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Introduction
The two main themes that are going to be discussed in this paper are motherhood and death. The theme of motherhood is discussed using the poem “Daystar” and the book “A Worn Path”. This theme involves how women make sacrifices for their loved ones sometimes pushing themselves too much. The theme of death will be discussed using the text “King Oedipus” and “The Things They Carried”. This paper will show how death has influenced the lives of the main characters and how grief engulfs them.
Motherhood
This poem portrays women as a people whom are in a dilemma between their own well being and that of the family. This poem represents the trials and tribulations that the modern woman undergoes. A woman, or to be more specific, a mother, is always keen on building a good home. She has great love for the children and her mind is preoccupied with their wellbeing. The modern woman seeks to have a break from the family by going to work. She returns in the evening to meet her demanding children and husband. She has to meet the demands of the children and later in bed she has to be intimate with the husband no matter her feelings since she wants to serve him.
In the poem “Daystar”, we see a description of a woman who is attempting to have a break from her day to day chores of being a mother and also a wife. She longs for a one hour rest from these demanding duties. She always goes to the garage and sits alone when the children are sleeping. This is the place she unwinds and gives her the courage of raising the children and facing the task of raising a family. In the first and the second stanza the poems shows that this woman is weighed down by motherhood. We see diapers on the hanging line and a doll which is lying at the door. This indicates that this woman is very busy and preoccupied raising an infant or a very young child. This woman is weary and the doll is a good example of this. Her mind is preoccupied with the work that she is supposed to do in the house.
The woman going to sit at the garage alone is an indication that she needs to be as close as possible to the house just in case she is needed by the family members. This is an illustration that she has great love for the family but being away for sometime is quite nourishing. Her mind is always preoccupied and the third stanza explains how she is dazzled and easily distracted by petty things like watching a cricket or a leaf that is floating.
The one hour which she enjoys peace and tranquility comes to an end her child wakes up. She wants to know what her mother is doing. She fails to comprehend what her mum could be doing in a dingy place instead of being in the house and taking care of it. The mother answers that she is making a palace. This means that this is her area of control since when she is in the house it the children and the husband who are in control and not her.
Her husband is an insensitive man and the intimacy between the two is only appreciated by the husband while the wife does not seem to enjoy. She allows the husband to enjoy himself and her mind wanders to her own world. There is no proper communication between the couple.The husband fails to notice that her wife is not enjoying the intimacy and he does not care.
On the other hand, in the book “A Worn path”, we see a woman named Phoenix who has a great determination to reach the city. She is an old woman and uses a walking stick when walking. Although she has a small physique the author says that she has a strong will. This woman undergoes many challenges and it is only through her strength that she is able to complete her journey. The most important thing is that the love she has for her grand child inspires her to keep on moving. Just like the woman in “Daystar”, Phoenix wants the best for the grandchild and she is willing to undergo suffering to ensure that he is okay.
Death
Death seems to play a major part in the lives of the major characters. These deaths are followed by feelings of grief and the characters always try to avoid them but they fail. Their lives are greatly affected because they fail to stop these deaths and it haunts them very much.
The theme of death is also reflected in several books. It shows that death is a central theme in these books. In the book “What They Carried”, death is widely experienced. There is a lot of grief and we see characters in this book being haunted by these deaths. Ted Lavender is the first member of Alpha Company to die. He is haunted by the war and the only way he could deal with it is by taking tranquilizers. He also smokes marijuana to clear his mind off the war incidences. He is later shot as he comes from the bathroom. His boss jimmy Cross puts himself to blame for the tragedy because during this incidence he is busy thinking about a girl who he loved yet she could not love him back. He feels guilty of the death of his junior. In the story “On the Rainy River” we see the narrator does not want to go to war again owing to the experiences of Vietnam. We also see characters Strunk and Dave had agreed that incase that one of them is critically injured then the other must ensure that he is killed immediately. This does not happen when Strunk is injured. He begs Dave not to kill him and he agrees. Dave is relived when his friend dies on his way to the hospital.
The narrator is full of guilt and the death of Kiowa leaves him with hollowness. He resolves to expunge this by telling the story about the death of Kiowa and also the story of Bowker. O’Brien who is the narrator suddenly realizes that he is much more in ease regarding the death of Kiowa than that of Norman Bowker. He is perpetually haunted by these deaths and we see in “The Man I Killed” he tries to picture the life of the man he killed using a grenade. He tries to figure out how the life of the man would have been if he had not killed him. His conscience greatly torments him and he wonders whether he can bring to himself to tell this story to Kathleen his daughter who is only nine.
In the book “Oedipus”, we see the main character is surrounded by death and grief. His first incidence with death comes when he is born and his father orders that he be killed so as to prevent the prophesy of the oracle from being realized. However, he escapes death since the servant could not kill her. The main protagonist in this book is king Laius and the oracle had told him that he would be killed by his own son. Upon learning this, the only way he knew was to kill the son first. When Oedipus grows up, he learns that his parents were not his biological parents. He goes to consult an oracle and he learns that he is destined murder his father and go to bed with his real mother. The first part of the prophesy comes true when on his way to search for his real father he meets with King Laius, his father yet unknown to each other. An argument ensues and Oedipus kills him. The death of the king causes a plague and Oedipus promises to look for the man who killed the king. Oedipus sleeps Merope who happens to be his own mother yet he doesn’t know. When his foster father dies, Oedipus receives the news with happiness since he knows he will never kill his own father.
The life of Oedipus is surrounded with deaths and all his actions are based on these deaths. He is full of grief after realizing that king the king he killed was his true father. He is full of lamentation and he begs that he be exiled immediately.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these two themes have been the most important since they involve the major characters in the text. Motherhood has been discussed as a daunting task which involves sacrifice. The characters that are aware of death are not in peace since it always haunts them.
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