Poetry and Literature Analysis

Upon a close reading of her poems, the works of Dorothy Parker clearly reflect influences and aspects of her personal life and experiences. We see many of her poems seem to reflect her lack of success in relationships with the opposite sex, stemming from "her emotional dependence on men who didn't love her, but were willing to use her for their own career advantage" (Bio 2, 2009, p. 2). This is clearly one of the depressing aspects of her life. This is evident in the poem News Item, in which Parke laments one of her most famous barbs, "Men don't make passes / At girls who wear glasses" (Parker, 2009, p. 1). However, other times in her life that were depressing include the death of her mother when she was two, the death of her brother Henry "aboard the Titanic," and the economic collapse of her father who died a year later (Bio 1, 2009, p. 1). We can see these are painful experiences in Parker's life that were depressing.

We see that Parker's suicidal ideation and focus in the poem Resume may also derive from these depressing incidents in her life. Parker is very pointed in tone and extremely sarcastic in listing a number of ways one could kill one's self that are so unpleasant they provide the only motivation or will to choose life instead of suicide. As Parker (2009) writes, "Razors pain you; / Rivers are damp; / acids stain you; / And drugs cause cramp. / Guns aren't lawful; / nooses give; / Gas smells awful; / You might as well li

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tible attempts to struggle against what was considered good by the most highly placed people, those scarcely noticeable impulses which he had immediately suppressed, might have been the real thing, and all the rest false" (Ch. 11). This recognition comes too late for Ivan to change, which is what makes his story tragic. 2) Ivan's colleagues are only worried about his death for how it might benefit their own life, especially where their work careers are concerned. As we are told of Ivan's coworkers upon hearing the news of their colleague's passing, "The first thought of each of the gentlemen in that private room was of the changes and promotions it might occasion among themselves or their acquaintances" (Tolstoy, 1886, Ch. 1). We see that despite leading the same conventional and superficial lives as Ivan, his coworkers seem to somehow blame him for his own death. As Tolstoy (1886) writes, "On seeing Peter Ivanovich [Schwarz] enter he stopped and winked at him, as if to say, 'Ivan Ilych has made a mess of things - not like you and me" (Ch. 1). Ivan's coworkers remain blind to the fact that the same fate could befall them. 3) We see that Ivan's wife is as concerned for how Ivan's death will affect her econo

Category: Literature - P