Linda Pastan’s poem‚ “To a Daughter Leaving Home‚” begins as if a mother was telling a story from long‚ long ago‚ which adds a nostalgic tone. She uses a simple metaphor of a mother teaching her daughter to ride a bike that is very identifiable and relatable. Just as most people have been taught to ride a bike‚ they have also followed someone down the path of life in order to find their way. The reader is transported back to a time when they have either experienced being the child or the parent in
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People should recognize how grateful they are to have a family in the first place‚ and they should appreciate what’s done for them‚ not how it’s done. Linda Pastan’s poem Marks contains irony‚ metaphors‚ and appropriate diction throughout the text to
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Linda Pastan via “Ethics” explores the importance of experience and leads the reader through a psychological journey with an overlaying philosophical question: “If there were a fire in a museum / which would you save‚ a Rembrandt painting / or an old woman who hadn’t many / years left anyhow?” (3-6) Pastan brilliantly structures her poem to alter the central question so that it appears more difficult to answer. By leaving "a Rembrandt painting" at the end of line 4 and "years left anyhow" at line
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Contrast Essay The poem‚ “To a Daughter Leaving Home”‚ by Linda Pastan‚ depicts the scene of a mother teaching her little girl to ride a bike at the age of eight and watching her master it. Yvor Winter’s “At the San Francisco Airport" is about a father reminiscing about the memory of his daughter growing up and leaving him at the airport. Both these poems speak of the much dreaded time in a parent’s life where their daughter’s grow up and leave their homes. Although the poems appear to be similar
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The poem‚ “Ethics”‚ by Linda Pastan is about age‚ regret and the old woman’s thoughts about her teacher and the ethical question from so long ago. The same question was asked in Ethics class every fall‚ ”If there were a fire in a museum‚ which would you save‚ a Rembrandt paintings or an old woman who hadn’t many years left anyhow?” The author or main character in the poem probably grappled with this annual question for years. The question brings up the value of any life‚ both youthful and old
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Pass/Fail is a poem written by Linda Pastan that is about the nightmare of test taking. There is always anxiety that accompanies a big exam‚ and sometimes it will affect our sleeping habits‚ self-confidence‚ plague our thoughts and haunt our dreams. Pastan explores this unpleasant experience in her short poem and uses several techniques to convey her speakers thought process. The role of the speaker verses the author is necessary to understand in any poem‚ along with the way it sounds and reads
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of Anger by Linda Pastan Many poets compare animals to feelings or objects (whether tangible or intangible)‚ because it is easy for a person to comprehend what an author is actually feeling through everyday comparisons to animals (i.e a lion symbolizes pride or courage). For example: In the poem “A Noiseless Patient Spider” by author Walt Whitman‚ he compares his soul to the spider‚ “ceaselessly musing‚ venturing‚ throwing‚ seeking the / spheres that connect them...”. Linda Pastan uses this animal-to-feeling
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The short narrative poem Marks by author Linda Pastan shows us a family dynamic of abuse towards the speaker of the poem. The narrator of the poem is a mother who is tired of her efforts to be a good wife and mother‚ being graded on like she is a child in school. So since the speaker of the poem is tired with this life of A’s and B+’s‚ she decides to drop out of this relationship she has with her husband and her children. Our author‚ Pastan‚ describes to us a family that depends on the narrator
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The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word anger‚ a noun physical affliction or pain; inflammatory state of any part of the body. Then defines anger‚ a verb to distress‚ trouble‚ vex‚ hurt‚ wound. In Linda Pastan’s poem "Anger" the word anger takes the action of a noun. The word anger stands out for two reasons‚ the author chooses it for the title‚ and the only sentence with anger gives the poem meaning. In the beginning of the poem the word "it" gets used many times and we don’t know what
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The poem “Pass/Fail” by Linda Pastan addresses exam anxiety. In the poem the author talks about examination dreams. These dreams are a reflection on the individual’s lack of confidence and incapability to advance to the next stage in life. In the dreams no matter what a person do‚ the answer is always wrong and he or she is guaranteed to fail in the dream. In real life‚ one either pass an exam or fail it. If one fails‚ they can often retake the exam and pass it. However‚ no matter what a person do
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