Diving Into the Wreck
Jordan Ashton
J. Kiser
English 1020
February 28, 2011
Diving into a Wreck In this poem, the author, Adrienne Rich, gives metaphorically details on an interesting, underwater adventure. The poem “Diving into a Wreck,” is like reading a documentary on a person exploring into the ocean on search for a sunken ship, except Adrienne puts a personal meaning into every part of the poem. The wreck and the ocean give Rich a chance to talk about all kinds of other subjects. The title, "Diving into the Wreck," lays out the basic idea. She is writing about an adventure of her scuba diving into the ocean, looking for a wrecked ship from the past. But in this poem, it is not about Adrienne, or any other person, diving into an ocean. It all consists of emotional journeys throughout her life. She relates on what it means to be a man or a woman, how they relate to the past, and what it feels like to be alone. . In the first part of this story, Adrienne starts by opening it up with a description of the process of her preparing herself for diving. “I put on the body-armor of black rubber the absurd flippers the grave and awkward mask.” (Rich 89). By this, she is going into detail about the features of the scuba outfit she is dressing herself with. In her dive, she describes many objects that all have some kind of importance in different ways. One object she mentions is a ladder, which has several lines written about it so she is trying to make a meaning from it. She first says that there is a ladder, and that it is always there. By that, she is probably meaning there is always an opportunity for someone to take in their life. The diver is already weighed down by flippers, a mask, a suit, and other diving equipment. So, getting down that ladder will not be done easily. Rich uses a simile, comparing the diver to an insect. By that, she means to climb down the ladder, or to excel in world, is not going to be an easy task. There are always going to be tough times a person will
J. Kiser
English 1020
February 28, 2011
Diving into a Wreck In this poem, the author, Adrienne Rich, gives metaphorically details on an interesting, underwater adventure. The poem “Diving into a Wreck,” is like reading a documentary on a person exploring into the ocean on search for a sunken ship, except Adrienne puts a personal meaning into every part of the poem. The wreck and the ocean give Rich a chance to talk about all kinds of other subjects. The title, "Diving into the Wreck," lays out the basic idea. She is writing about an adventure of her scuba diving into the ocean, looking for a wrecked ship from the past. But in this poem, it is not about Adrienne, or any other person, diving into an ocean. It all consists of emotional journeys throughout her life. She relates on what it means to be a man or a woman, how they relate to the past, and what it feels like to be alone. . In the first part of this story, Adrienne starts by opening it up with a description of the process of her preparing herself for diving. “I put on the body-armor of black rubber the absurd flippers the grave and awkward mask.” (Rich 89). By this, she is going into detail about the features of the scuba outfit she is dressing herself with. In her dive, she describes many objects that all have some kind of importance in different ways. One object she mentions is a ladder, which has several lines written about it so she is trying to make a meaning from it. She first says that there is a ladder, and that it is always there. By that, she is probably meaning there is always an opportunity for someone to take in their life. The diver is already weighed down by flippers, a mask, a suit, and other diving equipment. So, getting down that ladder will not be done easily. Rich uses a simile, comparing the diver to an insect. By that, she means to climb down the ladder, or to excel in world, is not going to be an easy task. There are always going to be tough times a person will