Preview

Reader Response to "For Whom the Bell Tolls"

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
834 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Reader Response to "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
Expository Writing
6 November 2013
Reader Response to “For Whom the Bell Tolls” John Donne’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is a very deep poem, and it’s difficult to understand if you only read it once. It focuses on how all humans have a connection to one another; if one person dies, the entire population is affected. In 1623, Donne was extremely ill with malarial fever, and he wrote the meditation during recovery. He observed that every death diminishes the fabric of humanity. He wrote about the tolling of a church bell, representing a funeral, and connected it to his present illness.
Most of John Donne’s writing is similar to the religious sonnets of Anne Vaughan Lock, because of the dark, gloomy and despairing tones (Evans par. 2) Donne frequently wrote and preached on themes of death and mortality, but in “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, there is no “gloomy obsession with death but rather confirmation that even in seeming isolation, the isolation of a sick man’s closet, God has us speak to and serve one another” (Helm par. 10). The third paragraph of the poem stands out to me because it’s the easiest part to understand, yet at the same time has the most meaning. The first phrase, “no man is an island,” means that humans depend on each other, and cannot thrive when isolated from everyone else. To me, “no man is an island” is a simple, yet genius way of stating this. An island thrives on its own; it doesn’t need the assistance of man. Humans need others to thrive and repopulate. We need other people to interact with, and not just empty interactions. People need to feel a connection (Olien par. 2-5). Loneliness shows up in measurements of stress hormones, immune function, and cardiovascular function, and by itself can kill a person; it’s twice as dangerous as obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure (Shute par. 3). When Donne says, “every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main,” he makes us think about the various social groups and communities we



Cited: Evans, Robert C. "“Despaire Behind, And Death Before”." Ben Jonson Journal 16.1/2 (2009): 99-116. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 28 Oct. 2013 Helm, Thomas E. "Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions." Masterplots II: Christian Literature (2007): 1-4. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. Olien, Jessica. “Loneliness Is Deadly.” Slate. The Slate Group. 23 August 2013. Web. 31 October 2013. Robinson, Marilynne. "Imagination & Community." Commonweal 139.5 (2012): 9-15. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. Shute, Nancy. “Why Loneliness is Bad for Your Health.” Health. U.S. News & World Report. 12 November 2008. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Box Man

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This essay implies to the reader that loneliness isn’t always a vile thing. The author compares somebody who has absolutely nothing in life but enjoys the solitude, to people who roam through life alone, seeking for company—but never find it. The author compares the chosen lifestyle of the box man, to the undesired for loneliness of the victims. The author explains that although one may be poor and alone, it does not mean that one is unhappy. For example, in paragraph 12 it is explained that the mayor has offered him help, but the box man pushes it away. In paragraph 18 it is described how the box man enjoys his dark life. It is portrayed that life is a solo journey and that one may be much more miserable by going through life accompanied than by being a collector of boxes.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An example in Of Mice and Men is “A guy needs somebody… A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is… a guy gets too lonely… he gets sick” (Steinbeck, (Crooks) 72-73). This just shows that a solitary person will do anything in order for them to be able to socialize with someone. Crooks is probably the best example of the theme “loneliness”. Since Of Mice and Men is predicated on the Great Depression, people conspicuously had slaves. Crooks was a slave and is a great example because slaves never had any friends because no one would interact with an African American. Isolation is virtually disease-like. It infects a person and can make them seem introverted when in truth, all they really want is a…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When deconstructing the text ‘W;t’, by Margaret Edson, a comparative study of the poetry of John Donne is necessary for a better conceptual understanding of the values and ideas presented in Edson’s ‘W;t’. Through this comparative study, the audience is able to develop an extended understanding of the ideas surrounding death. This is achieved through the use of the semi-colon in the dramas title, ‘W;t’. Edson also uses juxtapositions and the literary device, wit, to shape and reshape the meaning of the drama when studied in alliance to the poetry of John Donne. This alliance has been strengthened by the parallel of Vivian Bearing’s and Donne’s interpretation of life, death and eternal life. This enables the responder to recognise the higher concepts of death and its meaning.…

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    A text is essentially a product of its context, as its prevailing values are inherently derived by the author from society. However, the emergence of post-modern theories allows for audience interpretation, thus it must be recognised that meaning in texts can be shaped and reshaped. Significantly, this may occur as connections between texts are explored. These notions are reflected in the compostion of Edson’s W;t and Donne’s poetry as their relationship is established through intertextual references, corresponding values and ideas and the use of language features. Edson particularly portrays key values surrounding the notions of the importance of loved based relationships, and death and resurrection: central themes of Donne’s Holy Sonnets and Divine Poems. The purpose of these authors distinctly correlate as each has attempted to provide fresh insight into the human condition by challenging prevalent ideals. Thus, Edson incorporates Donne’s work to illuminate both explicit and implicit themes, creating an undeniable condition.…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    On the next section about the friend, it focused on communication. People gets stress when they feel lonely which would led to hart disease, diabetes, accidents, and suicide. It states that communication is crucial because we…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Meditation 17.

