Nostalgia in Where I Come from

Category: Poetry
Last Updated: 13 Jul 2020
Pages: 3 Views: 388

"Where I Come From" is a poem in which Elizabeth Brewster expresses her nostalgic emotions and yearning for the tranquility and yearning for the nature of her hometown. The vivid imagery, which stimulates the readers' senses plays an important role in intensifying the vehemence of her emotions. Brewster also expresses her nostalgia in a way that makes readers empathic with her strong yearning. The lack of rhyming scheme in this piece conveys a sense of fickleness and uniqueness. People are made of places," she says, which I believe specifically meaner that people re made of places that they belong to, that people do not "carry with them hints of" manmade cities and skyscrapers because they do not belong there, but they belong in the "Jungles and mountains" as mankind itself is a piece of nature. Furthermore, Brewster uses "people" as a metaphor for herself, thus being the reason for her intense yearning. "Smell of smog" in the fourth line radiates a strong imagery of the blurry matter, blinding people from the pathway of their goals.

Therefore, the phrase represents Brewster melancholy and strong sense of uncertainty. Her description of the scent f spring as "the almost-not-smell of tulips" conveys a sense of disappointment as not even a single whole thing of nature remains in the synthetic world of the modern age. Brewster then mentions the scent of museums, the scent of old, once-functional items that are kept only for the sake of history. This serves as a medium to further convey her nostalgia.

She then mentions the scent of "work, glue factories", "chromium-plated offices", and "subways". Her choice of mentioning only the dullest and most mundane scents of the contemporary realm depicts her dissatisfaction tit it, in comparison to what her old settlement had to offer. "Burned-out", "old", and "battered", she describes her hometown, yet she still yearns for it. From this, it is concluded that it is not the quality of the items she seeks, but the tranquility and beauty.

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Brewster included the very fragrant and soothing scent of "pine woods" and "blueberry", further strengthening the former point. "With yards where hens and chickens circle about," she says. The image of the Jaunty animals provides an aura of mirthful glee, which is precisely what she experiences while being in the less hectic environment. She also stated that the "hens and chickens" are "clucking aimlessly", depicting a sense of insouciance. Therefore, her wistfulness is caused by her longing for the blithe and airy nature of her hometown. Spring and winter are the mind's chief seasons"; in this line, Brewster has started to tolerate with the circumstance she is place in in that present and that the benefit in simply yearning is nonexistent. "Ice and the breaking of ice" symbolisms her adamantly of belonging in a place of nature, as it starts to fade, thus exposing herself Brewster then allows the door to her memories to "blow open" and let the "frosty mind" that is her haunting memories to be blown and fade away.

Her description of her memories as "frosty" depicts her acknowledgement and awareness of how her nostalgia has turned her into an aloof person whose gaze illustrates none but melancholy. In conclusion, this poem is the tale of Elizabeth Brewster momentary misery and despair due to her nostalgia, which she overcomes as she realizes that the past is not all there is, which is the fickle element of the poem. Therefore, this poem is not a mere chronicle, but Brewster message of counsel too.

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Nostalgia in Where I Come from. (2018, Aug 09). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/nostalgia-in-where-i-come-from/

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