In the final stanza, the speaker, who calls himself “the listener”, “listens in the snow” (l. 13) with the reader looking over his shoulder, immersed in the scene as well. The speaker in the poem is describing an act of eliminating the humanness from the way he observes a winter scene. The speaker, perhaps in an attempt to more clearly regard the winter, or perhaps in a philosophical thought experiment, becomes one with nature by merging his mind with the ice, snow, and wind. And so he becomes a Snow Man, a “listener”, seeing nature from the perspective of nature itself and so unaffected by human emotions like misery. The final lines of the poem describe an achievement of this intent to become one with the winter, but instead of resolving the question of the poem, a kind of paradox is presented.
“Winter” signifies a change; much like how the trees freeze over and the ground becomes a cold, hard, frost, Dexter’s emotions do the same. Because of his heart break, Dexter’s mood and feelings ice over and become unmovable. Dexter’s dream was to acquire “the glittering things,” like wealth and success. Judy is a “picture of passion and beauty, energy and loveliness” and without her Dexter’s dreams are no more, like how the green grass and warm sunshine flee from the oncoming winter and are taken over by snow and cold. The Minnesota winter is described by Dexter as “shut down like the white lid of a box.” Dexter’s dissatisfaction echoes this, as he yearns for the “glittering things” but is living amongst the plain.
He then became completely and utterly unhappy. He was satisfied living in Alaska until he discovered that he was no longer living there by choice. His relationship with the wilderness then began deteriorating with his options. Throughout his life, Chris dreamed of being one with the wild. When he finally arrived to where he deemed to be “wilderness” he described himself as “lost in the wild,” “living amongst the wild” and “walking into the wild,” signifying that he was glad to be there.
They both have an array of dead trees, which show the bleakness in nature, but they also bring a meaning for a new beginning. Next, the lake, and the waterfalls show tranquility nature has to offer, but the waterfalls bring out taxing power in nature that is nothing like it in the world. The deer and the Native American in both paintings show the willingness to search for new things, and for a new creation. In both the paintings, the sky’s look to be just floating around, trying to find a new place to go, just like the deer and Native American. Yet, they show the dark side of nature, and how daunting it may be.
Harmonium and Nettles Harmonium and Nettles both highlight the theme of memory. As they both are looking back over past memories that are painful, the poems feature the feelings of being helpless in stopping the hurt that was caused. The writer in Harmonium feels remorse for the things he hadn’t said to his father as Armitage states “then mouth in reply some shallow sorry phrase or word too starved of breath to make itself heard”. The writer in Nettles is protective of the recurring threat to his child that he can’t destroy. “rain had called up tall recruits behind the shed,” this quote shows the father cannot destroy them .They differ in the way they felt powerless however as in Nettles the father is feeling powerless because of a physical threat whereas in Harmonium it is an emotional threat of the inevibility of death and unspoken feelings that makes the writer feel powerless.
In the little boys mind, the snowman is begging the young boy to come in, like a puppy. He feels the snowman is lonely, cold, and scared in the windstorm, and the young boy is confused as to why the snowman has to stay outside. Little does the boy know that the snowman is content right where he is. In a bit of irony in the second paragraph, the snowman enjoys the cold, knowing that the warm house seals his fate to “die”, or melt. The snowman is “moved to see the youngster cry” knowing the boy doesn’t realize what happens when cold things aren’t kept cold, they go warm and melt.
The Narrator describes the mountain through Inman and his words. “Cold Mountain, all its ridges and coves and watercourses. Pigeon River, Little East Fork, Sorrell Cove, Deep Gap, Fire Scald Ridge. He knew their names and said them to himself like the words of spells and incantations to ward off the things one fears most.” (p.16). Inman is gazing at the mountain, knowing how dangerous his journey is about to become.
The two characters find definitive belonging within each other but as they are separated from the war they are faced with obstacles such as fending for themselves and surviving harsh conditions in their new communities. Throughout the novel symbolism of a window is made which represents the connection that both Ada and Inman have towards each other. The windows view in Inman’s world offers a feeling of hope as he reminisces on where he truly belongs which is with Ada in Cold Mountain. Whereas when Ada looks out at her window she sees a very gloomy dull and cloudy view because she is alone in an unfamiliar rural community waiting on Inman’s
Just like the barking dogs, it is hard not to shout for joy when you accomplish something great. After careful observation of nature, I realized the striking similarities between what I had seen and what I had felt. Nature it seems mimics life’s emotions. For example, the blanket of snow on a winter day chilled my heart and soul and reminded me of times when I felt lost and alone. However, time marches on and so too do the emotions of my life.
“The Raven” focuses more on symbolism and tone to provide the reader with a glimpse into the mindset of a man stricken with the memories of a lost love. On the contrary, “The Things They Carried” uses epiphanies and imagery to let the reader experience the guilt that Lieutenant Cross experiences after the loss of his comrade. The conflict in “The Things We Carried” is resolved when Lieutenant Cross decides to forego his feelings for Martha and atone for his mistakes by leading the rest of the platoon to the best of his ability. On the other hand, “The Raven” holds no clear resolution for the reader. The story ends with the main character sinking more deeply into his own despair.