run fast. Well, actually sloths can’t run at all. Both the two and three toed sloths can’t run at all but, there are still many other similarities and differences between the two and three toed sloth.

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The imagery of the first poem greatly contrasts from the overall tone. In “A Barred Owl,” Richard Wilbur describes an owl frightening a child and waking her from her slumber. Wilbur sets the scene with dark imagery: “The warping night air brought the boom/ Of an owl’s voice into her darkened

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She utilises a diptych structure which portrays the contrast of a child’s naive image of death to the more mature understanding they obtain as they transition into adulthood. This highlighted in ‘I Barn Owl’ where the use of emotive language, “I watched, afraid/ …, a lonely child who believed death clean/ and final, not this obscene”, emphasises the confronting nature of death for a child which is further accentuated through the use of enjambment which conveys the narrator’s distress. In contrast, ‘II Nightfall’, the symbolism of life as a “marvellous journey” that comes to an end when “night and day are one” reflects the narrator’s more refined and mature understanding of mortality. Furthermore the reference to the “child once quick/to mischief, grown to learn/what sorrows,… /no words, no tears can mend” reaffirms the change in the narrator’s perspective on death through the contrast of a quality associated with innocence, “mischief”, with more negative emotions associated with adulthood, “sorrows”.

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I believe that it was alright that he went to the city for an escape, but not going to “visit your brother” who doesn’t even exist and introducing yourself as Ernest. Which apparently all of the women have always dreamed of marrying someone names Ernest. Algernon also got out of responsibilities and social engagements by using a pretend friend named, Bunbury, who always

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The poem, “The Death of a Toad” by Richard Wilbur, ponders the appearance and reverie that a toad may have towards the end of its life. Wilbur uses careful structure, imagery and diction to gradually show that to the speaker, the death of the toad starts as just a simple cease of breathing; but it transforms into a mystical journey. Wilbur arranges events to follow the thoughts, and adjustments, that the speaker's attitude goes through. The poem bluntly starts with the rather insensitive perception “A toad the power mower caught.” The basic absence of sympathy is obvious in the description that follows in the next few lines about the toads wounds, and actions.

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Neither the master nor the servant respected the established verticality (Baselga). Not only did Algernon do this with Lane, but he also happened to have a conflict with Jack that is another jab at the Victorian idea of morality: Jack: It is a very ungentlemanly thing to read a private cigarette case. Algernon:

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This proves the sloths laziness and his lack of caring to others because he is asking them a question and he is thinking about it for a year, as he doesn’t care at all. This also proves that the sloth is lazy because as written in the poem the sloth: "he will think about it for a year" This proves that the sloth is extremely slow as described in this metaphor. Personification is used in some of the stanzas in the poem. The author personifies sloths as human beings because things are going slow for him in his life and he wants everything to be faster, because of this he personifies humans as sloths for being very slow.

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