ipl-logo

Wade In The Water By Tracy K. Smith

1041 Words5 Pages

Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith is a collection of poems that cover a wide variety of interconnected concepts. The fourth part of this collection focuses on personal identity. In the poem “The Everlasting Self”, the author describes personal identity with two short but meaningful sentences that together display the resilience of the self in the face of adversity. The author uses purposeful diction, signifying syntax, and elaborate similes to reveal a definition of the everlasting self, which provides a clear representation of the collective experience of shaping personal identity. Since “The Everlasting Self” is noticeably short, the words within the poem have a lot of meaning and every word choice the author made is intentional. Throughout …show more content…

The first is on line five where the author suggests the conditioning of the self is “Like love/ From a lifetime ago,” (Smith, lines 5-6). This simile creates an example scenario where conditioning of the self occurs. Love from a lifetime ago implies the love has come and gone. This suggests there were lessons learned from the love and that the love still exists though it may be long forgotten. This also indicates that some of the adversity we face is self-made. Love is a choice someone makes and therefore the mess it creates is due to that choice. However, throwing the mess away would be to reject love moving forward, instead we are forced to clean the mess and continue forward. The second simile occurs on line six where the author compares the conditioning of the self to “mud/ A dog has tracked across the floor.” (Smith, lines 6-7). This also shows a negative action occurring from a choice someone makes. While the owner of a dog did not purchase the dog with the hopes it would make a mess on the floor, it inevitably occurs. Whether the owner likes it or not the mess exists, and they are forced to clean the mess up and to continue going forward perhaps, with an idea to prevent the dog from tracking mud on the floor again. These two similes highlight the creation of messes or adversities, in which the only thing natural to do is to clean them up and to move forward remembering vaguely the negativity associated with the mess, or as the author describes, we gather, shed, spread, then forget and

Show More
Related

A Long Walk To Water By Linda Sue Park

206 Words | 1 Pages

The book "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park explores the life of Salva, an 11-year-old boy living in South Sudan, after he is displaced by the Sudanese Civil War. First, in 1985, Salva and his classmates are instructed to run into the bush to escape the gunfire that was heard not far from the school. Then, he joins a group of travelers who are walking away from the war in Sudan, but they abandon him in a barn one evening while he is still asleep. After spending a few days with the barn's owner, Salva is sent away with a different group of travelers, must of whom accept him grudgingly. The group walks for a month toward Ethiopia, and eventually they arrive to the Itang refugee camp in Ethiopia.

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Princess And The Puma

368 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the

Read More

Hidden Intellectualism Gerald Graff Summary

1258 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout

Read More

A Long Walk To Water By Linda Sue Park

441 Words | 2 Pages

People in Southern Sudan have dirty water, wild animals, the many wars and a lot more hardships they need to face. In the book “A long walk to water” by: Linda Sue Park, is a book that takes place in Southern Sudan and features all the hardships Salva and Nya had to face while living there such as wild animals, wars, fights through tribes, lack of water and food. Hardships Salva faced in Southern Sudan are lack of water/ food, the wild animals, and the fighting/ war. One of the hardships Salva had to face in Southern Sudan is lack of water and food. In chapters 3-4 Salva had gotten water from a woman older than Salva’s mother that he had met after he was left alone, the woman gave Salva a gourd of water and a bag of raw peanuts.

Read More

In The Lake Of The Woods By Tim O Brien

666 Words | 3 Pages

The book “In the lake of the woods”, written by Tim O’Brien, is about a Vietnam veteran and politicians story. The main character, John Wade, is a Vietnam veteran who was involved with a brutal massacre. John was also a politician, and in fear that the massacre he was involved with would affect his political career, John does everything he can to cover up this incident. During this time John's wife mysteriously disappears. John has an ambition throughout the story to cover up what happened to profit his own career.

Read More

A Long Walk To Water By Linda Sue Park

1276 Words | 6 Pages

In the historical fiction novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, a boy named Salva escaped from his village after the rebels attacked. Before the rebels took over Salva’s village he went to school everyday. Each day after school his mother would always be waiting for him at home with a bowl of warm milk. In the historical fiction novel The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis, a girl named Parvana lived in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the Taliban rule. Before the Taliban took over Parvana’s town, it was a very beautiful city with restaurants, movie theaters, and shops.

Read More

Feliks Skrzynecki Essay

741 Words | 3 Pages

Using his poems, the poet attempts to establish that one’s identity is shaped from the difficulties they go through. Feliks Skrzynecki highlights how identity is formed

Read More

Beyond The Bright Sea By Lauren Wolk

843 Words | 4 Pages

Osh, a character from Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk, would be the best partner on a deserted island because he is a strong caregiver, quick thinking, and resourceful. Osh has proved to be a strong caregiver, which makes him a worthy partner to be stranded on an island with. At this point in the story, Osh is talking to Crow about the challenges of raising her. He didn’t want Crow to be taken away from him so he would go above and beyond to keep her protected and content.

Read More

Our Son Cowards Of Water In His Body By Naomi Shihab Nye

522 Words | 3 Pages

During the teenage years, many think that they know everything and no one else is correct. In the poem “Our Son Swears He Has 102 Gallons of Water in His Body,” by Naomi Shihab Nye, the speaker tells about how a boy thinks his opinion is correct and the opinions of his parents are wrong. The boy, because he believed his answer was correct, didn’t have a close connection to his parents. Being reassured of his answer by the teacher, the boy disregarded his parent’s thoughts. He completely does not believe that his parent’s answer is acceptable.

Read More

New Day's Lyric Analysis

725 Words | 3 Pages

One important example of juxtaposition that is used in the poem is, “What was cursed, we will cure. What was plagued, we will prove pure.” This simple use of juxtaposition makes it evident that even though we went through hard situations in the past, we can make decisions that provide a completely different outcome. In 2023 I personally went through a few things that changed the way I act and how I treat people. At the time of these occurrences I felt that nothing good could come from such bad feelings, but I realized that as my community came together, we could turn what looked horrible into something that had a beautiful meaning.

Read More

Identity In Ernest Buckler's The Locket

1724 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout literature the constant theme of identity has been explored, with Northrop Frye even suggesting “the story of the loss and regaining of identity is, I think, the framework for all literature.” For characters, true identity isn’t always apparent, it needs to be searched for. Sometimes the inner struggle for identity stems from ones need for belonging. Whether one finds their sense of identity within friends, family, or in a physical “home”. It’s not always a place that defines identity.

Read More

Julio Noboa Planco Identity Poem Analysis

463 Words | 2 Pages

In the end, the poem “Identity” by Julio Noboa Polanco talks about how it’s good to be unique, to be yourself. Julio Noboa Polanco uses the literary devices of alliteration, simile, and repetition. I think the message of the poem reflects certain things that happen in life. Like people can be someone but not

Read More

Hirschman's Narcotic Anonymous (1992)

1459 Words | 6 Pages

understood from a different perspective, one that was not previously viewed. The individuals were each given an opportunity to tell their unique story, in their own words. Hirschman (1992) set a goal to explore the phenomenological accounts of individuals who have sought help through Narcotics Anonymous (N.A) as a means to recovery; and additionally interpreted the dynamics of group discussion. Her paper is based upon her experiences in N.A., as both a participant and as an observer. Hirschman provided a phenomenological description of how recovering substance users share their experiences with one another and to themselves within a support group.

Read More

Long And Short Term Effects Of The 1992 Election

2648 Words | 11 Pages

Throughout

Read More

Purpose Of The Voting Rights Act Of 1965

1079 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout

Read More

More about Wade In The Water By Tracy K. Smith

Related Topics

Open Document