Questions

Page 89
1. As I read the first line I imagined a couple breaking up, and kissing each other goodbye. There seems to be no help to salvage their relationship. It seems very sad.

2. The next few lines make it seem as if this is what the author really wants, and this is for the best. He does not seem as upset about it, but rather liberated. The words “cleanly” and “freely” imply that it is a mutual thing and that there are no hard feelings between them.

3. I think he uses repletion of them breaking it off because it emphasizes his desire to end the relationship. Another reason for this repetition could be that he is trying to convince himself that that is what is best, but he might not really feel that way. I think the line that states that not one jot of love should remain means that he wants a clean break, so they can move on easier.

4. I would feel very abandoned and lonely if this poem was written to me, especially after line 8. If I love someone, even if the relationship is not working out, I would hope that we could remain friends.

5. My view of the poem changes in the last six lines, because it went from him being cold and just wanting to sever the ties to an understanding that maybe there was no hope for this relationship and that there was really nothing he could do. Using a person dieing as a parallel to their dieing love really showed that there was nothing you could do to revive this love.

6. The “you” in the poem is the author’s. This is made evident because of the person things he is saying and the use of us and our, to describe their relationship.

7. This changes my opinion of the poem because in the poem, the author makes it seem like he never wants to see or think about her again. It also makes the last line make sense, because from the death of their love, came life in the form of their deep friendship. When I first read that life may come out of it, I was a little confused, because it seemed like he didn’t want any communication with her.

Page 94
1. The first two paragraphs make me think of a calm afternoon relaxing in a hammock. I can imagine myself in a very similar scene feeling relaxed and happy with my dog resting under me. 2. It is a little unusual that the woman became the dogs protector since most people think of dogs as people’s protectors.

3. The next three paragraphs are very different then the first two. She is reflecting on a childhood memory that is not related to the first couple paragraphs. The mood is contrasting because is it a childhood memory from the zoo, as opposed to the relaxing first paragraphs.
4. The fact that she brings her hands to her chest makes me think that she is scared, and wants to protect herself.

5. Paragraphs 12-16 show that even when she was little, she has a fascination with and love for bears.

6. The fact that the woman constructs her own porch shows that she is independent and strong. When she moves her couch out onto the porch, it shows that she is very in touch with nature, and not afraid of the lingering bear. When the bear’s scent was described as a “terrible, rancid odor”, is foreshadowing for the bad things he does. The bear might be a male, because there is no man in the woman’s life as far as we know, and he serves that part.

7. The fact that this section shows what various cultures to do bears, is foreshadowing for the fact that there might be a coming danger, and we are going to find out what happens to the bear’s body in this culture.

8. The summer days are marked with an X because those are the days that the bear will be out of hibernation, and she will have to be very cautious.I thought that lines 32-41 were very grotesque and it was hard for me to believe that the woman would do this alone, and not call for help from some kind of animal control or something of that sort.

9. The final scene is surprising to me. I do not really understand why she is headed for the state line. She did not kill a person, but a dangerous beast, so I do not know why she is acting like a fugitive. I think that she is going to come back and dig up the claws as a reminder of her kill.