Question

Add the last paragraph to conncect the quotes in this essay:
In unit 6 we read the story “Sweet like crow” by Michael Ondaatje. The theme revolves around the idea of brief moments of beauty and joy in the midst of darkness and despair. The mood of the poem is melancholic and somber while still hinting at the beauty of it all. The overall mood Ondaatje sets with the imagery draws attention to the fragility of happiness and the inevitable suffering.

One example of this is “womb full of twins, a pariah dog with a magpie in its mouth like the midnight jet from Casablanca like Air Pakistan curry, a typewriter on fire, like a hundred pappadans being crunched, like someone trying to light matches in a dark room,”. Another example is “ like someone has just trod on a peacock like wind howling in a coconut like a rusty bible, like someone pulling barbed wire across a stone courtyard, like a pig drowning, a vattacka being fried a bone shaking hands a frog singing at Carnegie Hall. Like a crow swimming in milk, like a nose being hit by a mango”

Answer 1

These vivid and surreal images, although dark and unsettling, ultimately serve to highlight the fleeting moments of beauty and joy that can be found even in the midst of suffering. Ondaatje's masterful use of language and imagery invites the reader to consider the delicate balance between happiness and despair, and the inevitable presence of both in life's journey. The juxtaposition of these contrasting elements ultimately emphasizes the fragility of happiness and the importance of cherishing moments of beauty when they appear, no matter how brief or unexpected they may be.