Tell all the Truth by Dustin Nguyen (Student FVHS)

5:Are there any symbols? What do they mean? Are they universal symbols or do they arise from the context of this poem?

dgnguyen102_ — 2024-02-16 19:56:25 UTC

Throughout the poem of "Tell All The Truth But Tell It Slant", the symbol that's used is brightness. The fixation with death caused her to lie to herself about death which can cause her to be paranoid about the subject. This led to her to divert it by saying it was "too bright for our infirm delight"(3). What this means is that the truth of death is too much for people as it could bring them to hysteria and instead we lie to ourselves to avoid that fear. However facing that fear can overcome that challenge which was noted in, "success in circuit lies" (2). Circuits contain electricity which provides light, the source of brightness and in a sense said that facing the source of your fear and overcoming it can bring you success. Another key detail to support the claim of brightness is "the truth must dazzle gradually or every man will be blind." (7 & 8) What this quote infer is that the truth must be dimmer (dazzle) gradually or else the fear of death would override everybody's senses, "every man be blind." As eyes are a key feature in Emily dickinson writing as a way of portraying life, no eyes = death and having eyes = life but being blind means that you're alive but shunned from the experiences.

3: What images does the poet use? How do the images relate to one another? Do these images form a unified pattern (a motif) throughout the poem?

dgnguyen102_ — 2024-02-16 19:57:17 UTC

The usage of imagery helps build onto each other in the context of lying to yourself as the visual of "Success in Circuit lies. Too bright for our infirm Delight."(2 & 3) Which means that brightness in the success of a circuit could override our weak mental or physical state. This builds onto the next piece of evidence which is, "As Lightning to the Children eased." Which could be infer that the sound of thunder and image of lightning can be frightful for the younger generation but we as a person nurse them to not be afraid of it. This pattern of lying to one another to avoid the concept of death is explained in the last line "Or every man be blind" that we're in a spot to be clouded by lies to avoid death in order to live our "life".

Question 1

adinh105_ — 2024-02-16 19:59:26 UTC

The poems tone is paranoid because to distract herself from the idea and truth of life:death, she must lie to herself. Words that explain this is Lightning which makes little children afraid, or something that is too bright causes some to be blind which causes much paranoid. However, when you explain these things out it will distract us from death. I believe the poem is ironic because when you tell a kid that when there is lightning, the lightning can't do anything to you and that you will be safe, just like we tell ourselves that we still have a ways to go before we can die, but that is simply not true as death can wait or death will not.

Question 6

adinh105_ — 2024-02-16 20:11:27 UTC

I think the theme of the poem is sometimes distractions from the imminent is good. In one sentence I would describe it as, "Don't let death stop you from living your life." In the lines "Success in Circuit lies, Too bright for our infirm Delight." Emily Dickinson is trying to say that the truth that is death may be too bright for some people, so that when they really look at it with their eyes they will be too scared to risk anything because of that thought. However, we should live life to its fullest and when the time comes have no regrets. The line, "The truth must dazzle gradually or every man be blind" means that if the truth is slowly revealed throughout life, people will perceive that idea better than being exposed to it fully. It means that if we want to live our life peacefully, the thought of death should never be on our minds until the very end when we have completed what we wanted and done everything we could so that we will be happy.

adinh105_ — 2024-02-16 20:12:24 UTC

adinh105_ — 2024-02-16 20:14:05 UTC

Biography Connection

dgnguyen102_ — 2024-02-16 20:16:01 UTC

Emily Dickinson's poem of "Tell All The Truth But Tell It Slant" focuses on the idea of lying to people about the upcoming future of death. Her personality of being a recluse and isolating herself from others can make her anxious and paranoid. The fixation of death lingering behind her eyes and in her head can drive her mad which in turn causes her to write a poem about lies and death. Ultimately this poem was written because of her fear of death and how to overcome that fear by lies.

adinh105_ — 2024-02-16 20:16:24 UTC