Labour Day: Dreaded Bell in the Schoolyard of the Mind
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- Date Submitted: 12/10/2010 05:17 PM
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Labour Day: Dreaded Bell in the Schoolyard of the Mind
Most statutory holidays bring joy to students, giving them an excuse to be away from school. Students use this time to gain a little bit of freedom, which they lack during the school year. On the other hand, Labour day is quite the opposite. It is the entrance to the school year, the final day of summer vacation. Henry Bruce effectively communicates the attitude of students towards Labour day, in his essay “Labour Day is a Dreaded Bell in the Schoolyard of the Mind.” He uses simile and metaphor to portray Labour day to be the death of students' independence and gateway to prison-like school.
Bruce employs simile and metaphor to express his view on how Labour day is a last chance at freedom. In the first sentence of the essay, he describes Labour day “[as] a sniff of the woods or glimpse of the sea before they [lead] you down to the dungeon ,” (3). The use of words 'sniff' and 'glimpse' evoke a sense of a brief encounter, a pleasant experience, yet not long enough to fully enjoy the moment. This connects to how the summer holidays are child's days of freedom. They are away from school and out in the sun, but the independence only lasts a certain period of time and has to end, no matter how great of a vacation it is. Bruce uses the term 'dungeon' as a comparison for school. The associations and thoughts which relate to 'dungeon' do not hold positive traits. Images of a cold, dark room, a place to shut people away from the world, leaving them no freedom, come to mind. Using this powerful imagery, Bruce effectively represents Labour day like a dreadful holiday. It is dreadful because it is the last day before school starts and students have to enter the 'dungeon', either willingly
or with a frown. As students awake on the morning after Labour day, they are bound to a full year of school.
Bruce continues to use both simile and metaphor to show the prison-like qualities of school. Bruce further develops...
Most statutory holidays bring joy to students, giving them an excuse to be away from school. Students use this time to gain a little bit of freedom, which they lack during the school year. On the other hand, Labour day is quite the opposite. It is the entrance to the school year, the final day of summer vacation. Henry Bruce effectively communicates the attitude of students towards Labour day, in his essay “Labour Day is a Dreaded Bell in the Schoolyard of the Mind.” He uses simile and metaphor to portray Labour day to be the death of students' independence and gateway to prison-like school.
Bruce employs simile and metaphor to express his view on how Labour day is a last chance at freedom. In the first sentence of the essay, he describes Labour day “[as] a sniff of the woods or glimpse of the sea before they [lead] you down to the dungeon ,” (3). The use of words 'sniff' and 'glimpse' evoke a sense of a brief encounter, a pleasant experience, yet not long enough to fully enjoy the moment. This connects to how the summer holidays are child's days of freedom. They are away from school and out in the sun, but the independence only lasts a certain period of time and has to end, no matter how great of a vacation it is. Bruce uses the term 'dungeon' as a comparison for school. The associations and thoughts which relate to 'dungeon' do not hold positive traits. Images of a cold, dark room, a place to shut people away from the world, leaving them no freedom, come to mind. Using this powerful imagery, Bruce effectively represents Labour day like a dreadful holiday. It is dreadful because it is the last day before school starts and students have to enter the 'dungeon', either willingly
or with a frown. As students awake on the morning after Labour day, they are bound to a full year of school.
Bruce continues to use both simile and metaphor to show the prison-like qualities of school. Bruce further develops...