Marjorie Agosin Research Paper

This is me and Marjorie Agosin, my poet. Well, not mine, but you know what I mean.

Katie Lopes-Raftery
Ms. Clapp
AP Literature and Composition
23 December 2008

No Hablo Ingles

Sólo en español. Yo no scrivo en inglés. That is Ms. Marjorie Agosín’s one condition in writing poetry. Where there is English poetry, Spanish came first. In 1971, Marjorie Agosín went into exile, unwilling to remain in Chile, after her home country was ruled by a dictatorship. During that time, “almost 400 women…had been raped, strangled, mutilated beyond recognition, and left in vacant lots, ditches, or usually, the desert” in the city of Ciudad Juarez (Olszewski). Agosín lived through the dictatorship at a distance, but her friends “lived through it in too great proximity and sometimes [she] could barely recognize them or understand them” (Chile in my Heart). At the beginning of the dictatorship and throughout the exile, Agosín wrote about “the disappeared,” evocating darkness, exposing injustice in the world, and about the people who suffer most under inefficient types of government; she showed the effects of the darkest part of human nature. When Agosín visited Chile after its dictatorship had been dissolved, Agosín started to write poems devoted to “joy, astonishment, and passion for life” (The Fullness of Invisible Objects 9). She began to reveal the true beauty of life, often found in small, unnoticed things, like the astonishment in counting the stars.

Although Agosín was raised in Chile, she was born in 1955 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, a country in which she felt like she did not belong (Marjorie Agosín). Due to the overthrow of the Chilean government, Agosín came back to the United States, along with her parents, Moises and Frida Agosín. Salvador Allende’s (the “tyrant” at the time) “overthrow had isolated [them] more” (Chile in My Heart). Living in Chile during that time did not seem right, especially since “fear made [them] turn into a country full of strangers” (Chile in My Heart). Thus, Agosín and her family fled from the problems, escaping to the United States, hoping it would be a better place to live. However, there was one thing that she could never leave behind in Chile: the Spanish language. Writing in Spanish gave Agosín a “sense of identity” (Jubado). Leaving her home in Chile did not have to mean losing her soul, her being. In order to avoid being displaced in a void, Agosín kept the thing that was truly hers, the Spanish language. In order not to betray who she was, or where she came from, Agosín never wrote in English. Writing in Spanish connected her to her homeland, whether it was under a suitable government or not.

In the period that Agosín fled from Chile, she exposed the dark side of the world, writing about the true reality of life as it was, no bias attached. In her collection of poems, Dear Anne Frank she addresses Anne Frank herself. Even though the dialogue is addressed to a deceased Jewish girl, it also “raises questions that have to do with the dictatorships of Latin America’s extremist right, and particularly that of [her] native country, Chile” (Dear Anne Frank ix). In one certain poem, (all are untitled), Agosín tells how the discrimination towards Anne began, and the direct effect she first noticed. Anne Frank could not go “out after eight at night” (Dear Anne Frank 17). Her streets were “filled with the thirsty and/ fear-stricken. [Her] feet quit crossing through windswept/pastures” (Dear Anne Frank 17). In all of Agosín’s “darker” poems, she uses vivid imagery, causing the readers to see Anne Frank getting home before eight and her neighbors, fear-stricken; the readers feel like they are right in front of her.

In Agosín’s poem on page 49, she not only uses imagery, but the effect of that imagery evokes pity in the readers. She writes, “On the threshold of night,/ when darkness is no/ longer luminous,/ you, Anne Frank,/ curled up with death” (Dear Anne Frank 49). Agosín definitely makes known that it is night, and dark pervades the scene as it does to the situation that happened in real life. At that time, Hitler’s decisions negatively impacted Anne and her family, as seen in the line “curled up with death.” Here is a place where Agosín suggests the parallel between her and Anne, how they both had to live under a dictator whose decisions only hurt them. The difference was that Agosín had a choice to leave; Anne was stuck. Anne was not dead yet, but she slept every day with that fear. The poem continues, “you envisioned it next to your mutilated arms,/ felt its sinister heart beating/ next to the golden roundness of your ear.” Here, the antecedent of “your” is death; Anne dealt with the idea of death as something normal for that young age. Agosín’s negative connotative words (mutilated, sinister) make the readers feel dislike towards the cause of pain to Anne (Hitler) and pity for the girl that had to deal with it. Agosín intertwines pathos into her poems so that the readers, too, can skim the surface of the treatment Anne had to deal with.

