Problematize Post: "Fireflies in the Garden" by Robert Frost

     Robert Frost's poem "Fireflies in the Garden" attempts to separate the differences of the genuine and the imitation. It definitely relates to the world we live in today, because nowadays we can't always tells what is real and what is fake. Whether it's food, material possessions, and the most obvious, people. It's crazy to think that the people during Robert Frost time were just the same as they are today in terms of genuine and imitation. When we think of people we usual aren't referring to how they people were in the past.  Our society sets up these "role models" that many can't live up to, but try their hardest to do so. In a positive light, "role models" give us hope to one day, not be like them, but in our own way achieve things because they are what motivated us to do so, and quite possibly surpass their efforts in being great at any chosen matter. I think that when I mention society's role models, that SEU's culture is against it because the world does not think in a way that we do. It challenges our faith by showing that we must take some of the world in little pieces and decide what is good and what it not, and most importantly how it affects our lives as Christians. I feel as the poem speaks wonders to those who are being challenged as unsuccessful, therefore referring back to more of the genuine stars in the text and less of the imitating fireflies. It shows that even though we may not be the greatest, the feeling of being able to accomplish any feat is more than enough to feel our personal desires to be accepted among our peers. As said by Brian Litrell, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." This quote and text couldn't have gone hand in hand more perfectly. The quote describes our greatest effort and still gives us glory even if we fail, landing us in a win-win situation. Ultimately, Robert Frost has done more than just write a poem about fireflies, but he has created a masterpiece in history that describes the everyday valor and trials of this world.

Creative Post: "A Poison Tree" by William Blake

I AM NOT WHAT I THINK

I was grown

from foul and pain

through night and day

through the storms

and through the rain

He came and went

to water me down

to bring me up strong

to train me up wrong

For the reason

He explained to me

was that there was a man

Some sort of foe

my master's enemy

Then one day

the foe came

silently in the night

To eat the apple

my branches had made so bright

And in the morning 

when I could see

The foe was laid outstretched

beneath my leaves

My master called me anger

with a smile and great glee

but now it occurred to me

that I was not the great tree

I once thought I could be.

I wrote this poem which relates back to "A Poison Tree" by William Blake. I decided to write the poem in perspective of how the tree, also known as "anger", was brought up in the man's WAY. He watered it as in the original poem in which the man kept it inside for too long building it up until it actually killed his foe. In the end, the tree felt as if though he could have been great until his master called the tree anger which it then realized would not make him the "great tree" he thought he could grow up to be. 

"The Story of an Hour": Reflective Post

     “The Story of an Hour” showed that in life we can either living for ourselves or we live for others, but there is a balance. It began by showing a wife losing her husband and the amount of grieving that she went through. This showed that even though we see death far off in our future that it starts to become unexpected and even more painful when it comes in the blink of an eye. The way Mrs. Mallard viewed her husband’s death was that she no longer had to be someone else’s liability. She could finally live for herself and came to the conclusion that she was in her own mind “free”. In class, our stories all surrounded a theme of women, not so much being bound under men, but being bound to life and all its responsibilities.

     I think this personally relates to me because it shows that if and when I do get married  or any other relationship I may have in my future, I don’t want someone to have to be bound to me. I want them, along with myself, to live life freely and however I please, so long as it doesn’t disrupt or cause trouble in another’s life. Culturally, everyone wants to feel accepted by someone else and have something to live for, yet not be so attached that the person becomes a “poison” in the relationship which goes for both persons in the relationship. It’s a shame that the world has come to the point where there is less long-term relationships forming and even worse that people begin to care for themselves to much in which trust is lost. It comes down to creating a balance between what you do for yourself and the things you do for others. 

     “Free, free, free.” Mrs. Mallard silently repeats this word over and over, but when are we truly free?When death strikes? When in life are we never in a relationship that causes us to care for another? The answer would most likely be no. From a Christian perspective, we are only truly free when Jesus comes for us again and that will be the greatest freedom of all.