dying of the light

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night- Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,   

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Exploring a topic universal to all living creatures, this poem confronts the subject of death. It’s an inevitable end for all of us, yet every human reacts differently to the concept. In “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” Dylan Thomas discusses the end of life, suggesting that humans often feel that opposing death results in the treasuring of life though this is not necessarily true.

Throughout the poem, the speaker mentions the “dying of the light” and the “night” that follows. Coupled with terms such has “old age,” these bring to mind the end of not “light” but of life. The “dying of the light” comes to represent the fading of vitality as a person’s life nears its end just as the light fades as the day nears its end. Thus, the “night” follows to represent what comes after life: death. The speaker describes the actions of men faced with this “night,” speaking of how they “burn,” “rave,” and “rage” against the approaching of the end of light and life. As displayed by these words, the men described face not only going “against” death, but they do so with an aura of anger, the emotion brought to mind by such passionate and fiery words as “burn” and “rage.” Such anger suggests an opposition to death so strong that it borders on hatred, an explanation for the statement “Do not go gentle.” This direct command conveys the strong conviction of mankind’s opposition to death, as it suggests that one should not be “gentle” and go into the “night” that waits at the end of our lives. The connotations of the rage and command come together to characterize death as an enemy that must be fought against, or “[raged] against.” The poem develops to suggest that this characterization of death is spurred on by a desire to treasure life. The men that “rage” against death think of how their deeds “might have danced,” indicating a preoccupation with what could have been during life as opposed to accepting the reality of death.

However, veiled under support for the fight against death, the speaker suggests that perhaps accepting death is the better option. The speaker expressly states that “dark is right,” suggesting that darkness, undeniably connected to the death and “dying of the light” that men are resisting, is in fact the “right” path that should be taken as opposed to the enemy that mankind has made it to be. Even in hidden in the command to “not go gentle,” the speaker emphasizes that fact that it is not simply “night” or death, but “good night,” once again bringing in the connotation that this path, the path towards death, should be accepted instead of rejected. The truth that mankind seem to have accepted, that death is the enemy, becomes questionable and is even characterized as a “blinding sight” that comes near death. As death has not quite been reached, the men are still in the “light” providing them with the “sight” which brings to mind the concepts of truth and understanding. However, this “blinding sight” is not the actual truth, but a fake truth that leads to blindness and a lack of understanding. Therefore, the characterization of death as the enemy takes on the role of a fake truth merely obscuring the actual truth that death should be accepted.

Despite this veiled encouragement to accept death, the speaker does not suggest that mankind completely accept the darkness. Rather, the speaker suggests that mankind must find the light within the darkness, search for life within death. This concept is brought up as the speaker discusses the “blind eyes” that are contrasted with the “blinding sight.” While the “blinding sight” took on the meaning of false truth and the rejection of death, “blind eyes” create a world of darkness, linking them to the death of which the speaker encourages acceptance. However, these eyes, though linked to the darkness, are not caged in darkness. Instead they “blaze like meteors” a phrase that automatically brings in the image of light, suggesting that within the darkness of death, the light of life still exists. The “eyes” linked to death are also characterized as being “gay,” suggesting that the light within darkness, a life that can only be obtained by accepting the death that contains it, leads to happiness. Therefore, while the speaker expresses a sympathy and understanding for the men that resist death in order to cherish life, the speaker ultimately supports that idea of accepting death to find a new life within it.

fantasy

The Age of Innocence- Edith Wharton

“At that, as if it had been a signal he waited for, Newland Archer got up slowly and walked back alone to his hotel”

As simple as that. After a couple hundred pages of Newland Archer trying to find a way to be with Ellen Olenska, when he finally get a chance he walks away. He no longer has a wife. She no longer has a husband. Nothing is stopping them from being together, but after almost thirty years since parting, Newland can’t bring himself to see Ellen, believing instead that their relationship is “more real” if they don’t meet each other. To Newland, Ellen has long since ceased to be reality. She was nothing but a dream, a desire, but perhaps that was why he held her so dear.

Even before they were separated when Ellen returned to Europe, Newland already considered her a fantasy. When he sees her for the first time after his marriage with May, he reminds himself that Ellen is merely his “dream” and that May if his “reality.” However, in that picturesque moment, Ellen framed against the water, Newland’s dream is clearly defined as not only something that he can never have, but also something that he can never give up. Even after that moment on the tier, after Newland makes his decision that May will be his reality, he still seeks refuge in the perfect world that he has created, “thinking of Ellen” even as he lays next to May. From there Newland goes on the actively pursue a future with Ellen, determined to be with her even if it means going against society’s expectations and leaving May.