Lastly, in a poem on page 23, Agosín conveys her ideas in the form of rhetorical questions, which causes the readers to reflect on the answers in their minds. She first writes, “Wasn’t it possible to take in all the sick?…Was it possible to be human?/ though, yes, it was possible/ to accuse,/ to denounce/ to banish,/ to terrorize the sick, the crippled,/ to destroy shops,/ smashing windows, fire-bombing.” In the beginning of the poem, Agosín’s rhetorical questions seem to function for reflection, as if they were never to be answered. However, Agosín answers those questions, assuring that not only is it possible for those things to happen, but unfortunately, they did indeed happen. Again, Agosín is showing the parts of certain societies that they had wished to keep a secret. As Hitler caused these things to happen in Germany, the dictator in her home country also introduced certain social reforms that to the rest of the world were appalling. Agosín finishes the poem by saying “It was possible/ to force them to undress,/ with the prophecy of a Star tattooed/ on their breasts.” Agosín shows that this is a reality that people had to deal with, not a mere nightmare or movie. Agosín herself experienced a part of Anne’s reality, and her poems in this book extended that feeling of unfortunate reality to the readers.

After Agosín moved back to Chile in a time of peace, she published The Fullness of Invisible Objects which is a “homage to life, to nature, the seasons, and love” (The Fullness of Invisible Objects 9). It is also devoted to “joy, astonishment, and a passion for life” (The Fullness of Invisible Objects 9). In the past, Agosín spent a lot of time writing about darkness and pain, about tortured people and souls, that now was her time to go on the other side and see the good in life. It was time for her to write about the little things that astonished her, like looking at the stars.

After moving back to Chile, Agosín found happiness and delight in the little things she once loved as a child. In her poem Living by the Sea, she writes, “you sense its presence/ with the clarity of love,” referring to the sea (The Fullness of Invisible Objects 13). She continues reflecting, “you read poems by the sea/ the soul grows lighter/ because to read is to love” (The Fullness of Invisible Objects 13). From where she used to write about the soul growing darker, she now can see that there are things that can make it grow lighter, and that this clarity signifies the goodness that exists in the world. From her experiences, Agosín sees that although there is a lot of injustice in the world, there is also a lot of good in it, hidden in simple things.

In Agosín’s poem Gratitude, she magnifies the appreciation she feels from such small things. Her opening lines, “Gratitude for the fullness/ of invisible things,” express simply her appreciation for those small things, those small reminders of the good in the world (The Fullness of Invisible Objects 17). She begins each next stanza with small things that she’s grateful for: “…for messenger angels…for you and your hands…for small things” (The Fullness of Invisible Objects 17-18). She is grateful for the ability to “[dream] of a poem,” being able to write (The Fullness of Invisible Objects18). Her repetitions in the beginning of the sentences reinforce the juxtaposing of a great appreciation for the smallest things.

In Agosín’s poem, Waking up at Fifty, she reminisces about the difference in her views as a young girl, and now at fifty years old. She points out a big difference in taking risks when she says “Each day you dare to feel,/ you extend your hands that mingle with/ trees, nocturnal poppies…” (The Fullness of Invisible Objects 33). This whole poem revolves around the idea of taking more risks as one gets older. In comparing this to Anne Frank and Agosín’s situation under abusive governments, they could not take risks as many young people do. She only truly enjoyed this privilege later in her life. In the end, Agosín admits that “It is a pleasure to take risks,/ to let everything flow, to feel everything, to allow/ everything to be in the rustling of leaves and precious stones/ like those you held in your pockets as a child when you played with the universe” (The Fullness of Invisible Objects 37). Here Agosín connects the new enlightenment as an adult to her childhood memories of holding these stones as a child, unaware of the universe of meaning it had behind it.

As a whole, Agosín’s work demonstrates a passion for the condition of the human spirit, as demonstrated in the change in her poetry. She has the talent of capturing man’s darkest hour yet is still capable of magnifying the importance of a small object. Agosín writes to make us readers “believe in the possibility of inhabiting this planet with dignity,” and this powerful statement is conveyed no other way than in her poetry, full of imagery and meaning to the human soul (The Fullness of Invisible Objects 10).

