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The Art of Argument” by Anne Carson On Walking Backwards “My mother forbad us to walk backwards. That is how the dead walk, she would say. Where did she get this idea? Perhaps from a bad translation. The dead, after all, do not walk backwards but they do walk behind us. They have no lungs and cannot call out but would love for us to turn around. They are victims of love, many of them. ” Assignment #1 Reading Anne Carson short talk is a huge attempt, trying to put together sentences to cake sense.
Will we ever understand? Well here is my attempt. Three things fascinate me. When Anne Carson states that the dead have no lungs. Carbon’s reasoning for bad translation and the mother comparing walking backwards to the dead. This short talk is a reminder to people, who have failed to use their voice and are becoming similar to death everyday or are still afraid to ask the obvious. Anne Carson relates this short talk to having voice because the mother bans the custom of the dead. Are you allowed to say or do what you please?
Or will you be criticized of your opinion. Should your opinion of love and relationships consist of your beliefs or what they want you to know? Carson also points out to her readers the ability to practice what you stand for. Why cater and obey these things if your outcome isn’t happiness. Love should be a splendid activity but yet we’re afraid, so we don’t speak up Just like the dead. Have you ever had the feeling of being dismissed or rejected? The question that comes to mind in this short talk is “What did love ever mean to you?
Is love free without fear and limit or are we still afraid to ask the obvious. Why is the mother erasing the dead? The dead are able to run fast and get far as the living, yet the living go further ahead. Is everything white for the dead but in colors for the alive. They are victims of love. If I try to run down, will my legs allow me? Will my past be like the present? Will my story ever be told when I’m alive or will I be recognized when I I death bring me to life? Understand that I am a victim of love.