Read the excerpt from "Escape."

But the universe knows more
I must take this test just like everyone
Takes tests
I am closing in on the sky

This excerpt expresses the theme that it can be difficult to know yourself and your place in the world. Which excerpt from "To Live" expresses the same theme?

I sit in my
crunched-in
restraining
desk, they call it.
with my paper
and my pen
and I am
supposed to see
the blackboard
around the tall boy
en frente de mi
but my head
won’t translate
this language
log base b of a squared
carbon monoxide
reacting with phosphorus
learning without
knowing
without room
to learn how
to know myself
to be myself

1 answer

The excerpt from "To Live" that expresses the theme of struggling to know oneself and one's place in the world is the following:

"I sit in my crunched-in restraining desk, they call it. with my paper and my pen and I am supposed to see the blackboard around the tall boy en frente de mi but my head won’t translate this language log base b of a squared carbon monoxide reacting with phosphorus learning without knowing without room to learn how to know myself to be myself"

In this passage, the imagery of being confined in a "crunched-in restraining desk" along with the struggle to understand complex concepts symbolizes the difficulty of finding one’s identity and place in a world filled with expectations and challenges. The speaker's sense of not being able to translate the language around them indicates a disconnect from their surroundings, mirroring the theme of the challenge in self-discovery and understanding one's role in the greater context of life.