An Analysis of the Poem An Ox looks at Man Essays - Ox, Comics

An Analysis of the Poem An Ox looks at Man Essays - Ox, Comics An Analysis of the Poem "An Ox looks at Man" In the poem "An Ox Looks at Man" by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, the speaker is an ox that makes observations about mankind's existence. The ox criticizes the behavior of humans in regards to each other and the natural world. The poem suggests that man is frantic and fragile, while the ox is calm and strong as shown through direct comparison of their mental and emotional characteristics. The ox suggests that oxen are physically superior to men due to the fact that men are fragile beings while oxen are strong capable creatures. The poem begins with the ox's critique of the physical strength of humans. The ox claims that humans "are more delicate even than shrubs" In the eyes of the ox, human beings are feeble beings that have the strength of plants. While shrubs are not necessarily weak, they are a source of food to oxen. Shrubs are also easily crushed under the weight or grazing herds and are easily uprooted from the soil by hungry oxen. The ox also comments on man's inability to match the ox's physical stability because "there is little of the mountain about them" The ox considers human beings creatures that are of an inferior physical status. Humans who are in a constantly moving whether it be across the world or across the room are unlike oxen that are nearly immovable. Throughout the course of history countless empires and nations have existed, all coming to an e nd in a similar manor, they are overthrown by another empire or nation. However, both oxen and mountains have the power to withstand the elements are unconquerable. Furthermore, at the end of the day mankind loose "itself to a simple lowering of lids, to a shadow." The ox claims that humans can only escape their despair and sadness in their slumber. Implying that mankind lacks the strength to face these problems, and choose to avoid them until they reach a point of exhaustion. The ox is able to characterize humans so thoroughly because "All their expression lives in their eyes" In the opinion of the ox, mankind's inability to conceal his emotions is a sign of weakness. Hence, they are unable to hide their fear, and it can be seen by all, making them an easy target to predators. Oxen on the other hand are feared by other animals and are less expressive than humans. In the comparison of the physical characteristics of the ox and man, the ox is able reveal his belief in the superiority of oxen. In addition to being physically superior, the ox also believes the oxen to be more emotionally and mentally sound than mankind. In the eyes of the ox, mankind is distracted, unfocused creatures that "run from one side to the other, always forgetting something" suggesting that the ox is a tranquil and calm being. The ox believes humans to be indecisive creatures. Oxen unlike sporadic people, oxen graze peacefully through plains. The ox's condescending tone than changes to one of sympathy due to the fact that we are incapable of hearing neither "the song of the air nor the secrets of hay;" The ox suggests that within nature there is a world of beauty that humans are not capable of understanding. However oxen are able to appreciate the beauty of the world. The ox criticizes the fact than man cannot see beyond their own one-dimensional views of the world and find meaning in simplicity. With their ability to have a deeper understanding of the world, the oxen see themselves as a species of a higher intellect in the ox's observations of humans, he notices that "in the wake of sadness humans come to cruelty." In the midst of adversity humans often resort to violence, differences in opinion lead to war and genocide. Unable to properly process their emotions and sorrows the ox sees that humans tend to drift towards savage behaviors, while oxen are able to maintain their calm. The ox continues to compare man to oxen, arguing that "it is impossible for them to settle themselves, into forms that are calm, lasting and necessary." Humans in the opinion of the

Learn How to Say to Smoke in French

Learn How to Say to Smoke in French How would you say to smoke in French? If you answered with the verb  fumer, then youd be correct. Its an easy one to remember if you associate it with the English fume. It might also be helpful to know that when you need to extinguish a flame, youll use the verb  expliquer.   Conjugating the French Verb  Fumer Admittedly, French verb conjugations can be a challenge for French students. Thats because there are more words to remember since we conjugate for all the subject pronouns within each tense. Yet,  fumer  is a  regular -ER verb  and this is the most common conjugation pattern in French. This makes it a little easier if youve worked with a few verbs before. As with all conjugations, we need to identify the verb stem, which is  fum-. Then we can begin to add the many endings and form a complete sentence. For example, I smoke is je fume and we will smoke is ​nous fumerons. Study this chart and practice the forms in context to make memorization a little quicker. Subject Present Future Imperfect je fume fumerai fumais tu fumes fumeras fumais il fume fumera fumait nous fumons fumerons fumions vous fumez fumerez fumiez ils fument fumeront fumaient The Present Participle of  Fumer The  present participle  of fumer  is  fumant. Notice how this was as simple as adding -ant  to the verb stem. Its a very useful word as it can be a verb, adjective, gerund, or noun depending on the context. The Past Participle and Passà © Composà © Beyond the imperfect, another common form of the past tense smoked is the  passà © composà ©. This is formed using the  past participle  fumà ©Ã‚  along with a conjugate of the  auxiliary verb  avoir. For example, I smoked is jai fumà © while we smoked is nous avons fumà ©. More Simple  Fumer  Conjugations to Learn Those are the most important forms of  fumer  and should be the  top priority for memorization. There are more simple conjugations you may need at times and theyre used in special circumstances. For instance, in a conversation when the act of smoking is not guaranteed, the subjunctive or the conditional verb mood may be used. If you do much reading in French, you will also encounter the passà © simple. This form, as well as the imperfect subjunctive, may not be widely used, but they are good to know anyway. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je fume fumerais fumai fumasse tu fumes fumerais fumas fumasses il fume fumerait fuma fumt nous fumions fumerions fummes fumassions vous fumiez fumeriez fumtes fumassiez ils fument fumeraient fumrent fumassent In short and direct commands and requests, we can drop the subject pronoun and simplify things in the imperative form. Rather than saying tu fume, you can just use fume. Imperative (tu) fume (nous) fumons (vous) fumez