Essay Questions

What evidence shows that the girl in “The Girl Engaged to the Boy Who Died” is psychologically unhinged?

The title of the poem, in “The Girl Engaged to the Boy Who Died”hints at the girl’s psychological affliction. Even though the boy died, the girl has not been able to move on with her life. A live person cannot be engaged to one that is death; the girl’s inability to come to terms with the boy’s death brings her life to a halt which is deleterious to her health. The “cracked windshield” is symbolic of the psychological trauma that stems from the girl’s loss of her boyfriend. The figure that the girl’s eye yearns to see is the image of her boyfriend. Evidently, the girl is in denial about her boyfriend’s death; thus, leans on the false hope that someday she will see him. “The Weeds” in the drive are symbolic of the girls’ paused life, it seems that following the death of the boy, she has lost her will to live a healthy life.

In what ways does William Stafford’s “In Response to a Question: What Does the Earth Say?” depict Symbolic Order?

The answers provided to the question (posed in the title) amplify the function of Symbolic order in life. The first stanza expounds how Symbolic Order requires people to act in accordance with the stipulation of the specific place where they reside. The second stanza elucidates the Symbolic Order that comes with ranch ownership during the summer. In the third stanza it is evident that Symbolic Order calls on people to exhibit their lives through colors. All the attributes of the Symbolic Order, in the poem, initiate a pattern results in the creation of a homogenous culture among people. The earth uses Symbolic Order to exert influence on the day to day lives of its inhabitants and creating standards that people ought to conform to.

How does Millicent lose herself into Imaginary Order in “The Day Millicent Found the World”?

When Millicent reaches “the heart of the forest” experiences intrinsic, utmost satisfaction even though she is lost. The mystery of “the heart of the forest” enables her to shift from the Symbolic World (which is represented by her aunt) to an Imaginary World that is stimulating. The Imaginary Order triggered by “the heart of the forest” enables her to find herself and this makes her discern that she is part of the world. In some way, the Imaginary Order gives her the opportunity to be intimate with nature. That moment she feels that she is part of the forest’s breath is when she submerges into the Imaginary Order where she can effortlessly mingle with all the fauna and air in the forest.