    • 585 Words
    • 2 Pages

    One of the most popular metaphors Donne uses is "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." Here Donne is trying to say that one person cannot stand-alone. Human beings need each other for survival and support. Donne then starts to talk about the death bell. He says whenever the bell tolls it is tolling for more than the one person who has died but it also is tolling for those who have been left behind to grieve over the death.…

    • 585 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Fun with Everyman the Play

    • 1887 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Gyamfi, Y.A. and Schmidt, M.R. Literature and Spirituality, Everyman, (2011). By Persons Education, Glenview, IL.…

    • 1887 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    One’s emotional suffering can lead to a better understanding of one’s identity. In Donne’s poem “If poysonous mineralls”, the speaker of the Sonnet seems to be a man that is asking desperately for forgiveness from God, feeling that it is not fair his sins are more evil because he possesses “intent or reason”. Donne’s era was at the time of the plague, and a time when Protestants clashed with Catholics, thus, he lived in a time of great suffering and conflict. “If lecherous goats, if serpents envious cannot be damned, alas, why should I be?” This angry, frustrated tone questions God’s choice of allowing these sinners to go unpunished, and he, marked as a sinner, must suffer for his mistakes. The iambic pentameter creates a rhythm in the Sonnet that makes it sound much more like a plea of one who is suffering, rather than a conversational and questioning approach. As the poem progresses, the transformation of Donne’s identity into a Protestant mindset,…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    For P2, loneliness affected her view of the world as well as herself. Loneliness increased as she made attempts to recover her sense of self as she knew it. Sharing experience within the primary relationship is essential for her in maintaining her intact sense of self. She values a sense of safety that she feels in her marriage. She can be all that she can be when she is able to feel such safety. Temporally loss of her attachment figure that reminded her of a possibility of permanent loss restricted the range of her emotional experience and availability. She struggled with the effects of loneliness and that unable to fully embrace her experience.…

    • 113 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    ⅕ Americans suffer persistent loneliness, loneliness is something thats hard to get rid of.It will leave a person hollow from the inside out.Loneliness is less like being isolated in a single room but rather feeling isolated in a crowd.The impact loneliness has on a individual throughout their lifetime until they, in some cases, develop anxiety or depression. Candy, Crooks as well as, Curley’s wife all symbolize loneliness, they radiant the idealization of friendship.As these characters being John Steinbeck’s, shower in loneliness, so can loneliness be dangerous?Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life.Loneliness can make you angry,and not to mention make you sick.Loneliness impacts a person because,Loneliness can make you lose your grip on reality. “Suddenly Lennie’s eyes centered and grew quiet, and mad.He stood up, and walked dangerously toward Crooks,Who hurt George?Ain’t nobody goin’ to talk no hurt…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Loneliness is a disease. It eats away at people slowly, gradually tearing them limb from limb. It is a virus that send some people insane. I want to have friends, Curley. I want somebody to talk to and laugh with. I thought I could find that with you. I thought marrying you would be an escape from the shitty life that I was leading with my ma. Turns out that this is even worse than I expected.…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The epigraph in Anna Karenina didn’t make a lot of sense when we first read it. In fact, it wasn’t really relevant until midway through the novel. Only once the plot had progressed did the epigraph unlock an underlying theme. The epigraph in For Whom the Bell Tolls is applicable at the very beginning of the novel. For starters, the mention of the bell, which I assumed to mean a funeral bell, brings the theme of death to the forefront of the reader’s mind before the first chapter even starts. Once the story begins, the theme of death is clearly relevant as we enter in the middle of a guerilla war, where death is everywhere. However, in war, a person’s death is caused by the actions of another person, whereas the epigraph did not indicate the nature of death. Death at the hand of another person versus death by natural causes is very different, and has a different impact on those around us.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A brief aside at this point will facilitate understanding of the research presented hereon and minimize repetitive clarifications on the viability of their methodologies and evidence. Loneliness is not an easily measured quantity and knowledge of its presence and severity is by its very nature limited to the subjective evaluation of the individual experiencing it. Most research on this subject matter must thus contend with imprecision borne of this subjectivity and self-evaluation and usually relies on well-established questionnaires and large population surveys. The former allows for facile comparison of different research efforts and their results; additionally, analyses of the data collected by self-reporting on questionnaires have repeatedly shown to allow significant correlations between loneliness and other experimental variables to be discovered. The latter methodological strategy of large sample populations minimizes the imprecision of this type of data through…

    • 4038 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Illusive Infatuation

    • 1747 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Twenge, Jean M. "Loneliness and Isolation." The Aims of Argument: A Text and Reader. By Timothy W. Crusius and Carolyn E. Channell. 7th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 454-57. Print.…

    • 1747 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Meditation X", which Donne wrote in mid-life, has a very defiant and powerful tone. Donne begins the meditation by defying normal views of death, and saying how "death, be not proud" (Donne). In deprecating death, Donne shows how he does not fear something which mortals usually fear. His reckless mockery of death is his appeal to pathos, specifically the human emotion of happiness and determination to live; "Meditation X" is a battle against an inevitable, insidious, and metaphysical force. In "Meditation XVII", Donne begins instead by deprecating himself, conceding that he "may think [himself] so much better than [he is]" (Donne). This concession conveys a much more acquiescent and passive tone, appealing instead to the human emotions of melancholy and yearning to understand and accept death. Logos is also manipulated by Donne in different ways so that different tones are created. In "Meditation X", Donne uses logos to show how death is not special or unique, which creates the defiant tone. In "Meditation XVII" Donne uses logos to show how death is an omnipresent, omnipotent entity. His repetition and emphasis of "bells," which symbolize death, are reminders of how death is everywhere: bells are everywhere, therefore death is everywhere.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays