In your post, write a response to the poem in which you analyze the attitude of the speaker and the devices used to convey the attitude, keeping in mind the title. Think about point of view, symbolism, imagery and diction.
"Ethics"
In ethics class so many years ago
our teacher asked this question every fall:
if there were a fire in a museum
which would you save, a Rembrandt painting
or an old woman who hadn't many
years left anyhow? Restless on hard chairs
caring little for pictures or old age
we'd opt one year for life, the next for art
and always half-heartedly. Sometimes
the woman borrowed my grandmother's face
leaving her usual kitchen to wander
some drafty, half-imagined museum.
One year, feeling clever, I replied
why not let the woman decide herself?
Linda, the teacher would report, eschews
the burden of responsibility.
This fall in a real museum I stand
before a real Rembrandt, old woman,
or nearly so, myself. The colors
within this frame are darker than autumn,
darker even than winter - the browns of earth,
though earth's most radiant elements burn
through the canvas. I know now that woman
and painting and season are almost one
and all beyond saving by children.
our teacher asked this question every fall:
if there were a fire in a museum
which would you save, a Rembrandt painting
or an old woman who hadn't many
years left anyhow? Restless on hard chairs
caring little for pictures or old age
we'd opt one year for life, the next for art
and always half-heartedly. Sometimes
the woman borrowed my grandmother's face
leaving her usual kitchen to wander
some drafty, half-imagined museum.
One year, feeling clever, I replied
why not let the woman decide herself?
Linda, the teacher would report, eschews
the burden of responsibility.
This fall in a real museum I stand
before a real Rembrandt, old woman,
or nearly so, myself. The colors
within this frame are darker than autumn,
darker even than winter - the browns of earth,
though earth's most radiant elements burn
through the canvas. I know now that woman
and painting and season are almost one
and all beyond saving by children.
There is no denying that the poem “Ethics” by Linda Pastan is hard to understand upon first glance. There are confusing words such as “Rembrandt,” and “eschew.” In addition to this idea many of the sentences do not make sense; “the browns of earth, though earth’s most radiant elements burn through the canvas.” Although these sentences caused much confusion upon first reading of the poem when going through it a second and third time, the symbolic nature of the poem started making sense. In the poem, the speaker (most likely the author) is questioned with a moral dilemma in which she has to choose to either save a precious Rembrandt painting or an old woman without many years of her life left. The speaker struggles with this dilemma throughout most of her life and it is only at the end of the poem that she realizes the answer to this question will only come with old age and maturity; “This fall in a real museum I stand before a real Rembrandt, old woman, or nearly so, myself.” The speaker writes about how the young students in her class are unable to think closely on this topic because they have not yet experienced the things that come with old age; “Restless on hard chairs caring little for pictures or old age.” The use of imagery with the quote, “restless on hard chairs” shows the students are anxious to get out of the class and do not take the question their teacher is asking them seriously. There is also almost a negative tone associated with the young students when the speaker uses words like, “half-heartedly,” and “half-imagined” to describe their feelings towards the moral question or the class. There is also a negative tone towards the old woman and the Rembrandt referring to them as just a “painting” instead of a work of art and “an old woman” with pretty much nothing left to live for. As the poem progresses to the end the speaker shows the old woman and the painting on the same level in terms of the moral dilemma question. The author uses imagery to describe why the painting is so important; “The colors within this frame are darker than autumn, darker even than winter- the browns of earth, through earth’s most radiant elements burn through canvas.” By comparing the painting to the earth, something that is incredibly valuable, the author shows how the painting although it is old is still just as valuable as the old woman is. The speaker ends the poem with, “I know now that woman and painting and season are almost one and all beyond saving by children,” which shows how the author truly believes children will never understand the significance of being old or the importance of an old painting because they are not wise with old age. Overall, “Ethics” by Linda Pastan was symbolic in nature by showing the importance of growing old and seeing things through a different perspective than a younger individual.
ReplyDelete-Bolger, J. 2
After reading this poem, I focused on how I felt. I could tell that the poem was supposed to create a sad and reflective feeling in its readers. Linda Pastan has created this poem with a cynical outlook on aging and the ethics of society. The fact that there is a question at all between saving a stupid oil painting and the life of a human being shows that society is thinking about the wrong issues. I am actually an oil painter who cares about her work dearly. However, when faced with the issue of saving my paintings or an old woman, my painting would be sacrificed without a thought. Pastan says that each year, the students responded "always half-heartedly" (line 9). This shows that the author's generation had rather undeveloped morals. She is bitter about her society thinking that it can choose the fate of this woman without her input.
ReplyDeleteIn the end of the poem, Pastan asserts that neither she nor the painting is worth saving. This is proof that the author has no faith in society. She believes that the morality of those around her are corrupt, yet she doesn't think herself to be perfect in any way. She understands that there is no perfection and that nothing is truly worth saving. Every generation will have its own master painters and great thinkers, leaving no reason at all to preserve the past. I see this poem as being very hopeless. The author is just accepting of her fate and the dying society around her. This little anecdote about school children can be applied to many controversial issues. Racism, sexism, and homophobia are easily applied to the idea of this poem. Those who simply accept that they can't change anything will never change anything. You must have faith in order to be the change that the world needs.
-S. Bahr 7/8*
The poem Ethics by Linda Pastan appears to be a simple poem about a teacher asking questions that inflicts no insightfulness into the students. It is not until the end of the poem that the writer is able to develop the theme of the novel In the poem, Pastan conveys the theme that with maturity and experience, one is able to obtain knowledge, make decisions, and develop ethics. Pastan utilizes literary devices to effectively communicate the theme of the poem to the reader.
ReplyDeleteThe narration of the poem is told through the point of view of an older woman. The speaker states, “This fall in a real museum I stand before a real Rembrandt, old woman, or nearly so, myself,” (17-19). The point of view of the poem is essential to developing the theme of the novel because through the course of the narration, it is evident that the speaker did not fully come to a conclusion about the teacher’s question until she was more mature. When the speaker speaks of her thoughts of the teacher’s question when she was younger, the speaker states, “Sometimes the woman borrowed my grandmother’s face leaving her usual kitchen to wander some drafty-half-imagined museum,” (9-12). The imagery the writer utilizes in this quote helps to develop the theme of the poem because it shows the inability of the youth to understand the teacher’s question. Instead of deciding on an answer to the question, the child instead replaces the woman in the story with her grandmother and fantasizes about the unusuality of her grandmother being in a museum instead of the kitchen. The youth’s incapability to identify with the question is demonstrated when the speaker describes the youth students as being “restless on hard chairs,” (6). The youth were neither insightful nor caring about the teacher’s questions. The theme is further developed through the poet’s use of imagery because the reader is able to visualize the transition in maturity and understanding of the teacher’s question.
Diction plays a large role in developing this poem. The poem begins with simple diction, such as one that would be used for a child, and gradually develops into more sophisticated, yet still simple, diction more fit for an adult and insights reflection. Halfway through the poem, the speaker states, “Linda, the teacher would report, eschews the burden of responsibility,” (15-16). The diction of the poem transitions from words like “half-heartedly” to “eschews.” Diction is also effective in developing symbols in the poem. In the poem, the museum symbolizes reflection. The teacher states, “If there were a fire in a museum which would you save, a Rembrandt painting or an old woman who hadn’t many years left anyhow?” (3-6). In the teacher’s original question, the museum serves as a place for reflection and growth. When the speaker becomes more mature, she states, “This fall in a real museum I stand before a real Rembrandt, old woman, or nearly so, myself,” (17-19). The woman learns and discovers tremendously just from the museum setting. The symbolism of the museum helps to develop the theme of the poem because although the museum itself remained virtually unchanged, the speaker was able to reflect, mature, and learn just because of the museum setting. The symbolism of the museum promoted the theme of the poem that age and maturity yields understanding and answers.
The literary devices used by Pastan in the poem Ethics are effective in communicating the overall theme of the novel to the reader. The reader is able to identify the theme of the novel more effectively and develop a deeper understanding of the poem as a result of the use of literary devices.
