A Comparison of “Traveling Through the Dark” and “The Black Snake” Essay Sample

“Traveling Through the Dark. ” by William Strafford and “The Black Snake. ” by Mary Oliver usage animate beings to show their ideas in these verse forms. The animate beings play an of import function in finding what the authors want to convey through its map. the relation between the talker and animate being. every bit good as the tone of the verse form.

Strafford does a great occupation of exemplifying the map of the animate being in “Traveling Through the Dark. ” The cervid is dead on the side of the route from a hit and tally and the talker wants to be respectful of the cervid. The talker is about to “roll them into the canyon” ( 3. Stafford ) . when he realizes that the cervid is pregnant. This causes the talker to rethink the importance of life while standing at that place in the dark. The talker has really assorted feelings about what he should make as “the wilderness listen ( s ) ” ( 16. Stafford ) for his concluding determination. The cervid is rolled “into the canyon” ( 3. Stafford ) after all because the talker does non desire the dun to ship the same hereafter as its female parent.

Oliver besides does a great occupation of exemplifying the map of the animate being in “The Black Snake. ” The serpent in this verse form does non believe anything will go on to it as it crosses the route. Unaware of the dangers of life the snake gets ran over by a auto doing the talker think about decease. Death can go on to anyone at anytime and the talker uses the serpent to show this but saying “death. that is how it happens” ( 4. Oliver ) . The talker Michigans and buries the serpent “into the bushes” ( 8. Oliver ) . The talker thinks that the dead serpent is “beautiful and quiet/as a dead brother” ( 10-11. Oliver ) and realizes how short life is.

In “Traveling Through the Dark. ” by Stafford. the talker relates to the cervid in a personal manner. The talker feels a connexion between the cervid and himself because he has a great concern for animate beings. The talker wants to make the right thing for the cervid and is angry that world can be so careless with animate beings by saying. “to swerving might do more dead” ( 4. Stafford ) . The talker is compassionate towards the cervid.

On the other manus. in “The Black Snake. ” by Oliver. the serpent makes the talker think about how decease happens to everyone and animate beings seem to hold no thought that decease is close by saying. “It says to limbo: non me” ( 20. Oliver ) ! The speaker’s connexion to the serpent is non really near but she shows some compassion when she buries the serpent. The talker is slightly optimistic about the snake’s decease.

The tone in “Traveling Through the Dark” is angry and sad because the talker does non desire another cervid to be killed by a hit and run. The determination to salvage the deer’s babe is in the talkers custodies and he decides non to salvage the babe so that it can avoid the destiny of its female parent. The talker seems sad about his determination by saying “I thought hard for us all” ( 17. Stafford ) .

In “The Black Snake” the tone seems to be care free. The talker seems to brush the serpents decease off as though one would anticipate that from a serpent because they do non cognize any better and life must travel on. The talker provinces. “It is what sent the serpent coiling and fluxing forward/happily all spring through the green leaves before/he came to the road” ( 22-23. Oliver ) .

She ponders the idea of decease and how it can go on rapidly spot that doesn’t alteration her attitude toward the state of affairs.

Mary Oliver and William Strafford usage animate beings in their poesy to demo the relationship between worlds and animate beings. They demonstrate how worlds differ from animate beings through the usage of the animate beings map. relationship to the talker. and the tone.

Plants Cited

Oliver. Mary. “The Black Snake. ”Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan. Susan X Day. and Robert Funk. 8th erectile dysfunction. Upper Saddle River. New jersey: Prentice. 2007. 698.

Stafford. William. “Traveling Through the Dark. ”Literature and the Writing Process.

Ed. Elizabeth McMahan. Susan X Day. and Robert Funk. 8th erectile dysfunction. UpperSaddle River. New jersey: Prentice. 2007. 697.