Rhetoric of Resignation

In Rolfe's last body of work, he moves from a purely political perspective to that looks at everyday life. Also in this section, Rolfe shows less optimism than in his ideological poems praising communism. While Rolfe still has hope, he now takes a critical look at the world around him.

In the poem "Now the Fog" Edwin Rolfe uses several images of darkness to show a new perspective on life. He starts the poem out by commenting "imagination's eyes go blind" (Rolfe 2). Rolfe now questions the use of his art. He now sees that art alone, by expressing social ideas, can not save humanity. Nothing is inevitable. He clearly sees now that is possible for the forces of evil to triumph. Moreover, people themselves are susceptible to giving up the fight for freedom. As Rolfe comments "the habit of slavery, long discarded,/ becomes our normal comfortable suit" (9-8). People easily give up their freedoms for creature comforts. He comments that the path to freedom is made through resistance. By using the words "long discarded" Rolfe shows that freedom is a choice. We can ever fight for it or accept or lot in life. Again freedom is not the inevitable course of society, even for Americans. Therefore, Rolfe urges people to fight their oppression in his own life. While not making a clear political argument, the elements of Rolfe's early communism can be seen here. For example, as in the poem "Nightmare in Georgia" Rolfe tries to fight the oppression faced by African Americans. Communism with Rolfe should not be considered from the historical implications of such figures as Stalin but from the social philosophy. In both instances, Rolfe is indeed fighting for a "communal" aspect in society but only in the case of humanity itself.

Rhetoric of Revolution/ Spanish Civil War Poems

Inspired by his deep belief in communist ideology, Edwin Rolfe saw war as having a particular purpose. Certainly, Rolfe does not glorify war. He describes it in particularly gruesome and realistic terms. Yet, in spite of the horrors of war, he comments on the necessity of the "purging" sacrifice of war.

The poem "Epitaph" clearly displays Rolfe's beliefs of war. Rolfe first begins the poem by talking about the horrible conditions of war. He describes hos his friend is "pinned by a sniper "and everything/in a simple moment's/ quick explosion of pain [is] over" (Rolfe 7-10). Rolfe's comrade is shot down without mercy. The sniper does not hesitate to quickly end the life of his enemy. As such, the slain soldier is seen as just another target, a subhuman. However, the death of this soldier has purpose. Rolfe creates a simile comparing the death of the soldier with growing, pastoral imagery ( 15-20). Here Rolfe juxtaposes the brutality of war, with the soldier's death, to tranquil nature. In this metaphor, Rolfe states that the blood of the fallen soldier nurtures the land. Therefore, the merciless death of the soldier serves a critical purpose. The soldier's death serves as "nutrients" for the survival of Spain. Because he fights fascism during his life, he ensures that Spain will continue to be free after his death. According to Rolfe, struggling for posterity through war is the ultimate sacrifice.

Religious Imagery in Edwin Rolfe?

In the first period of Edwin Rolfe's work, he presents an unwavering belief in communism. To Rolfe, this is his faith, not Christianity. However, in many of Rolfe's poems, he directly uses religious imagery to set up his belief in the "redeeming" powers of communism. Thus, Rolfe presents a hybridization of American culture. On one level he is a leftist intellectual. On the other hand, his use of religious imagery echoes much of the foundations of America, and therefore a more mainstream America. These two disparate elements combined ultimately display the true "melting pot" of America's nature.

Rolfe sets up communism in a religious light, in order to more easily convince people of its' merits. For example, in "Winds of Another Sphere" Rolfe suggests that the coming of communism to the West will ultimately free man, as a sort of "second coming." He suggests that "winds/ blowing from the east" will soon create this freedom (Rolfe 1-2). This clearly evokes the Biblical imagery of the coming justice of the Lord on the four winds. Yet, the winds from the east is actually the triumph of the Soviet Union. As America harbored anticommunist sentiment at this time, Rolfe attempts to soften American resistance in a roundabout way. He does not make a clear propagandistic approach to his rhetoric. In "Testament to a Flowering Race," Rolfe crafts his use of religious imagery more craftily. From the very mention of the title, Rolfe seeks to praise the virtues of man. In the opening line he states "we are wise in ways which none has preordained" (1). Predestination is a major point of contention between various sects of the Christian denomination. By using this line of thought, he pits Catholicism against Protestantism. Rolfe thus appears as a Catholic humanist who believes in man's responsibility because he is not fated. By pointing these two camps against one another, Rolfe avoids the point of accusation against himself as a communist. He asks his reader to think, and he subtly is able to convince the reader of the merits of communism.

