Letters

Poetry Unit

“The Charge of the Light Brigade,” by Alfred Tennyson, depicts an actual battle that took place in the 1800s outside of the city of Balaklava. During the battle 600 members of a light brigade unit were mistakenly ordered to charge, and the poem narrates the events of the charge. In order to memorialize the 405 fallen troops Tennyson utilizes descriptive language that highlights the nobility, honor, and heroics of the fallen troops. The field in which the light brigade charge is known only as the “valley of death,” and Tennyson states that the brigade rode “into the mouth of Hell.” These uses of death and Hell aid in displaying the bravery of the light brigade. The speaker of the poem states “boldly they rode and well,” and “honour the light brigade” which serves to illustrate the light brigade as a group of brave, and trained soldiers who died nobly in combat. The speaker of this poem views the light brigade as a group of brave men who faced insurmountable odds, and despite the fact that they lost, still died as heroes. The speaker creates this musing by comparing the battlefield to Hell, and calling the soldiers heroes. Through the language used in this poem the speaker creates a situation in which a group of soldiers charge into Hell, and those that managed to survive went to Hell and back, and managed to survive the valley of death. Those that were not as lucky as their 195 surviving brigade members died as heroes who displayed their bravery by facing a no win situation, and charging without hesitation. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” serves to memorialize soldiers that died due to an order that was mistakenly made, and through its language chooses to remember the soldiers as brave heroes rather than as foolish minions.

After reading the poem and gathering an understanding of “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” one word that seems crucial to the overall theme is the word “honorable”. Although it is not directly stated in the poem, the word honorable is implied and understood. The men of the light brigade keep charging forward even though fellow soldiers are falling and were given incorrect orders (Tennyson). The overall theme is that courage can be found in the face of failure. Even though the men were given the wrong orders and thus doomed, they fought with honor to when the last man fell. The poem states “boldly they rode and well, into the jaws of death” (Tennyson, line 23-24). This statement ties back to the word honorable because even though they were most likely fearful of what was to come, they embodied the word honorable by not questioning their order to charge into the “jaws of death” (Tennyson, line 24). By the end of the poem, it says, “oh the wild charge they made… honor the charge they made” (Tennyson, line 51 & 53). The men were honorable because they followed orders even though they may not have been the correct orders. The men pushed through the anarchy without questioning their commander, which makes them honorable. Although not all six hundred men returned after entering the “jaws of death,” they were still honorable and heroic because they kept fighting even though they probably should have retreated and not fought (Tennyson).

“The Charge of the Light Brigade” is a poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson in December 1854, following a tragic British loss in the Crimean War (“The Charge of the Light Brigade, 160 Years Ago.”). Tennyson uses short, action-packed stanzas to describe the events of this particular battle in a powerful way (Tennyson). Tennyson was the official poetic spokesman for the reign of Queen Victoria (“Alfred, Lord Tennyson.”), a very high honor for the humble rural-England native. The Poetry Foundation article describes his writing style saying, “his primary consideration was more often rhythm and language than discursive meaning.” (“Alfred, Lord Tennyson.”) This is very evident in the way that Tennyson wrote “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” featuring six brief stanzas with lots of rhyming, repetition, and imagery. Although none of stanzas have exactly the same format, there are some repeated rhyme schemes. For example, the pattern in Stanza III starts with AAABCCDCB, and Stanza V is AAABCCCDCEB – they start out very similarly, even using the same first lines, but then branch off towards the end of the stanza. Tennyson is able to command a lot of action through his minimal use of words by emphasizing the important facts with repetition. Stanzas III and V are very similar, but sandwiched between them is the big battle scene in Stanza IV. However, the use of repetition here illustrates how the British people were still just as proud of their brave troops even after making the fatal decision to charge their opponents, based on an error in communication (“The Charge of the Light Brigade, 160 Years Ago.”). The History Channel says in an article online that this Crimean War confusion, the result of British troops reacting to a vague order from the commander-in-chief, was later known as “the most magnificent assault known in military annals and the greatest blunder known to military tactics.” (“The Charge of the Light Brigade, 160 Years Ago.”). Tennyson is able to describe the story in a singsong rhythm that makes readers feel like children listening to an old tale. The first half of the poem leads up to the battle, and depicts the troops as being bold and charging. The fourth stanza is the longest, describing the confusion and time-stopping nature of the contact with their Russian opponents, which takes the lives of most soldiers. The final two stanzas are like the aftershock of the battle, where the troops are wounded but still glorified by their country for their bravery (Tennyson). The last stanza is the shortest, with only six lines, but these lines repeatedly emphasize that the troops will still be honored and praised for their service.

