Life Experience Through the Preference for Practical Objects - Essay Example

 demonstrates a view of life that embraces personal relationships and connections, while opposing government oppression and militarism. There is evidence that he or she is an older or more experience person who has lived through difficult situations and assumes a high degree of ethical standards. The narrator is critical of political subjugation, and of the people who contribute to oppressive regimes. Irony and understatement are used to reveal the condition of society, and the narrator ultimately chooses an optimistic view of the significance of life, despite her reflections on themes of war and oppression.

She chooses to believe that an individual life is as valuable as society as a whole, while criticizing the ethical principles of dominating political regimes. The narrator places high value on relationships with people whom he or she is intimately connected to by stating “I prefer liking people/ to loving mankind”(5-6). These lines suggest that mankind, or society as a concept, is not as important as the individuals with whom one has a direct relationship. The manner in which one treats people they have personal contact with has more significance than one’s philosophical stance on broader social issues.

The closest kind of personal relationships is being in love, and when the narrator reveals that “I prefer, in love, those anniversaries which are not so big / which can be celebrated every day.” (18-19), she is describing a person who does not take time spent with the person he or she is in love with for granted. It shows that what is done on a daily basis is more important to the narrator than what is done once a year. The narrator uses the imagery of insects’ time contrasted to stellar time to conjure a more existential perspective of what a human lifetime entails, further pointing to her appreciation of daily interactions.

Another theme that influences the poem is opposition to oppressive governments and the people who carry out the acts of domination. The narrator demonstrates her disapproval to militarism when she states “I prefer the earth in civilian clothes/I prefer the conquered to the conquering countries.”(22-23). This sentiment touches on the governments and militaries that control their own people and the countries around them. The narrator’s preference for the conquered countries is an example of her opposition to dominating governments.

The narrator shows her distrust of those who work within the government by “prefer[ing] moralists/ who do not promise me anything” (19-20).The individuals who demand conformity to the rules are not trustworthy, and the narrator not only rejects their promises, but prefers that moralist don’t make them at all. She doesn’t want promises because she doesn’t believe what government agents tell her, and she is suspicious of their agenda. The narrator reveals her life experience through her preference for practical objects and when she reveals that she “prefer[s] to talk with doctors about something else.

/I prefer old-fashioned, striped illustrations” Her views on life are colored by political upheavals, but she ignores the newspapers and reads stories by the Brother’s Grimm. By not paying attention to daily news, and focusing instead of fairytales, she can concentrate on the people who are important to her. Ultimately the narrator chooses an optimistic view of the world by taking “into consideration even this possibility/ That life has meaning.”. This declaration shows that she has maintained her ethical values even though many in her society have lost appreciation for the value of human life.

PossibilitiesI prefer moviesI prefer catsI prefer oaks along the Warta RiverI prefer Dickens to DostoyevskyI prefer liking people To loving mankindI prefer having a needle and thread handyI prefer the color green I prefer not to assertthat reason should be blamed for everything.I prefer exceptionsI prefer to leave earlierI prefer to talk with doctors about something else.I prefer old-fashioned, striped illustrationsI prefer the foolishness of writing poems To the foolishness of not writing them.

I prefer, in love, those anniversaries which are not so bigwhich can be celebrated every day.I prefer moralists who do not promise me anything,I prefer a crafty rather than a too credulous kindnessI prefer the earth in civilian clothesI prefer the conquered to the conquering countriesI prefer to hold doubts I prefer the hell of chaos to the hell of orderI prefer the takes of the Brothers Grimm to the front pages of NewspapersI prefer leaves without flowers to flowers without leavesI prefer dogs with uncut tails I prefer light-colored eyes, because I have darkI prefer drawers.

I prefer many things which I have not specified hereTo many other things also unspecifiedI prefer zeros on the looseTo those standing in line behind the numberI prefer insects’ time to stellar timeI prefer to knock on woodI prefer not to ask how much longer and when I prefer to take into consideration even this possibilityThat life has meaning.