Climbing The Herndon

Perfection and Reality
It is difficult to imagine a perfect world. So many parts of life can only be perfect for a moment. In a poem by John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn, a perfect situation is frozen in time. Throughout life at the Naval Academy there are certain moments that seem as though they would be perfect. Climbing the Herndon monument starts as a dream for plebes. The Herndon monument is a granite obelisk that is located in the middle of the Naval Academy campus. At the end of each academic year, the freshmen class of Plebes make an attempt to climb to the top and replace a Dixie- cup hat with a combination cover. After replacing the cover on top of the lard covered monument, the plebes move up in the ranks to fourth class midshipmen. They imagine that life after herndon will be perfect. Ode on a Grecian Urn and the Herndon monument are reminders that perfection is only temporary and that dreams are sweeter than reality. …show more content…
The poem describes a scene on an urn that takes place in the spring. Keats states, “Ah, Happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed / Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu.” The leaves will never say goodbye to spring because the perfect world on the urn doesn’t change. Keats is trying to make the point that in real life, the seasons change and it is not always beautiful spring time. There is a similarity between the poem and the Herndon monument. In a perfect world, both situations last forever. Plebes would always get to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment with their classmates and spring would never end. In reality, plebes move on to being youngsters (sophomores) and spring turns into summer. Perfection is only temporary in human