Works Cited

Agosín, Marjorie. "Chile in My Heart." Southwest Review Summer 2008: 1-5. Boston Public Library Biographical resource Center. Malden Public Library, Malden. 18 Dec. 2008 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/ezproxy.bpl.org/itw/infomark>.

Agosín, Marjorie. Dear Anne Frank: Poems. Trans. Richard Schaaf and Cola Franzen. New York: University P of New England, 1998.

Agosín, Marjorie. The Fullness of Invisible Objects / La Plenitud de Los Objetos Invisible. Trans. Laura Rocha Nakazawa. Grand Rapids: Sherman Asher, 2007.

Jubado, Salva C. "Marjorie Agosín-Connecting Through Poetry." Criticas Magazine 15 Aug. 2007. 25 Nov. 2008 <http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6468271.html>.

"Marjorie Agosín- Wikipedia." Wikipedia. 30 Nov. 2008. 22 Dec. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Agos%C3%ADn.

Olszewski, Lawrence. "Secrets in the Sand: The Young Women of Ciudad Juarez Book Review." 1 Aug. 2006. Boston Public Library Biographical Resource Center. Malden High School Library, Malden. 18 Dec. 2008 .

I'm Not Scared Essay

Katie Lopes-Raftery
Ms. Clapp
AP Literature and Composition
15 December 2008

A Dark Secret

In Niccolo Ammaniti's novel I'm Not Scared Michele journeys from a joyful innocent child into a perceptive and wiser youth, entering the adult part of society. When Michele accidentally discovers a dark secret, it is his responsibility in being alive and a good person to bring justice to the situation. In his discovery of the dark side in society, Michele matures and is courageous enough to do something.

The dark side of human nature prompts Michele to struggle between his conscience and loyalty. When first finding Filippo in a covered hole near an abandoned house, Michele is frightened, and doesn’t know what to do. He returns often to see if the boy is still there, until someone catches him. When Michele finds out that his own father is part of the kidnappers, he is left frozen in thought and in action. He realizes that the adults are cruel and is astounded when he notices his father stating "two ears we'll cut off. Two!" (127). Towards the end of the book, Michele describes his father as a boogeyman saying: “By day he was good, but at night he was bad” (80). This comment shows the true nature of some of the characters not only in this book but in life. The “Pino” that Michele sees isn’t the same one as his partners in crime see. Michele’s realization that adults may have hidden intentions prompted his courage to surface and help save Filippo.

In this short novel, Michele learns that the temptation to do wrong doesn’t discriminate upon ages. His discovery of evil roots in the one he loved the most prompted him to forget fear and hold tight onto the goodness in living for justice.

Root Cellar Explication

Katie Lopes-Raftery
Ms. Clapp
AP Literature and Composition
23 November 2008

Root Cellar Explication

In the poem Root Cellar the author Theodore Roethke suggests that even though life often appears difficult and unbearable, it is never worth it to give up. He tells of the dark cellar in which nothing appears to be living, but in the end says how they never gave up trying to do so. Through Roethke’s knowledgeable tone and vivid imagery, his last two lines ironically clash with the rest of the poem which is where the readers identify his true attitude towards the cellar.

In the first eight lines of the poem, Roethke creates a dark, repulsive view of the cellar, which the readers also take on. In the cellar, the “shoots dangled and drooped,” verbs with a sluggish connotation (3). These shoots were drooping from “mildewed crates” (4). Roethke uses a lot of words from the gardening register. Growing up in Michigan, he spent a lot of time in a greenhouse which explains his extensive use of gardening terms. He uses a simile to compare the “yellow evil necks” to “tropical snakes” (5). This simile suggests yet another facet of life, evil temptation as used in the Bible. Another simile compares the ripe roots to “old bait” (7). The immediate reaction is to cringe in disgust of the conditions in the cellar. But Roethke continues in describing the rest of the filth in the cellar: “leaf-mold, manure, lime, piled against slippery banks” (9). He certainly accomplished the dark, lifeless feeling.

However, in the last two lines of the poem, there is a positive shift where Roethke suggests that despite these living conditions in the cellar, they never give up. Nothing down there would “give up life” (10). Even in the beginning of the poem, he showed that the “bulbs broke out of the boxes hunting for chinks in the dark” (2). Not only did a living plant still yearn for life down there, but even the “dirt kept breathing a small breath” (11). Even the non living thing still never gave up in trying to live down there.

