ipl-logo

The Colonel Poem Summary

973 Words4 Pages

“One-part brave, three-parts fool.” This is a popular quote from the novel Eragon and it describes the nature of the main character as he is a young, foolish, and overconfident kid. Similarly, Carolyn Forché, an American poet and human rights activist, can be described by this due to assumptions that can be made in her poem “The Colonel”. This poem details her experiences during a trip to El Salvador during the late seventies. More specifically it is about a visit to a high-ranking officer’s home where she experienced fear mongering. An interesting part of this poem is that it resembles an article, because it is written as a prose poem and is very descriptive. This makes it hard to understand who the speaker is and why she is in her setting, …show more content…

She should know that going to such a high-ranking officers home with only a friend would be a bad idea. She knew that the country was dealing with an oppressive cruel government, that is why she was in El Salvador in the first place. So why did she still visit his house? One possibility was mentioned before and is the reason the colonel picked her. She was young and naive. At the time she was only 28, which is quite young to be talking to a brutal military leader of a foreign country. She could have neglected to notice the dangers of going to this mans house. This man has obviously killed many people before what is stopping him from killing her and her friend, especially since she is not a government official. The second possibility is that instead of neglecting the dangers she ignored them. Maybe she wanted to be heroic and knew all about the colonel but wanted to expose him. After all her whole mission was to witness and document human rights violations and she probably felt a pressure to do something big since it would be a big enhancement to her career. This raises another question if this is the scenario then why did she not talk? She just sat at the dinner table quietly even when the colonel questioned her. Even her friend was silent and visually told her, “say nothing.” Maybe the colonel’s tactics worked, and their bravery shriveled as soon as they came to the house. It could have been a mix of bravery and foolishness, but either way it wasn’t a very wise

Show More
Related
1165 Words | 5 Pages

She did what she thought was right. Because she didn 't want her family to get into harm 's way, she acted alone. I agree that Lydia Darragh was an influence in the Revolutionary War because if she didn 't warn General George Washington about the surprise attack, General George Washington and his troops would very possibly be killed by the British attack. These are 5 questions I would ask Lydia Darragh if I could: How did you deliver the British plans, did you tell an American soldier you met on the road or did you give the plans hidden in a needle book to an American soldier you met in a tavern? How did you feel like when you were eavesdropping on the British soldiers meeting in your house?

Read More
440 Words | 2 Pages

In the middle of a pause in the fighting of a civil war battle, Lieutenant John Dunbar realizes that his leg needs to be amputated to save his life. Dunbar has seen what happens to soldiers that go through amputation and he decides to take his own life in stead by ridiing a horse along the enemies front lines. However he doesnt get shot and unexpectedly rallys his comrades, who find new courage to storm the conferderate positions. After the battle is over, Dunbar’s superiors name him a hero and he is given acsess to the generals sugeon who is able to save his leg. He is given in reward his choice of his next posting, and also the horse named ‘Cisco’, the one that he used in his attempted suicide.

Read More
700 Words | 3 Pages

The American Revolution marked the history of many heroic events that immaculately stand as true inspirations for the generations to come in the United States. Even today, the gallantry of a few soldiers that won independence for the country is not only kept in the hearts of the people but run in the American blood to demonstrate acts of valor at times of war and hardships. One such story recorded in the history dates back to 1776, about a sixteen-year old juvenile, Joseph Plumb Martin, joined the Rebel Infantry and recorded his tribulations about forty-seven years in a memoir titled as “A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier”. The book mainly focuses on the sufferings through the tough situation he went through.

Read More
1210 Words | 5 Pages

I know that she was protected by the soldiers because In paragraph 14, it states, “...their rifles with bayonets pointed straight ahead. Sarge said they were doing crowd control—keeping the mob away from us.” This

Read More
372 Words | 2 Pages

This passage shows that if she were to tell them the truth, then people would not have been hanged and the situation would not

Read More
565 Words | 3 Pages

I believe that being an American Is the greatest thing that could happen to a person and here is why. In the story "Veterans Day: Never Forget Their Duty" is about veterans who are P.O.W.s in North Vietnam. They were captured and tortured. But even going through all that they are still able to salute the flag of The United States Of America. A man named Mike Christian, he was the man who sewed an American flag on the inside of his shirt.