Rolfe certainly believes in communism as an almost religion. However, presenting communism in religious imagery also has implications for his rhetoric. This perspective allows him to negate the atheistic connotations of communism. He is thus able to win adherents over to his side through his rhetoric.

Bonus: Eat, Drink, Man Woman

Ang Lee's film "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman" creates an interesting look at the modern Chinese family. Each one of Chu's daughters ultimately try to escape their father's overbearing influence. However, the daughter's actions to remove themselves from their father show a complex family where they truly do care for one another.

Chef Chu's life centers around his elaborate meals, while his daughters detest such family functions. Every Sunday Chu labors to create a lavish meal for his family, to their nuisance as his sense of taste has gone bad in his old age. The youngest of the daughters Jian Niang tries to live outside the family through her boyfriend. Jian Niang however toys with her "boyfriend" by attempting to feign disinterest in him. This escape, however, becomes complicated as the friendly behavior of her friend ultimately woos the boy. Yet, this ultimately leads in the surprising revelation that Jian Niang has become pregnant and will be leaving the house. The middle child Jia-Chen is a successful worker for an airline company. She escapes her father through her commitment to her work. She is so committed that she ultimately is offered the job of vice president of the company in Holland. Jia-Chen is thus forced to walk the narrow road of leaving her father alone with only Jia-Jen, the oldest daughter, to care for him or to leave completely. An altercation between the two ultimately demonstrates the close bonds each have toward family. Jia Jen also attempts to escape through her commitment to religion and the potential for love in the high school volleyball coach. Jia Jen is a well educated chemistry teacher, albeit shy and often socially awkward. She looks to Christianity, a dumb religion by the standards of her father, to gain acceptance in her world. On the other hand, she attempts to follow the traditional Chinese role of "being married off" through the volley ball coach. However, the children she teaches continually make fun of her, making her dependant on the family. While each daughter attempts to live a life without their father, each of them ultimately realizes the solace found in family. Even though family is not always perfect, as represented by Chu's decision to marry Madame Liang.

Bonus: Robison Film Center, "La Nana"

Sebastian Silvan’s film the maid creates an interesting and comical look at the Chilean family. Raquel is a middle aged maid, who is worn out from her work. Through Raquel’s interactions with other members of the family, Silvan is able to create a thorough look at social norms in the Hispanic world. Ultimately, Silvan’s film portrays a moving portrait of what it means to be a family in any society.


In the film, Raquel is presented as continually annoyed and frustrated from her work. The opening scene shows Raquel eating dinner late in the evening with a scowl on her face. Eating dinner late in the evening is very common in Spanish speaking countries. In the background, the audience hears a large family happily chatting. Raquel’s dinner is soon interrupted as Mando, the father, rings a bell to summon her. This demonstrates both Raquel’s low position in the family and the father’s role as the “macho” head of household. The masculinity of men and the lower status of women are both typical traits of Hispanic societies. When the children give Raquel gifts for her birthday, she becomes angry, as she will only have to clean up the family’s mess. Raquel’s angry response is a hilarious moment for the audience. Raquel’s frustrated response is also demonstrated through taking several pills, intentionally annoying the children, and her constant sighing. In an attempt to relieve Raquel, the family eventually hires three separate maids.


Each maid eventually quits because she can not handle Raquel’s tactics or because they can not handle the job. The three maids’ distinctive personalities are chosen in order to see if they can handle Raquel’s tactics. Mercedes represents the young, beautiful maid. The second maid Sonia is a much grouchier and older maid. While the family at last attempts to find a permanent helper through Lucy, the bookish and polite maid. Raquel locks all three maids at and all but Lucy resort to desperation to get back inside. Lucy instead sunbathes nude in the backyard. Some of the most hilarious moments of the film occur as Raquel sanitizes the areas the other maids have touched. Raquel disinfects the shower immediately after Mercedes gets out. Any time Sonia finishes a glass of water, Raquel immediately put it into the dishwasher. The first two maids break under Raquel’s pressure. On the other hand, Lucy stands up to Raquel’s pressure and eventually befriends her, but becomes homesick. In the end, Raquel is the only one that can handle being a maid to the Pilar family.