All humans go through tribulations and great difficulties of some kind. Through Roethke’s vivid imagery, he shows that it’s never worth it to give up, despite the unfavorable conditions. Even the non living dirt finds a way to breathe.

An Untitled Sestina

I actually believed the stronzo.
He said he would change it, like every other time.
So I waited for the change, gave him another chance.
But of course, the change didn’t exist.
What a confused mind.
He must’ve thought I was stupid.

I must have a sign on my head that reads “stupid.”
Or maybe it must say, “Stronzo.”
To think that I wouldn’t find out this time.
Ok, it may sound stupid, but I deserve a chance
To move up. I mean, I want to prove that I exist.
I know that she wouldn’t mind.

But I mind.
I mind because he thinks I’m stupid
For thinking he got away with it. That stronzo!
I did a little snooping this time.
I went into the lab to see if I had a chance
In exposing his error. The proof existed!

I wanted to get credit for the work I did, of which proof exists.
While the tech lady talked, past lies entered my mind.
He was stupid for thinking I was stupid.
I found out nothing could be done after I asked the stronzo
To do it before the deadline. This time
I was furious. It could change my chance

Of getting accepted somewhere, a chance
I could not take. I did not want him to exist
Anymore in my mind.
He should have tried to trick the stupid
People, not the ones like me who’ll just make him look like a stronzo!
I would not settle. Not this time.

I could not waste any more time.
I would tell everyone of his false nature, of the small chance
They had of getting something out of him, of the existence
Of the antonym of fulfillment that dwelled in his mind.
I warned them not to be stupid
And have the roles be reversed into letting them become the stronzi!

He never lost the association of a stronzo!
He’ll never get another chance
To change the liar association in my mind.

Confusion (The Sonnet)

Seems like you’ve never heard of irony
When you believe the foolish things I say.
I say love but you hear hatred for thee.
Can your mind, not my spoken words obey?
I say I fancy women, you believe.
In the truest thing I say, you deny.
‘Till you understand, I will not relieve
Of the misunderstood things you imply.
My heart’s mouth need not be analyzed.
Perhaps, at times, I know not what it means.
Rather, your reaction it has despised.
Not speaking like a steel coated machine.
How very complex our minds must be
If on my own thoughts we cannot agree.

How to Deal (The Villanelle)

I’ll say that I hate you
When I remember the past.
But you know it’s not true.

You never did see from my point of view.
Until the day that my thoughts surpass,
I’ll say that I hate you.

That “explaining” talk is past overdue.
I’ll forever call you the idiotic ass,
But you know it’s not true.

Why did you come to me to pursue
Something you knew wouldn’t last?
I’ll say that I hate you.

I should have known you were just sweeping through.
I’ll tell everyone how you liked to harass.
But you know it’s not true.

I know that I must accept the adieu.
And even in English class,
I’ll say that I hate you,
But you know it’s not true.

More After Death (Mrs. Dalloway Explication)

Katie Lopes-Raftery
Ms. Clapp
AP Literature and Composition
7 January 2009

More After Death

In Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, the protagonist, Clarissa Dalloway, is often characterized by her actions and thoughts. But Woolf further characterizes her through on of her theories about life: that one must seek the things that complete a person in life to truly understand his/her complete being. In this case, Mrs. Dalloway is characterized through another character’s point of view, Peter Walsh’s, which allows for an external opinion of herself. In the end, Woolf’s complex sentence structure leads the readers into entering a wandering mind which later reveals the everlasting life people have through other people and places.

In the first part of the description of the theory, Peter’s dismissive tone suggests his little belief in Clarissa’s theory. Both of them were on top of an omnibus when Clarissa presented her theory: “to explain the feeling they had of dissatisfaction; not knowing people; not being known” (152). Even before this, Peter had said, “they had heaps of theories, always theories, as young people have” (152). At first thought Peter didn’t want to think about the validity of that statement, but he later had “agreed, how little one knew people” (152). Clarissa continued explaining, “she felt herself everywhere; not ‘here, here, here’” (152). Her description of “everywhere” was in other people, in other places. Clarrisa’s person was not just her in her body. Parts of her whole were found in other “people who completed them,” such as her family, and Peter Walsh (153). Not only the people, but “even the places” that tell so much of Clarissa’s life, such as Bourton (153).

