The Kite Runner: Section 2: Hassan and Amir's Friendship

          In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir and Hassan come from very different backgrounds but still have a very close friendship.  Although they each view their friendship differently.  Hassan sees himself as having complete loyalty to to Amir and Amir sees his friendship as somewhat dispensable.  After Amir witnesses Hassan being raped Amir will not talk to Hassan and avoids him because of his own guilt.  He will also not tell anyone because of his guilt; he is not completely loyal to Hassan.  Because of his guilt he framed Hassan for stealing some of his money and things.  "I lifted Hassan's mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it," (Hosseini, 104).  Amir did this because he could not bear to be around Hassan any more.  His view of Hassan and his relationship shapes the entire novel.  It drives the plot line for Amir to not talk to Hassan or to get him to leave.  This difference in value also characterizes Amir as someone who carries guilt and burdens only to himself.

"Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold: Location

          In Matthew Arnold's poem "Dover Beach," location plays a large role in the overall meaning of the work.  The speaker discusses three different seas and each are in a different place but have one common bond.  The seas are the English Channel, the Aegean, and the Sea of Faith.  The common bond they all share is they produce the sound of the "eternal note of sadness," (Arnold, 892).  The speaker describes them as looking nice but they have a melancholy tone to the sound they make.  He relates this to the Sea of Faith saying that as faith dwindles there is more sadness and that the Sea of Faith is very sad.  The speaker uses these locations to better describe the sadness he feels.  At the end of the poem the speaker blames this sadness and lack of faith on the world.  He even proclaims to his love that they only have each other and must hold on to that.  This contributes to the meaning of the poem as a whole.

"I taste a liquor never brewed" by Emily Dickinson: Figurative Meanings

          "I taste a liquor never brewed" by Emily Dickinson uses the technique of extended metaphor and other figurative language.  In the last stanza Dickinson creates a stereotypical scene.  This scene is of neighbors observing the behavior of a drunkard.  It also depicts a drunkard leaning against a lamp post.  Because of the extended metaphor the speaker is not drunk off of alcohol.  The speaker is drunk off of nature.  So the drunkard is not leaning on a post.  They are actually "leaning against the-- Sun," (Dickinson, 797).  Also, the angels watch the speaker frolic in the nature instead of the neighbors and drunkard.  This creates a tone of happiness because of the descriptions of nature.

"Sorting Laundry" by Elisavietta Ritchie: Imagery

                             In the poem "Sorting Laundry" by Elisavietta Ritchie, the speaker uses many images all relating to laundry.  These images relate to her relationship with her significant other.  Throughout the poem the speaker reveals different aspects of her relationship through the images of laundry.  The speaker talks about the "wrinkles" in her relationship (Ritchie, 841).  This is a metaphor for the problems in their relationship that could be fixed or could be ignored. The speaker also references how they are not tired of each other and that the "seams still holding our dreams" are intact (Ritchie, 841).  But the poem has a shift when the speaker thinks too much.  She begins to wonder what might happen if her lover left her.  Ritchie uses the image of folding laundry to tie the end into the beginning creating another image.

"The Convergence of the Twain" by Thomas Hardy: Tone

          In Thomas Hardy's poem "The Convergence of the Twain," Hardy's tone unfolds throughout the poem.  In his poem about the sinking of the Titanic, he has a tone of indifference towards the victims of the ship wreck.  Throughout his writing he describes how all of the glamour of the ship no longer matters.  He depicts this through the image of indifferent "sea worms" and gazing "moon-eyed fishes," (Hardy, 778).  This creates a tone of indifference of the  speaker towards the tragedy that killed many.  This also brings some irony into the poem.  The people were very wrapped up in the glamour and beauty of the ship.  The speaker implies that the people should have been concerned with the safety of the ship.  The speaker presents this in an ironic manner.  The people were very wrapped up in the "stuff" on the ship and in the end it did not matter because the "stuff" they needed to save them was missing.

"My mistress' eyes" by William Shakespeare: Tone

        In William Shakespeare's poem "My mistress' eyes," he uses a different kind of tone for a love poem.  Instead of being affectionate it seems in the first twelve lines that the speaker is insulting the mistress.  The speaker continuously says less than desirable things about his mistress until the last two lines.  The speaker even goes as far to say, "I love to hear her speak, yet well I know/That music hath a far more pleasing sound," (Shakespeare, 885).  The speaker also comments on the mistress' eyes, lips, skin, hair, cheeks, breath, and voice.  In the first twelve lines, he only says bad things about the woman.  But finally he says that his love for her is very rare and true.  The speaker says that she may believe all the things he has said but that he loves her very much.

"Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy: Satire

        In Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll" she aims the satire of the poem not at the young girl but at the society.  The poem describes how girls are treated once they begin puberty.  At this time girls become more curvy and are told by their peers sometimes that they are fat as depicted by this poem.  Piercy is chiding the society for making girls get nose jobs and plastic surgery.  She is also scolding society for putting such pressure on young girls.  The irony of the phrase "the magic of puberty" is that magic is usually seen as a good thing, where here it is shown as bring on the bad things, such as " a fat nose on thick legs," (Piercy, 835).  There is also meaning in the title of the poem, "Barbie Doll".  The type of body the young girl wants resembles a barbie doll.  She wants a smaller nose, small waist, small legs, and perfectly shaped.  Piercy depicts the type of body society thinks every girl should have and what some girls will do to get that body.