The family eventually realizes that Raquel is a true part of the family. Lucas, one of the sons, endearingly calls her Raque, near the end of the film. After Lucy leaves, Mrs. Pilar stops listening to the advice of her mother that maids are essentially “disposable.” Mrs. Pilar’s mother echoes the hierarchical structure of many Hispanic societies created by colonialism. However, Mrs. Pilar rejects these norms, and instead chooses to view Raquel as an equal. Raquel thus becomes a true member of the family. Bickering and fighting between Raquel and everyone still continues. Yet this is a natural part of any family. This is illustrated with the sibling fighting between both the boys and the girls. At the end of the film, Raquel runs around the block to relieve stress. Her calm face, compared to her exasperated face near the beginning of the film, is a testimony to her new found happiness at being accepted as an equal.

Symbolism in The Secret History

Donna Tartt effectively uses symbolism in her novel the Secret History to enhance themes, plot, and build character development. The most reoccurring uses of symbolism are related to darkness and light or good and evil.

In the beginning of the novel, the author adeptly reverses traditional uses of symbolism in regards to nature. The prologue reveals to the reader that a student by the name of Bunny has been murdered. The narrator tells the reader that the murder took place in April. Likewise, the snow that is melting over Bunny's body is thawing with the weather. In fact, Henry replies that he is "looking for new ferns," when asked by Bunny what he is doing (Tartt 4). Normally, spring is associated with growth and birth in literature. However, in this passage, Tartt creates a death in the coming spring. She further complicates her symbolism by the use of melting snow. Traditionally, snow, also a symbol of winter, is associated with death. The melting snow represents a thawing and "dissolving" of the processes of winter. Tartt uses this reverse symbolism to possibly suggest a new "birth" for these culprits. Their heinous action, performed in the dismal April night, suggests that they are awakened to carry the burden of their actions throughout life.

Symbolism in regards to light creates a more dynamic picture of the character's personality. For example, Francis's movement is said to move "like a black bird, his coat flapping dark and crow like in the wind" (Tartt 33). This quote suggests a darker notion to Francis' apparent behavior. However, such "coloring" can also indicate the preferences of the narrator. Camilla is described as having "particularly angelic" hair and other light images (Tartt 62). While Camilla shows no clear efforts of altruism, these passages indicate the narrator's love for Camilla. The other main point of symbolism used in the book is toward older professors. Several professors, especially Dr. Roland, are described as being "mechanical" (Tartt 41). This description of the old, boring sedentary life contrasts with Dr. Marrow's appeal for them to live throughout their emotions. This mechanical description also sets up the broader context for what does it mean to be young compared to maturity in the novel.

Stanley Plumly Convocation "Constable's Clouds for Keats"

Stanley Plumly's poem "Constable's Clouds for Keats"evokes the spirit of the Romantic imagination and longing for nature. In the poem, Plumly speaks about John Constable, the Romantic painter, meeting John Keats. By doing so, he creates questions of one's influence after their death.

The Romantic imagination is evoked throughout the entire poem. The poem speaks of John Constable never having met Keats. The poet is already dead "[lying] in the artist's paradise." While on the other hand, Constable is still alive in Hampstead, living out a dreary existence. For the clouds Constable paints are becoming "darker, more abstract." Constable is still living through the pain in life, while Keats is dead in the grave. However, "dead Keats is amorphous, a shapelessness/re-forming in the ground." This is to say that Keats's influence on the Earth is changing after he is gone. By others remembering him, such as Constable indirectly by upholding the Romantic standard, he is being reinvented. Yet the poem also evokes the hardship faced by Keats in his life. For example, the poem states "[Keats is] there...writing odes...wondering what our feelings are without us." Keats also suffered in life and was able to come to terms with pain through the Romantic imagination. Constable and Keats are thus linked in this regard. Ultimately, the power of art and nature unites us by this relationship these two artists have that never met. In the poem, the clouds stand as an objective correlative for Keats. This is when an object stands in for something else as an almost symbol. Constable's clouds are amorphous and always changing. The influence of Keats is also changing and not steady. Constable's clouds are indicative of Constable's feelings for art and also Keats himself. Thus, the poem asks the question of what is art and what is its function. On one level, it becomes a way to deal with the harsh world around us. But also, Keats and the clouds are symbolic of art's power to unite us, by the similar patterns of two artistic individuals who never met in real life.