In “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, death is personified as a being that holds domain over the valley where the charge is taking place, as well as being an entity or being that comes to devour the fallen soldiers. When stating in stanza one, line seven, “Into the valley of Death” and stanza three, line seven “Into the jaws of Death”, these figures of speech create a sense of finality. This emotional effect the line has upon the poem also plays a role in its overall theme. The finality, and the futility of the situation these soldiers face is emphasized by heading straight toward this personified version of death. This creates a sense of desperation in the person reading the poem as well as a sense of awe. The soldiers faced death with honor. They knew that once they charged there would be no going back. It was a final, irreversible act. And as the poem continues and repeats the fact that the soldiers charged, one of the themes of the poem is driven home to the reader. The theme that is driven home by the emotional effect personified death plays, is that facing down destiny can be done with honor. The personification of death plays a key role in helping this theme be developed.

In “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, “Jaws of Death” and “Mouth of Hell” are two metaphors that are extended in the fact that they are both ways to personify the setting. The “Jaws of Death” is a metaphor standing for the Russian army being a terrifying killing machine. The “Mouth of Hell” stands for the battle and the horrible carnage that comes along with it. These metaphors give the reader a more interesting way to visualize the poem. The soldiers in the poem had to charge with a much smaller army with is why the author chose those metaphors to give the poem more imagery. These metaphors were used to show that there was no return and that once they charged they truly entered the waiting hell. As the soldiers charged the Russian army they were being engulfed by the much larger and more equipped army. Being described as jaws makes it easy to see once the brigade was surrounded by the Russian army there was no escaping.

Fiction Unit

Throughout the short story “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi,” by Rudyard Kipling, there are many symbols. The first symbol that stuck out to me was the snake. Although Nag may seem as if he is kind initially, we know by the conclusion of the short story he is just another evil snake. Nag, the cobra, is a symbol of the wicked or evil. Although most snakes are fairly small in size, they like to have total control of any situation. For instance, in Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Nag likes the have total control over the garden (Kipling). When Rikki Tikki steps into his territory, Nag becomes uneasy and wants to fight Rikki Tikki. Another symbol that comes to mind when reading about the snake and the garden is the Garden of Eden in the bible. Adam and Eve were just going about their business then this serpent appears. The serpent deceives Eve into eating an apple from the tree, which God told her not to do. The serpent, who is the devil and evil, persists Eve to take the apple and eat it. Eve unknowingly does this action, which gives the serpent pure pleasure. When Eve takes a bite of the apple, the serpent feels as if he has total control. The snake in “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” has the same intentions as the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Just as the Garden of Eden was intended to be a fruitful place where Adam and Eve could come, the garden in the town was anticipated for the people to grow fruits and vegetables. Once Nag and Nagaina had control of the garden in the town, it was becoming dangerous for the townspeople especially since they use this garden for laying their eggs. The last symbol, which sticks out to me, is the mongoose himself. Rikki Tikki himself is a symbol of light to the snake’s darkness. He fights off Nag and Nagaina so the people can use the garden for their own sake. He obviously did not have to so, but he felt compelled to help out Teddy and his family. Rikki Tikki is a symbol of light and hope because he returns the garden to the townspeople for its initial reasons, to provide fruits and vegetables. In conclusion, the snake, the mongoose, and the garden are all symbols throughout the short story “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi."

Rikki-tikki Tavi should definitely be set in New York City. Imagine: Rikki-tikki scampering out his back door, down the fire escape, through the alley, dodging gang bangers and hobos as he travels. Rikki is a fearless creature, and would fully embrace the danger of inner-city life. His family would not be in danger of a rogue cobra attack; but you never know when a criminal could try to abduct Teddy, and Rikki-tikki would need to crawl up the pant leg of the assailant. Rikki-tikki knows his job is to serve and protect Teddy’s family from any form of danger that may strike in New York. Since he is bred to kill and protect this job isn’t so difficult for him. With this setting change there will be many effects on the characters. Rikki-tikki would no longer be a wild snake killing mongoose but instead a crime stopping, bugler killing mongoose in the middle of a huge city. There would be no garden for him to run out into or worry about snakes hiding in but instead theres an entire world of unknown danger surrounding him. The difference between the garden and the city would be that Rikki-tikki would have no idea who is a danger to the family and who is just a guest. In the garden he knew snakes meant harm to his family and that they need to be killed. The husband and wife, Teddy’s parents, wouldn’t be as affected by the setting change, however they would have a slight change because they would have no more gardening instead grocery shopping. Rikki-tikki is small enough to wear he can go along with the family in the moms purse and can always be there to sense danger. The family’s worries would be changed from snake’s too dangerous humans coming in at night.

