Many factors make human beings the most advanced living organisms in the world. An example of such factors includes the ability to communicate—the development of speech-enabled people to separate from other animals and form a system that encourages socialization. The introduction of socialization allows individuals to have relationships. Currently, there are different types of relationships that people portray, including marriage, friendship, cohabitation, codependency, and infatuation. On certain occasions, these relations can be complicated due to internal conflicts, power dynamics, and misunderstandings. Repeated harmful actions characterize a complex relationship. The main focus of the essay is the analysis of two poems and one play, which show how the writers comment on complicated relationships. The two poems are Harlem by Langston Hughes and Sonnet by William Shakespeare and the play Trifle by Susan Glaspell.
The first poem, Sonnet, talks about a complicated relationship between lovers. The author claims that true love cannot be altered by time or external factors such as friends and family. Countless lessons can be learned from this poem since many relationships have ended due to the involvement of external forces. The definition of true love by the author is an indication that certain parties can make a relationship to be complicated. As a result, he prepares lovers to be aware of what they will encounter through their journey of being together. For example, this line, “Love’s not Time’s Fool” (Shakespeare 2482), is vital for people planning to be in a relationship. The line explains that a love affair has both bad and good moments; hence, individuals need to prepare for both cases. The writer reminds people that relationships are not always as enjoyable as they seem. He acknowledges that relationships are sometimes complicated due to the influence of external forces, but he does not advise the lovers to call it off. Any complicated relations called off do not preserve the teachings of the author since there are solutions that the partners can adopt to remove the external forces, for example, dialogue.
The second poem, Harlem, addresses the complicated relationship between society and African Americans. The author tries to explain what African Americans go through when trying to achieve their dreams. The complex relationship is illustrated in the poem using metaphor. Langstone explains how a denied vision can negatively impact life, for instance, drying up like raisins in the sun. The writer feels that race, as mentioned above, is being discriminated against often. The images that the poem displays indicate the frustration and despair the victims may feel when their dreams are thwarted by society. Langstone has asked many questions in the poem. One of the questions I find interesting is found in the line, ‘What happens to a dream deferred?’ (Hughes 2792). Such questions are dangerous as they can have negative impacts like violence and robbery. For many years, African Americans have been victimized by society (Coard). Most of these people were brought to the country through the slave trade. For a long time, they were seen as individuals who could not dream of achieving anything. American society did not believe the Black population could have dreams like the White population. The author of the poem, therefore, tries to explain the origin of the complicated association. Deferred dream is an example factor that might have caused the toxic relationship.
Lastly, the play Trifles talks about a complicated relationship between men and women in society. The characters in the play display a complicated work relationship. According to the drama, the complex relationship between women and men is caused by power dynamics. The women believe that men hold most of the essential positions in society. The County Attorney and the Sheriff are the two characters from the play who do not subscribe to the women’s argument. Their disagreement with the women results in conflicts and misunderstandings. An example of a quote from the play by the County Attorney: ‘For that matter, a sheriff’s wife is married to the law’ (Glaspell 3254) implies married women should always support their husbands’ argument. They expected Mrs. Peter not to sympathize with Mrs. Wright. Generally, women feel that men occupy essential positions in society, which is not entirely true because there are factors that determine career choice.
For example, there are more women in the healthcare industry than men since the industry deals with people. Women are more interested in helping people than men. Also, there are more men in the automobile industry than women because men are more interested in machines than women (Ali et al.). The disagreement between women and men has led to multiple conflicts in the family. An example in the play is discovering a dead bird in the farmhouse. According to the women, the discovery symbolizes suffering and oppression for Mrs. Wright. However, the men in the drama did not appreciate the women’s point of view. The example illustrated above is one of many occasions in the play that indicate disagreement between men and women, proving the existence of complicated relationships. The writer uses the play to show how women are treated in society. The behavior of characters such as the County Attorney from the play reflects how men treat their wives in society. Women are marginalized mainly by men, as illustrated in the play by characters such as the Sheriff and County attorney.
In summary, the three literature materials analyzed have explained different types of complicated relationships in human settings. The first piece of literature explored is the poem Sonnet. The type of complicated relationship illustrated in the poem is a love relationship. The author shows people that love relationships can sometimes be complicated when external forces such as friends and family members are invited. He also advises people not to abandon a complex relationship since he believes that different ways, such as dialogue, can be applied to revive the relationship. The second poem analyzed in the paper is Harlem. The poem addresses a complicated relationship between American society and African Americans. Langston shows people the origin of the discrimination that exists in the country. He argues that the deferred dream is the origin of inequality. The author warns that the consequences of bigotry can be harmful for instance, it can lead to violence. Lastly, the play Trifles addresses the dishonest relationship between women and men in society. The writer explains why society looks down on women using characters such as County Attorney. The women feel that men are occupying all the vital positions in society. The play is a reflection of how women are treated in the society.
Works Cited
Ali, Tazeen Saeed, et al. “Perpetuation of Gender Discrimination in Pakistani Society: Results from a Scoping Review and Qualitative Study Conducted in Three Provinces of Pakistan – BMC Women’s Health.” BioMed Central, BioMed Central, 22 Dec. 2022, bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12905-022-02011-6.
Coard, Stephanie Irby. “Race, discrimination, and racism as ‘Growing points’ for consideration: Attachment theory and research with African American families.” Attachment & Human Development, vol. 24, no. 3, 2021, pp. 373–383, https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2021.1976931.
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