Linda Pastan writes “Ethics” from the point of view of an old woman reflecting on her experiences as a student. Every fall, her teacher asked the class “if there were a fire in a museum / which would you save, a Rembrandt painting / or an old women” (4-5). The speaker of the poem uses careful word choice to illustrate her change in attitude from a child to an adult. She says that as a child, she cared “little for pictures.” (7). Although the painting being discussed is from one of the best know painters in history, the children still only think that it is considered a picture. At the end of the poem, however, the women reflects on the same painting and examines the artistic qualities and feelings of the work. This change in point of view illustrates the change in attitude of the speaker from her childhood to adulthood. As a child, she did not understand the importance of the paining. As she grew, she began to discover the worth of the old painting.
ReplyDeleteDespite her feelings about the painting as a child, readers come to understand the speaker’s appreciation for the piece later in her life. She uses imagery to convey warm feelings from the paining and develop an appreciative tone. She says, “The colors / within this frame are darker than autumn, / darker even than winter- the browns of the earth” (19-21). The change in viewpoint from a child to an adult reinforces the purpose of poem. Readers come to realize children are unable to understand and appreciate what adults often can. For example, the children did not understand or respect the old woman that was wandering through the museum. However, the speaker is an old woman herself and notes how much her attitude towards the old have changed. Not only has she come to a better appreciation of the elderly, but she has also come to appreciate old pieces of art. As people age, their attitude of the world begins to change as they realize how valuable the people and places they meet are.
The title also plays an important role in the development of the poem. Pastan tiles the poem “Ethics,” a representation of the ethical question her teacher used to ask. However, as the woman aged, she realized the question was less about ethics and more about appreciation. Although she did not have this appreciation as a child, she came to a greater appreciation for the world around her as she aged.
-Ryan M. 2
Pastan fills “Ethics” with doubt in personal actions and what is best for society. Her appreciative tone for the evolution of “ethics” or in other terms, the growth of the human mind reflects the evolution of her own mindset. The question that her teacher presents to her when she was young is not just a question for her; it is a question for us. Pastan gives us the challenge to decide what we would do in such a situation. She provides the same imagery to make us struggle: save the timeless painting or the due-to-expire woman. Pastan thinks the woman should decide her own fate, but the teacher contends with Pastan saying, “Linda, the teacher would report, eschews/ the burden of responsibility” (15-16). That response reflects society’s inability to make the proper choices. We are afraid to make the wrong choice, that we would rather let that choice be one of someone else. Pastan gave the wrong answer to her teacher. When she focuses on her personal experience in the museum, we would think she would know her decision to the question, but the poem gives us a surprise:” earth’s most radiant elements burn through the canvas” (22). When Pastan looks at Rembrandt’s work, she realizes the worth of the painting. Her diction, as she describes the painting, is of venerability. The painting is something deserving to be preserved, even beyond the life of a human. The painting has existed before Pastan and will exist beyond her. Its preservation is more important than her breath because it holds the existence of many peoples before Pastan. To lose it, would be to lose those came before Pastan. Through a child’s perspective, as Paston tells her poem in the first half, a situation of life and loss consists of only looking at the superficial qualities present. Yet, as the mind grows and matures, as an individual sees through his or her own eyes the complexities of a situation, is when the personal meaning of ethics can be defined and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteSrivastava R, 2
In “Ethics” by Linda Pastan, a different view is taken on society from the perspective of an individual growing up. From the title, it is inferred that the main character does not carry much meaning or respect towards ethics. As the poem moves on, the main characters perspective changes, stating, “I know now that woman / and panting and seasons are almost one / and all beyond saving by children” (23-25).
ReplyDeleteThis perspective entails either saving an old, sought after, picture, or saving an old woman with many year of experience and knowledge. This decision is tough on the main character, and it mirrors an idea that society carries. In this day and age, people tend to move with a large crowd and do not make decision for themselves. This question in the poem demonstrates how hard it is for someone to make up his or her mind, for better or for worse. The way society works is demonstrated in the poem when it states, “Linda, the teacher would report, eschews / the burden of responsibility” (15-16). Society spends too much time trying to make the right choice that it influences the situation they are in and the total outcome in the end. In the end of the poem, the decision is left up to the main character. She goes to a museum and is faced with the same situation that her teacher brought up in the past. At this moment, the main character notices that the panting not only supports the elderly woman, but many others in her lifetime. The character states that, “the browns of the earth, / though earth’s most radiant elements burn / through the canvas.” (21-23). The picture speaks for so many people on earth, not just one individual. Although the older woman has a lot of knowledge and has been through a lot of things, it does not compare to all the events the picture has been through.
Wasylko G, 7/8th
In the poem Ethics by Linda Pastan, the author uses the speaker’s attitude as a medium for her message. Pastan’s diction and use of imagery assist in conveying the speaker’s attitude, and ultimately her message. The poem Ethics predictably poses a question of ethics, “if there were a fire in a museum which would you save, a Rembrandt painting or an old woman who hadn't many years left anyhow” (Pastan 2-6). The question is thrown at the reader to consider, and directly following the question the speaker begins to digress and talk about the normal answer to the question of ethics, “we'd opt one year for life” (Pastan 8). The speaker follows this by associating her grandmother with the woman in the museum and providing a few words that describe the speaker’s grandmother; “Sometimes the woman borrowed my grandmother's face leaving her usual kitchen to wander some drafty, half-imagined museum” (Pastan 9-12). Through this comparison, the speaker becomes tied to the poem. The speaker then discuses her witty response to her teacher: asking why the woman in the museum doesn’t decide for herself if she wishes to be saved. Then an even more powerful association is made, one between the woman and the speaker, “This fall in a real museum I stand before a real Rembrandt, old woman, or nearly so, myself” (Pastan 17-19). At this point, the speaker associates herself with the woman in the museum, establishing an almost reflective attitude. The poem concludes with, “I know now that woman and painting and season are almost one and all beyond saving by children” (Pastan 23-25). This is the final point that drives home the author’s message. The author is providing a comment on the moral dilemma presented at the beginning of the poem; she is saying that neither can be saved by “children.” The children are the people who believe in a naïve way that they can save the woman or the painting, because in reality both are close to their demise.
ReplyDeleteBruggeman, Jacob 7/8th
“Ethics” by Linda Pastan poses a very complex question: “If there were a fire in a museum/ which would you save, a Rembrandt painting/ or an old woman who hadn’t many/ years left anyhow?” (Lines 3-6).
ReplyDeleteAs the poem progresses, Pastan reveals how she answered year after year. Of these answers, one caught my attention, “One year, feeling clever, I replied/ why not let the woman decide herself?/ Linda, the teacher would report, eschews/ the burden of responsibility,” (lines 13-16). It is interesting how, at that moment, and that moment only, the poem shifts to third person. It is by shifting point of view that the author reveals that she does not agree with what her teacher said, as she detaches herself from the statement.
I particularly enjoyed the ending of this poem, as Pastan gives her final answer to the question her ethics teacher had asked many years ago. She states that neither the painting nor the old woman is as important to save as a child. In my opinion, I feel as though she says this because if the child dies, there would be no one to appreciate the art remaining. Just before she states her final answer, she explains the intricate of beauty of artwork. Like the old woman, she now understands the importance of art. Because of this, she chooses to save the child, someone who is likely not yet appreciative of art.
-Kett J 2
The title of the poem, “Ethics,” represents the main internal conflict for the author. She remembers a time during school when she was asked to choose whether to save an old woman or a valuable painting, but instead of giving her teacher a well thought-out reply she responded with a snarky comment. "Ethics" by Linda Pastan shows readers the importance of truly examining a topic before coming to a conclusion thorough her use of a reflective attitude.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is told through the author’s point of view, an elderly woman reflecting upon a seemingly unimportant moment in her life as a young adult. As a child, Pastan was quick to ask, “why not let the woman decide herself” (line 14)? This arrogant tone is created by the brevity and lack of explanation as to why this decision was made, shows readers that Linda Pastan was not mature enough to understand the true consequence of her proposed action. She implied that a material good was worth more than a human life. The, “Rembrandt painting” (line 4) symbolized a material good that was valuable only because people deemed it valuable, not because it was necessary for people to survive. While the, “old woman who hadn’t many years left anyhow” (line 5) symbolized people society deemed less valuable. However, Pastan did not understand the relationship between the old woman and the painting yet. After Pastan matures, she explains; “I know now that woman and painting and season are almost one and all beyond saving by children” (lines 23- 25). She now understands that both the old woman and the painting were valuable in their own way and that no one should be asked to elevate the value of one over the other. Neither the painting nor the old women’s faith could be determined by children or young adults who could not understand the significance of the question that they were being asked.