Read More
2878 Words | 12 Pages

She had the opportunity and, perhaps, the motive (21). She had misled the family about her name, birth place as well as age (22). Cook notes that Rosenblum had no conscience (23). A great spy quality, especially at this age and time.

Read More
758 Words | 4 Pages

Love causes people to do strange things. People either love the idea of love, or desire to run as far away from it as possible. Clarence Hervey is a character that has good intentions to be liked by others and to find this love; however, he is arrogant and easily swayed, causing him to lack moral values and turn away from his true self. This is evident through Edgeworth’s use of contrasting diction, capricious syntax and deceptive imagery. Edgeworth often uses contrasting diction in this excerpt as to reflect the contrast that Hervey feels within himself.

Read More
459 Words | 2 Pages

While reading Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas, I was pleasantly surprised with how I liked the literature. As I am not a fan of poetry I wasn't expecting to like this particular piece, but I found that many, if not most, of the poems were fascinatingly executed. Another theme I found that was incorporated into many pieces was land and territory. One of the first poems that caught my attention was “Three”.

Read More
1102 Words | 5 Pages

Gladys is brainwashed by propaganda and so believes that killing an enemy soldier in combat is not really murder and that the narrator is a “silly boy” for thinking so. Since the narrator had been harshly emotionally affected by his murder of the German soldier, it would have irritated him that Gladys so easily dismissed it. Furthermore, Generals Die in Bed manages to convey that the feeble benefits of war do not outweigh the immense suffering of the soldiers. The soldiers try to calculate the amount of money that the war is costing and are only able to conclude that it is a lot of money. The soldiers are upset that people are profiting off of their anguish .

Read More
423 Words | 2 Pages

She believed that the senators would side with her, because she believed in humanistic honor. She believed that all people deserved to be treated properly. Towards the end of the play, she talks about how she had been treated inhumanely toward her presumable death. Ismene:

Read More
944 Words | 4 Pages

The poem, in brief, is about the struggle the speaker faces as he prepares for war and attempts to explain to his lover how important honor is to him, surpassing even his feelings for her. It is written creatively, with a unique style. The poem is also personal and temporal, a trait of poems of this era. The poem is written in a conversational tone and is read as if by a male writer to a female lover. Lovelace weaves poetic techniques such as assonance, and metaphor together to create a good rhythm, and a theme based upon honor.

Read More
1397 Words | 6 Pages

We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight. John Lennon. Based on his own reading and reflection, Bruce Dawe constructs his attitudes towards war in his poems, Homecoming and Weapons Training, believing it to be lacking sense historically and ultimately futile. By specifically addressing an Australian cultural context, the poet exposes a universal appeal in that the insensitivity and anonymity are common attitudes towards soldiers during war. Dawe clearly expresses his ‘anti-war sentiment’ through his use of language and imagery as he examines the dehumanising aspects of war and its brutal reality.

Read More
1363 Words | 6 Pages

In his statement with Koenig, he stated that he wanted to prove to himself and the public that he could be an ideal war hero. In the end his attempt of being a hero killed five American soldiers. That same need to be a hero is parallel to his craving of attention and affection from when he was a child (Koenig, 2016). Making a statement of wanting attention does not describe a soldier that has the interest of everyone, instead it shows how selfish he could be.

Read More
303 Words | 2 Pages

The poem aims to glorify soldiers and certain aspects of war, it goes on to prove that in reality there really isn 't good vs bad on the battlefield, it 's just a man who "sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call, And only death can stop him now—he 's fighting for them all.", and this is our hidden meaning.

Read More

More about The Colonel Poem Summary

Related Topics

Open Document