The end of "The Passing of Grandison" is definitely unexpected. It leads readers to question the slave's rationale for delaying his escape for so long, even when he had the opportunity to do so with ease. Some people may suppose Grandison to be clever, thinking that he planned the flight all along, always outwitting his masters. I, however, reckon he may postpone his departure so that he can make the journey with his wife. In that case, the story works to reveal men's dedication to women, and the opposite sex's power over them.

The story opens with the line "When it is said that it was done to please a woman, there ought perhaps to be enough said to explain anything, for what a man will not do to please a woman is yet to be discovered." So, from the beginning, we see how men will do whatever they can to make a women happy.

Both Dick and Grandison have women in their lives that affect their decision making. Dick, who is "as lazy as the devil" needs only a mere suggestion from a female to "prompt him to the most remarkable thing he accomplished before he was twenty-five." When he wants to win the hand of Charity Lomax, he asks her, "Could you love me, Charity, if I did something heroic?" She responds that she'll consider him if he does something to prove his "quality." Because of her proposition, he decides to free a slave - a radical idea for Kentucky boy before the Civil War. Thus, Dick's actions are driven by a women's desires. Grandison, too, thinks with a woman in mind, although, he does not say it - his master, the colonel, does. While explaining to Dickwhy he shouldn't be afraid of Grandison running away the colonel says, "I reckon we can trust him...he's sweet on your mother's maid, Betty, and I 've promised to let 'em get married before long." He also promises to get him a "present, and a string of beads for Betty to wear when [he and Betty] get married in the fall" so he'll come back. Hence, Colonel support the slave's faithfullness by showing his faithfulness to a women. Surely he'll return so he can be with her.

And that's why I think Grandison waits to run away. He is dedicated to his love and will do what he can to be with her. Although he may be too stupid to initially realize freedom is better than bondage, he does know that he will be happier with his love. So when he firsts sees that Canada offers freedom, he waits to exploit it. He takes the arduous trip back home and then escapes with Betty. Love and women are worth it.

In class, I mentioned I would like to discuss the importance of the Mississippi River in Huck Finn, so here it goes.

In Huckleberry Finn, the Mississippi symbolizes the difficult search for freedom and escape. Huck and Jim float alone down their river in pursuit of their goals. Huck hopes to escape being “sivilized” by Widow Douglas and the abuse of his father. Jim seeks freedom from slavery. However, we see that the pursuit of freedom is not an easy journey. At first, the trip appears to run smoothly, like the river, as Huck learns to tolerate Jim and his character. Life on the river is easy. They “feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.” Later, though, the two learn they are not completely free from nature and the evils and influences of the towns on the river’s banks. The real world hinders their voyage. During their trip, the river floods, bringing Huck and Jim into contact with criminals like the Duke and the Dauphin, wrecks, and stolen goods which all hamper their trip. Then, a thick fog causes them to miss the mouth of the Ohio River - their route to freedom. This actually ends the search because Jim temporarily becomes a slave. Thus, freedom does not come easily; it is an arduous journey in which many do not succeed. Huck and Jim’s journey actually parallels what southern black’s search for freedom might have been like before slavery abolished.

I’m going to go out on a limb and mention something slightly, okay, very risqué and a little out of line, but hey, this is college.

There’s a chance I could be completely off, but I see a huge parallel to sex, specifically an orgasm in this poem. It appears that Dickinson might have wanted to talk about the subject, but had to hide her opinions by using seemingly contradictory words to avoid conflict in a conservative society.

I believe the speaker is describing her lover’s face as he reaches orgasm. She stares into his eyes that exhibit “a look of Agony” because the feeling is so overwhelming. Although agony usually means severe distress, it can also represent intense pleasure. She follows with “Men do not sham Convulsion, Nor simulate, a Throe.” These spasms that come with orgasm (right?) are real and true. His “Eyes glaze once” like “Death” because the sensation is too awesome to control, so extraordinary that it is “impossible to feign.” At the end, the lover is covered with sweat “beads upon the Forehead” that this anguish has “strung.” All his work amounted into the great climax, the anguish. He has just made love to the speaker.

So, at first, one might see the words in the poem as symbols of death and the despair because that is what they mean. However, many of them can have double meanings. Agony, convulsion, throe, and even death can be associated with orgasm.

It is April 13, 1861. Rebels have fired on Fort Sumter and the headline of the New York Times reads “The ball has opened. War is inaugurated.” Within days President Lincoln will call for 75,000 troops. His rising army needs support and motivation, both of which Walt Whitman can provide, or so it seems.

At first glance, Whitman’s Beat! Beat! Drums! serves as a form of Union propaganda – a recruiting charge – calling for soldiers to battle and everyone to stop what they are doing to support the war. However, he also hints at the adverse impacts of war by revealing its disregard for life and death. Thus, Whitman suggests that although nationalism and the Union should be the North’s focus, they will come at a cost.

The manner in which Whitman presents his initial charge beckons everyone to listen as the poem imprints its message into their heads. Each stanza opens with the familiar cry “Beat! beat! drums! – blow! bugles! blow!” engraining the call within the reader’s mind. The three-seven lines stanzas follow an iambic rhythm that mimics the beat of a recruiting drum. Without rhyme, the poem sounds more like a dictator’s intense speech or a preacher’s fiery sermon as it captivates the audience. Complete with an escalating loudness, this is propaganda in its finest, poetic form.

His message, like the pounding sound, is inescapable. As the drums beat and the bugles blow –instruments of the military – everyone can hear their omnipresent call. No one can escape the shrill “ruthless force” as it bursts “through the windows – through doors, “into the solemn church,” and “into the school.” The noise resonates throughout the countryside and city. Everyone must be aware of the conflict.

Once the listeners or readers are lured in, the speaker calls for mobilization. He hopes that they are stirred and stimulated by the sound, claiming, “no happiness must [the groom] have now with his bride…Nor the peaceful farmer any peace…no sleepers must sleep in those beds.” In order to strengthen unity and the Union, everyone together must do something in response to the incessant drums.

At this point, however, the poem shifts. Although the drumming and horn-blowing continue to escalate, one must question their loudness. Is it a good thing?

While the poem’s pace captivates the readers, it leads them to overlook the battle call’s ignorance. The speaker instructs the drums to “make no parley – stop for no expostulation” and mind not the timid, or prayer, or old man, or child’s voice. He wants the terrible drums “make even the trestles to shake the dead where they lie awaiting the hearses.” Neither the living nor the dead and those who will die are free from the heartless mandate. Thus, his charge, like war itself, disregards everyone in favor of its cause.

In sum, Whitman offers an almost sarcastic commentary on war. Beat! Beat! Drums! calls for union , yet then warns of its pig-headedness. People who listen to the poem are jumping on a bandwagon headed off a cliff – they might get caught up in the cause and forget what they could cause.