The students would be; “Restless on hard chairs caring little for pictures or old age we'd opt one year for life, the next for art and always half-heartedly” (lines 6-9). This shows that the students were not interested in the teacher’s ethical question after so many years of hearing the question. Diction plays a prominent role in these lines because they make the readers see the students’ anxiousness for the teacher to move on to a different topic through the use key words such as, “restless” (line 6), “caring little” (line 7), and “half-heartedly” (line 9). Phrases such as, “opt out” (line 8) demonstrate the author’s youth and lack of maturity at the beginning of the poem. While her maturity is shown in lines 15 through 16, Pestan states that the teacher, “eschews the burden of responsibility.” Using eschews instead of a similar word such as, avoid, reviles that the author has matured and she uses elevated vocabulary to show the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Diction, point of view, symbolism, and imagery are all used to enhance the effect of the reflective attitude used throughout the poem. The title also allows readers to obtain a glimpse of what the poem’s main conflict will be. Literary devices help enhance Pastan’s meaning and show her readers the significance of thinking a question through.
Judele C, 2nd
The authors’ attitude appears to be one of disinterest and depression. Throughout the piece the readers receive a very passive tone throughout and that can be seen through her tone and point of view. At many times it is seen that she does not appear to care about what is going on around her. When she says "caring little for pictures or old age we'd opt one year for life, the next for art and always half-heartedly" she is demonstrating that she is just going through the motions of her life, and she really does not care about either option she just answered the question asked of her to answer it. When imagining the question she even says that it is "some drafty, half-imagined museum." Her lack of actually trying to come up with a scenario shows her lack of interest and caring, and again shows her being passive. The tone of depression is also very prevalent throughout the piece. It is seen when she says “colors/ within this frame are darker than autumn, /darker even than winter” Her descriptive words make the whole idea of the painting dark and depressing. If the colors are darker than winter, then the colors have to be incredibly dark, because if you consider our winters, which are almost as dark as the potholes they create, then that painting must be super dark. The depressing feel is seen especially when she says “I know now that woman/ and painting and season are almost one/and all beyond saving by children.” Her she is saying that the painting and the woman, herself, are beyond saving, which to me sounds like she is saying that they are too far gone and not worth saving. That sounds pretty depressing if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteBunting, A 2nd
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ReplyDeleteLinda Pastan’s attitude in her poem “Ethics” is contemplative as she thinks of the question her ethics teacher posed, “if there were a fire in a museum / which would you save, a Rembrandt painting / or an old woman who hadn’t many / years left anyhow?” (Lines 3-6). She then goes on to describe how she and other students could never come up with an answer confidently. One year, Pastan responds to the question, “why not let the woman decide herself?” (Line 14). After this question, there is a shift in point of view from first person to third person when the teacher responds. This is significant because it tells readers that she does not agree with what the teacher is saying. As the poem progresses, Pastan uses descriptive prose when talking about the painting. At the end she says, “I know now that woman / and painting and season are almost one / and all beyond saving by children” (lines 23-25). This last response gives the answer to the question the ethics teacher posed. Pastan believes that the painting and the old woman are one in the same in a sense, being that they are both old. Both the painting and the old woman possess significance as a result of their age. The painting is historical proof of the culture from years ago, it gives people of the present a peek into the artistic world that existed before their time. The old woman is living proof of the past, she has wisdom from her years of life and links people to the social aspects of a past world. By saying that the painting and the woman are “beyond saving by children” (line 25). The author recognizes that both the painting and the old woman are important and both provide people with a link to the past. To save one and not the other would be a loss and to lose both would be a loss for future generations because the connections to the past would be lost.
ReplyDeleteAguinaga, C 7/8*
I believe that the attitude of this poem starts out as indifferent and uncaring and then moves on to be accepting because she realizes the true answer to the question. Her point of view changes from beginning to end going from the “children” that would do the saving to being the “old woman” who is one of the options. The imagery used at the end shows her clear realization of the fact that they are “all beyond saving by children” when she writes, “The colors within this frame are darker than autumn, darker even than winter – the browns of earth, though earth’s most radiant elements burn through the canvas” (19-23). She compares both the painting and the old woman who is, in the end, her only to discover the fact that they are “almost one.” The poem’s title Ethics is a word that symbolizes that there is always a choice to be made and that there is a right answer. However, in the end it is obvious that there is no right answer when it comes to ethics. The woman realizes that both the painting and the old woman would be priceless in what they give to the world and therefore they cannot be saved by children who do not understand that yet, like when she was in her ethics class.
ReplyDeleteDame, E 2*
In her poem “Ethics”, Linda Pastan revisits a haunting question that one of her teachers asked she and her classmates every fall: “If there were a fire in a museum/which would you save, a Rembrandt painting/or an old woman who hadn’t many/years left anyhow” (lines 3-6). In reading this poem, it is evident that Pastan’s attitude is very reflective and almost distrusting to aging in society as a whole. This idea is portrayed through the poet’s use of imagery and diction.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, the speaker is an old woman. Her being an old woman really reflects the idea that one cannot know how to answer the questions of life (in this case, the one her teacher asked her) until they have grown up and are mature. Children do not understand the question, and therefore could not understand how to answer. In saying that they were she and her classmates were “restless on hard chairs/caring little for pictures or old age” Pastan is basically saying that children do not have enough wisdom or desire for thinking about questions such as these at such a young age. This shows how reflective she is on herself as a young child and how even she did not know how to answer the question because she was not old enough.
Pastan’s diction and imagery also portray her reflectivity and distrusting vibe towards society. By saying that she and her classmates would opt for one year of life and art “half-heartedly” (line 9) she depicts that they were almost careless of the question their teacher was asking them and that they really had no desire in determining the answer. By writing that the painting is “darker than autumn/ darker than even winter – the browns of earth/though earth’s most radiant elements burn/through the canvas” (lines 21-24) the reader gets the sense that the painting is very deep and dark and can only be understood by those who are mature enough to understand.
In the end, it is understood by the reader that Pastan, now fully grown and an older, mature woman finally understands the question that her teacher used to ask her. She realizes that “woman and painting and season are almost one and all beyond saving by children” (lines 24-26) and that in order to truly understand the question, one must grow and truly understand themselves.
Shaniuk, B 7/8
Overall, Linda Pastan has an interesting, and different view on the world of ethics. Her attitude throughout the piece has a cynical, sarcastic undertone, yet it is informative and teaching. This is apparent from the very beginning of the piece when she first starts to use her relatable, pointed diction. She says phrases like “so many years ago” and “restless on hard chairs” to depict a satirical attitude towards her past education, and what she was taught about ethics. Additionally, it is with this diction that she becomes informal and more relatable. She continues by utilizing diction such as “half-heartedly” and “half-imagined” to symbolize the controversy of ethics; she even alludes to the schema of her own grandmother to show the confusion and bias. It is with these images and word choices that she makes her first comment about ethics. She states that it is up to those who see it to make the decision. Each situation will be different, and never has a right answer because it depends on the person and their experiences. From an ethical standpoint, this makes a lot of sense. Ethics are confusing, dependent, and controversial because situations have no right answers. Pastan does not even say this, but through her use of words and depictions, she makes this known.
ReplyDeleteShe then digresses from this point into something with a little more substance. She identifies the situation of herself, an old woman, in a museum with a Rembrandt painting. Pastan utilizes beautiful imagery explaining the depth and the feeling of the painting, sensual and earthy. In regards to point of view, this is an interesting contrast. We expect, starting to know her through her work, that we would pick her over the painting, and that she would either make a stance about whether to choose her or this painting, depending on her purpose. However, she does neither. She states that herself and the painting are one, and that both are beyond the saving of “children”. It is with this her overall purpose comes through. She uses these devices, and this satirical attitude to make the audience realize there is no right or wrong answer because it is beyond us as humans to choose the validity of anything. Overall, this piece is a fascinating commentary on what we assume are our rights, and what we actually have control of. Her attitude is the hammer that breaks the idea of ethics and being able to decide what is right and what is wrong. It is with this that we truly understand ethics, and its convoluted purposes.