What he loves about Ellen, as he later tells his son, is that she was “different.” She was the foreigner that was not bound by the confines of society’s rules (though that may have been a result of ignorance), the one that went against all of the expectations that had been ingrained in Newland since he was a child. The very act of accepting her would be yet another rebellion against society as he would be bypassing the role of ‘cheating husband’ that could get away in high New York society and instead taking on the unforgivable role of ‘deserting husband.’ For a man that feels suffocated by a wife “incapable of growth” and so limited in her view of the world, Ellen is the perfect respite, which is why Newland turns her into an eternal fantasy.

But what is key is the fact that he never gets her. Despite Newland’s multiple efforts to be with Ellen, both before and after his wedding, he never manages to be with her, solidifying her role as the fantasy. Because he can never have her, especially after he finds out that May is pregnant, the only place he can preserve her is in his mind. He is forced to accept reality and play the part of a good husband, but he keeps Ellen as a “vision.” Yet in the end, when he finally has an opportunity to change fantasy into reality, he chooses to hold on to the fantasy in his mind. Why? Perhaps because Ellen was never meant to be a reality. She was the perfect possibility, what could have been, that kept him motivated and hopeful, but that was it. To turn her into a reality would be to accept that there was nothing as perfect as his fantasy. Better to hold on to the fantasy as the last remnant of hope than destroy with what would invariably be the disappointment of reality. And so Newland “walked back alone,” leaving behind the future and walking back into the fantasy of the past.

mrs. manson mingott

The Age of Innocence- Edith Wharton

Mrs. Manson Mingott. At once a curiosity in upper class New York society as well as the very definition of it. She is seen as the most powerful of the Mingott Clan, the one that everyone must please and the one that gives the final say on any significant decisions in the family. It is because of her and her fondness for Ellen that the family begrudgingly takes on the responsibility of bringing Ellen into upper class New York society even though everyone else is convinced that Ellen does not belong. It is through her influence that Newland archer is able to convince his future mother-in-law to hold his wedding with May earlier despite her earlier adamancy that the proper preparation could not be completed without more time. When she holds so much power within her own family and is also well-known in society in general, she is surely force to be reckoned with, as well as someone to be looked at closely.

Despite her influence in the upper class New York society that is so particular about rules and conformity, Mrs. Manson Mingott’s ways are a far cry from conformity. She herself was not originally a member of the upper class, having married into it from a poor family with no powerful title. From there, she continued to walk the fine line between accepted and eccentric. She sent married her daughters to foreigners. She built a house in the “middle of nowhere” as everyone in the upper class society saw it. She backed Ellen Olenska when everyone else had given up on her. Strangest of all was the fact that her actions were accepted, even “admired” by Newland, even though she was a woman, a fact that seems completely contrary to everything that upper class New York society believed in. In this society, where women’s eyes were “bandaged” from when they were little and these women were given in this ignorant state to a husband almost as property with no real power speak of, Mrs. Manson Mingott had risen in power to head a family of considerable prestige. Her husband had died when she was fairly young yet she managed to hold together the family and build it up, and she was not considered audacious for invading what one would think to be the world of men at the time. Instead Newland describes her as admirable. Such a character seems to have to place in the conservative upper class society of New York.

Yet at the same time, she seems to represent everything about that society, even in her physical appearance. She’s described as having become so obese that she had turned “vast and august as a natural phenomenon.” She isn’t even able to move up and down stairs, restricted to one floor and only a few rooms. Her figure has become large to the point that she can no longer move freely, cemented into one position in the same way that the society she lives in is set in their ways and is almost fearful of change as is seen in Mrs. Archer’s “annual pronouncement” of all the changes that had occurred in society and her conviction that it was “changing or the worse.” Her life of opulence also perfectly reflects the upper class New York society. When everything is judged by how things look and whether or not your wealth has been adequately displayed, as seen in the continuous efforts of the Beauforts to broadcast their wealth, Mrs. Manson Mingott fits right in with her house modeled after aristocratic hotels and filled with only the finest of furniture.

But with one side that is so revolutionary and daring, going up against every expectation that society has of her, and another side that adheres to conformity and what is acceptable to those around her, Mrs. Manson Mingott is woman of what seems to be irreconcilable opposites. But at the same time, that seems to be exactly Newland’s position as well. Split between the newness and eccentricity of Ellen Olenska and the comfort and familiarity of May Welland, Newland may admire the dichotomy he sees in Mrs. Manson Mingott because he too is searching for that perfect balance.