In the second part of the theory, Clarissa extended it to the situation when someone dies, suggesting that part of people live forever. Peter says of Clarissa, “with her horror of death…the part of us which appears, are so momentary compared with the other, the unseen part of us, which spreads wide, the unseen might survive” (153). Clarissa implies that the parts of people that were attached to other people and other places survive, meaning that some part of the dead person also survives. In Clarissa’s fright, or even curiosity of death, she finds some comfort in knowing that parts of her will survive, in Bourton and in the people closest to her. At the end of the “theory” discussion, Peter thinks about it and relates Clarissa to a place. He says that “he saw her most often in the country, not in London” (153). In the end, even he had accepted Clarissa’s theory to some extent, identifying her with another place.

By adding in this “theory” into her book, Woolf develops the theme of life after death in her book, which is important in figuring out the meaning and purpose of Septimus’s death. Clarissa’s theory is supported by the rest of the book. Most of the novel concerns people’s innermost thoughts rather than what’s on the surface, their visible actions. The people’s thoughts (like when Clarissa informed the readers of Bourton, her past with Peter etc.) connect people and things. Woolf’s choice of adding this theory into her book gives the three main characters, Clarissa, Peter, and Septimus, comfort in leaving life.

Isolated From Society (Metamorphosis Essay)

Katie Lopes-Raftery
Ms. Clapp
AP Literature and Composition
13 November 2008

Isolated from Society

With what may be one of the most interesting opening lines in literature, Franz Kafka opens The Metamorphosis stating that the main character has turned into a gigantic insect. Gregor, the protagonist, becomes alienated from his family and society. Through the irony and the narrator’s third person limited omniscience point of view, Kafka extends the feeling of isolation to the readers where they, too, feel Gregor’s frustration of feeling useless in a society that values usefulness so much. In the end, Kafka suggests that if one isn’t useful, society will slowly but surely weave that individual out.

The narrator’s view of Gregor’s job shows the high value his family and society place on usefulness. Right after Gregor transforms into an insect, he ironically does not begin to speculate on why or how this happened. Instead, he “looked at the alarm clock ticking on the chest” (312). Even though he had just been transformed into a giant insect, he happened to be more concerned with what time it was than what had happened to him. He was planning on going to work, appearing human or not. Gregor’s family had such a dependence on him that it would take “another five or six years” for him to save enough money “to pay back [his parents’] debts” (312). After his family shows concern over Gregor in the morning, he thinks, “what’s the use of lying idle in bed” (314). He has been “conditioned” into being useful that not even going to work as an insect would stop him. Getting out of bed as a gigantic insect could hurt Gregor’s head which is why he took a while contemplating the strategies. However, “he must take the risk” as he knew the value his family put on him (315). The society in which Gregor lived put a high value on usefulness of a person’s life and he knew that.

What Gregor didn’t know is that he would become alienated from his family and society once “useful” no longer described him. The narrator’s point of view limits Gregor’s character, as an insect, to the confinement of his room where point of view becomes key. Kafka doesn’t allow the readers to see what his family or anyone else is thinking. They, too, are confined to Gregor’s room. The only time when we saw out of the room was when Gregor “could see through the crack of the door” (322). Attempting to gain information on what was happening outside his room, Gregor “leaned against the inside of the family shut wing of the door,” (319). Gregor never gained information directly but “overheard a lot from the neighboring rooms” (325). The point of view is so limited to us that we can go only as far as the keyhole in his room. But to keep Gregor from being lost in bad thoughts, “he took refuge in movement and crawled up and down the room” (323). Like an energetic child in one room, Gregor moves about, up and down. The readers, too, begin to feel the frustration of the situation. They are not allowed to go wander anywhere else in the house or know what anyone else is thinking; this feeling of uselessness is extended.

When Gregor’s family slowly treats him differently is where Kafka solidifies the point about what society thinks of usefulness. In the beginning, Grete, “out of the goodness of her heart” would bring Gregor different kinds of food to see which kind he would like (324). She didn’t have to kindly feed her brother; she volunteered because she loved him. However, in the end, “even the things he had not touched, as if these were now of no use to anyone” had been thrown away (324). Over time, Grete had become annoyed with the burden of feeding her brother. He was treated differently as to when he was making money for the family. Now that he isn’t useful to the family, he’s shunned.

