Portobello Road

“One does not use poetry for its major purposes, as a means to organize oneself and the world, until one’s world somehow gets out of hand.” This was Richard Wilbur’s response when someone asked him about fighting in World War II and how it changed him. Richard Wilbur is a famous modern day poet who won two Pulitzer Prizes for two of his collections of poems. He was the second poet laureate of the United States. Richard Wilbur fought as a combat soldier in World War II which changed his outlook…

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, takes place in a post apocalyptic world that is dark and covered by ash. The book follows a man and his son as they try to survive with little supply and each other. Throughout the book, the man and the boy are faced with many challenges. A frequent challenge being the people they encounter, which are often the bad guys. The bad guys are people that have lost all ties with the concept of society and are the most gruesome representation of survivors. The Road puts…

It is impossible to write anything new. Everything has already been done, already been said, but writers take inspiration where they can get it, read what other people have written, and this encourages them to write something of their own. They add to the ongoing conversation. Sometimes, experimentation with writing happens as writers feel the need to, maybe not say something completely new, but to say it in an innovative way. This is how new genres, such as American fabulism, are born, coming…

Immigrants face many problems when they are in a place so different to what used to be their home, where they grew up. Many of them do not have English and that is a challenge that most face. English being your second language could cause many troubles from finding a job to purchasing your weekly shop. Many have to take low paid jobs due to the language barrier. A way in which this problem could be overcome is by immigrants taking ESL (English as a Second Language) classes. The problem with that…

In The Road, Cormac McCarthy portrays the story of a father and son duo surviving in a post-apocalyptic world that has been devastated by an unknown catastrophic event. The father and son’s journey southward towards the coast is horrific and harsh encompassed by external obstacles and internal conflict of malnutrition, thievery, and cannibalism. The two depend on each other to maintain their sanity and morality as they forge on in the destitute setting of the road. Although the young boy is born…

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH Robert Frost, a well-known poet, once wrote, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by…”. When walking alone through the woods, it may be easy to decide about which path to travel. However, when one is traversing with others, it becomes difficult to stray from the pack. Peer pressure is very similar for teenagers: it often causes an emotional response as teens try to fit in with those around them, moreover, in these situations decision-making…

to marry or what career path to take. Decisions can have a huge impact on one’s life and there are often times we make one decision and wonder what the outcome would have been if we would have chosen another. In Robert Frost’s, “A Road Not Taken, a traveler walks a road that eventually splits into two paths and must decide which path to take The path…

Hail to the Chief! Squamish Day Hike The Stawamus Chief is an iconic landmark. It dominates the Squamish skyline and attracts tourists, hikers and climbers from around the world. This magnificent granite wall beckons all to approach and climb her. The Chief can be an extremely busy hiking trail. Outdoor enthusiasts regularly flock to the area to test their fitness levels and savour the magnificent views from each of the three peaks. On a clear day, the summit offers panoramic glimpses of…

The poems “Where the Sidewalk Ends” and “Escaping Reality” were composed four decades apart. They involve a speaker who is anticipating his escape from reality. They also involve a speaker’s search for a resolution through symbolism. In addition, they focus on a single theme which is despite your life responsibilities; you should use your imagination to escape when times get difficult. Furthermore, they feature the thoughts of a speaker who refers to himself in the first person perspective. The…

“The Road Not Taken” was a poem written by Robert Frost in 1916. The poem consists of four stanzas that each contains five lines, and the rhyme scheme is ABAAB. The first three stanzas of the poem talk about the past and the fourth one talks about the future. “The Road No Taken” starts off with the narrator coming up to a fork in the path he is traveling. He looked down both of the paths as far as he could and they seemed to be equal; the first path seemed to be traveled more often, but the…