In his poem “If”, Rudyard Kipling explains all the things that one must endure in order to become a gentleman. Kipling describes what would happen “if you can dream--and not make dreams your master” that one would be a Man. The qualities that Kipling describes show a stoic person, but not someone who is flashy. The person describes can take the good with the bad--they “can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same” while “keep[ing] their head [about them].” A Man can “force your heart and nerve and sinew.. and so hold on when there is nothing in you”. A Man will embrace the things that make life worth living. He will recover quickly from his losses, knowing that he can learn from them. Another quality that Kipling emphasizes is willpower, that “the Will which says to them! Hold on!” Trust in life and that everything will work out is also a quality that one must have to be a Gentleman, and to really embrace life. To attain this wisdom and outlook on life, one must have had experience with at least a portion of life, having the necessary experience to draw from mistakes and repeat the actions one showed in triumphs. Even though life is not fair and one has no idea why he is being punished, one must take it gracefully and accept the absence of such a reason as part of the grand design of life and humankind. But the essence of “If” is that if one can embrace the challenges and absurdity that life throws at oneself, then one can succeed and
An unknown author once wrote “Never take life too seriously; after all, no one gets out of it alive”. When reading this quote, there can almost be an immediate connection between two very good works of writing: Macbeth’s “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” speech from Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, and the poem “Out, Out --” by Robert Frost. Both allude to the idea that a single life, in its totality, denotes nothing, and eventually, everyone’s candle of life is blown out. However, each poet approaches this idea from opposite perspectives. Frost writes of a young, innocent boy whose life ends suddenly and unexpectedly. His poem is dry and lacks emotion from anyone
The reading of The white man’s burden is written by Rudyard Kipling. In this poem is he starts off by saying how white people to "Send forth the best ye breed" to go into "exile" and help their "captives." Some of the other main points stated were how white people should use small words and patiently repeat themselves in order to help the others such as black people in understanding them talking. Some other points
In Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," the speaker is a son talking to his aging father and pleading with him to fight against death. The son knows that death is the inevitable end to every life, but feels one should not give up to death too easily. By using metaphor, imagery, and repetition, Thomas reinforces the son's message that aging men see their lives with sudden clarity and realize how they might have lived happier, more productive lives. These men rail against fate, fighting for more time to set things right.
of a person who makes the most of what he has. But he never loses hope that
“Contents of a Dead Man’s Pockets” by Jack Finney is about a man, Tom Benecke, who is torn between two loves. Tom, the protagonist, is faced with a choice in the basic situation: work or family. He is put through many hardships that show him that he needs to prioritize his work and family life. This story, “Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket”, shows its readers that if one does not prioritize their life, then they could lose everything. Life is a universal theme found in many different genres of writing. In the song “Glorious” Macklemore talks about how he is back and he takes all the chances that he can in life. The poem “Loveliest of Trees” talks about how the author does not have much time left, so he will take more chances and enjoy more things in life. The poem “George Gray” tells readers that he wishes that he had taken more chances in life. People are given many chances in life; therefore, they should take as many as they can get.
On the other hand, Rubia expresses her perspective of how one should flow with the cycle of life, seen when the speaker “would not wish it” (line 2) any other way then him, an anonymous character, going gently into that good night, completely unlike Thomas. The slight character personality description given in stanza 2 allows the reader to understand this man as one who gently approaches, rather than raging. Instead of fighting for more, he is willing to cherish what he is given, and deal with obstacles humorously. Applying this character description to the remainder of the poem, it can be inferred that the poet is trying to convey her feelings regarding death. It is to be taken as it comes, similarly to how this gentle character goes seemingly without any tantrums or qualms into the phenomena of death. Thereby, Rubia views death as inevitable and something to be gently embraced, similarly to that of the cycle of life, where as Thomas sees it as an obstacle and heinous; it is a Minotaur that must be fought violently against. Rubia is settled with the understanding that life ends, therefore adopting a more mature perspective in comparison to Thomas, who, like an optimistic child wishing for another answer, refuses to accept that life co-exists with death.
