Christine J. Revard Trudeau
M. McCulligh
ENG 3U
M. McCulligh
ENG 3U
A look in conformity - half full, or half empty?
Winston Churchill once said, “The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” This theory is proved in three selected poems: Moments Wasted Poetry’s “Conforming to Society,” Trinket’s “Crumbling Within,” and Rita Joe’s “I Lost My Talk.” The speaker in each poem conforms to the demands of society in order to survive, but deal with conformity in different ways.
The speaker of “Conforming to Society,” is the pessimistic type. This poem involves a man living in the 21st century who cuts ties with his past in order to make a living. Throughout the poem, this man is putting on masks of happiness and enjoyment when in fact all of his emotions have shut down, as described in the first stanza, “I will no longer/ Sing the blues.” From this, I can infer that previously he has expressed his emotions but has given up as they have all seemed useless in such a demanding society. Near the end of the poem, the speaker questions why so many people are submissive to such an unforgiving world – yet he swallows his tongue just like the rest.
The speaker, in “Crumbling Within,” is also the pessimistic type. This poem follows the aging of a pretty girl to a stunning woman and ending in a withered nothing. Through her lifetime the woman felt she had much more to offer her society with her knowledge, however they only cared for her outer side. She then, like the previous speaker, put on a mask of happiness as she began to realize that, in order to fit in in her society, her appearance is all that matters. Between her submission into the demands of her society and her older years, she forgets the self-worth she once had for herself when she felt her knowledge was worth so much more the her beauty. After she forgets her knowledge, she lives to please her society, who in turn begins to ignore her once her beauty begins to disappear. Soon, she is left with nothing. Had she fought to produce something that mattered with her knowledge she would not live out the end of her days, “Discarded as a useless dirty rag.”
The speaker in “I Lost My Talk,” has turned her negative experiences into a positive one, unlike the other two speakers. As a young girl, powerless to overcome the new world that scrambled the past, the speaker conforms to the new one and loses herself in it. Like the other two poems, this girl is bitter about what’s been done to her; as she grows, however, she is empowered by it. “Two ways I talk/ Both ways I say,/ Your way is more powerful,” shows that she can reach others with her new talk and intends to, as stated in the last stanza, “Let me find my talk/ So I can teach you about me.” After being pulled in to the new world, the speaker is willing to escape from that world and find herself again in her old one, then share herself with others as sort of a give and take process. She holds no grudge against that which changed her because she knows it has made her stronger.
These three poems have showed that people want to survive in the world they live in. They also show that resilience is needed to cope positively with challenging experiences. The first two poems demonstrate characters that bottled their emotions and swallowed their pride in order to cope with conforming to their society without a whisper for change. The speaker in the final poem allowed the change that conformity brought to make the speaker stronger and eventually make a difference in their society. Any outcome is possible but depends on how strong the character’s resilience is.
The speaker of “Conforming to Society,” is the pessimistic type. This poem involves a man living in the 21st century who cuts ties with his past in order to make a living. Throughout the poem, this man is putting on masks of happiness and enjoyment when in fact all of his emotions have shut down, as described in the first stanza, “I will no longer/ Sing the blues.” From this, I can infer that previously he has expressed his emotions but has given up as they have all seemed useless in such a demanding society. Near the end of the poem, the speaker questions why so many people are submissive to such an unforgiving world – yet he swallows his tongue just like the rest.
The speaker, in “Crumbling Within,” is also the pessimistic type. This poem follows the aging of a pretty girl to a stunning woman and ending in a withered nothing. Through her lifetime the woman felt she had much more to offer her society with her knowledge, however they only cared for her outer side. She then, like the previous speaker, put on a mask of happiness as she began to realize that, in order to fit in in her society, her appearance is all that matters. Between her submission into the demands of her society and her older years, she forgets the self-worth she once had for herself when she felt her knowledge was worth so much more the her beauty. After she forgets her knowledge, she lives to please her society, who in turn begins to ignore her once her beauty begins to disappear. Soon, she is left with nothing. Had she fought to produce something that mattered with her knowledge she would not live out the end of her days, “Discarded as a useless dirty rag.”
The speaker in “I Lost My Talk,” has turned her negative experiences into a positive one, unlike the other two speakers. As a young girl, powerless to overcome the new world that scrambled the past, the speaker conforms to the new one and loses herself in it. Like the other two poems, this girl is bitter about what’s been done to her; as she grows, however, she is empowered by it. “Two ways I talk/ Both ways I say,/ Your way is more powerful,” shows that she can reach others with her new talk and intends to, as stated in the last stanza, “Let me find my talk/ So I can teach you about me.” After being pulled in to the new world, the speaker is willing to escape from that world and find herself again in her old one, then share herself with others as sort of a give and take process. She holds no grudge against that which changed her because she knows it has made her stronger.
These three poems have showed that people want to survive in the world they live in. They also show that resilience is needed to cope positively with challenging experiences. The first two poems demonstrate characters that bottled their emotions and swallowed their pride in order to cope with conforming to their society without a whisper for change. The speaker in the final poem allowed the change that conformity brought to make the speaker stronger and eventually make a difference in their society. Any outcome is possible but depends on how strong the character’s resilience is.
Bibliography
- Moments Wasted Poetry. "Conforming to Society." Momentswastedpoetry. N.p., 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.
- Trinket. "Crumbling Within - Hello Poetry." Hello Poetry. N.p., 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.
- Moses, Daniel David, and Terry Goldie. "I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe." An Anthology of Canadian Native Literature in English. Toronto: Oxford UP, 1998. N. pag. Print.
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