Megan Lear 2nd
Not many people are faced with the decision of choosing to save a life or choosing to save an important painting. Those who are may see this as a simple decision. This is exactly the decision facing the narrator of Linda Patsan’s “Ethics.” While the title simply seems to speak to an ethical dilemma, the narrator’s attitude also plays a role. The attitude and ethical evolution of the narrator is most prominently shown through diction.
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the first description, the reader is swayed in their choice, “…which would you save, a Rembrandt painting/or an old woman who hadn't many/years left anyhow?” (4-6).The narrator clearly places more value on the painting than the life of the old woman by comparing their longevity. However the longevity loses its importance as the poem continues and it becomes more focused on reflection than being in the moment. The thoughts used closer to the original question have a more youthful and immature quality, “anyhow” or “fall.” Towards the end of the reflection, the diction becomes more mature and reflective, changing to words like “autumn” and “radiant.” Despite transitioning in maturity from “fall” to “autumn” the author still struggles with answering the question. The almost disheartened attitude of the author makes the reader more confused to the answer of what should be a simple question. While the maturity increases, the attitude about the question does not.
McGregor, M 2
In the poem “Ethics” by Linda Pastan, the beginning feeling and attitude of the piece seemed a bit dull and uninterested. This reflected how the students felt in her ethics class, the youth not really caring whether they saved a dying woman or an old painting. The author writes, “Restless on hard chairs caring little for pictures or old age we’d opt one year for life, the next for art and always half-heartedly” (6-9). I imagined students sitting at their desks with their chins resting in their hands as they rolled their eyes saying they would save the woman as a first option. The diction used in this poem makes youth seem careless or bored, but that is simply because they do not know or have not experienced beauty in art or old age. They have not yet developed morals that correspond with the question they are asked in their ethics class. Because the point of view is from the author who was in the class, the shift in attitude towards the end of the poem is even more important. It is a more passionate attitude, and overall she has become interested. In her youth, the question of what to save was insignificant and unimportant. As she got older, she matured and her ethics changed. Through the use of imagery, it is clear that her attitude towards artwork is different compared to what it was when she was in her ethics class. She writes, “The colors within this frame are darker than autumn, darker even than winter - the browns of the earth, though earth’s most radiant elements burn through the canvas” (19-23). The author now sees the value within the painting and appreciates its beauty now that she is older . The author expresses how people of young age will not understand this value nor the values and ethics that are brought with maturation and old age.
ReplyDeleteHornung A. 7/8
In her poem “Ethics,” Linda Pastan explores the distinction between life and art and comes to the conclusion that no distinction exists. She poses the question to her reader: which would you save, the painting or the old woman? The title of the poem contributes to the atmosphere because the word “ethics” implies a moral code and a decision between what is right and wrong. The author suggests that there is no right decision in this situation – that life is art and art is life and both are doomed from the outset.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator of this poem gives the sense that she knows more than us, as we recognize an inherent wisdom in her words. The end of the poem, which portrays the narrator as an old woman while subtly suggesting that the reader is a child, helps us further trust her argument. We spend the majority of the poem contemplating how to answer her question, but she turns it on its head by suggesting that an attempt to save either would be pointless. Her attitude is an indifferent one because she is sure that the decision doesn’t matter – life and art are one and the same. Her diction contradicts this attitude because the choice of the word “burden” to describe this responsibility adds weight to a choice that, in her opinion, doesn’t matter.
Pastan employs anastrophe when she writes, “This fall in a real museum I stand / before a real Rembrandt, old woman / or nearly so, myself” (17-19). This inversion of the normal order of words serves to blur the distinction between life and art because for a second it is as if she is referring to the Rembrandt as an old woman. The shift in point of view also works to blur lines because it transitions from first person plural to first person singular. The use of “we” and “our” in the beginning of the poem includes the reader and invites them to make a choice, whereas the use of “I” at the end of the poem distances the reader and makes their choice irrelevant.
“Ethics” puts forth the notion that there is no difference between old woman, season, and painting since all are doomed from the start. The choice, which seems so important in the beginning of the poem, is revealed to be pointless by the end of it. We as children will not understand this until we ourselves are faced with death. Life cannot be given precedence over art because life is art; each is tied to the other and could not function alone.
Keller N 7/8
In her poem Ethics, Linda Pastan addresses a complex question regarding the topic of ethics. Her tone throughout the piece is vaguely cynical. To choose between saving a masterpiece and a human life is not something one could decide upon lightly, and Pastan addresses that people will be indecisive when faced with a dilemma such as this. Lines 6-9 “Restless on hard chairs, caring little for pictures or old age we'd opt one year for life, the next for art, and always half-heartedly” demonstrate this wishy-washy attitude. The point of view the author takes is one of a student herself, placing herself in the same shoes as her audience, as we contemplate the question alongside her. The colorful imagery Pastan uses to describe every detail, especially in the old woman and the painting makes the decision for the reader even harder, as we can further appreciate the value of each as we can visualize them. Pastan describes her grandmother’s face as the old woman (lines 9-12) and the rich colors of the painting (lines 20-23), examples of the skillful imagery employed. The end of the poem is what contributes most to the cynical tone of the poem, saying “I know now that woman, and painting and season are almost one, and all beyond saving by children.” (lines 23-25). This implies that art, and humans, are above what man can save, or change. This profound statement leaves the reader in a state of confusion as ethics often does.
ReplyDeleteFlorek, E 7/8
In her poem “Ethics,” Linda Pastan takes a view on growth from childhood to adulthood through a simple question asked year after year: “If there were a fire in a museum/ which would you save, a Rembrandt painting/ or an old woman who hadn’t many/ years left anyhow?” (3-6)
ReplyDeleteTo start, the narrator is a child when first faced with this question- a child who cares “little for pictures or old age” (7) at first, and along with the rest of the class faced with this question, switches answers each year. As this child grows older however, the question becomes harder to answer as the narrator learns of the importance of both the painting and the life of the old woman. In the end, standing as an old woman herself, the narrator uses heavy imagery to bring out the importance of both life and art, showing that a child could not come to understand them- and therefore, unable to save either.
In the very beginning of the piece an uncomfortable rhetorical question is placed upon the reader to convey an awkward and distressing attitude. The reader feels as though if they answer this question incorrectly, a judgmental result will take place. The author started off the poem by making herself seem relatable, a high schooler in class, “In ethics class so many years ago, our teacher asked this question every fall” (Line 1). Special emphasis on the title, “Ethics” enhances the meaning of the phrase itself, which describes the importance of moral choice. The choice being portrayed in this piece is somewhat moral, forcing readers to choose between art and a human life form in terms of survival. The old woman described in the poem is said to have “only a few years left” in order to show bias towards the art, because most humans would typically value another member of society more than a material object. By describing that her death is naturally near, the author attempts to make her seem somewhat less important and the painting more important, in attempt to stabilize the 2 levels. The author writing this from her own personal point of view helps readers relate as they feel as though the writer has personally had to make this choice in her lifetime. The painting symbolizes art and the woman obviously symbolizes mankind, as this piece tries to find a common thread between the 2, arguing as though they hold equal importance. By saying, “This fall in a real museum I stand before a real Rembrandt, old woman, or nearly so, myself. The colors within this frame are darker than autumn, darker even than winter - the browns of earth, though earth's most radiant elements burn through the canvas” (Lines 17-23), the woman is describing the fact that she faces old age as the woman before her did, and she struggles to find her value compared to beautiful and timeless art. She uses basic level diction to convey her relatable theme, also symbolizing youth and its value alike. This piece is very monotone and basic and nature, seeming as though her death may sometime be inevitable and giving her the moral choice between the beauty of life and the beauty of art. Or if there are even differences between the 2.
