Poem/Song lyrics

"Searchlights"
by Falling Up

It's like a breath before the dive
It's like the truth after a lie
This flight is taking over
Searchlights in every corner
Like I love you when you're gone
Escaping in the dawn
I swear we'll flood your city
No choice it's what you're getting

If you want to breathe will you just let me know
If you want it, then you'll see it, let me know
Wash away the tears, will you just let me know
Need to see it, then you'll want it, let me know

The secrets in the wind
The rumors now begin
You want to hear the silence
You want the quiet sirens
His blood is like the break
The love you will not take
I swear we'll flood your city
No choice it's what you're getting

If you want to breathe will you just let me know
If you want it, then you'll see it, let me know
Wash away the tears, will you just let me know
Need to see it, then you'll want it, let me know

No one can breathe, no one can see
They are asleep, they will be seen

Asleep
Breakaway the voice is calling
Wake up you're asleep and falling
Not to late to open up your heart
He will heal the shattered hopes
And fly away the broken souls
It's not too late to find out who you are

If you want to breathe will you just let me know
If you want it, then you'll see it, let me know
Wash away the tears, will you just let me know
Need to see it, then you'll want it, let me know

post

My first reaction to all the songs by Wilco as a whole was that they sounded a lot alike. There was an occasional more upbeat song thrown in there, but for the most part each song sounded passionate, but mellow and slower. Each song also had the same underlying theme heartbreak, hope, and the lack of hope.

The first song was “Either Way” and started out a lot like the others. It started out slow and gained tempo further into the song but never lost its mood. I feel that this slow and somewhat sad mood helps in the song and how it is reacted by the listeners. This song sounded like it was full of a sad hopefulness. He kept repeating the words “maybe” and “you”. The over usage of the word “maybe” supports the hopeful meaning. And the use of the word “you” in pretty much every one of the Wilco songs makes the songs not sound like they are focusing on the listeners life or experiences but like he is speaking directly to his loved one and kind of like the he isn’t aware of the listeners. In this song he hopes that things will get better.

The Second song was “You Are My Face”. Instead of focusing on a feeling of hope like the previous song, I got a feeling of hopelessness. Instead of the idea “things will get better” it is now “things are never going to get better, so why try?” This song also uses a lot of metaphors. Instead of stating straight out what is going on, he uses a lot of metaphors and literary devices to get a deeper meaning across, perhaps to allow the listener to interpret it the way he wants.
Then there was “Impossible Germany”. Now this song is unlike the previous two. This one instead of being either hopeful, or hopeless is more indignant. It seems to state, “this is how it is, it’s hard, but its going to happen”. This song is more “in your face” than the others. It is not sulking, but stating facts and the reality of it all.

Next was “Side With the Seeds”. This song uses personification and many more literary devices. It seems to be split between hopefulness and hopelessness. “No one wins but the thieves, so why side with anything”. This quote gives of a sense of giving up. It seems to be saying that the situation is impossible to change, its too frivolous, so why bother? Maybe it gives off a tone of one who has given up to the reality of it all. This is ironic because it uses many metaphors and literary devices to get the “reality” idea off.

Then “Please Be Patient With Me” played. I like this song because of the idea “you need to be patient with me”. This song seems to be more realistic in a real-world situation. Overall, I like not only the music but also the messages this band puts out with every song. It is not screamer or in-your-face opinions, but it does all that with a more artistic flare. I also like that, unlike much music today, the words mean so much. With this band, the words hold everything. It is not about having the craziest beat, but the words mean so much.

Metamorphasis promt #2

In Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie the title holds everything. In the novel glass menagerie does not only symbolize glass figurines loved by the main character, Laura, but it is also a window into her true character and personality. These glass figurines do not only give readers insight, but it also gives meaning to the novel as a whole.


Laura loves her glass collection of tiny glass animals. They are her life. But these glass figurines are not only objects but symbolize her. They represent her personality, her character, her dreams. They are small, transparent and boring figurines. No one sees their use or their worth; just like Laura. She is shy, crippled and alone. But once the right light is shown through them, a different world of colors appear, and it gains life. Once the right light, the right person and inspiration, shines through her she gains life. Jim is her light. Jim brings out colors, a personality, and a side of her that not even she has seen.

But these glass figurines also represent much more. They represent a different and fragile world. These menageries comfort Laura and provide her with a different reality. They represent an escape. But these glass figurines are also very fragile and can break at any time, just like the reality Laura lives in. These pieces of glass are so revered and never fully touched by Laura, mirroring her dreams.

