I Felt a Funeral in my Brain

In Emily Dickinson's poem, I Felt a Funeral in my Brain, there was one main and essential metaphor given. The poem compares the speakers recent mental collapse to a funeral. When one thinks of a funeral, the first thing that jumps into mind is obviously death. In this way, I believe that Dickinson asserted that the speaker's mind was dying just as one dies right before their funeral. As the poem progresses, we can see the progression of the speaker's mind go from sane to insane. "And mourners, to and fro, keapt treading, treading," (Dickinson, 776). This description of the mourners gives picture of how the speaker's brain felt to him. He was slowly losing his mind. Using the repetition of the word "treading" in this quote and of the word "beating" in the second stanza, we can see this progression by acknowledging the spiratic tone of the poem.  These thumping and bumping sounds might possibly be a severe headache that make him feel as if someone is crawling inside his brain. As the poem progresses we get a sense that because of his recent mental disorder, the speaker becomes more and more lonely and more and more crazy. "And I dropped down, and down- and hit a world, at every plunge, and finished knowing-then-" (Dickinson, 776).

Death, be not Proud

John Donne's poem Death, be not Proud, was almost satirical. "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so," (Donne, 971). This quote mocks death as if it were a person. He takes death off his pedistal and exclaims that he has nothing to be proud of.

This quote means that some fear death, however, it is nothing to fear. I believe the author and narrator are Christian. Only people who know that death is actually the gate to an eternal life with God will not fear death. "One short sleep passed, we wake eternally" (Donne, 971). This short sleep is referring to death; after a short time, we awake in God's presence for infinite life.

Death, be not Proud shines a new light on the meaning of death. Instead of being scared of the end of our life, the narrator is excited about crossing over. The narrator chuckles in the face of death and explains that our real life occurs after we die; therefore, death is a good and wonderful thing.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

The main message I took from Dylan Thomas' poem, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, was to live life to the fullest. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" (Thomas, 968) says it all. "do not go gentle" means that we should not let our lives end not having pushed limits. We should all set out to achieve our personal goals and ambitions. We must not go "gentle" in terms of leaving any rocks unturned in our lives.

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas, 968). This quote explains that we need to rage against and fight against the ending of our lives. We must never give up, even if we know or fear the end is approaching. The dying of the light symbolizes the end coming shortly. Thomas writes that we much not wholly accept this fact. We must push through pain in order that we leave this world having accomplished our dreams. The narrator stresses that living life to the fullest will promise having no regrets. This can only be reached by taking every moment as a gift and a way to create a more fulfilling life for oneself.

Crossing the Bar

Crossing the Bar by Alfred Lord Tennyson was extremely symbolic. He focuses the story primarily on the image of the sea. "When I put out to sea," (Tennyson, 886) represents the narrator starting out his life and his eventual crossing over into a new life. The tides and waves in this poem represent the events and obstacles in his life. The open sea was his life full of opportunities. "And may there be no sadness of farewell," (Tennyson, 886), to me, says that the narrator did not want people to grieve over his death. Maybe this man lived a good and fulfilling life; he had nothing to be sorry about. Then, the most symbolic line of the poem shows up in the second to last line. "I hope to see my Pilot face to face," (Tennyson, 886). The Pilot represents God. God was the one who flew the narrator through life. He brought the narrator to his final destination. Only He can accept the narrator when he "crosses the bar" into Heaven. The narrator views death as a new beginning. One can meet the all-knowing being who guided him throughout life's battles.

A Rose for Emily

William Faulkner's character Miss Emily Grierson in A Rose for Emily gave me mixed emotions and opinions. At times in the short story, I felt sorry for Emily. She seemed to always have her life taken right out from under her. Her father died when she was still a young woman. Then, a few years later, her sweetheart, who people thought she was going to marry, left her. The emotional toll these events took on her were horrible. She was all alone except for her servant. "After her father's death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all" (Faulkner, 283). On top of all this, the government was now trying to make her pay the taxes that had been excused from her family by the old mayor.

With this psychological grief, it is clear that Emily needed help or at least someone to talk to. She was in search of some concrete companionship. In this sense, I believe she was "crazy." From the text, the town seemed to believe so as well. No mentally sane woman would lock her lover/possible husband in the house and poison him. Not only that, but at the end of the story it says, "Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it...we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair" (Faulkner, 289). Emily was sick in every sense of the word. Sick in terms of sleeping with a decaying man for forty years; but, she was also sick in an emotional and psychological sense. She obviously was not in her right mind, if she every had a right mind. She was deeply disturbed. I believe she only would have killed Homer Baron for the fact that he could never leave her, and he would always be in her possession.

The Lottery

In The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, the main symbol that I took away from the short story is the black box. To me, this box represented the society in this particular region. Just as the box was old, shabby, and falling apart, the city was old-fashioned. Likewise, since the people of this city are unwilling to let go of this out-dated box, the city is represented as a group that is unwilling to let go of certain tradions. It is a bit strange, however, that they are willing to overlook and replace some aspects of the tradition. Some examples of this would be exchanging paper slips for the old wood chips and, also, making the ceremony more modern. The society they live in is stuck in the past and feels life cannot go on rightfully without this lottery. Most of the town feels the lottery is completely necessary. This ritual has brainwashed the society into thinking it's normal and acceptable to stone an innocent being to death. We see this in the quote, " 'Some places have already quit lotteries,' Mrs. Adams said. 'Nothing but trouble in that,' Old Man Warner said stoutly. 'Pack of young fools.' " (Jackson, 268).
Also, the saying, "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon," (Jackson, 268), reiterates the town's devotion to old sayings, traditions, and history. They act on the mindset of "it has been said, so it must be true." I take this society's actions as completely illogical in the fact that they can pick and choose which aspects of the ritual they follow and which they can toss out or replace.

