Journal 13

Journal #13 – Edgar Lee Masters Epitaphs (p. 502) 

Read “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” and answer the following questions.  

1.    What object symbolizes George Gray’s life?  How is this object representative of him?

George Gray’s life is described by the boat with a furled sail in the harbor. This represents his life because in his life he never attempted anything when he had opportunity so he never went out and tried everything, like the boat that never went out to sea.

2.    . How was Lucinda Matlock’s life different than George Gray’s?  How do you interepret the last line of the poem?     

Lucinda Matlock went out and lived life and did the things that George Gray was too afraid to do. The last line of the poem means that you need to have ambition and energy to enjoy life and you cant live life without these things. 

         

3.    How are “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” examples of realism? 

These two poems are examples of realism because they are both very plain styles of writing and nothing special happens to these people, they are just common people living normal lives.