Close Reading of a Passage

I chose to focus on the following passage from page 25:

“She died calmly; and her countenance expressed affection even in death. I need not describe the feelings of those whose dearest ties are rent by that most irreparable evil, the void that presents itself to the soul, and the despair that is exhibited on the countenance. It is so long before the mind can persuade itself that she, whom we saw every day, and whose very existence appeared a part of our own, can have departed for ever- that the brightness of a beloved eye can have been extinguished, and the sound of a voice so familiar, and dear to the ear, can be hushed, never more to be heard. (Shelley, pg. 25)”

I chose this passage because of the emotion that was portrayed in it for the loss of the stranger. The stranger lost his mother and describes the grief that he and his family suffered. I feel this loss of the powerful female guidance of his mother left a lasting impact on the stranger and is evident in the story as it continues.

By saying that “her countenance expressed affection even in death,” the stranger shows that his mother was the one who gave him affection and that love and support that he needed so dearly. His father gave him monetary things and educational direction but not the affection that only a mother can provide.

The stranger also realizes in this passage that his mother is not the last one that he will lose. When he says “the sound of a voice so familiar, and dear to the ear, can be hushed, never more to be heard,” he says it with familiarity and perhaps the loss of his mother was just the beginning of who he would be grieving for and missing.

He also shows the power of persuasion and what the mind is capable of tricking itself into when he says, “it is so long before the mind can persuade itself that she, whom we saw every day… can have departed for ever.” I think this gives us a glimpse of what his mind and anyone’s mind is able to be tricked into believing, seeing, thinking or feeling.

http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/Unscripted/archives/2008/11/04/did-mary-shelley-write-frankenstein

Essay 2- Rough Draft

Here is my rough draft copied and pasted below. This obviously is not in the double spaced format but it shows you what I wrote. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!


Heather Baskins
Cline
English 102
September 14, 2011

The Language of ‘Windigo’

‘Windigo’ is a poem by Louise Erdrich. The language of the poem leads a reader on a journey of mystery, fear, wonderment, and in the end relief. By analyzing the language used in ‘Windigo’ the following forms of language are identified; personification, connotation, simile, and descriptive language.

To begin with, the poem opens with the main character that is a monster or creature of sorts, speaking to a child. He says, “You knew I was coming for you, little one, when the kettle jumped in the fire (Windigo, first line, first verse).” The author uses language to describe the kettle jumping into the fire. Giving this human characteristic to a kettle, which is an object, is a form of personification in language terms. The author was giving a human trait to an object that cannot jump or move by itself. By using personification the author helps the reader to be placed in the story and visualize that action immediately in the poem.

A further example of personification in ‘Windigo’ is in the fourth verse where the author states, “from the bushes we passed, until they stood, naked (Windigo, third and fourth line, fourth verse).” By describing the bushes as naked the author personifies them, and the reader is able to picture what a naked or bare hush would resemble. Once again the author helps the reader create a mental picture while reading the poem and place himself or herself directly in the story or description.

The next form of language the author uses in ‘Windigo’ is connotation. Connotation, easily defined is when a word is read; the reader automatically defines or relates it to a term or another reference. An example could be the word toddler; a reader automatically thinks small child, almost infant, bobbling along walking or running, young child. In ‘Windigo’ the author uses connotation in the second verse, “Mother scolded the food warm and smooth in the pot and called you to eat (Windigo, second line, second verse).” Placing the word mother and scolded together is a form of connotation. A mother is usually likened to the same qualities or traits in a mental image- nurturing, caregiver, domestic, even disciplinarian or a scolder could be used. This example of connotation helps the reader to picture a mother hard at work insisting the food cook and almost disciplining it in a way to cook and be ready for her family to eat.

