Suicide and New York City free essay sample

Although the development of the manufacturing industry is convenient in everyday life, it also takes peoples lives away from nature around us. This problem has been discussed in the poem â€Å"Summer Solstice, New York City,† by Sharon Olds and â€Å"Death of a Window Washer,† by X. J. Kennedy. â€Å"Summer Solstice, New York City† is about an attempted suicide incident. â€Å"Death of a Window Washer† describes a scene of a window washer who was killed by accident. With different descriptions and details regarding the denouement of the main characters and the reactions of the other people, the two poets portrayed the dark and light side of human nature. â€Å"Summer Solstice, New York City† uses juxtaposition to describe details while â€Å"Death of a Window Washer† did not. In â€Å"Summer Solstice, New York City,† the poet uses words relating to manufactured elements and words relating to natural elements side by side, in order to bring hope to the audience. For example, Olds uses some harsh adjectives to describe the edge of the top of the building where the man was going to commit suicide: â€Å"to the edge, put one leg over the complex green tin cornice (27). This line contains two unnatural elements: â€Å"tin,† and â€Å"cornice,† which connote the man-made city and shows the cold elements of the city. However, Olds uses natural elements to describe the net: â€Å"stretched as the sheet is prepared to receive a birth (27). In this line, Olds uses the word â€Å"birth,† to contrast the birth of the children to the man’s life by comparing the end of the mans life to a new life in the city. Because of the contrast between the words, the gentleness and hope of the man-made city emphasizes the harsh reality of the mans extreme decision to end his life. On the contrary, â€Å"Death of a Window Washer† does not use juxtaposition and describes the detail more harshly. The poet X. J. Kennedy shows the coldness of the city. Kennedy describes the scene inside the building when the window washer is falling: â€Å"Machine ran scores of memos no one wanted† (31). In this line, Kennedy creates a casual nonchalant mood to the window washer falling. This shows that the business will not be interrupted because of the death of the window washer. The coldness of the man-made city was shown to the reader. While both Olds and Kennedy use detailed description in their poems, Olds used different composition of the imagery to give the reader some sensitive feeling of the city. Conversely, Kennedy’s description shows a more brutal side of the city. The feeling becomes even stronger in their main characters different fates. Although â€Å"Summer Solstice, New York City† gives a happy ending to the reader, the other poem, â€Å"Death of a Window Washer,† shows a sad scene to the reader and renders the reader’s feelings about the city even more impersonal. In â€Å"Summer Solstice, New York City,† the suicidal man finally decides to step back and the police officers around him care about him like their child. They make sure he stays in a safe place and even light a cigarette for him to relax (27). In these few lines, the poet makes the reader exhale a sigh of relief. Because the man did not die, the reader feels hope. On the other hand, â€Å"Death of a Window Washer† discusses the window washer’s legacy: â€Å"His legacy is mute: one final gleaming pane of glass† (32). Again this line shows the window washer’s death did not mean anything for most people. His legacy is compared to the glass that he washed. People will not be remembering him, because his life was only worth a pane of glass for them. This makes the whole city seem hopeless and less sensitive. While Olds gives her reader a hopeful ending in order to instill a warm feeling, Kennedy conveys the cold image of the city by introducing the window washer’s dismal legacy to the reader. The cops and the broker also glean the intentions of both poets. The cops convey warmth and protection while the broker shows indifference. In the two poems, the scenes of the people reacting differently affect the reader’s opinion of human nature. In â€Å"Summer Solstice, New York City†, the police officers, especially the tall cop, treat the suicidal man as family. However, in â€Å"Death of a Window Washer,† people did not care about the death of the window washer. In â€Å"Summer Solstice, New York City†, Olds shows the reader how the tall cop convinces the man not to commit suicide: â€Å"Softly, slowly, talking to him, talking, talking† (27). Olds repeats the word â€Å"talking,† which shows that the tall cop tried very hard to calm the man down. It shows the image of humanity and gives the reader the feeling of warmth and kindness in an iron city. However, in â€Å"Death of a Window Washer† the poet Kennedy describes how a broker responds to the death of the window washer: â€Å"A broker counted ten shares sold as five† (32). This line shows that the broker was more concerned with the disturbance the window washer is causing to his business, rather than concern for the well-being of the window washer. The line may shows that the broker planned to sell something, but his business was disturbed by the death of the window washer. This broker only cares about his business, not the window washer’s death. It gives the image of selfishness in human nature. People selfishly only care about their lives the city becomes less sensitive. Base on the reaction of society in these two poems, two different kinds of human nature can be seen in our lives. The poem â€Å"Summer Solstice, New York City† shows the hospitality of humanity in a man-made city, but â€Å"Death of a Window Washer† shows the harshness of human nature. These two poems discuss the sense of an iron city in many different situations, trying to give the reader some different of the man-made city. Based on the reaction of society in these two poems, two different kinds of human nature can be seen in our lives. The poems show a lesson that people should step back and work on their sensitivity toward other people.