Daddy

This poem is clearly staged during the holocaust. In the beginnig of this poem the narrator seems to have high respect for his or her father. That is until he or she found out that he or she was a jew and his or her father was a nazi. He or she criticizes his or her father for what he did to him or her andthe jewish people.  At the end the narrator makes it known that he or she is not proud of what his or her father did. He or she doesn't want any association to him. Their relationship is through, all ties are cut off.

Leda and the Swan

Woah! This poem seemed very confusing. All I got out of it was a girl supposedly being raped by a swan. However, I am clueless about the meaning one is supposed to take out of this. After searching for explanations on the internet i discovered that there is greek mythology hidden in this poem, that the swan represents a greek god named zeus and that Agamemnon was a greek king that won the trojan war. Being unfamiliar with greek mythology, this story still  doesn't seem to make sense as far as explanations go.

London

The guy wanders through the streets
near the Thames river
and points out that in every face he meets
He sees sadness and weakness

Everytime he hears a man cry
everytime he hears a baby cry
everytime he hears someone fighting for rights
he hears someone's mind that is restricted

The chimney sweepers are not pround of their job
The churches are disgusted by what is going on
and the soldiers are dissapointed as well
The ruler of this nation is to blame for the murders

He hears the most when walking down the streets at midnight
He hears how harmful the prostitutes are
by killing the baby
spreading disease and not allowing marriage to happen

The Chimney Sweeper

The boy was young when his mom died
His father sold him for his labor
but he couldn't hardly cry
For his job was to sweep chimneys and that was what he must do

There was a little boy named Tom Dacre who cried when his hair
curley hair was shaved I told him
to be quiet because when your hair is gone
the soot can not ruin it

He listened and kept quiet
but as he was sleeping he saw something
that some of his fellow sweepers
were killed and put in coffins
An angel came to save them with a key
he opened the coffins and set them free
they were now in a happy and in a place where they could run freely
play in the water and lay in the sun

Leaving all of their worries behind
they go into the coulds and flow with the wind
Then the Angel told Tom that if he were a good boy
God would take care of him

Tom woke up early in the morning
and they went to work
even though it was cold Tom was warm and happy
because he was reassured that if they followed their duties they would be taken care of.

Harrison Bergeron

Equality is a value that our society strives to maintain and strengthen but is it possible that this value could ever be taken too far? I think this story goes to show that in some circumstances equality can be seen as overpowering. When individuals are not able to express there own individuality, it is a sign that equality has been taken too far. In Harrison Bergeron everyone is taken down to the same level. If the person was too smart he or she is dumbed down and if the person is too pretty he or she is uglied up. This seems ridiculous to us but when we see Harrison break against the norms of the society we see he gets shot down, literally. We see that the situation of equality had been taken way too far. If something goes too far it is hard to stop. To make things easier, as a society we must enforce equality only to a certain level. The quote “different but equal” reminds me of this story. It is possible to uphold both concepts at the same time and a balance of the two is needed.

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Reading about the city of Omelas, it sounded almost too good to be true at first. With no need for a leader, police, or anything along those lines, and always being happy without feeling guilt this seemed like the perfect utopia. However, when I found out about the little boy in the cellar my perceptions changed. These people were using this kid as a scapegoat. Much like the lottery, the child was sort of a sacrifice. If the child was not in there suffering the city would supposedly not be brought prosperity. It was because of the kid that their world was allegedly so joyous. The thing that really intrigued me was how they didn’t feel guilty about treating this child to such harsh conditions. As it said at first people would cry but eventually theywould come to realize that if they let this kid free now it would not do much good. I think that is a terrible way to look at the situation. At the end it said how some people left after seeing the child. This may seem better then just staying and putting up with the situation, but I think ultimately these people realized the problem and just avoided it. I don’t think they really did the right thing by walking away. If they saw it as wrong I think they should have made it known and stood up for the problem. Turning your back on a problem is never a fix even though “you” may not see it anymore the problem still persists.