In “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”, by Rudyard Kipling, the two main characters, Nagaina, and the eponymous Rikki-Tikki-Tavi are at war with each other. Rikki-Tikki is a mongoose who is swept away from his family by a storm early in the story, and Nagaina is a cobra whose husband is killed by Rikki-Tikki. After being taken from his family Rikki-Tikki is adopted by an English family living in a bungalow in India. Rikki-Tikki handles the transition from son to protector quite easily and almost immediately begins protecting the family, even killing a snake the day after his arrival “Rikki-Tikki had sprung, jumped on the snake's back, dropped his head far between his forelegs, bitten as high up the back as he could get hold, and rolled away” (Kipling 3). Rikki-Tikki even kills Nag, a dangerous cobra who lived in the bungalow’s garden, and was the husband to Nagaina. Nagaina does not deal with this loss as easily as Rikki-Tikki dealt with being separated from his family. Nagaina chooses to go on a quest for revenge against those that were involved in the death of her husband, even going so far as to attempt to kill the family’s son. This desire for revenge is what ultimately costs Nagaina not only her own life, but the lives of her unborn offspring as well. Though Rikki-Tikki and Nagaina handle their new situations in different ways both decide to do something drastic, and ultimately kill, or attempt to kill someone or something. Ironically, Rikki-Tikki, who represents good, is the one that ends up killing the most, and even kills unborn cobra children whilst Nagaina, who represents evil, attempts to kill a child and his family she is, however, stopped by Rikki-Tikki. The story’s minor characters help Rikki-Tikki protect the garden and family that he has decided to guard, but Nagaina receives no aid from any minor character in her mission to kill the family, and the garden’s inhabitants. At first it would seem that Rikki-Tikki and Nagaina are vastly different characters that cope with their new situations in different ways, but, in actuality they undergo similar character arcs, and attempt to cope by using similar methods. Rikki-Tikki is taken from his home and resorts to become a guardian of a family and their garden, which involves killing any threats to the family. Nagaina’s husband is killed, and she decides to get revenge for her husband’s death. The main difference between the two characters is the fact that Rikki-Tikki has noble intentions when he kills whereas Nagaina kills at first out of a desire for power “So long as the bungalow is empty, we are king and queen of the garden”, and then out of a desire for revenge (4).

The central conflict in Rikki Tikki Tavi is the recurring threat of 2 cobras living in the garden who want to eliminate Rikki-tikki because he also poses a threat to them. Rikki-tikki is a young mongoose who gets caught in a flood and rescued by a boy named Teddy and his parents. Rikki-tikki grows to love the family, and explores their property to find a sad couple of birds whose baby had just been eaten by the mean cobra, Nag. When Rikki-tikki approaches Nag, he is almost attacked by Nag’s wife Nagaina because they know mongooses can kill cobras. This is where the conflict begins – Nag and Nagaina are scared of Rikki-tikki, so they formulate a plan to strike the family who is taking care of him so that Rikki-tikki will be forced to leave and go somewhere else. First, Nag hides in the bathroom to get the human father, but Rikki-tikki watches him hide and strikes when he does not suspect it. The humans are grateful to Rikki-tikki for keeping them safe, but Nagaina is furious and wants to get revenge by killing all of the humans. Again, Rikki-tikki outsmarts the cobra and lures her away so that he can attack, even though it is risky to chase a cobra down into a hole in the ground. This is the climax of conflict because there is almost a pause in the story where nobody knows what happened underground, but it is resolved when Rikki-tikki emerges from the ground alive and exhausted. This is a satisfying resolution because all the good characters are now safe, and Rikki-tikki is able to happily live with the family and continue protecting their property from cobras. As the last sentence says, “He kept that garden as a mongoose should keep it… till never a cobra dared show its head inside the walls” (Kipling).

In Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling, the character, point of view, setting, and recurring phrases words and phrases all aid in shaping the theme of the story. Set in India during the height of the British Empire, Rikki Tikki Tavi is the story of mongoose that is adopted by a colonial English family with a young son, Teddy. The whole story is told from the first person point of view of a mongoose, Rikki Tikki. This shapes the story through the narration of how Rikki, an animal, sees the world around him. A phrase that was repeated multiple times was the noise that Rikki Tikki made every time he was on the hunt. This repetition reinforces the animalistic side of Rikki Tikki. Furthermore, the characters and setting combined drive the story forward. Not only do mongooses live in India, but so do their natural born enemies, King Cobras. This fact shapes the story further when pair of King Cobra’s living in Teddy’s garden make their presence known. As natural enemies, conflict is created when Rikki confronts the Cobras. The snakes wish to kill the family so that they may raise their young in the garden. However, Rikki Tikki now cares for his new family, and kills the snakes. The theme is shaped through his conflict with the cobras. The best theme to be gathered from Rikki Tikki Tavi would be to always have courage. Despite being a small mongoose, Rikki Tikki faced off with two giant King Cobras to protect his family. As a result of Rikki’s courage, his family was saved from the cobras.

DRAMA

The title of this drama, “The Dark Knight Rises,” tells a lot about the plot of the story. From the title alone you can infer that Batman, the main character, must also be known as the Dark Knight (Nolan). This makes sense because his favorite color is black, which is the darkest color. It also explains that he is the hero of this story by comparing him to a knight, which is historically a bold & brave man who rescues people. Batman was originally a rich man named Bruce Wayne who decided to use his money and smarts to become a secret hero and protect his city of Gotham from crime. “The Dark Knight Rises,” is the last movie in the Batman trilogy, preceded by “Batman Begins,” and “The Dark Knight,” (Child). Since the prior movie ended in a cliffhanger, with Batman keeping big secrets from the public and vanishing into the darkness, the title also hints that Batman/Bruce Wayne will return and rise to success again in this drama. This is in fact what happens, because Batman’s nemesis Bane has effectively turned Gotham into a ticking time bomb, and all of Wayne Enterprises’ beneficiaries have run out of funding due to corruption in the company caused by Bruce Wayne’s absence (O’Hehir). However, his butler Alfred and the sly Catwoman both encourage Bruce that the city needs Batman, and he eventually emerges from his isolation just in time to clean up the mess Bane has made and prove to the city that he really is the hero (O’Hehir). The title is also a play on the word knight/night, because Batman does prefer to work under the cover of darkness in the night.

The protagonist of The Dark Knight Rises, is Bruce Wayne, or his superhero persona, Batman. Batman is the protagonist because he fights crime in the city of Gotham. This action in and of itself is not what makes Batman a hero. Batman is a hero because he is truly incorruptible (Fatemi). He is not driven by his emotions, only his moral sense of right and wrong. Because of this emotionlessness, Batman cannot be convinced to turn evil nor turn against Gotham by Bane and even his friends and butler, Catwoman and Alfred. . Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s butler, not only serves the Wayne household, but also played a major role in the upbringing of Bruce Wayne after the murder of his parents. In The Dark Knight Rises, Batman’s nemesis is a masked man who calls himself Bane. He is a major oppositional force to Batman, forcing him to question his motives and the morality of saving a city plagued with crime. However, Batman is still incorruptible. The most defining characteristic of Batman/Bruce Wayne, is his morality. No matter what enemy he faces, no matter how horrible the crime he commits, Batman does not believe in killing. This is exemplified by his use of an EMP to stop a technological robbery of the stock market, and his statement to Selina Kyle/ Catwoman when she shoots a criminal in order to make an escape (Nolan). Batman’s motivation, in its purest form, is justice.

“The Dark Knight Rises” has a dark, but hopeful tone. The film, like its predecessors, is a dark superhero movie that tries to make the character of Batman as realistic, and gritty as possible. Batman, who is the crime fighting alter ego of Bruce Wayne, symbolizes both fear and hope simultaneously. The criminals of Gotham City see Batman as a monster, and the citizens of Gotham see batman as a guardian. In the movie Batman never kills, but breaks bones, and fights crime with brutal effectiveness. This brutality helps lend the movie its dark tone, the fact that the film also deals with terrorism helps with the dark tone as well. The hopefulness comes from the fact that Batman is defeated, and literally rises up in order to save his city. At first the movie primarily takes place in dark environments, or at night, but at the film's conclusion the final battle between Bane, the antagonist, and his army, and Batman and his team of insurgents the film take place in daylight. The turning point of this film’s tone from dark to hopeful occurs after Batman’s back is broken, and he climbs out of a well in order to escape his prison. From this point on the film’s score, and lighting are more hopeful than the dark, brooding sounds of the films first half. While Batman’s tone is menacing to criminals, and hopeful to citizens Bane’s tone is that of a dictator, his tone commands power despite his odd sounding voice. During the films first half the Batman that represents fear is primarily scene, but after the transition in tone the hopeful protector is seen in Batman. Batman’s tone changes along with the film’s tone.