Happiness by Raymond Carver

Raymond Carver’s poem happiness depicts the value of appreciating the balance in simple livelihoods. Carver narrates his view of two newspaper delivery boys who have found joy in their work. The vivid portrayal of the early morning between sunrise and the dark disappearing conveys true happiness before the day-to-day chaos commences. As a poem and short story writer, Raymond carver possesses a special gift of using simple words to derive and express strong emotions. Raymond’s style is well pictured in his short stories titled “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love”. This poetry talk paper tackles the theme, impression, and tone of the poem Happiness by Raymond Carver.  Happiness by Raymond Carver Essay Paper

Human nature is crippled by the everlasting need for an excess of everything. It is a rare trait to be contented with less. The continuous struggle to get more is understandable since we live in a competition-driven environment. The most revealing theme of the poem Happiness is happiness in appreciation of simplicity. The two boys, who are personas in the poem, are satisfied with their situation. The poem’s setting involving the writer’s environment shows a peaceful and simple background.

The simplicity of living is depicted with the visualization of what the boys wore. The writer says, “They wear caps and sweaters, and one boy has a bag over his shoulder.” These boys do not have any complicated or unnecessary clothing. They just have sweaters for the morning cold weather and a bag to carry the newspapers. As we are accustomed to delivery boys riding or driving, the boys walking is another illustration of simplicity. The writer continues and says, “They are so happy.” This statement clearly describes the feeling and emotional state of the personas.

The writer’s illustration of how fast it comes and goes shows the value of happiness. In the concluding phrase, the writer says, “It comes on unexpectedly. And goes beyond, really, any early morning talk about it.” It depicts how happiness quickly vanishes like the morning. The writer appreciates joy praising it above feelings of ambition and love. “Such beauty that for a minute death and ambition, even love doesn’t enter into this,” says the writer. As illustrated by the writer’s description, the perfect morning is a call for appreciating the simple things in life that do not need much effort to be found.

The poem has a well depicted peaceful tone. The calm tone is established by contentment. In the poem, one has to notice and appreciate the simple things. The writer draws a morning of disappearing darkness and upcoming sunrise. Without realizing the past night, there cannot be an appreciation of the coming sunshine. The peaceful tone is a build-up from the setting. The first line, “so early it’s still almost dark out,” sounds more like a first gasp after waking up. In the writer’s words, “They come on, slowly. The sky is taking on light.” The phrase clearly visualizes of the peaceful tone developed throughout the poem. Happiness by Raymond Carver Essay Paper

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The author Raymond Carver portrays the value of finding peace. In contentment, according to the writer, happiness is found. The poem speaks volumes on the importance of the simple things we are accustomed to overlooking. Appreciation of every little good thing is the lesson of the poem.

Poetry Talk Assignment

(15% of Final Grade)

Due Friday, April 22

For this video presentation, you will read and discuss one of the poems listed below (one person per poem; a sign-up sheet will be distributed). For a successful Poetry Talk, you must cover these four aspects in order listed here…

• Read the poem out loud. You are not required to memorize the poem, just read it from a piece of paper or computer screen.
• Discuss initial impressions of the poem and theme. What were your first feelings/observations about the piece? What, do you feel, is the biggest theme present in the piece?
• Discuss significant or interesting moments. Identify (ideally, you will directly quote) two to three lines/moments in the piece, which you feel illustrates the theme. What is your interpretation of these moments? What devices do you detect? What is the tone, and does the tone change over the course of the poem?
• Discuss the big picture. What do you feel the author is trying to convey to us about the theme overall? What is your main takeaway?

You can see this presentation not as a formal lecture, but rather as a friendly book club, in which you are leading the discussion and sharing your unique observations on the poem. All of your discussion points should come from your individual analysis and interpretation of the poem — no outside research! Your Poetry Talk should be between 10 and 15 minutes in length. I STRONGLY recommend you outline the main points you wish to discuss, either in a notebook or in Google Docs/Word. This will help you stay on topic and be thorough in your discussion. Note: you will use YouTube or Yuja (a tool in Blackboard) to record and submit your video discussion. The deadline to submit your video in Blackboard is Friday, April 22 by midnight.

Grading Criteria & Rubric

An A-Level (90 – 100%) Poetry Talk will demonstrate the following elements: (1) 10-15 minutes in length; (2) A discussion of the poem’s most prominent theme (3) A discussion of your initial impressions on the poem; (4) A discussion of at least two significant moments/devices (5) A discussion of the poet’s overall message to readers / YOUR main takeaway (this is based on your interpretation).

• A B-Level (80-89%) Poetry Talk will demonstrate all but one of the above criteria in an expert fashion.
• A C-Level (70-79%) Poetry Talk will demonstrate about half of the above criteria. If you do not meet the minimum 10 minute time length, you can expect your grade to fall in this range, as well, even if everything else is executed in an expert fashion.
• A D-Level (60-69%) Poetry Talk will hit only one aspect of the above criteria, and will show little to no understanding of poetry concepts and/or this assignment sheet.
• A F-Level (0-50%) Poetry Talk will be completely off topic from your poem, or will not exist (i.e. you just don’t present).

Happiness by Raymond Carver Essay Paper