Make up blog

Katerina Pappas

English 101.17

February 26, 2013

Culture

            The poem “Liberty,” by Thomas Lynch is about the suburbs and how freedom is over there. The gathering of people is also seen in the suburbs because of a special tree that is said to contain Christ’s crown. “Suburban,” by John Ciardi is about how a dog did his business in another person’s backyard and how the person who’s yard that was tells the other person about “their” dog when in reality it was not their dog. “The Cask of Amantillado,” by Edgar Allen Poe is about the a man named Montresor gets insulted from Fortunato and so ends up killing him at the end. What these works have in common is that they all try to establish a relationship with people.

            In the “Suburban” poem by John Ciardi a person named Mrs. Friar calls the other person about their dog using the bathroom in their yard is uses a polite language. “The fact is your dog has just deposited—forgive me – a large repulsive object in my petunias,” (Ciardi, 4-5) shows how in order to say one simple thing she makes it polite and excuses herself as well for the topic of discussion. One can see that the respondent is being nice about it even though it is not technically his dog because his dog as he says is, “in Vermont with my son, who had gone fishing.” (Ciardi, 8) His reaction to Mrs. Friar is positive, “Yes, Mrs. Friar, I understand,” (Ciardi, 13) which shows his manners towards the person. Not only that but he follows this by scooping up the feces himself. Maintaining a good relationship was important in this case because if the respondent had cared he would certainly not have scooped up the feces. This is similar to “The Cask of Amantillado,” by Edgar Allen Poe in that Montresor had to establish a good relationship with Fortunato in order to set the trap for him. Even though the intention was bad, a good relationship was needed so that Fortunato would not suspect anything. “Come, I said with decision, we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved,” (Poe, 1063) shows the persuasion by using adjectives to describe him, such as precious. The need to establish a good relationship is seen throughout the story.

            The story of “The Cask of Amantillado,” also relates to the poem “Liberty,” by Thomas Lynch. In the poem the importance of the suburbs to him is seen, “still there is nothing, here in the suburbs.” (Lynch, 16) Likewise culture in “The Cask of Amantillado,” plays a role in that Montresor comes from a background family of the Masons, who are stonemasons. His background plays a role in that no one is said to disrespect the other and so it leads to Fortunato dying with the stones. Likewise the scenery in the poem “Liberty,” ends with the reason why the suburbs is important to him and he says it is where the trees where grown “that Christ’s crown was made from.” (Lynch, 23) People continue to visit “during wakes or wedding feasts or nights of song to pay their homage to the holy trees.” (Lynch, 28-29) The story and the poem are similar in the their cultures influence their relationships to the people.

            All the works work on establishing relationships with people, and some had to do with their cultural background. However they are all different in terms of if it was a good intention or bad, and if it is just a symbol of where people gather, such as the poem “Liberty,” by Thomas Lynch.

(THERE IS NO INFORMATION ABOUT THE EVENT BECAUSE I WAS IN COLOMBIA DURING THE WEEK IT WAS DUE)