ReplyDeleteMewhinney, M 2
Linda Pastan utilized her own point of view, imagery, and the idea of ethics to convey an overall attitude to the audience in the poem “Ethics”. However, we see two different attitudes set in place due to her aging. The first few lines of the poem portray a youth, and awareness to members of society. The point of view of this attitude is coming from Paston, a student who lacks much experience. Pastan states:”Restless on hard chairs / caring little for pictures or old age/ we’d opt one year for life” (Lines 6-8). This quote helps symbolize youth because children and the younger generation seen as those ‘restless on hard chairs’. Generally, younger people lose sight of an overall value of an object, versus the life of a human. Now this may seem morbid, but a picture would connect generations upon generations instead of an elderly woman. This picture that Paston’s teacher discusses, symbolizes the ethical value of life. Children would opt to choose life of a human being regardless of age because that is what is seen to be ethically correct. As Pastan grows older, her attitude on this posed question changes. One autumn she stands before a painting and comes to this conclusion, shifting the entire attitude of the poem: “The colors / within this frame are darker than autumn, / darker even than winter - the browns of earth, / though earth's most radiant elements burn / through the canvas” (Lines 19-23). Pastan shows an appreciative attitude towards this painting, seeing it holds just as much life as a human being. Her description of colors and sight when looking at the painting portrays a new found understanding of the art. These colors are meant to symbolize the years of life this painting as endured. This painting is beyond the life of Pastan’s or the old women’s. Her change from a less mature attitude on the ethics of life to an attitude filled with experience and logic is based upon a single painting, an elder women and a posed question. Her attitude Is expressed through her description of the painting and her experience over time.
ReplyDeleteCika, M 2
Linda Pastan recalls her memory as a child in her poem “Ethics” of being asked the same question year after year. The decision to save priceless art, or save a women not far from death. I think it’s almost ironic, most likely the choice of Pastan, that most Rembrandt paintings are portraits of elderly people. So the question the author is being asked is “do you save this old women, or this painting of an old women?”. I think the irony of the question shows the absurdity in it The attitude is reminiscent as well as uncomfortable. The speaker is an older woman, remembering her childhood teacher’s questions. It’s uncomfortable because the question is a tough one, and she doesn't want to answer wrong. In the end she is exhausted and comes to the realization that she as well as the painting are beyond saving.
ReplyDeleteParey C 7/8
The attitude Linda Pastan expresses toward ethics in this poem is one of disdain, with some sadness mixed in. This disdain comes mostly from the point of view and symbolism. When Pastan had to take the class as a child, she did not like it because the answers changed all the time. Sometimes, the person would feel more important than some painting, as she thought of her grandmother. Other times, it seemed that deep art that had already stood the test of time should be the one to remain. She resented having to be the one to make this difficult decision because, as a child, she had never had a reason to be given such responsibility and was not used to it. Later in the poem, however, when she is older, her sorrow over the topic increases when she realizes there is no right answer to the question: “I know now that woman and painting and season are almost one and all beyond saving by children” (line 23-25). Neither the artwork nor the elderly were worth saving because both would eventually fade away and be replaced by the new.
ReplyDeleteThe symbolism of the seasons demonstrates this point. When spring or summer is referenced in a work, it almost always represents youth or rebirth; for autumn and winter, death and decay: “The colors within this frame are darker than autumn, darker even than winter- the browns of earth, though earth’s most radiant elements burn through the canvas” (19-23). By comparing the colors of the painting to the faded months of autumn and winter, Pastan is conveying they are past their prime and no longer of much consequence in today’s world. The same could be said for the elderly, as the world they were raised in largely no longer exists. Ethics, as the teacher might try to instill, would dictate that a human life is more important and should be saved, but in Pastan’s point of view, there is no point in saving either when they no longer have anything to add to the world. She reflects about what she might do when she states neither of them is worth saving, and wonders what today’s students would do with the question. They do not understand all of this, and would probably answer as she did: “why not let the woman decide herself” (line 14).
Maslach, K 2
In the poem “Ethics” by Linda Pastan discusses the idea that life and art are one and the same. The narrator is faced with the decision of choosing one or the other but comes to the conclusion that it is impossible, one cannot exist without the other. The attitude the narrator presents is contemplative because they are questioning what to do about the painting and old woman. Their point of view of this student presents a more open mind, they are trying to look at the situation at more than one angle, unlike an adult who has set ideas that will not change. But then the student grows up and has a set opinion on the painting and old woman. The narrator says, “I know now that the woman/ and painting and season are almost one” (23-24). The narrator leads the reader to her conclusion through her symbolism and imagery.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator is able to create a vivid picture with her strong diction. They say, “The colors/ within this frame are darker than autumn,/ darker even than winter” (19-21). The words are able to give the reader a strong image where they can truly imagine themselves there. The narrator also creates the symbol of life with the painting and woman. They create the idea that two will not be the same but one is not more valuable than the other.
LoDolce, A 7/8
The title of the poem by Linda Pastan sets the tone for the rest of the poem right away: "Ethics". The word ethics implies that there is a moral conflict within the poem and the fact that it is in quotes gives it a tone of carelessness or indifference. At first glance the poem was a little difficult to understand but right away I got the feeling of one of those "would you rather" games that we all played at one point. in this case the question that the author struggle with was "would you rather save a painting or an old woman from a burning museum?". Using words such as "Restless on hard chairs/caring little for pictures"(lines 6-7) and "we'd opt one year for life, the next for art/and always half-heartedly"(lines 8-9), the reader gets the feeling that the speaker does not care much for who to save. they just want class to be over. However, the poem takes a sudden turn when the speaker finds herself being an old woman in a museum looking at the same painting her teacher had talked about. It is then that she answers the question that she did not care to think about years ago: Whether you save the painting or the old woman, they are both doomed from the start because there is no distinction between them. The painting and the old woman both are art and life.
ReplyDeleteWhat the poem is really saying is that wisdom comes with age. As the speaker grew up and personally experienced life and saw the painting, she was able to come up with a response to that question.
Galvan, E. 2nd
The world is bracing for the fall of an aging nation. The elderly members of this world feel a sense of despair when they look at the past and then towards the future. They are unsure if the old traditions and values of the (past) will be respected when they are no longer in this world. In “Ethics” by Linda Pastan, Pastan writes about a hypothetical situation and relates it to her own life.
ReplyDeleteAs I said earlier, the people of are unsure of how the future will be. In her poem, Pastan used imagery of dark colors that are associated with a dark mood. She writes, “The colors/ within this frame are darker than autumn, /darker than even winter” (19-20). Winter, although it is white and heavenly looking, is associated with cold, bitter emotions. This imagery helps set the mood of the author.
Throughout the poem, Pastan writes about a museum in which there is a fire. Pastan pictures herself as the woman in the museum on fire. The woman uses “Ethics” to state her thoughts and feelings. Also, fires symbolize damage that cannot be undone. The fire inside of the museum will destroy all of the paintings inside and all of the people inside, and a child will not be able to save them. Here, she may also be commenting on the role of children in society. Children in America are not given many burdens and expectations. No one really expects a child to save something or someone from a burning fire.
The children in her class do not know if they should save a priceless painting or an old woman. Which life is worth more—that of an inanimate object or that of a human? In the end of the poem, however, Pastan is standing inside of a museum and is reminded of her old ethics class. She states, “I know now that woman/ painting and season are almost one/ and all beyond saving by children” (22-24). I believe that Pastan is commenting on how society cannot save the elderly or the values of antique artworks. This new generation will bring a new mindset, one that no one knows for sure.
Patel, D 2
At first sight the poem, Ethics by Linda Pastan appears to be simple with little to no literary merit. But at a closer look, the true meaning behind the poem is revealed. At the end of the poem the theme is revealed. Pastan uses a unique diction and literary devices to communicate the theme to her audience.
ReplyDeleteThe diction and tone used in the beginning of the poem show wisdom. The author lets the audience contemplate the question throughout the first part of the poem. The author contemplates the answer to this question throughout her life and doesn’t realize the answer to the question until later in her life.
The poem shows the author maturing as the question is repeated each year. After she has grown and matured she says, “I know now that woman and painting and season are almost one and all beyond saving by children” (lines 23- 25). The maturation of the author reveals a theme in the poem. She now understands that someone can’t simply determine the value between the woman and the painting.