The man’s arrogance causes him to believe that he is subjected from listening to the man from Sulphur Creeks’ advice about traveling in the cold alone. London expresses through the man’s arrogance how no one is an exception to death because death is certain for everyone. Prince Prospero, hiding in his secluded castle, and the man, continuing his journey despite the threatening temperatures, both realize while dying that regardless how powerful or wise one may be, everyone is destined for death.
Finding yourself and one’s individuality is apart of each person’s journey throughout life. In the poem “ Some People Like Poetry”, the narrator gives an obvious statement of being who you are. “[B]ut then, you can like chicken noodle soup, or compliments, or the color blue, your old scarf, your own way, petting the dog” (489). Despite the like and dislikes, sense of who you are is a large portion of every person’s life. Being smacked abruptly by reality is unfortunate, yet a very relatable experience taken on by all people. The narrator from “Ars Poetica!” shows the struggle with finding that the world is not exactly what was expected of it. “And yet the world is different from what it seems to be and we are other than how we see ourselves” (493). With overcoming and accepting disappointments in life, we as people develop into more rational beings. Author Szymborska, expresses the realization of human alikeness through her quote, “[M]ortal - a hundred out of a hundred. Thus far this figure still remains unchanged” (491). Much growth to better ourselves is allowed after having experiencing finding your individuality, and acceptance of others and the world. Though a positive outcome may come from dealing with these milestones, facing death has much more of a skeptical impact on a
When reading a play/story that involves a tragic hero, multiple people will lose their lives and somewhere along the road a lesson will be learned in the story or play. In this play/story, we learned being hard-headed and impatient isn’t always as good as we
William James, an American philosopher and psychologist once said “believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” Life, regardless of how close it lies to death, is worth keeping. The poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, by Dylan Thomas is a son’s appeal to a fading father. He shows his father that men from all walks of life confront death, however, they still war against it. Thomas uses figurative language to classify men into four different categories to persuade his father to realize that a life, regardless of how it was lived, should be fought for.
It explains to the reader that no matter how many times a man fails or succeeds in his life, it comes down to whether or not they give it there all or not.
What Dreams May Come is a movie about life, loss, death, afterlife and rebirth. The film explores the emotions evoked by a variety of characters when they are faced with coping with tragedy and death. It also delves into the manifestations of heaven and the variety of forms heaven takes in the minds of different people.
Rudyard Kipling’s attitude towards the British Empire was significantly negative. The novella essentially expressed Kipling’s feelings towards British Imperialism and his overall frustration with the British Empire. However, there are several positive qualities of the Empire pointed out by Kipling several times throughout his novella. Despite his mixed feelings, he is ultimately dissatisfied with the British Empire, claiming that it is “the White Man’s Burden”. Kipling was a steadfast imperialist, living in a time of British domination and oppression. He shared similar outlooks with the natives, that the majority of them were oppressed by the government and the wealthy. The upper class was greedy and wanted working men to do all of the work for them so that they could reap the profits. Kipling conveys his attitude towards British Imperialism through parallelism and figurative language.
A poem is often defined as an art form used to express yourself, which evokes emotion in its reader. However, there are poems with another purpose besides making the audience feel something. Some poems are used to educate, inspire, or give advice to it’s readers. Two poems that offer excellent advice about how to live life happily and successfully are “If” by Rudyard Kipling and “The Paradoxical Commandments” by Dr. Kent M. Keith. Rudyard Kipling, the author of “If” and Dr. Kent M. Keith, the author of “The Paradoxical Commandments” give both similar and different advice, but this advice is directed at two different audiences because of the way it is presented in the poems.
Many people have both feared and questioned death throughout the ages but when it’s time to die, two kinds of people emerge: those who accept it and wait to die, and those who keep fighting. Dylan Thomas describe the importance of continuing to fight in his poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”, which he wrote for his dying father. Firstly, there is lots of symbolism in the poem, which helps to develop the theme of never giving up. Secondly, the author uses many literary devices, which help to develop the main theme of the text, which is to never stop fighting. Lastly, there is lots of imagery used to help develop the theme of persevering until the end even more. Death is all around us but it is important to persevere and keep fighting