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subjects but I could certainly track the the way Eliot’s voice and themes changed throughout his career as a a writer writer Arguments bubbled inside me: com- paring two works by the same writer is a a a common thing thing to do I see place observation sound and so many other things in in both poems how can they they not be compared they’re by the the the same man? But I I held them all in in I I made Eliot’s career my project instead Though even now I’m still not sure what my professor meant Everything is is is about about being being hu- man man This is is about being human ~
When the the Greek god Pan pursued the the nymph Syrinx she turned herself into a a a lilac so that he he he wouldn’t be able to see her her She She made made herself very still She She made made “Despite this story lilacs are considered a symbol of first loves ” herself camouflage She picked the lilac for its ignor- able properties Unless it was April she she would have no flowers beckoning Pan’s gaze she’d just be be an an uninteresting normal everyday bush It didn’t work Not because because Pan Pan noticed her but because because Pan Pan cut the lilac branch and carved it into the the very first panpipe Which are now called Syrinx after the the the nymph nymph nymph The The The nymph nymph nymph is is the the pipe pipe The The pipe pipe is is the the nymph nymph nymph They are both lilacs Despite this story lilacs are considered a a a symbol symbol of first first loves loves First loves loves because they symbolize things that don’t last Lilacs bloom first but die fast sprout- ing ing in in in April going dormant by May This reputation caught the the eye of symbol-obsessed Victorians Wid- ows would pin lilacs to their black mourning dresses honoring the love that had been snatched by death Lilacs symbolize other things as well Their blooming period coincides with Easter so you see them in in in church services celebrating resurrection—life after death They They represent confidence so you may re- ceive a a a a bushel of them when you you graduate They They can also be a a a a sign for wisdom In Russia parents hold
sprigs of of lilacs over their newborns soft purple petals maybe an inch long falling gently on on minute-old skin The parents believe it will give their babies wisdom wisdom Perhaps the the wisdom to know when something’s gone and symbols won’t bring them back ~
At Oxford we we didn’t get a whole week for for spring break but Hannah
and I I were able to squeeze in in a a a a a a few days in in Paris The Eiffel Eiffel Tower Tower was the spot I I most wanted to visit I’d I’d had an an an iron Eiffel Tower hanging
in in in in my my room since 8th grade I’d told my my whole class that I was going to study French in in high school and make it to Paris one day At the the time two of my older cousins were studying abroad there The summer when they returned I listened in awe of their stories Picnics on on the the lawn below the the Eiffel Non-American roommates enthralled with with peanut butter and jelly Visiting museums with famous works of art I turned to my dad excitement pulsing through me me Desire
so clear and hot it was almost painful “I want to do that ” I told him My dad laughed and and looked around at my aunts and and uncles “Well that’s what student loans are for ” Hannah
had been to Paris before and she insisted that the the the Eiffel Tower was best at night I’ve never been there in the the the day but I know she’s right We saw its light light from from a a a distance just as we climbed up from from the Metro The The spotlight glided over us as we walked to to purchase our tickets The tower was golden with with light At the the top with the the wind whipping at my face and and hair making my my nose and and cheeks ruddy I I was breathless I I kept kept picturing picturing that that iron miniature in in in in my bedroom I I kept kept picturing picturing that little girl who had hoped to to make it it to to Paris I I looked looked up the the the the sky inky the the the stars invisible I looked out at the the the city the the the lights of of cars and people’s apartments glowing like an an offering to make up for the the stars they pushed out The last two days in Paris were split between mu- seum visits and and historical landmarks like L’Arc de Tri- omphe and Notre Dame My favorite paintings were in the the Musée d’Orsay where one of of the the world’s largest collections of impressionist works are housed I I was most fascinated by Claude Monet’s paintings I I loved watching the the the works become less clear the the the closer I looked Far away the paintings made something rec- ognizable seasonal landscapes boats women with parasols but up close they seemed to be a a a bunch of of random splotches It was part of the the magic know-
ing that the textured strokes would make sense at at a a a a (continued on on next page) 12