Gall, A 2
In the poem "Ethics" by Linda Pastan, the attitude starts off sounding negative due to the title. The way the children respond to the question does not help. Replying, "we'd opt one year for life, the next for art and always half-heartedly". The old woman and the priceless painting are both symbolic because they represent indecision. The point the speaker is trying to make is that even as an old woman herself it is impossible to choose which is more valuable. Concluding that they are equal and the question has no answer. The speaker seems a little distressed at the beginning knowing that as one of those students she brushed a question of morals aside. However, as an old woman she understands that even when she herself is in the position of the question it is hard to answer. Neither is more valuable so the point trying to be made through such a negative attitude is that every persons ethics are different so judgment should be put lightly on decisions.
ReplyDeleteSarah Palmer 7/8
Linda Paston writes a complicated and true poem about ethics and the development of individuals. Her poem is similar to an old social experiment that last year’s AP Lang. class had done, in which we had a selection of people to save from, all with different personalities and ethics. The situation Paston was put into as a child is strongly relatable nowadays. In the first half of the poem her attitude seems mature. As she imitates her teacher and paraphrases what she says Paston seems unbiased towards the teacher. She leaves no remark or comment on the teacher, she simply tells readers what the teacher asks. I truly enjoy how Paston puts herself into a woman’s shoes and imagines herself in the museum, then stating, “why not let the woman decide herself?” (Paston 14). Her words shows the reader that her attitude is clever, knowing that as a child she cannot truly answer the question of whom to save. She must age in order to answer this question. This reality is haunting and fascinating; leading readers with the aphorism that everybody grows old.
ReplyDeletePaston’s diction is also mature when writing this poem. Specifically, when she states, “This fall in a museum I stand before a real Rembrandt, old woman, or nearly so, myself,” (Paston 17-19). Usually a child would use the word ‘painter’ rather than a Rembrandt. You would hardly ever hear a child use that word in a sentence. These three lines show that the author accepts the coming of age, knowing that age is inevitable. It is also quite shady, because she knows that she is doomed of age, as well as everyone else. Her attitude is more revealed in the end where she considers the painting, season and people. Paston makes it clear that we are all destined to die someday, we should appreciate the time that we are given, regardless of our ethics. In the end of the poem Paston uses strong description of the painting, showing her appreciation by going into details about the painting. She goes beyond what is given and puts herself into the paining (not literally). This painting and the authors view of the painting can be related to the concept of life and our ethics. No matter what we hold value, we are all connected and all have life within us.
Turnea, D 2nd Period
Ethics are, according to BusinessDictionary, the basic concepts and fundamental principles of human conduct. Pastan's teacher would ask the class this question every fall, to see if the students opinions changed from time to time with their level of maturity that they developed. The diction the teacher uses of, "...an old woman who hadn't many years left anyhow?"(5), makes her opinion seemed prominent and can generate bias. Pastan had a difficult time answering this question however by being, "Restless on hard chairs caring little for pictures or old age"(6). This creates the imagery in the readers mind, of children uncomfortable in their surroundings, being asked a question that simply did not seem to phase them. Line 10 has Pastan stating, "Sometimes the woman borrowed my grandmother's face", so this is then making her lean towards the answer of wanting to save the old woman. Pastan wants to then know "Why not let the woman decide herself" (14), this tone here is snickering and trying to be one up on the teacher, but it does not answer the question that her teacher has prompted.
ReplyDeleteThe fall in which Linda Pastan is now in, has her maturity and knowledge level raised. She examines the artworks frame being "darker than autumn...though earth's most radiant elements burn through the canvas" (20-23). She is comparing the pieces to the nature around her. She ends with saying "that woman and painting and season are almost one and all beyond saving by children"(24-last) meaning that everything she realizes is connected to one another, and she herself has no impact on their existence of saving. The teachers question that was continuely asked was philosophical and that Pastan will never have to be the consequence of what happens, because life will continue on how it will.
Asturi V, 7/8
In the poem "Ethics" by Linda Pastan, many different devices are embedded which allow the reader to really connect to the despair of the author. At first, the tone and attitude of the author seems almost apathetic or nonchalant, but upon reading it several times, it becomes clear that the author is almost hopeless.
ReplyDeletePastan begins by using imagery to put the reader in the scene of an ethics classroom. She describes the teacher, the content, and the typical emotions of a high school student taking an elective course. But from the very beginning the question that the teacher poses is cleverly posed to the reader. Pastan uses imagery throughout to describe the museum and the painting. All of which are use purposefully to not just tell a story, but to vicariously portray these emotions onto the reader.
Point of view also helps the reader to understand where Pastan is coming from. Because it is told from her point of view, the reader has a sense of truthfulness and security knowing that it is a personal and true story. The attitude she portrays from the beginning seems uncaring, but as the poem progresses the very last line smacks the reader with a feeling of lost hope for children and the capacity in which they care for older people and things.
The Poem “Ethics” by Linda Pastan has a reflective view that shows her learned thought that wisdom that comes with age prevents those who are younger have a different perspective.
ReplyDeleteThe diction in the poem is difficult and creates sentence structures that seem out of place and disruptive to the rhyme scheme. This is seen in “Linda, the teacher would report, eschews the burden of responsibility” (15-16). The word eschews throws off the rhythm that the poem had. It is used to emphasize that the woman (herself) abstains from responsibility because she did not have the wisdom at the time to properly see what a predicament that situation would be. The youth of that were taking the class did not realize the gravity of that situation. They thought that it was merely a question asked by their teacher, rather than a problem regularly faced in society. The students took little notice of what the teacher was saying: that all of humanity, the wisdom, the woman and the painting should be saved because all of history is important. The painting symbolizes actual history from centuries to decades ago, the elderly woman represent the recent past and the present and the woman who chooses which to save is the present and the future. Some part of society always dies off as the years go on but every piece of information is needed. The youth in the class don’t understand this because they are to young and lack the wisdom that comes with age. They instead are” restless on hard chairs, caring little for old age”( 6-7). They do not understand the severity of preserving the past so that the same mistakes are not made in the future. They instead scoff at the idea of having to consider what to save: a painting or a person. The woman reflects in her old age, when she can place herself in the elderly woman’s shoes, that the youth lack the necessary wisdom to make the changes in the future that will be needed. They have not matured as seen by the use of “half-heartedly”(9) and “half-imagined”(12) show that they do not posses the capacity to truly understand the situation but have started the process to understanding it. The overall tone of the poem is sad and cynical as the woman reflects on what she didn’t understand about her teachers question in her youth.
Supina, R 2
Linda Pastan creates a sense of uncertainty throughout her poem “Ethics.” While solemn and reflective, the pain lies in the “half-hearted” answers of the students. Much like the theme in a Clockwork Orange, the lines between good and evil are blurred. The students seem to believe there is one right answer, and so they pick one side only to say they have responded. Pastan’s tone and point of view seem bitter due to her teacher’s reaction to her creative solution: “One year, feeling clever, I replied why not let the woman decide herself? Linda, the teacher would report, eschews the burden of responsibility” (13-16). This reinforces the myth that there is one, simple answer regarding weight of an aging human life against immortal art.
ReplyDeleteNear the end of “Ethics” the description of a real Rembrandt is parallel to Pastan’s seemingly realistic, yet pessimistic views on the next generation’s contribution to a kinder world: “The colors within this frame are darker than autumn, darker even than winter - the browns of earth, though earth's most radiant elements burn through the canvas” (19-23). These dark earthy tones create a tense, somber mood where children do not know how to apply their education on ethics because they are too innocent and have been told there is one simple answer to the teacher’s question. She recognizes that the woman, painting, and season are all equal at the end in order to convey the message that ethics really refers to subconscious actions, and not the universal answer to an impossible question in a classroom.
-Grabowski, H. 7/8
The speaker has a very reflective, somewhat defeated, tone in the poem “Ethics” by Linda Pastan. The narrator ponders the question asked to him in youth: is the life of an old woman or the existence of a priceless painting more important. The question, in essence, is unanswerable and, expectedly, the narrator does not attempt to answer it. Instead, the narrator uses imagery and symbolism to expose the impossible question for its simple reality.
ReplyDeleteThe poem begins as a simple stating of the fact of the question as it stood when first asked to the narrator. As it progresses, however, it takes a philosophical turn. Instead of trying to explain the decision that he would make, he uses a fiery type of imagery to combine the two options of the question into one. Therefore there is no answer, but both. He describes the painting as showing “the browns of earth, though the earth’s most radiant elements burn through the canvas,” (16-18) thus likening the painting to the very fire that might destroy it. He destroys the question by implying that there are not two options of what to save, but two options of what will destroy. He uses the old woman and the painting as symbols of the things in society inevitably headed for destruction. In the end, the question is not who would you save? It is who would you allow to destroy you?