After Gregor dies, his family feels they are living effectively. It was as if “a burden had been lifted from them” (344). They are happy that his son, an invalid human in their family, is gone. This weight of carrying a useless “insect” is now not a part of their lives. Gregor’s sister, Grete, “had bloomed into a pretty girl with a good figure” (345). The family now had “new dreams and excellent intentions” (345). It’s as if they are living again after Gregor has gone. This shows the value his family, and society, put on “usefulness.” After Gregor was no longer able to produce money, he was shunned from his family as there was no longer a benefit of having him around. In the end, the frustration and outcome of Gregor’s situation suggests that society values a person’s ability to produce rather than the ability to live.

Disillusionment of Ten O'Clock Explication

Katie Lopes-Raftery
Ms. Clapp
AP Literature and Composition
20 November 2008

Disillusionment Explication

In the poem Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock, the author, Wallace Stevens creates a contrast between white colored ghosts and ghosts with vibrant colors. His comparison between these two “colors” of ghosts along with his bitterly truthful tone suggests the disillusionment that life without imagination is just a blank piece of white paper.

In the first seven lines of the poem, Stevens introduces the topic with the idea of a boring, imagination-less character. He describes the house as haunted by “white night-gowns” (2). There is nothing interesting about a white sheet of paper; there is nothing creative about it. None of the “ghosts” are “green,/ or purple with green rings,/ or green with yellow rings…” (3-4). Stevens describes this type of people as having no color. There’s nothing vibrant about the way they live a mundane life. He stresses the lack of color over 4 lines, emphasizing how important it really is. He ends by saying that none of these people “are strange,” or different by wearing (or thinking) something other than a white gown (an imagination-less mind).

In the second part of the poem, where the shift occurs, Stevens uses descriptively connotative words to describe the fulfillment that a life with color has. Those who are “strange” and do use their imagination, have “socks of lace/ and beaded ceintures” (8-9). When one thinks about the connotation of lace, one thinks about the intricacy of the pattern, the attention to detail, and amount of labor or imagination put into the work. The same is for the beads; beaded ceintures were intricate designs that often were portrayed as beautiful. Stevens continues about how people won’t dream of “baboons and periwinkles” (11). Again, these subjects are not merely white sheets of paper; there is a lot of life to each of them. This last part describes those interesting people found “here and there” (12). Here and there, there is a sailor who “catches tigers/ in red weather” (14-15). This small amount of people are the ones that get to dream with color. The color red suggests such passion and life, yet only those few sailors are the ones that take the opportunity to dream about it at ten o’clock; they are the ones who are not disillusioned, or disconnected, at ten o’clock.

In the end, Stevens changed the meaning, or at least the connotation of the word “strange.” It no longer meant weird or uninteresting, but now meant that one was different in thinking about the world. He wanted the readers to identify themselves as a part of the poem, and suggests that “being a sailor” brings more color to one’s life.

Author To Her Book Essay

Katie Lopes-Raftery
Ms. Clapp
AP Literature and Composition
31 December 2008

Open Response: Bradstreet

In Anne Bradstreet’s The Author to Her Book, the speaker reflects on her internal conflicts over the effects of having published a book. This internal struggle between pride and shame is portrayed in the extended metaphor where she compares her book to her own child. Bradstreet uses this method to emphasize her dissatisfaction with the publishing of her poems, but tells how she cannot turn her back on her own creation. The parallels Bradstreet creates conveys the embarrassment she feels because of her imperfect work.

Through Bradstreet’s use of extended metaphor, she weaves an intricate web of parallels between a parent and an author and between a child and a book. This use of metaphor allows the reader to relate emotionally to Bradstreet’s situation. In line seven, the speaker says, “At thy return my blushing was not small,” expressing the depth of her embarrassment. She also uses metonymy expressing her pain more clearly, “My rambling brat should mother call” (8). The simile used in line nine stresses her uneasiness about the published work, “I cast thee by as one unfit for light.” Bradstreet links the rewarding and uneasy parts of being an author with the pain and pleasure of creating a human life.

This poem also presents a contrast between the speaker’s professional and personal life. She cast her book as one “unfit for light” (9) yet being her own, her affection for her work (son) “thy blemishes amend” (12). Once more, she tried to “wash thy face, [the] more defects [she] saw” (13). This idea reflects the complex attitude of the speaker. In trying to make her look better, she just made it worse.