One figurine in particular reveals much more about Laura, the unicorn. The unicorn is a mythological creature that belongs to a different world. It is also a unique horse that may not fit in with everyone else. This is exactly how Laura feels. She feels that she does not belong and so she escapes with her glass menageries. While Laura goes through a dramatic change with Jim in the living room, the unicorn's horn is broken off. This makes the unicorn just like every other horse. It's uniqueness is gone. Laura mirrors the unicorn, but in the end she decides to give it to Jim. She no longer feels attached to it because she has finally grown up and faced the true reality. And also because the unicorn no longer represents her and her individuality. The glass menageries symbolize Laura and the world she once relied on. These old, fragile, and unappreciated figurines give a deeper look into Laura more than any words Tennessee Williams could ever have written.

Symbolism is the most important device in literature, especially in Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie. Without this symbolism the play would simply be a story. It is only when one looks underneath and deeper into the meaning that he finds the true story. Symbolism is able to give readers a deeper look into the lives, personality, and dreams of characters like Laura. So much is explained in that small glass figurine, and without symbolism that would be lost to both the reader and the story.

Metamorphosis Essay 1

Two conflicting desires and obligations tears at Franz Kafka in Steven Soderburgh’s Kafka. Both Soderbergh and Kafka explore differences between right and wrong, obligation and self appeal. Kafka was torn between living a life of ignorance and conformity and discovering the truth and fighting against what is wrong. In the end, he conquered both of these ambitions.

Kafka lived his life in solitude and never questioned authority. He did what was expected of him and nothing more. He was ignorant to the truth or perhaps he chose to ignore it. But once he chose to investigate his friend’s “suicide” this seemingly content life is challenged by the truth and Kafka is torn between truth or chosen ignorance. As he continues through the movie he discovers the truth but still has the choice to turn back. But Kafka chooses to venture on.

Kafka’s choice is between a life of solitude and a life or normality. He feels an obligation to himself to continue his life and an obligation to justify his friend’s death. But he later feels an obligation to society.

These two conflicting standpoints eat away at him. They wage a war and throughout the movie one threatens to win over the other. But, in the end both win, or rather they lose, leaving Kafka more ostracized than he was before.

Through the struggle Soderbergh is able to demonstrate not only the choice between what is right and wrong but also a conflict within a man and the aftermath of that internal war. Both Kafka’s struggles between comfort and conformity and his pursuit of the truth win. Kafka discovers the truth of his friend’s death and what is really going on, buthe also chooses to live and conform to his previous ignorance. Kafka was torn between two desires and two obligations, and in the end it did not matter whichone he choice. His fate was unaltered.

kafka

After watching Kafka my view of The Metamorphosis and Franz Kafka changed greatly. To be honest I thought he was sort of a whack job. I am not going to lie, I thought that the scholars of today must have been on something when they considered The Metamorphosis to be a piece of literary merit. Sure, if you looked hard enough you could see some connections, but I thought that they simply looked too hard and saw something that was not really there. I believed that they formed these profound connections through great pains and struggle, and that they gave Kafka too much credit. But after the film I realized that I was wrong. Franz Kafka was not an ignorant man by any means. He was probably so intelligent and wrote so well that to the unlearned men and women the book is simply a weird science fiction novel (which brought down my self-esteem a bit when my first reaction was just that). But to those who know where to look and know how to analyze a great piece of literature, the novel is a gold mine.

After watching the movie about the real Kafka, I looked at the novel very differently. The movie mentioned the novel and if the film held any truth about the real Kafka, then I was all wrong. I believed Franz Kafka to be an open pompous writer that thought he could write anything and proclaim it to be art. But once I learned that he actually wrote the novels in secret those thoughts went away. He seemed to be a man who did not write for others, but simply for himself. That is probably why The Metamorphosis does not state things in black and white, because he felt no need to explain his thoughts. To say the least, I grew respect for Kafka.

I believe the moral of the novel is not to take things for granted, especially your family. Gregor provided for his family, and that is all he thought about. He never spent time with them and rarely talked to them about anything substantial. Then he turned into a bug and was unable to communicate or see them. He took his life for granted and had to pay the price later on. The moral of Kafka may be that you can not live in ignorance, nor can you live in complete truth. Kafka chose not to stay ignorant, and that choice threatened his life. But he would rather be knowledgeable of the truth than to live a fake life in ignorance.

Kafka may be saying that family is more than someone you provide for. Family defines you. Without them you have no reason to live. Gregor suffered from his ignorance of that fact. Kafka is also saying that humanity does not bode well with those they are unfamiliar with. Gregor’s family knew the bug was Gregor and yet they could not stand his presence or to look at him. They acted inhumane just because he looked differently. They began to forget that he was at one point their son and this resulted in his death. Even though he was blood related, they treated him inhumane. This reflects the real world in many ways.