A. Jankovsky 7-8*
This poem titled “Ethics” is a very deep piece. The poem gives a light mood to begin by just asking a basic question in class. The children simply give one answer each year and switch between saving the old woman or the painting. They believe this is a one-word answer with not much behind it. We see later in the poem that the piece has a very deep meaning to the narrator.
ReplyDeleteThe poem deepens as another question arises by the narrator. This question is the turning point in which the author has a realization moment. In her old age, the writer realized while looking at a priceless piece of art, that children in a classroom could not save her or the art. By using simplicity in the diction of the piece, the author conveys the same message to the readers of the poem as the teacher did for the ethics question. Simple sounding, but yet very deep and only understood by some.
This piece did confuse me on exactly what the end meant. Not being able to save her or the art to me meant that the painting is so memorable that it will last forever and that the old woman is capable of saving herself.
-Camille
The poet uses to points of view to portray the attitude. At the beginning, the point of view is from a younger child, which seems to have a very naïve attitude. “Restless on hard chairs caring little for pictures or old age we’d opt for one year of life, the nest for art and always half heartedly” (6-9). This shows the young age and easier use of diction to depict the youth of the child. Towards the end, the poem shifts towards the point of view of an older woman who seems to portray an attitude of understanding beyond the question that she was asked as a child. “…I stand before a real Rembrandt, old woman, or nearly so, myself”(18-19). The poet uses the transformation of the child to represent the old woman in the question that was asked by the teacher every fall, which connects the question to the student themselves. The diction towards the end also improves showing a difference in age because there is more intricate use of imagery described in elaborate details.
ReplyDeleteThe poet uses imagery to display the difficulty in choosing between the woman and painting. “Sometimes the woman borrowed my grandmother’s face leaving her usual kitchen to wander some drafty, half-imaged museum” (9-12). This line shows the favorite choice of picking something you love so dearly like your grandmother over a painting. “The colors within this frame are darker than autumn, darker even than winter-the browns of earth, through earths most radiant elements burn through the canvas” (19-23). This shows that the older version of the individual in the poem is able to pull the beauty and worth out of the painting than when she was a child. Later in the poem it then says, “I know now that woman and painting and season are almost one and all beyond saving by children” (23-25). The reader is able to come to a conclusion that both the elderly woman and the painting are both at equal importance.
Ramsumair M 7/8
The poem “Ethics” by Linda Pastan utilizes rhetorical strategies and devices to portray the ambiguity of morality. The author’s attitude towards this issue moves from apathetic to one of despair. The beginning of the poem is told through the indifference of an adolescent, but towards the end it changes to that of a wary, dejected adult.
ReplyDeletePastan utilizes imagery to place the reader into the situation described and to form a connection with the story being told. She describes the classroom, the painting, the children all with careful detail and attention to sensory. This use of imagery is intended to place the reader in the scene, thereby making them consider the question mentioned in the beginning of the poem.
Pastan also uses pathos in order to make the reader feel the importance of the question. She describes the painting and its frame as “radiant” and makes the reader understand its beauty and its value. She then describes the old woman as taking on her grandmother’s face in order to humanize her and giver her value to the reader as well. This playing of emotions helps to show that the question does not have a single right answer; either way there is a palpable loss. Ethicality is not black and white, it is a gray area that is difficult to maneuver. This ambiguity is why the author is so desolate at the end of the poem, she has realized that there is no winning in this situation.
-Harris, S 2*
The author uses point of view and diction to portray an condescending attitude. In the beginning of the poem, the author indirectly asks a question to the readers: if a museum was on fire, would you save an old woman or a painting? I feel this was a way to bash on the materialistic values of society. It is good to pride ourselves in artwork and history, but do we pride ourselves so much we would save it over another human being? I feel as if this is the reason the title for this poem is 'Ethics', for it resembles the ethics of the human race. The author radiates this attitude to make the reader think, and once thought about, it comes to be quite a thought-through question. I myself thought it through, and then became showered with shame. To me, the thought of saving an inanimate object over a living being is repulsive. But the human race treasures culture to the utmost degree, and the thought of losing it seems rather devastating.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if the human race is so attached to the cultures of the past due to the lack of culture in the present society. We cherish the past accomplishments for we see no great period coming in the future. We try to hold on to the values of before so much we stop and think if it would overrule saving another. This poem was very deep and really engages the reader with the imagery of the event actually happening, as them being in it. What seems like such a ridiculous question, turns out to make one think. The author switches the point of view to the audience as a whole and then to the author herself, showing that she has struggled with the question as well. Which concludes that she is not writing for the purpose to bash other people individually, but to bash the human race as a whole.
-Reva 7/8th
The speaker in this poem, “Ethics,” seems, at first, very indifferent towards the question that was presented to her years and years ago. The author, Linda Pastan, creates imagery when she speaks of being, “restless on hard chairs” (6) and allows the reader to connect with the poem because we have all been in her shoes at one time or another. Her use of the word “opt” in line 8 is a very intriguing choice because it implies that they are simply settling for one answer over another, that they do not really care about the outcome, which Pastan affirms in the next line, saying, “and always half-heartedly.” The point of view is interesting because the author is the narrator herself, which happens quite often in poetry, but we know this because she describes how her teacher told her, Linda, that she is avoiding the responsibility of choosing the fate of this old woman and painting. When Pastan describes the Rembrandt painting, it really creates an image in the reader’s mind of what this painting looks like, even without describing its actual content. The last lines, “I know now that woman/and painting and season are almost one/and all beyond saving by children” (23-25), describe how there is so much history in the painting and the season and the woman herself. The author says that all this is “beyond saving by children” (25), meaning that there is nothing these children can do to stop the passing of time, and with it, the inevitability of oblivion.
ReplyDelete-Dushek, K 2˚
At the very conclusion of "Ethics" by Linda Pastan, the tone that is conveyed to the reader is one of subtle sadness and reflectiveness. The purpose of the poem was for the writer to depict the change of viewpoint on value and responsibility throughout one's timeline and does so with a hint of the sad tone percieved. The idea of the changing viewpoint is supported by the lines, "Linda, the teacher would report, eschews / the burden of responsibility"(Pastan). These lines, though subtle, hold key elements to the poem. First of all, its double meaning. Literally, they speak of the teacher feeling unsatisfied with Pastan' s answer to the question of who or what she would save from a burning museum. The teacher's asking of the questiong at all sets an expectation for the youth to make those decisions, playing God, though they are only new to the game of life. Pastan critisizes this questioning at the conclusion of the poem when she says that she and the painting and the seasons are all beyond saving by the children. Helping to further Pastan's view on leaving the youth to make important decisions, in the same lines, she isolated "the burden of responisbility" from the entirety of what would otherwise be a sentence. This is to display the isolation of the youth and the gravity that their decision would have if they make it, which they must do by themselves. The attitude of the author throughout the poem, contrary to what is expected, stays consistent as ashe grows old. She did not desire the decision to be up to the youth then and she did not want it to be their decision as an old lady.
ReplyDelete-Javorsky, R 2*
Linda Pastan addresses a topic often discussed in a very interesting way. She starts off by addressing a question, from the beginning the reader can tell that the tone is going to cynical. The two stages of the poem show her beliefs on society in the majority of the poem Pastan is indifferent writing “we’d opt one year for life, the next for art always half-heartedly”(lines 8-9). When faced with the questions the students really didn’t care, they just picked an answer without putting much thought into why they chose it. The reflection of the indifference can be seen also in the diction used at the beginning of the poem she writes words like “restless” and “caring little”. About halfway through the poem we even see Pastan get sarcastic when she talks about one year she got clever on the teacher. All of these things are a reflection upon the idea that as youth people just float through life without thinking. This is the tone for almost three quarters of the poem, then towards the end we see a switch. In lines 17-19 Pastan writes “This fall in a real museum I before a real Rembrandt, old women, or nearly so, myself”. This is the turning point of the poem the author is now older and has the decision she has been forced to think about so many times right in her face. At this point the diction in the poem becomes more precise and descriptive. This shows that author now actually thinks of things not just skirting through. Reflective upon life most times when we are young we don’t think about the problems until they arise. When faced with the problem we as people really want to dive deep into it and think about, but only if the problem does truly exist. Pastan is cynical about the way that people in this world deal with ethics. She is critical upon the way it is being dealt with and knows it is a problem. However, in her poem Pastan also uses herself to show that even she contributes to the problem.