Another form of language used in ‘Windigo’ is simile. Simile is when an author compares two things using the word ‘like’ or ‘as’ in the descriptive. In ‘Windigo’ this is done in the fourth verse, “Naked, spread like the cleaned spines of fish (Windigo, fourth line, fourth verse).” When something is naked and spread or bear boned it could be compared to the spines of fish. When fish bones are clean and bare of anything it’s an excellent way to describe what the author is trying to say, that the bushes while the creature is running with the child in its arms were bare and naked with not a leaf left on them. Using simile was a way to once again place the reader in the story and create a mental image and relate to the situation being described.

The final form of language used in ‘Windigo’ is descriptive language. This is the form with the most examples to share from the poem and the most successful for placing a reader in the poem or story. The first example from the first verse, “towels flapped on the hooks, and the dog crept off, groaning” helps the reader picture a breeze or wind causing the towels to flap and possibly carrying the creature’s scent along with it to make him creep away groaning (Windigo, third and fourth line, first verse). A reader can see the towels flapping in their mind and hear that familiar sound of a dog groaning out of fear or possessiveness from an intruder or stranger. At the start, this descriptive text places the reader in the poem and creates a mental image that is identifiable and easy to connect with.

A further example of descriptive language in ‘Windigo’ is in the third verse, “Copper burned in the raw wood. You saw me drag toward you (Windigo, second and third line, third verse).” Picturing a copper pot burning or scorching on a fire is easy to see in the mind’s eye and the author creates this image with the descriptive text. Also, having a monster or creature “drag” towards the child is an easy mental image. This aids the reader in picturing this creature on the ground, laying down and coming slowly in a dragging position towards the child. This descriptive text leads the reader to begin questioning what is this creature, where did it come from and what does it want?

A final example of the descriptive language in ‘Windigo’ from the fourth verse is, “Steam rolled from my wintry arms (Windigo, second line, fourth verse).” A reader can picture what steam looks like coming off of a hot furry body in cold temperatures. This descriptive language leads the reader to create more of the mental image of what this hairy or furry creature is as it crawled and picked up the child in his hot steamy arms.

In conclusion, the language forms of personification, connotation, simile and descriptive language are used in the poem ‘Windigo.’ The author succeeded in describing an object with human traits, using a term with another word that was easily relatable, compared two words using the word ‘like’ and describes ordinary things in a way that conjured a clear mental image. The author used these language forms in a way that assisted the reader in forming a relatable image in their mind to further the progression of the poem and wonder about the identity of the creature and his surroundings.

Works Cited
Windigo. Erdrich, Louis. 9/11 Internet:
http://poetry365.tumblr.com/post/692283573/windigo-louise-erdrich

Response to a Poem

I chose to analyze the poem Windigo by Louise Erdrich. Poetry is not something I consider a strong suit of mine for reading. I admit I had to read it two times to figure out who was speaking and if it was a monster or a person. I believe it could be a hairy, furry wild person, a mountain man of sorts.

I appreciated the descriptive words used by the voice of the creature. “Towels flapped on the hooks, and the dog crept off” makes me picture a strong breeze coming in and the towels moving, and it had enough of a strange or difference in the breeze to scare the dog (Windigo, first verse, third line). It could have been the scent of the creature coming towards the dog and making it feel it had best go and hide.

When the creature approaches the house the child must know who it is because food was ready and the child was being called to eat, but instead it didn’t go. The creature urged the child to “hide and lie still (Windigo, second verse, fifth line).

The creature takes a child from its home but has no intention of harming it. It only wants to keep it for the night. For companionship or warmth? It made me wonder what the relationship was, and if it’s a person turned wild that lives in wilderness. What happened to make them run, and why does the child not flee? Does the creature resemble an animal more to not scream and run away?

This poem, once I read it a couple of times, let me use my imagination and with the descriptive words and phrases it made it easy for me to create a mental picture in my head of the backyard, the weather conditions, and even of the creature. I still wonder though, who is this creature?

Windigo. 9/11. Erdrich, Louise. Blackboard Poetry link.
Photo- Courtesy of Paul Emmel. http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/2905/Louise_Erdrich/index.aspx