Discussion Q's Week 3

#3
This poem suggests something more than a conventional relationship because, reading about Emily Dickinson's life, we see that she did not get out much. This poem suggests that she was probably feeling lonely, isolated and left out and was hoping for a romantic get-away. Maybe she was imagining being “rescued” and carried off by the person she longed for. She did not have a lot of experience with other people and romantic situations it seems like. So maybe saying that she would moor her boat in that person was the best way she knew how to put it. Or perhaps she thought she was being sneaky and using an innuendo no one would get. But people did.


#8
This story stresses the idea that sometimes a person's physical baggage can be equal to or even out-weighed by a person's emotional baggage. The objects the soldiers carried were heavy and each item's weight is told so that that fact is clear. But the soldiers do not struggle with the weight of their packs as much as they struggle with the weights of their feelings, thoughts and hearts. The things the soldiers carried with them corresponded to what the soldiers thought about most. Whether they carried weapons or personal effects, like pebbles or good luck charms, the items were worth more to them than their what their actual store value was. But they carried burdens too. The burden of guilt was carried by a couple of men, also the vision of one of their own dying before their eyes followed another soldier. Others probably carried the persona of “tough war hero” around, trying to live up to people's expectations. Another soldier carried around responsibility, he was in charge of the entire group's safety. The medic was responsible for everyone's health and the rest all had to watch each other's backs. This story demonstrates how it is easier to carry physical weight than emotional weight.