Amanda Stevenson
Dr. Sigler
EN 102
19 October 2015
Fraternally Inseparable: The Journey from Vanity to Oblivion
Despite the belief that the sinking of the Titanic was a misfortune caused by the ship’s unsafe speed in unmapped territory, Thomas Hardy counters this commonly held view by asserting that the tragedy was predestined. In “The Convergence of the Twain”, Thomas Hardy uses the ironic isolation, natural indifference, and lack of foresight to convey the idea that pride and vanity ultimately lead to ruin. The collision of the Titanic and iceberg is used as a specific man versus nature conflict in order to illustrate this inevitability.
The isolation within “The Convergence of the Twain” is an internal state, independent of physical surroundings. …show more content…
That divide between nature and man is introduced by the speaker in line two, “deep from human vanity” (Hardy 2). This line gives the setting of the poem as the depths of the ocean. This physical depth of the sea mentioned also directly correlates to the complexity of the natural world. The specific use of “human vanity” (Hardy 2) is clarifying the fact that vanity is distinctly human and not found in nature. Each stanza within the poem is comprised of three lines. Within each of those stanzas, the line length increases, thus creating the image of an iceberg. Not only does this add depth to the poem, but it also parallels the message, which is that the crash between the iceberg and the Titanic was inevitable. Similar to how the people of the Titanic did not expect to encounter the iceberg, as one is reading “The Convergence of the Twain”, it is not expected that each stanza would be a representation of that same fatal iceberg. This is ironic, because mankind typically attempts to observe and overtake nature; however in this poem, without even using force and violence, nature overcame the Titanic and the fish and creatures are now observing its remains with complete indifference to its man given …show more content…
The tone of the final words of the poem, “jars two hemispheres” (Hardy 33) completely contrasts the “solitude” of the first line. Similar to how the mirrors in the poem were unable to produce a reflection, the people on the Titanic were incapable of seeing their own faults. The passengers continually boasted their vanity and embraced their pride through their need for material things. It is because of this that the Titanic sank. The Titanic was not targeted by the iceberg as revenge from nature, but rather the Titanic was strategically used as one representation for all of humanity. The people upon the Titanic were unable to escape their destiny just as humanity will be incapable of escaping oblivion if it does not cease attempting to subjugate
Dr. Sigler
EN 102
19 October 2015
Fraternally Inseparable: The Journey from Vanity to Oblivion
Despite the belief that the sinking of the Titanic was a misfortune caused by the ship’s unsafe speed in unmapped territory, Thomas Hardy counters this commonly held view by asserting that the tragedy was predestined. In “The Convergence of the Twain”, Thomas Hardy uses the ironic isolation, natural indifference, and lack of foresight to convey the idea that pride and vanity ultimately lead to ruin. The collision of the Titanic and iceberg is used as a specific man versus nature conflict in order to illustrate this inevitability.
The isolation within “The Convergence of the Twain” is an internal state, independent of physical surroundings. …show more content…
That divide between nature and man is introduced by the speaker in line two, “deep from human vanity” (Hardy 2). This line gives the setting of the poem as the depths of the ocean. This physical depth of the sea mentioned also directly correlates to the complexity of the natural world. The specific use of “human vanity” (Hardy 2) is clarifying the fact that vanity is distinctly human and not found in nature. Each stanza within the poem is comprised of three lines. Within each of those stanzas, the line length increases, thus creating the image of an iceberg. Not only does this add depth to the poem, but it also parallels the message, which is that the crash between the iceberg and the Titanic was inevitable. Similar to how the people of the Titanic did not expect to encounter the iceberg, as one is reading “The Convergence of the Twain”, it is not expected that each stanza would be a representation of that same fatal iceberg. This is ironic, because mankind typically attempts to observe and overtake nature; however in this poem, without even using force and violence, nature overcame the Titanic and the fish and creatures are now observing its remains with complete indifference to its man given …show more content…
The tone of the final words of the poem, “jars two hemispheres” (Hardy 33) completely contrasts the “solitude” of the first line. Similar to how the mirrors in the poem were unable to produce a reflection, the people on the Titanic were incapable of seeing their own faults. The passengers continually boasted their vanity and embraced their pride through their need for material things. It is because of this that the Titanic sank. The Titanic was not targeted by the iceberg as revenge from nature, but rather the Titanic was strategically used as one representation for all of humanity. The people upon the Titanic were unable to escape their destiny just as humanity will be incapable of escaping oblivion if it does not cease attempting to subjugate