The Waste Land by T.S Elliot

During one of our Literature class, we studied T. S Elliot. He was an American poet who was considered one of the most important writers in the 20th century.

The poem was written after the First World War. The first time I read the poem I was very confused. The author used subtitles as a way to introduce the main topics. That is why it is important to look at every detail in the poem because there is always a hidden intention in all what Elliot wrote.


According to my own understanding, the period in which the poem was written represented a time of great insecurity. After the war, society felt damage, misery, death and loneliness. A lot of people unjustly died as a result of the violence lived in those times.

To conclude, the waste land is a place where people feel desolation and fear. Nowadays, people are feeling the same in a certain manner. Violence and deliquency are making us feel afraid of what society is.

The Rocking Horse Winner and Odour of Chrysanthemums by D.H. Lawrence

It is really amazing to see the way the author mixes his own life with an irreal one. This is possible to observe in both stories.
The most noticeable in the stories is the existence of a very complex issue for society which is the desire of money. In the first tale, the protagonist is a boy that suffers because of the conflicts that the wish of money brings to his family. That is why he hides his sad feelings by gambling for money.
The second story is focused on the relationship between life and death. The relationship is mainly presented by the inhuman work world of the mine and the beautiful and vulnerable, natural world. For example, the important things that we can lose if the attention is payed to money instead of love relationships.





Thinking on what is happening in our society, it is part of our common sense notice that money cannot buy happiness and it represents a harmful force as well as alcoholism.
Nowadays is really common to observe children working in the streets or even worse begging for money. Is that what we want for our children? I am totally sure the answer is no. So, I think that our effort in schools can make the difference. If we contribute children to be comfortable at least when they are learning, things can improve.
D.H Lawrence points out very contemporary issues. I really enjoyed reading both stories because of the many issues that they bring, and that make sense in our society.

O l i v e r T w i s t

As we have seen in class, progress is the main topic for all the discussions based on the changes that society has lived. This topic is also related to modernity through industrialization.
According to what we have studied in class, the increase in population suffered in London was just the beginning of all the consequences which progress brought.

Charles Dickens in his story points out so important issues which deal mainly with society. For example, many children were alone in the streets; there were crowded places, etc. His main character Oliver represents the sacrifice that many people experienced in those times. He was raised in an orphanage under the care of different people because his mother died.
While he was living there, he was punished because of differente reasons.
His friends were young thieves who tried to find a better life. Oliver’s innocence was corrupted.
This is a serious problem that we still are living. Why do children become delinquents?
There is a lack of love and care which is really important to overcome poverty.

At the end of the movie Oliver was adopted by Mr. Brownlow and he found a better life.

“La palabra progreso no tiene ningún sentido mientras haya niños infelices”.

The signal man!

I really enjoyed reading this story. I had a great time interpretating this terrific narrative which contains social issues like the way life is influenced by modernity.
The signal man was in charge of avoiding accidents. He worked alone without company. This is why he became mentally sick. He was opressed in this kind of box in which he was not participating for his improvement. On the contrary, as a result of his hard work he started to observe a spectre in the railway.
Charles Dickens wanted to confirmate that modernity is a concept that brings benefits for some people but at the same time represents a lack of growth for others.

I think that this story is a mirror for our society. We are just working or studying, living by ourselves and just that. So, what is our purpose in life?
Individuality is the reason which demonstrates that our manner of living is not being the appropriate. We do not care about others. For instance, empathy is not considered part of us.

So, as teachers we have the mission to educate children to care about others, to respect what others think in order to build a society in which we can benefit from the relationships among people.

F r a n k e n s t e i n !

At the beginning of this course I thought incorrect things in relation to Literature. For example, I had never thought that writers could note down such wonderful ideas beyond their stories. Those ideas are mainly related to social issues like discrimination, self- esteem, happiness and so other things.

Honestly, my way of seeing life has suffered changes and the image of “the monster” I had in mind about Frankenstein is totally unlike.
I really enjoyed the story reflecting on the issues presented on it. The most relevant for me is the way in which all the things that enclose us have an influence in our life. Why do we assume what others believe about us is right? In this way we lose our authenticity. So, we must not let that differences affect the way we think or damage our feelings, as Frankie Jr. lived thinking he was a monster, a stain upon the earth from which all men fled and whom all men disowned.

In my opinion, Frankie Jr. was just the creation of Victor and he represented the desire of power. Frankie Jr. was not bad; on the contrary he just wanted to find his identity in order to reach his happiness. While I was reading the story, I felt very emphatic with him. I mean, every thought he had, made me reflect on how unfair life is.



To conclude, Frankie Jr. suffered discrimination, unhappiness, loneliness, emptiness, low self-esteem and rejection. This is the way poor people feel living in a society in which they can not be part of the progress.
This poem would be very useful to teach students to put themselves into someone else’s shoes.

I wandered lonely as a cloud by Wordsworth

It is evident that Wordsworth belongs to the category in which poets work collectively with nature, reason and emotions as in this case happiness. For instance, it can be seen through the poem that nature becomes the main subject of their work.

According to my interpretation of the poem, I relate the concept daffodils with human beings. For example, when the author says I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils; beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breez. I think this phrase means that we, as human beings are always surrounded by wonderful things that most of the time we can not see. So, we continue living without taking into account how beautiful life is. Now, thinking on the stanza "A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company" it comes to mind the use of irony. He demonstrates that he can write showing to the world wonderful feelings and the lack of love existing between us. He seems to be very receptive and this poem really motivates me to continue writing.

I really enjoyed listening to the poem because it is narrated in such way that your attention is totally directed to the verse. The images are a good element for showing in general terms what this piece of writing is about.

When I have fears that I may Cease to be

I think that the first step before reading a poem is looking at the title. As part of my reading process I did it. So, I immediately realized that the author was pessimistic about his life and terrified of something.

According to what we have seen in this course, Romantic authors put emphasis on nature in every sense. That is why we, as human beings are included in a part of this nature. The poem read is based on fears, doubts and wishes and it deals with the value of nature and the way it influences and inspires our way of seeing things.

My question is why the author is so scared of passing away? In the poem “When I Have Fears that I may Cease to be”, written by John Keats the feeling of fear has an explicit meaning. It mainly has to do with death. The author is afraid of dying because he wants to be remembered forever.

If we really want to achieve something, we must be able to overcome fear in order to become stronger! Neither the scariest idea can make us their slave…