the man with night sweats

The poem has nine stanzas and it changes between two and four verses. The poem is written by Thom Gunn. The mood of the poem is very scary and despite. The author is talking about gashed flesh and pains which go through the protagonist. The tone of the poem is calm and descriptive. In the poem a depression or something painful is described and it shows how the person suffers. In verse 14 there is a metaphor when it says, that the shield is cracked. Every other verse rhymes which gives a rhythm to the poem.

The Man with Night Sweats

BY THOM GUNN

I wake up cold, I who

Prospered through dreams of heat   

Wake to their residue,   

Sweat, and a clinging sheet.   

My flesh was its own shield:   

Where it was gashed, it healed.

I grew as I explored   

The body I could trust   

Even while I adored

The risk that made robust,

A world of wonders in

Each challenge to the skin.

I cannot but be sorry

The given shield was cracked,

My mind reduced to hurry,   

My flesh reduced and wrecked.

I have to change the bed,   

But catch myself instead

Stopped upright where I am   

Hugging my body to me   

As if to shield it from   

The pains that will go through me,

         

As if hands were enough   

To hold an avalanche off.

Discussion Question The Alchemist

1.  The prologue of The Alchemist includes a unique retelling of the myth of Narcissus.

- What do you know about this myth?

The myth of Narcissus is a very old greek myth which is about the flower,  the narcissus. The myth is about a young man who loves to look at his self in a mirror. He does it every day by the lake, when he looks at the water. One day a leaf falls on the water and the leaf made a wave which distorted his reflection. He was upset about that because he thought he is ugly. He died from the shock being ugly and the the spot where somebody found his corpse, there grew a beautiful yellow narcissus.

       

 - What is the traditional interpretation of this myth?

The traditional interpretation is about the young man who loved himself and who was really concerned about his beauty. The end of the story is kind of ironic and shows, that self-love can make things worse. The young man was totally blinded from his beauty and probably forgot about the really important things in life. That he died because of a wave which distorted his reflection shows, that he didn’t have any time to think about the reality and real life.

         

- What is the relationship of the prologue to the rest of the story?

The prologue introduces the theme of self-love and the realization of your dreams. In the prologue you can see that self-love can be important to reach your goals. I also think that the prologue should show the reader that a little bit of egoism is needed to succeed and to get satisfied. It is also related to the internal conflict of the boy who still doesn’t know what he is going to do because of opinions of others.

2.  Tell where the boy comes from and in what part of the world much of the story is set. What might be the significance of the setting in the book?

The boy is from Andalusia which is an area in the south of Spain. It is a really try and banal area where is not much to get product of except agriculture. Especially the profession of a shepherd was common around the 1500 and 1600 hundreds. Because of the area the choices of jobs are very small for Santiago. It is also a very poor area and not many people could afford to travel. That is probably a reason why travelling is such a desire and special thing for the boy. As a son of a poor family there are not many ways how he could travel, besides being a shepherd.

3.  Talk about the role the merchant's daughter plays in the boy's quest. What themes does her introduction bring up?

The merchant’s daughter is one of the biggest reasons for the internal conflict of the boy. The boy falls in love with the merchant’s daughter and the fact the he loves her even he doesn’t really know her shows the reader, that it is something special and magical for the boy. You can see how important the merchant’s daughter is for the boy on page 11 when Santiago says: “I haven’t thought of other women since I met the merchant’s daughter.”

Another quote on page 10 shows Santiago’s special attraction to the merchant’s daughter: “he had already seen many castles and met many women (but none the equal of the one who awaited him several days hence).” The merchant’s daughter is probably the reason why he is not sure about if he should go to Egypt, Africa to search the treasure he dreamed of. The girl and the internal conflict of Santiago are part of Santiago’s discovering of his personal legend. The fact, that the shepherd doesn’t know his personal legend yet, “The boy didn’t know what a person’s personal legend was” (page 21), and the theme of finding his personal legend introduces the main conflict and theme of the story. The uncertainty of something new and an adventure makes the boy think about his future and what he is going to do next. You can see that the love to the merchant’s daughter holds the boy from realize his dreams without worrying about past and home.

4.  What is the boy's original motive in the quest that takes him across the Mediterranean? What rewards, material or nonmaterial, do you think the boy will reap from his journey? What might this say about the relationship between material and spiritual rewards?

The main reason why the boy is a shepherd is because he wants to see as many parts as possible of the world. I think his original quest what takes him across the Mediterranean is because he wants to travel and he is also looking for an adventure and challenge. I think the boy is going to get rewarded by seeing the world and maybe he will find his personal legend at the end of his journey. It is very hard to compare the material rewards with the spiritual rewards, but even if the will be disappointed if he is not going to find a treasure, after a while he will be happy about his experience.

vocab

ostracism: exclusion of society

presumptuous: behavior of person which is inappropriate

pugnacious: looking for fights and conflicts

quotidian: a daily happening,

relish: to savor something a lot

solicitous: interested in somethings/ someones condition

toady: exaggerated sort of kindness

usurp: dictators often usurp their power

viscous: thick or syrupy liquid

vivacious: blithely