ReplyDeleteA Sansone, 2nd
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ReplyDeleteThe poem “Ethics” by Linda Pastan gives off an attitude of cynicism as it tells a theme of maturity and ethics. Pastan’s poem speaks through an aged woman who may even be herself as the speaker is referred to as “Linda” in line fifteen. It is a reflection of this old woman’s past to when she was in ethics class and had a question posed to her about whether to save an old woman or a famous painting if there ever was a fire in a museum. The speaker recollects that the answer changed every year and was answered half-heartedly as if the class did not truly care which option was chosen. The woman, now old and standing “before a real Rembrandt” (Pastan 18), speaks in this cynical way as she states “I know now that woman/ and painting and season are almost one/ and all beyond saving by children” (Pastan 23-25). With these words the old woman gives off this attitude of cynicism at how children cannot understand what is more important and ethical to save. It gives this poem the overall idea that maturity, like the speaker in the poem, will increase with age, and wisdom comes with time. Pastan uses this speaker to symbolize maturity and wisdom, as the speaker started as an immature child who did not understand the importance or ethics behind choosing life or art, and she ends with the knowledge and wisdom that she acquired with age as well as an understanding of the ethical choice that needed to be made as well as the understanding that children do not possess the maturity it takes to make that ethical choice. The author shows the wisdom and maturity of the speaker by having her speak using larger words that are not as commonly used, such as the use of the word “eschews” in line fifteen. Pastan makes it clear that ethics is only developed through time and maturity by using the imagery when it says, “Sometimes/ the woman borrowed my grandmother's face/ leaving her usual kitchen to wander/ some drafty, half-imagined museum” (9-12). The woman, when younger, could still not see a point of choosing between art and life, even when her grandmother became the woman in the museum, instead the speaker shied away from responsibility and ethics, which the speaker seems to think about in a cynical hindsight kind of way that leads her to the conclusion she comes to on ethics and maturity.
ReplyDelete-C. Lenhoff 2nd period
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ReplyDeleteIn the poem “Ethics” by Linda Pastan, from the start it already intrigues the reader by introducing the rhetorical question of what who would you save, but she also mentions that the teacher asks every fall. With this being said, it foreshadows that throughout Linda taking the class the same question is asked, so each time around fall in her lifetime, the question comes up. Not until she experiences the setting for herself does she come to a conclusion, which I believe her attitude overall is meditative due to the question reappearing while she grew older in age through the use of imagery, diction, and point of view.
ReplyDeleteWhen the question was presented, she was a student half interested in the question or the meaning behind it all. She didn’t care for it nor wanted to accept responsibility for having to make the ethical choice, “One year, feeling clever, I replied why not let the woman decide herself? Linda, the teacher would report, eschews the burden of responsibility” (Line 13-16). With her immaturity toward the question shown, when she grew older her point of view on the question changed, “I know now that woman and painting and season are almost one and all beyond saving by children” (Line 23-25). Give that she is older and more mature, she learns that the painting and the woman are together important, so choosing one over the other isn’t the moral choice, but choosing both and saving both is what is morally right. Both are equally important.
Given the imagery of the painting, it represents that even though the colors are not amazing within its color, the element in comparison to the earth is unique and is real even though on the canvas, “ The colors within this frame are darker than autumn, darker even than winter - the browns of earth, though earth's most radiant elements burn through the canvas” (Lines 16-20). The color is dull and may not be something to look at, it compares to the old woman with less than a year to live, they are both worth saving because it is morally right to save all beautiful things created.
Pastan faces the question repeatedly in her live time until she experiences it herself, finally understanding the moral decision in the question and the outcome
S. Güt 7/8
Unlike some classmates before me, I do not see 'Ethics' as a spin on how desensitized future generations have come to be, but rather a pessimistic outlook on how all things are equally connected and doomed from the start. The poem starts out by posing that there is a distinction between the old woman and the painting, and that deciding who to save is the priority - when in reality, as the poem goes on, we learn that it's not a matter of who to save, but can we save them? This could be either taken as a pessimistic view on life - when something is meant to be ill-fated there is nothing you could to save it. Or, it could mean that our youth prevents us from being able to understand the complexities an age old piece of art and human contain.
ReplyDelete- M Daugherty, 7/8th.
Pastan writes this poem from a fresh perspective. The poem has a very "coming of age" and reflective tone that leaves a "sad" and somber taste in the readers mouth at the end of it. This feeling is captured by imagery and diction.
ReplyDeleteThe imagery in this poem is strong and direct by describing the features of the museum and how the old woman's face was sometimes her grandmothers. The personal connection with her grandmother makes the poem seem more relate-able and really hit home to the reader.
The diction is strong with words like radiant and "beyond saving" really strike as concrete. The end of the poem talks about how the three things, the woman, the painting and the season are such big things and symbols in life that they are beyond saving by mere children who are innocent and inexperienced.
Westphal 2nd period
Linda Pastan’s sardonic attitude is strong throughout her piece “Ethics.” The poem is spoken from her own point of view, portraying her raw feelings and emotions toward the thought provoking question posed by her teacher. The use of words and phrases such as “restless,” “caring little,” “half-hearted,” “half-imagined,” and “feeling clever” are all important when examining the attitude of the poem. (6,7,9,12,13). Each shows the facetious nature of Pastan as a student who thought the question from her teacher was not worth her time. Imagery also highlights the attitude of the author. She mentions the uncomfortable chairs in the classroom, reminding readers of the unpleasant seating options from when they were in school (6). Focusing on this aspect of the classroom further emphasizes her negative attitude toward the class. The comment on the “half-imagined” scene shows that Pastan chose not to try hard when pondering the question (12). All of these factors which play a part in the attitude expressed by the author are used to supply the contrast of the last few lines of the poem. Pastan describes the same scene posed by her teacher, but with a different twist: she is the old woman standing in front of the Rembrandt. She states that she “know[s] now that the woman/and painting and season are almost one/and all beyond saving by children” (23-25). She realizes that people can only choose their interpretation of ethics for themselves, and that they will learn as they grow how they will choose to answer the question of who or what to save. After having a cynical attitude toward the question as a young student, she understands in her later years, the depth and importance of the self-realization that came from it in her life.
ReplyDeleteWoods, L 2
In the poem “Ethics” written by Linda Pastan, the attitude conveyed is that of a snobby student who has far better things to do than participate in ethics class. For most of the poem, Pastan explains that the students would simply alternate their answers each year, with little to no thought of what they were saying. The attitude of the students, including young Pastan, expresses the lack of effort they put into their answers. One day, Pastan, an old woman now, found herself standing in a museum in front of a real Rembrandt painting, and her attitude was no longer so sour.
ReplyDeleteThe title “Ethics” does not come from the name of the class, but it comes from the content of the question asked by the teacher. The question is all about doing what one believes to be ethical. This is a realization Pastan has late in the poem, when she finds herself, an old woman, standing in front of a real Rembrandt. She realizes the situation and thinks back to her ethics class so many years ago. In this moment, Pastan discovers the true meaning of ethical.
Cruse, S 2
The attitude and point of view in “Ethics” by Linda Pastan was condescending to say the least. It was somber and almost cynical towards the generation, which was portrayed through the author’s use of diction. The author connecting to grandparents, and even going so far as to describe them, made this poem more tangible and relatable to the reader.
ReplyDeleteThe transition between comparing the differences between the old lady and the painting to saying that they are one and the same is significant to the reader because it also speaks to point of view. It touches on how it doesn’t matter what the prize or relic that could perish is, this generation of children is too jaded and ignorant to care. I personally think that this was a very pessimistic, or realistic depending on your own mindset, poem that brought about the question: what happens when it comes time for this generation to decide what is worth saving?
- Graf, A. 2*