The Blue Bowl

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The Blue Bowl Each piece of literature that we read can be viewed as a journey that brings up and reflects upon new insights in an imaginary world entered upon by the reader. “Poems may be complex, requiring a good deal of explanation or even correction of corrupt scripts, but there has to be an immediate impact of some sort” (Types of Literary Criticism). There are many works of literature that are imaginary but often times these works will still teach us insights that may differ from ordinary life, but that still reflect upon ordinary life. The feelings of this poem, The Blue Bowl, are conveyed through emotional visual images. The images within this poem evoke a strong sense of loss and strength. I immediately connected to this poem, as I recently had to put my dog of ten years down. My dog and I shared a special bond and we had a very special relationship similar to the relationship between the owners and their cat that is described in the poem. The first thing that stuck out to me was that the owners buried their cat with his bowl. Clearly the blue bowl is a symbol. A symbol is, “An object, person, or action that conveys two meanings: its own literal meaning and something it stands for as well” (Clugston, 2010). As our text points out, “They did more than just provide for the cat; they fed the cat from a special bowl, a blue bowl – something they considered to be the cat’s own property” (Clugston, 2010). The poem is full of visual images. Our text states that an image is, “A distinct representation of something that can be experienced and understood through the senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste), or the representation of an idea. Writers use precise language in developing images, or imagery, in literature” (Clugston). “Like primitives we buried the cat with this bowl”. To me, I get the image of the owners using their hands to scoop sand and

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