Final Project: Connecting THe Journeys
"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night"
by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way:
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
This poem is about not letting death come unto yourself easily, how we should make choices that make ourselves be remembered. If we have not done anything to be remembered, then we should choose to not give in to death. The choices we make in life lead up to our final destination, where we all come to no matter what we want to do. We can choose to do something to make ourselves remembered, and maybe some part of us won't die, maybe some part will stay in the hearts of loved ones and those who have heard our story. In order for those who don't know us to hear our story, we must choose to do something worth being told. As human beings we are stubborn and we will not give in easy to "...that good night..." as the poem says, we will fight for life, and if in the end there is nothing else we can do, we need to choose to do something worth remembrance. In this way we will never die we will always live on in hearts of others, and maybe the history of the world itself.
by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way:
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
This poem is about not letting death come unto yourself easily, how we should make choices that make ourselves be remembered. If we have not done anything to be remembered, then we should choose to not give in to death. The choices we make in life lead up to our final destination, where we all come to no matter what we want to do. We can choose to do something to make ourselves remembered, and maybe some part of us won't die, maybe some part will stay in the hearts of loved ones and those who have heard our story. In order for those who don't know us to hear our story, we must choose to do something worth being told. As human beings we are stubborn and we will not give in easy to "...that good night..." as the poem says, we will fight for life, and if in the end there is nothing else we can do, we need to choose to do something worth remembrance. In this way we will never die we will always live on in hearts of others, and maybe the history of the world itself.
In this inspiring speech by Jim Carrey, he talks of choices based on fear and love, really these are the only way we ever make choices. When have you ever made a choice based solely out of sadness or madness, most of the time these feelings come from fear. These choices that we make whether out of love or fear they will always lead us to the end of our journey.
Greg Anderson said that we must "Focus on the Journey not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it." In the end isn't that what really matters, at the end of our journey, we will be tired. But while we are walking the road of life, we should choose to enjoy ourselves, we should always be having new experiences, making new memories, making our legacy. Then, when we come to the end of the journey, when we have finished climbing the mountain of struggles, we can look down at the valley of life and be happy. We don't know what is at the top just that that is where we are going.
In this audio of Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" we hear the story of a young couple at a train station, drinking, and talking about an operation the girl is to under go to "...let the air in...". At first it seems so simple, it seems that there is no underlying meaning, but there is always something behind the curtain. The American and the girl are travelling somewhere to have an operation performed on the girl, the girl seems very hesitant about it and reluctant. The only reason she agrees to it is because she wants to make the man happy, she "...does not care about [herself]...". The man at first is blinded by the woman's need to make him happy and doesn't realize that she does not want the operation to be performed. If we dig a couple feet under the surface we see that the choice the couple is making is about an abortion, and the woman wants to keep the child, so they can have the world together. She feels that if they give up the baby, then they wouldn't stay together, or maybe they would but things would never be able to be the same. The American man is talking about the operation like it isn't a big deal, but in reality they are killing someone, they are choosing to have a helpless being die. The girl knows this and can not let this happen so she persuades the man without talking to him that they must not take the train. At the end of the story, the man moves the bag to the other side of the station, the way that is travelling opposite of the direction of the operation. The couple in this story choose things to make each other happy, not them as a unit.
Choosing to make other peoples lives better, and not caring about himself is something the main character of Hotel Rwanda did without a second thought. Also, concerning life or death choices, Paul choose uncertain death for himself and uncertain life for others instead of certain life for himself and certain death for others. This is the type of choices that can make you live forever in the hearts of others, to carry on a legacy. The right choices are the ones you do without thinking, without trying to be remembered.
All of the journeys that we travel through stories are ones that real or not will be remembered because of the choices they make. Life will give us choices, that will lead to a million more choices, but in the end all of our lives, all lives of story characters, movie characters, and any and every life, will result in nothing. These stories will live forever because of the choices the authors made to put them out there into the world to be read by many, and loved by many, but with love comes fear. How will you be remembered?
All of the journeys that we travel through stories are ones that real or not will be remembered because of the choices they make. Life will give us choices, that will lead to a million more choices, but in the end all of our lives, all lives of story characters, movie characters, and any and every life, will result in nothing. These stories will live forever because of the choices the authors made to put them out there into the world to be read by many, and loved by many, but with love comes fear. How will you be remembered?
http://btawa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Difficult-Choice-exit-now-700-x-300.jpg
"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night", Dylan Thomas
http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u457/searchq7/FocusonthejourneynotthedestinationJoyisfoundnotinfinishinganactivitybutindoingit-GregAnderson_zps724e32f3.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHJ5Wq8DH8Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJD5-R_HPCc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vbpqk2eip4
"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night", Dylan Thomas
http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u457/searchq7/FocusonthejourneynotthedestinationJoyisfoundnotinfinishinganactivitybutindoingit-GregAnderson_zps724e32f3.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHJ5Wq8DH8Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJD5-R_HPCc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vbpqk2eip4