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Essay / Discovery and Revaluation in the Poetry of Robert Gray
Through the discovery of new values and places, individuals can reject socially interpreted ideas as they arrive at new perceptions of their larger society. However, some individuals may remain indifferent. It is these individuals who pose the greatest risk to society, because they are unaware that their actions are imposed on the natural world. The ability to be affected when composers question routine and the ramifications of wider society is influenced by the context in which the reader finds themselves. The reader's context is proven to be influential by Robert Gray in his poems. In his poems "Meatworks" and "Flames and Dangling Wires", Gray's contextual personal practices of vegetarianism and connections to Buddhism construct his critique of industrial slaughter systems, reflecting the notion of Buddhist detachment to relieve oneself from desire and sufferings that arise from it, a process based on the four noble truths to receive enlightenment. He also continues to question society and challenge confidence in the benefits of forward movement and technological progression in both "Late Ferry" and "North Coast Town", inspired by the Buddhist idea particularly zen of the non-human mind and subsequent respect for the natural world. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayGray expresses his rejection of consumerist and utilitarian values that marginalize an individual's worth, describing how the context of an individual results in the acceptance of certain ideals which can later be reevaluated and challenged. The physical act of travel tests the limits of what society already knows, these new experiences can cause the individual to re-evaluate their preconceived ideals. Gray uses physical findings to engage readers and inform them of his purpose in his poem "Journey: the North Coast" to describe the harmful effects of urbanization and consumer values that sideline an individual's worth. The repetition of "and" and a connective line opening like "the train that rumbles and creaks" reinforce the transitive nature and immediacy of the character's physical discovery of the landscape, while the stop consonants draw attention to the urgency and suddenness of the situation. Gray engages the reader through his use of onomatopoeia, as the mimetic technique creates negative connotations to position the reader against man-made technological progress as a dominant force that acts as an imposition on the environment and "rips the world apart." wind ". This view is influenced by Gray's connection to Buddhism's respect for nature and the non-human natural world, particularly in Zen Buddhism and the notion of the non-human mind. This speculation about new worlds and places through the realization of values that contradict our own is also represented in “North Coast Town.” Gray's juxtaposition of modern American imagery of "plate glass" and "tile" with "an Abo, not attempting to hitchhike, out of town" as the character discovers in "North Coast Town" suggests a new American colonization, like British colonization. it is often unavoidable. The reader begins to understand how the discovery of Americanization and dominant Western values affects small towns, and how this awareness can alter an individual's values and consumption routine and potentially change their life indefinitely. However, Gray also compares those who failnot to recognize the harmful effects of urbanization to those of the naive colonizers, because the colloquial and derogatory use of the word "Abo" satirizes the values of the colonizers, while Gray creates hope in the existence of an intact future by evoking the existence of “outside the city”. This is influenced by Gray's connection to Buddhism and his promotion of respect for the natural world and his detachment from the apparent desire for consumption of the north coast city. A renewed perception of our own morality separates us from others, encouraging individuals to question the ramifications of society. Gray's poem "Meatworks" critiques the industrial slaughtering industry, as informed by Gray's personal practice of vegetarianism to describe how an individual's personal context influences their values. The exclusionary language illustrated by “most of them worked around slaughtering” immediately separates the character from the other butcher shop workers to establish his morality over them. The ambiguous term "work" indicates that the workers were nearby and were "working" and avoiding the moral issue of animal slaughter. The enjambment with the next line emphasizes the word "slaughter" and gives the meats a brutal atmosphere as Gray positions us to reject the imagery of meat as a whole, informed by its Buddhist connections and Buddhist ideals of respect for nature and the Zen Buddhist notion. of the non-human mind through reincarnation, as well as its humanist concerns regarding self-determination. Gray continues to criticize those who do not realize the consequences of their actions; his poem “Flames and Dangling Wires” advocates moral self-determination and respect for the natural world that is not centered on human existence. Gray's spiritual discovery, evoked by imagination of place and belief in divinity, is depicted through infernal allusions to the devil's pitchfork evoking famous depictions of Christian imagery of hell by "rummaging through trash on extinguished fires. It thus expresses humanity's attempt to constrain and control nature, which has led to an apocalyptic vision of the future. Gray uses "the dump" as a simile for humanity, symbolizing the dystopian wasteland that society can become. This illustrates the need to stop a self-consuming "consumer society", as explained by Gray's connection to humanism and his rejection of a consumer culture as well as the rejection of divine edicts as as the moral center of humanity. Instead, it promotes respect for the natural world. , a void of superficial human desires. The impact of the discoveries can be transformative for some people, as they enlighten us about the power of our world and nature, as well as the imposition that society places on nature. Gray describes in his poem “Flames and Dangling Wires” how individual narrative discoveries can impact the reader and provide hope for societal transformation. The reference to “dangling threads” gives the poem its name and reinforces perceptions of cultural decline. The thread continues the motif of confinement and waste, and the use of em dashes underlines the epiphany coming from the discovery of an "old radio", apparently personal to the character while the pronoun becomes self-referential and exclusive again. The reference to the title causes the character to wake up from the decadence of consumerism which has caused “the landfill” towards a “coast of light”. This is indicative of Buddhist enlightenment, which involves seeing the insignificance of human activity in relation to the grand scale of the universe. Gray's rejection of divine edicts as the moral center of..