The Glass Menagerie: The Narrator

The question, "What qualities possessed by Tom, and by him alone, make him the proper narrator of the play?" at the end of Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams can be answered in only one way. Tom Wingfield is the only character to be viewed as being realistic. Amanda lives her life in the past. She obsesses over her youth and the many possibilities and potential it had. Now that her life is a disappointment to her, she cannot escape the constant nagging of the life she once lived. Laura lives in a fanatasy world as well. She hides behind her glass sculptures to hide from reality. She doesn't want to face the world she lives in by getting a job or facing prospective husbands. Although Laura does see the possibility in a bright future, she is too afraid to fight for her dreams. This is why Tom has to be the narrator. He not only dreams for a better future, but he takes the necessary measures to accomplish them. "I give you the truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion" (Williams, 1236). This quote even tells us that Tom tells the true story. He sees the world for what it trully is.

Society in the Glass Menagerie

Tennessee Williams portrays the 1940s society very well in Glass Menagerie. The story depicts the lives of women in two ways. A woman is to either get a job typing or answering phones or becomes a wife and a homemaker. When Laura fails at this first case, her mother demands that she devotes the rest of her youthful days in preparation to become a wife. This role of a homemaker was viewed as a pretty woman first with no obligation of a sound mind. "All pretty girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be" (Williams, 1263). This quote shows that in society, a man will choose a woman based on her looks first; not her personality.

We also see that this society that a homemaker is demanded to have exquisite skills around the house. "It's rare for a girl as sweet an' pretty as Laura to be domestic! But Laura, is, thank heavens, not only pretty but very domestic" (Williams, 1270). This quote emphasizes the two main qualities of a great wife, beauty and a handiness around the house. Amanda is trying to make Jim impressed by all of Laura's "skills." We see here that Amanda is no hypocrite. She is a trap, trying to sway Jim into falling for the counterfeit parts of the evening. In reality, it was Amanda who cooked and made Laura look the part; Laura wanted no part in the evening at all.

The Glass Menagerie: Father Wingfield

Throughout the entire Glass Menagerie by Tennesee Williams, the presence of the father is known. Although he has been gone for sixteen years, he impacts the family everyday. The fact that a picture of Mr. Wingfield remains hung on the wall symbolizes the family's revolvance on him. Tom is impacted the most on his father's departure. He feels betrayal and awe in his father. His father left them and left the duty of caring for the family on Tom's shoulder's; however, Tom looks up to his father. Tom adores the fact that his father went after his dream of seeing the world; maybe even getting away from his mother.

What Mr.Wingfield did to his family years before was reinacted through Tom. We see Tom progressively going towards this throughout the entire novel. However, the reader sees this in full action when Tom says to Jim, "I paid my dues this month, instead of the light bill...I won't be here" (Williams, 1269). Tom was planning on leaving his family and had taken the measures in doing so. In the end, he had accomplished his dream of getting away. "I didn't go to the moon, I went much further" (Williams, 1288).

The Glass Menagerie: Laura Wingfield

Tennessee William's character, Laura Wingfield, from Glass Menagerie is also a complex and dynamic character. She is excruciatingly shy to the point where she gets physically ill when nervous. We see this when she drops out of business school after throwing up one of the first few days. From the reading, she enjoys exploring the city while just keeping to herself. Since she dropped out of school, Laura had been filling her days with extensive walks and trips to local museums. Also, we can conclude that Laura doesn't want to disappoint her mother. She felt like she couldn't tell her mother she couldn't physically accomplish graduating from school. William's portrays Laura as such a delicate character. "she is like a piece of translucent glass touched by light, given a momentary radiance, not actual, not lasting" (Williams, 1263). This stage direction portrays Laura best. Laura's obsession with her glass figures has become a symbol to her own personality. She takes care of the glass because it is fragile and delicate. Laura needs care in the same way.

Laura does show some progression as the story draws an end. She seems to get over a few of her shy tendencies. Even when Jim breaks her favorite glass piece, she doesn't completely freak out. The presence of someone who talks to Laura as an equal is enough to bring her out of her shell. Even after Jim explains he is engaged, she gives him the broken piece as a souveneir of their date. I think symbolically, Laura is giving away her hope of that "new Laura."

The Glass Menagerie: Tom Wingfield

Tennessee William's character, Tom Wingfield, from Glass Menagerie is very complex with two main sides. On one hand, Tom feels his obligation to his family to stay and provide for them. Other than Amanda's day job of selling magazines, his is the only real income the family has since their father up and left them sixteen years ago. He feels this burden everyday and is becomming more and more restless. This disappointment in his life is filled by long nights at the movies and by drinking. However, he stays and does his job for the love he has for Amanda and Laura.

However, there is another side of Tom that dreams. He wants anything else than to be a warehouse man. I found it ironic when Amanda calls Tom selfish, because although Tom is reluctant, he is the one that goes out and provides for the family. He has to give up his dream for the sake of his mother and sister. After Amanda says this, Tom defends himself and gives it right back.
"I get up. I go! For sixty-five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of. Why, listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I'd be where he is- GONE! (pointing to the father's picture)" (Williams, 1247).

At this point in the story, I felt terrible for Tom. It seemed that he was trapped in a time in his life that he couldn't get out of. He would have to prodive for his older sister and overbearing mother for the rest of his days.