America Lit Reflective Essay

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American Literature Reflective Essay If you go through life without ever picking up a book, you have missed out on one of the world’s greatest discoveries; the written word. Words can cause a person to weep, or feel so enraged you to want to lash out in protest; they can make you long for the sea or laugh so hard you pee in your pants. It has been years since I have picked up a book from Hemmingway or Frost and experienced those feelings inside. For the past 12 weeks I have reopened the door to my imagination and love of words. “Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear.” (Frost, 1915) This particular piece speaks of my life lately, and my choice to join the military and marry a military man. I always went in the direction my family thought I should go, but it was my husband who challenged me to follow my heart. Hemingway wrote; “He lay on his back and looked up into the pine trees. His neck and back and the small of his back rested as he stretched. The earth felt good against his back. He looked up at the sky, through the branches and then shut his eyes.” (Hemmingway, 558) This reminded me of the time my friends and I drove to Arizona to spread the ashes of a dear friend of ours. We all sat there and talked about Scott, and I remember resting against a tree; running my fingers through the grass and leaves that covered the mountain floor. Literature always had a profound impact on how I figure out where I need to go, and has helped explain certain aspects of my life. Twelve weeks with Poe, Frost, Hemingway, and Dickenson has reopened my love of the written word. I had forgotten what it was like to sit in that tree as a girl and read until the sun went down. My bookshelves are once again filled with the works of these great writers, when they have been bare for two decades.
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