Bradstreet’s poem reveals a feeling of being exposed to the world for all to view and critique, a situation which every writer can relate to. The intertwinement of a son and a book reveals the degree to which an author is like a mother in writing which allows the readers to understand not only the speaker’s nature, but our own as humans.

The Chrysanthemums (Symbol)

Katie Lopes-Raftery
Ms. Clapp
AP Literature and Composition
23 October 2008

Living in a Man’s World

In John Steinbeck’s short story, The Chrysanthemums, Elisa Allen tries to define the boundaries of her role as a woman in such a closed society. Steinbeck depicts the trials of a woman attempting to gain power in a man's world. Elisa learns but does not readily accept, that she possesses a feminine power unsuited for the time, not the masculine one she had tried so hard to achieve through its imitation. Steinbeck demonstrates that it is hard/ near impossible for women to achieve the level of power than men have in that society. The act of gardening symbolizes her female power in this man’s world.

Steinbeck creates a parallel between Elisa and the chrysanthemums/the garden to heighten the meaning at the end. Elisa’s face is described as “lean and strong” (240). She had the appearance of a strong woman. Henry commented that the crop coming in looked “strong” (240). Already, the readers can see the comparison that is made between Elisa and the flowers. In the garden, Elisa “looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man’s black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clod-hopper shoes” (240). We see that Elisa is all covered up, but underneath is a “figured print dress” (240). Underneath all of the gardener’s outfit is a pretty print dress. Similarly, the beautiful flowers are covered in dirt. Elisa also has “a gift with things” (241). She cultivated the flowers to be how she wanted them. She made them grow and shaped their outcome by her care. This shows the connection and parallel between Elisa and her hobby of cultivating these flowers.

Steinbeck describes Elisa as a masculine person while gardening to show that side of her personality. As she does her gardening, her face was “eager and mature and handsome" (240). Her use of the scissors is described as "over-eager, over-powerful" (240). These characteristics are usually associated with masculine things. But in this case they describe a woman attempting to live as a part of such a man's world. But Elisa’s power is derived from a feminine source, nature. She enjoys coming into contact with the earth as she digs and pushes the dirt around her chrysanthemums. While she wants to seem strong, it seems to violate her role of being the pretty wife. When her husband suddenly comes up behind her, she immediately pulls on her gloves again. This could be to cover her dirty hands, but it does cover them, hiding her femininity. When Henry even suggests she could use her talents in the apple orchard "her eyes sharpened" (241). Elisa shows off her power saying, "I've a gift with things, all right" (241). As he kids her about going to the prize fights later that day, she responds in a breathless tone that she would not like them, uncomprehending the joking nature of his comment. She goes back to her work, back to her orderly world of the earth and the chrysanthemums.

Elisa's source of power is also her point of weakness. When the strange man fails for fourth time to interest Elisa in fixing her pots, only succeeding in irritating her, he asks about her flowers. Suddenly her face undergoes a noticeable change: "the irritation and resistance melted from Elisa's face" (243). She is able to talk to a man about something, show that she knows more about that subject than he does. Elisa's innocence does not allow her to understand the tricks men play to get what they want. To the reader it seems obvious that the stranger has only asked about these flowers to get on Elisa's good side, but she is oblivious to the fact. The man has taken the tactic of trying to connect with Elisa on a personal level so she will have emotions for him, ultimately buying his service. An example comes when he quickly recants his statement that the chrysanthemums smell "nasty" at first, to agreeing that they have a "good bitter smell" as Elisa replied.

Both Elisa and the man head into the man's world through the gate where she watches the man work with his anvil and hammer, men's tools. As she watches the man work on the saucepans she ponders aloud doing the same type of work and travel he does saying "You might be surprised to have a rival sometime...I could show you what a woman might do" (245). This reveals how Elisa feels about her life and the lives of woman of the time period. Although they want to break free of the fences around them, it would be socially unacceptable to do so. As the man left she whispered, "That's a bright direction. There's a glowing there" (245). She is imaging this man's freedom, having mobility in society, something that she as a married woman, does not have.

After seeing the chrysanthemums thrown onto the side of the road, Elisa fully understood that she didn’t want to gain power from a man's sphere in the world. She condemns herself to attempting to gain power through normal female attempts in a static society. Elisa cries at the end, making her look "like an old woman" (247) with the realization of this fact, that indeed, she will continue to age into the role of an old woman still enclosed by society.