A Rose For Emily

The plot and structure of A Rose for Emily was extrememly important to the overall effect of the piece. The story is told from the point of view of some townspeople, which also adds to the tone of the work. The story is being told after Emily's death, so it is not in chronological order. It is looking back on the past events of Emily's life after the people have realized that she is dead. The fact that the story is split into five sections that jump from one point in time to another add suspense and mystery. Because the people from the town told the story, I was curious to see how different Emily really was compared to their opinions, thoughts, and rumors about her. If the story were told from Emily's point of view, the plot would have changed drastically. Emily seems very distant and isolated because of the point of view chosen by the author. The way the story is told out of order and the point of view without Emily's thoughts or feelings creates a huge climax that ends the story and leaves readers shocked.

Interpreter of Maladies

Interpreter of Maladies is all about the Das Family, Mrs. Das in particular, and Mr. Kapasi crossing paths during the Das family vacation to India. Although this short story deals with relationships like How I Met My Husband, the point of view of the two stories are different. This story is told in third-person limited point of view. Instead of revealing the thoughts and feelings of all characters this narrator only delves into the perception of Mr. Kapasi. When the Das family is separated from Mr. Kapasi in different parts of the story, the narrator stays with him. I think the plot of this story revolves around the progression of familiarity between the two most important characters, Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi. At first, Mrs. Das views Mr. Kapasi exclusively as an employee with little or no interest in him. As the story continues, Mrs. Das becomes intrigued by Mr. Kapasi's other job as a translator for a doctor. She starts to warm up to Mr. Kapasi when she offers him gum and puffed rice, asks for his address to send him a picture, and even confides in him with her biggest secret that she hasn't told anyone else. Because the action is seen in the eyes of Mr. Kapasi, I began to see how he misconstrued Mrs. Das's interest in his services as a translator as infatuation. Using his point of view, Mr. Kapasi makes the problem about himself. Because he is unhappy in his own marriage, he thinks that the best solution for both himself and Mr. Das is to be together. I came to understand his feelings about Mrs. Das when he described her in his thoughts and began to act differently around her.

"How I Met My Husband"

This short story is told in chronological order from Edie's point of view. She is looking back on her past, which gives the piece a nostalgic tone. The structure of the story revolves around the actions of two main characters, Edie and Chris Watters. Edie is the protagonist of the story, and Chris Watters is a pilot who shows up to give plane rides for a fee. Although the thoughts and feelings of Chris Watter are not expressed in depth or detail like those of Edie, I understood his importance to the plot. Edie's reactions to Chris Watters conveyed by thoughts and feelings in the story show how central Chris is to the overall plot. The point of view of this story is first person, told from the perspective of Edie. Edie's mind-set added into the story allowed me to feel sympathy for her in diffferent situations in the story. An example of this would be when she was worried about Chris telling Mrs. Peebles that he saw her dressed up. I felt anxious and worried for her because of the huge importance of her first job. Edie telling the story also shows a transition between the young and maturing Edie versus the now mature, experienced, and knowledgeable Edie. The point of view in which Edie looked at the experience from the past created a twist in the plot. I would have never guessed that she married the Carmichael mailman and not Chris Watter, but the whole point of the story was to show Edie's shift from Chris, immaturity, and infatuation to her current husband, maturity and true love.

"Do not Go Gentle into that Good Night"

Unlike many other poems that talk about the subject of death, this poem has a tone of resistance and defiance toward death. Many authors or speakers take an attitude of acceptance toward death, but this speaker has a completely different idea. Aging and death are seen in a very negative way in this poem. The tone of resistance is made clear by the repetition of two phrases throughout the entire poem. By repeating the message of raging against death and not going gently into the night, the author encourages people to fight death instead of give up and accept it. The structure, known as a villanelle, also plays a vital role in conveying the message and attitude of the speaker. In addition to the theme of approaching death, the poem is also about how different people live their lives. The auhor compares "wild men" to "good men" to "grave men" in the piece. The poem becomes personal to the speaker, because the father of the narrator is directly adressed in the final stanza. This made me think that maybe the speaker's father is close to death, and the speaker wants his father to put up a good fight before dying. Maybe the speaker feels so strongly about death because he is placed in a situation in which he and his family could possibly be greatly impacted by death as it approaches his father.

"Death be not Proud"

This poem written by John Donne is a direct address to death. Through the use of Donne's pronouns in the piece (thou, thee, and thy), one can infer that death is being personified. I viewed this almost as an argument poem, because the speaker sees death as insignificant and cowardly. Therefore, the tone of the poem is ridiculing or belittling toward the subject of death. In lines 7 and 8, the speaker talks about the difference between the body and the soul after death. The speakers states that the bones "rest" and the soul is "delivered". The speaker believes that even though the body is dead, the soul lives on after death. This conveys that the speaker may possibly have great faith or conviction in his or her religion. According to the speaker, death cannot have pride because humans don't really die because of eternal life or life after death. Other things in the world can create similar effects on a person like death, so death has no reason to feel strong or mighty. The example of the poppy given by the author adds to the condescending tone of the poem. The author ends the poem with a paradoxical phrase, "Death, thou shalt die". The statement is ironic because death cannot actually die.

"Lonely Hearts"

The structure and tone of this poem stood out to me as very important and effective. The first five stanzas reminded me of ads in the newspaper looking for responses. The tone of this poem is one of lonliness and longing for companionship and love in life. Each of the first five stanzas in this poem expresses a different person and his or her needs or desires in a partner or companion. It is almost as if the multiple speakers in the poem are soliciting love from others. The author repeats two phrases four times each during the poem, because the poem is in a villanelle structure or format. The two phrases repeated are "Do you live in North London? It it you?" and "Can you make my simple wish come true?". I think that these questions are repeated over and over again because they emphasize the tone of desire, longing, and lonliness. These phrases create sympathy for the lonely and needy speakers, which is an example of pathos used by the author. The last stanza of the poem gives an address for a response and asks three questions in the end.The speaker states, "who knows where it may lead once we've begun?". I think this shows that the speakers continue to have a positive attitude and perseverance. Therefore, I think that this last stanza gives a sense of hope and optimism for the future.

"Elegy for My Father Who is Not Dead"

This poem is about a father with very strong faith and conviction. However, his son, the speaker of the poem, can be viewed as somewhat of a pessimist or a doubter. Throughout the poem, the father and son and their attitudes juxtapose each other. The author's use of a metaphor and strong contrasts in the piece make the poem effective. The father has a positive attitude toward death and life after death, but the son has a negative attitude and perspective about what he thinks will happen. Like many other people, the son in the poem sees his father's view of death as a journey or trip into a new and different world. I see this as an extended metaphor that continues throughout the rest of the poem. At the end of the poem, when the son describes two conflicting scenes with a ship and a deck, there is a clear difference shown between the opinions and beliefs of the father versus those of his son. These lines that discuss the boat and deck setting basically reveal that the father believes in life after death and reuniting with God and his family once again, while the son is hesitant and uncertain about what occurs after death. I think that this poem, like two of the other poems from the past unit, utilize hope with different meanings. The father in the poem has hope that is defined as conviction without doubt. On the other hand, the son has hope that is defined as wishing without real expectations.