The Tell Tale Heart

In the Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe,  the narrator is tells the story.  The narrator is untrustworthy because he is insane.  His point of view affects how we interpret the story because he tends to imagine things, such as the heart beating beneath the floor.  We would interpret the story differently if it was in the police officer's point of view because they just know that there was a scream, they don't know what happened.

If the police officer told the story, we wouldn't know very much about the situation.  All we would know is that we were called to this house because the neighbor heard a scream.  We wouldn't know why the person was so anxious when we were relaxing at their house.  We wouldn't hear "the beating of his hideous heart" beneath the floor.  There would be a lot of changes in the story.  We would not understand why this man told us that he killed the old man.  There would be a lot more questions, but at least we could trust the narrator. 

O Captian! My Captain!

In the poem O Captain! My Captain! By Walt Whitman figurative language is used effectively.  For example, when he compares their destination to the "prize they sought is won," he is showing through this metaphor that this had been a dream for them, that this is the place they wanted to go.  This poem is about someone who is telling their dead captain that they have reached their dream land and desperately begging him "to rise."  This shipmate seems so desperate to bring his captain back to life that it makes this poem disappointing that the poor captain didn't get to see the result of his efforts.

The Crystal Stairs

In the poem Mother to Son Langston Hughes uses a lot of figurative language.  For example, he compares life to a crystal stair, he compares turning points in our lives to turning corners, he compares check points to reaching landings, and compares splinters, tacks and places with no carpet to the hardships we face in life.  All of these metaphors are showing that "life ain't no crystal stair" meaning that life isn't easy.  This poem is about a mother who is calmly, yet fiercely explaining to her son about life and telling him that even if times get tough, to keep moving forward, to keep climbing the stairs.  She is telling him that thing will be difficult but you have to carry on and that is what makes this poem inspirational. 

A Life Lost

 Author's note: I just wanted to play with word choice a little so this really isn't a story but just kind of a scene.

The sun was setting quicker than the speed of light itself. I knew this was because of what lay ahead, nowhere I could run to, nowhere I could hide.  My heart is a tree struck by lightning, longing to be fixed but far beyond repair.  I wait, with hopeless thoughts, for the fog to come and carry me away.  I see the sky begin to darken and the fog begin to form.  I feel the rain begin to fall and the wind begin to blow.  All of a sudden, it stops. Everything at the same time.  The rain, the wind, the fog, the darkness, and then, my heart.