The stars "burn[ing] through the sheets of clouds" described in lines 25 and 26 of "The Journey" reflect -

Mary Oliver's "The Journey" first appeared in her 1963 collection No Voyage and Other Poems. The poem is about the importance of taking charge of one's own life and leaving behind negative influences. Despite being one of Oliver's more personal poems, and including references to real events in Oliver's life, many readers will identity with its themes of self-reliance and integrity. This has helped to secure its place as one of the most popular poems from one of America's most popular poets.

Explanation:

“The Journey” Summary

Addressing the reader directly, the speaker says that one day you finally understood what it was that you needed to do, and so you set about doing it—even as the people in your life kept yelling unhelpful suggestions at you. You kept going even as your whole world became unsteady—something the speaker metaphorically compares to a house starting to shake—and even as you felt a familiar pull trying to hold you back. The people around you demanded that you fix their lives, but you kept going. You understood what you needed to do now, even as outside forces tried to tear you down—something the speaker compares to the wind desperately prying at the foundations of that metaphorical house—and even though it was really hard for you to see how deeply sad the people asking for your help were. The speaker goes on to compare doing what you had to do to leaving in the middle of a fierce, untamed night, and walking down a road filled with bits of debris in your way. Yet, one step at a time, as you got further and further away from the sound of all those people's voices, the stars started to shine through the cloud cover, and a new voice appeared. You began to understand that you were in fact hearing your own voice, and this kept you from being lonely as you walked with great purpose further into the world, resolved to do the only thing you were actually capable of doing—to take charge of the only life that was actually yours to live.

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)

which lines ? : )

explanation: