Response #5-
The Two Types
Author's Note: In this piece, I tried to mix the anecdotal form with the essay form. It was kind of difficult, especially for the introduction and the conclusion, but for a new type of writing I think I did decently.
How does one who has been ridden with mistakes move on? Can they? In my experience as a sports player I have to types of people who deal with this differently.
The first player is the one who always looks forward. I like to think of myself as one of these players. We don't dwell on the past, but only use the past for knowledge, for future reference. These players often perform better and with less mistakes under adversity. However, our fault is that sometimes we forget that we too make mistakes and we are not above the team.
The second type of player is the exact opposite. Once they make a mistake it is a slippery slope. Each mistake is like a tapeworm slowly taking over their mind and making them nervous. As their nerves multiply, an inverse relationship is formed with their performance. Soon they are making mistakes at almost every opportunity that presents itself. This is a dangerous state to fall into, for it is nearly impossible to get back to the top.
I would consider the Priest to be a bit bipolar when it comes to this. Often times, he can't forgive himself and can't move forward. However, sometimes he brings himself hope that maybe a brighter day awaits him and that maybe he can someday live without worry. The way Graham Greene writes portrays which he thinks is better clearly. When the Priest is acting as the first type, Greene writes in a brighter, more hopeful way. When the Priest is the second, Greene portrays the scene as ironic and hopeless.
This is why I believe that we should strive to be the first. Therefore, we can look forward for once, and not criticize every move we make. If we can achieve this, we will become more successful in our lives and in our efforts
Response #4-
In Your Final Hours
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay on this response. I was close to finishing it twice, and then Blogger's complications deleted them, so that set me behind a great deal. In this piece, I tried to incorporate a little symbolism and I think I did okay with that. I will try to get my next response up soon.
And in the hours
Which close quickly
The breaths now numbered
What will you remember?
Will you remember
The rights?
or
The wrongs?
The memories of
giving?
or
The memories of
evil?
The magnitude of the latter
triumphs over
the feebleness of the first
Remorse,
Guilt,
Self-hatred,
Shroud your mind
Like bees to flowers
To the point where the flower shrivels
to death
Your life
now failing
Your hands
now wrinkled
Your eyes
now lifeless
A mass taking up space
is all you have become
and is all that you were
And in the hours
Which close quickly
The breaths now numbered
What will you remember?
Response #3-
The Internal Battle of the Mind
Author's Note: This is a response to the recent reading of The Power and the Glory. I decided to write about the self-doubt that shrouds the priest's mind.
With every action, doubt follows close behind. Can you achieve something for once? Or will you be a failure once again? Rather than take the risk, most choose to play it safe and just forget that task at hand if it guarantees not having to deal with the daunting embarrassment failure can bring. Self-doubt can be one of the most harmful emotions that any human can have because all it will lead to is falling into a state of nothingness.
The priest believes that he should be an almighty, do-no-wrong man who everyone looks up to. However, he has not achieved this expectation. Many times in his life he has done wrong and the priest realizes this. How is he supposed to continue on living a life where the children of the future look up to him as a role model, when he needs a role model of his own? With this planted in his mind, he begins to question his every move. Unfortunately, self-doubt has plans to kill any hope in him returning to his old command as the saint he should be.
Often people who bear high expectations struggle with what the priest deals with. When they blunder, it gets in there head. Like a worm, it multiplies until it controls their every action, in cause taking command of their life. If the people who have this problem can realize that they have to believe in themselves to succeed, maybe they will finally find themselves atop, once again. Though this task is not an easy one by any means, it is one that is a necessity and one that hopefully can be achieved.
Response #2 -
This Too Shall End
Author's Note: This is another poem which responded to a topic mentioned in the second part of our reading. This theory is that everything must end. In this poem, I am trying to portray this and I thought I have done it decently, not great though.
The hours of playing
around with friends
The hours of dancing
in groups of ten
The hours of snickering
among your peers
The hours of happiness
away from fears
These hours must end
their activities must close
The sun shall fall
masking our foes
The shouts that rung
through the ears of near
Now fade to whispers
for no one to hear
All generals who led
that triumphant march
Must meet the last stand
which will pass the torch
All rebels who stood
for something, taboo
Must meet the sentence
that they, too, must do
All legends, all leaders, all people
I fear
Must close that curtain
and wipe that tear
The darkness falls
the past forgotten
This, too, shall end
this poem forgotten
Response #1 -
An Eternal Current
Author's Note: This was a longer poem which was in response to the first chapter of The Power and the Glory. In this poem I am talking about when people, such as Mr. Tench, use temptations, like drugs, alcohol, and such things, to gain control when they are in times of trouble, yet in the end lose more control than they previously had.
Look at this land before us
Death shrouds it like a cemetery
The sun burns through our skin
And the lack of water dries our throats
The daily burdens far out of my control
But all I want is a little
Control
What must I do for this?
Do I make the best out of the situation?
Or forget everything?
Let me choose the latter
And take the easy way out
Let the relief wash over my body and my conscious
And let the state of nothingness begin
No worries
No fear
No pain
No happiness
No joy
Nothing
Time washes over like a powerful wave in the ocean
Taking me along for the ride
As I sit alone in my mind
Oblivious to everything
The nothingness wears off
The temptation still lingers
To put everything behind me
But I am already behind everything
Fighting a eternal current which battles against me
Fighting a losing battle
The world has left me in the dust
As my trials to get back in the race perpetually fail
No chance to rise to my former power
No chance to get what I came for in the first place
Control
This was really cool. The poem seemed different with the different kinds of lines but it flowed really well. When you mentioned feeling nothing, it reminded me of the ether that Mr. Tench wanted. Great job!
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