Stone Hammer Poem & Surfacing Essay

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The mystery, which is representative for Kroetsch, would simply disappear once someone would give a translation for his poem.

Readers are likely to think that the poem is too authoritarian in the beginning. Their inability to understand its meaning when trying to relate to the exact meaning of the words used Kroetsch used would be frustrating. However, this is essentially wrong. The author wants people to feel free and to think what ever they want to instead of limiting themselves to a simple and rather restrained idea at the time they read his poem.

The protagonist in "Surfacing" is to a certain degree comparable to Kroetsch, as she too is discontented with the strict nature of language and with the fact that it does not give people total freedom. The use of language however affects Atwood's creation to a higher degree. It transpires the will to virtually abandon everything related to speech in favor of assuming the attributes of an animal. The narrator feels as if it had not been natural for her to use the conventional way of communication among humans, as it had not been hers to begin with.

The reader is originally led to believe that it is only the American language that she does not favor, but as matters advance it becomes obvious that she is actually referring to language in general. The author does not like people and since she believes language to be a key feature in being human, hence her extreme dislike for language.

Not only does she hate language, but she cannot use it properly when she needs it. Language is unfamiliar to her and she concludes that certain people could talk to her without her being able or willing to have any reaction to their words. Her main goal is to identify herself with nature and she thinks that the only way of doing this is to abandon language.

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Kroetsch leaves the impression that he considers conventional language to be a barrier standing in front of those wanting to understand the meaning of things. Similarly, the narrator in "Surfacing" is sure that language is the only thing standing between her and her happiness. She does not enjoy the fact that she has to link objects to words every time she wants to express something. In her opinion, perfection would involve words and objects being as one instead of being separated. Her desire to subject herself to the laws of the animal kingdom is owed to her conviction that animals do not need words in order to relate to objects. Moreover, she is fueled by the thought that the "language barrier" is not present in the animal world, thus allowing the animals to achieve enlightenment through their very nature.

Her aspiration to become an animal can be motivated by her unborn child, and by her desire to abort the pregnancy. She apparently wants to convince herself that her child would not die when she commits abortion and that just like his father's spirit and the elements in the forest, it will continue to live in another form. In the end of the novel, however, the narrator understands that language is .the only way humans can understand their environment and relate to it is to return to civilization.

Whether people disregard language because it offers limited freedom, or whether they do so because they consider it to be an obstacle in a journey towards illumination, language is one of the most important characteristics of humanity, and notwithstanding its faulty nature, it is partially responsible for civilization.

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