Poem Analysis

Group= Connor, Stephan and James

Pre-Reading

Plot- The Poem starts off talking about the brothers who invented the first air plane. Then the poem goes on saying that many people tried to stop the war but it could not be done. In a little while American planes started to fly across the ocean to Japan. The author really expresses that the Japanese people were scared of that plane and how big of a power house the Americans where. He goes on saying that the Americans were smart and had better technology than the Japanese did. He expresses that when the American bombers got to Hiroshima they let the bombs free and it destroyed the city. The Japanese fighter jets tried to stop them but they couldn't and just flew into the mushroom cloud of the nuke. The author goes on by saying that countries where expanding their military weapons. The Americans kept bombing countries and finally a third world country got sick of it and flew their plane in the heart of America. The author then explains that there were a lot of casualties and people killed after the plane flew through the building.

Setting- The author of this poem first explains different settings in the war, and about the pacific and how countries were flying all over the globe trying to destroy other Countries. When the war was almost to an end, the setting switched to America, were a plane took off and flew across the pacific ocean. Then it mentions the city Hiroshima and what it looked liked after the war. The final setting started in Iraq and in Iraq, planes started to fly over the Atlantic ocean and ended up in America and then flew their planes into an important building.

The Wright Brothers- Orville

                                  -Birth- He was born on August 19, 1871 in Dayton,Ohio

                                 - Ethnicity- He was fluent in Dutch,German and English

                                 -Occupation- He was famous for building the first airplane

                                 -Death- He died January 30,1948

                            -Wilbur

                                 -Birth- He was born on April 16,1867

                                 -Ethnicity- He was fluent in Dutch, German and English

                                 -Occupation- He was also famous for building the first air plane
 -Death- May 30,1912

Wilbur and Orville Wright grew up in a small town in Ohio. The Wright Brothers owned a bicycle shop. They both had a vast interest in science, at the time when human flight looked like it was possible, The Wright Brothers developed the first successful air plane in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. After they invented the air plane they were classified as national heroes. They developed innovative technology and inspired imaginations around the world.

                                 

Born four years apart, brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright grew up in a small town in Ohio. They shared an intellectual curiosity and an aptitude for science, at a time when the possibility of human flight was beginning to look like a reality. Together, the Wright brothers developed the first successful air plane in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and together they became national heroes. Considered the fathers of modern aviation, they developed innovative technology and inspired imaginations around the world.

Spirit of St.Louis- Role- Long-range aircraft

                         Manufacturer- Ryan Airlines

                         Designer-Donald A. Hall

                         First Flight April 28, 1927

                         Retired-April 30, 1928

                         User-Charles Lindbergh

                         Produced-1927

                         Number of models built-1

                         Cost of it- $10,580

                         Preserved- National Air and Space Museum

The Spirit of St.Louis was also called the Ryan NYP meaning New York to Paris because that was the goal for the air plane, to fly from New York to Paris without stopping. The Spirit of St.Louis was a custom built, single engine, single-seat ,Monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20-21, 1927. With the plane Lindbergh won a $25,000 award. The air plane could travel 5,800 km without stopping.

Features

Wingspan: 14 meters

Length: 8 meters

Height: 3 meters

Weight, gross: 5,135 lb

Weight, empty: 2,150 lb

Engine: Wright Whirlwind J-5C, 223hp

Icarus

The Myth of Icarus- He was the son of Daedalus who took a risk and flew too close to the sun with his wings that his father made for him. Daedalus had been imprisoned by King Minos of Crete because of his invention. He decided to make two pairs of wings secretly. He made them with a wooden frame and wax. He gave one pair to his son, he cautioned him that flying near the sun would make the wax melt. But Icarus did not take his advice and flew to close to the sun, and the wax melted, and in a second he fell into the sea and drowned.

Theme-

The first theme that came to my head is Revenge, The definition of Revenge is the action of hurting someone after they hurt you. Line 16 mentions Hiroshima, Japan and how Americans dropped a nuke on two cities in Japan. America did take it way over the top but it was a case of revenge because American wanted to stay out of the war, but one day the Americans woke up and Japan bombers bombed Pearl Harbour which led to Americans nuking them. This makes no sense, why would they bomb one of America's military base when they weren't even in the war. They must of been scared of them, but even then it was a stupid thing to do. in lines 24,25,26 and 27 it talks about when Iraq flew their plane into the twin towers. Many Americans were shocked that it happened, but really they deserved it because they have been bombing and tormenting third world countries for years before 911, for example in Vietnam when they would kill non-soldiers. If they didn't kill them they used a gas to disfigure them. There is a connection to both these revenge events and that connection is Americas in both of them, which means that they aren't the loved country everyone thinks they are. Maybe someday we will see the end of America because of the country's character 
traits.

References and Allusion -

This poem mentions multiple times about how the doves were scared, this could supports that the war was nothing about trying to find peace, but trying to destroy it. Icarus was connected to this story because Icarus ignored instruction not to fly too close to the sun, and he did and the wax melted and it made him fall into the sea and he drowned, which could connect to the planes getting shot down in World War II. Another connection to the myth of Icarus was, if King Matos found the Wright Brothers maybe he could have imprisoned them and planes wouldn't of been invented and all these terrible events that involved planes would have been non-existing. When I saw the word “Versailles” I thought of the treaty of Versailles, which was to enforce peace and to stop World War 1. The word Versailles could be connected to the doves, or just talking about the Spirit of St. Louis when it flew from New York to Paris, which Versailles is a city in France. The treaty of Versailles didn't really involve America, just mostly countries in Europe. In the poem it throws a word at us “Capitalism”. Capitalism is an economic system based on a free market, open competition, profit motive and private ownership of the means of production. This could relate to American back in the 1940’s because they were just coming back from the boom of the Great Depression and many people were starting to make money, the second World War was one of the reasons what dug a lot of countries out of the Great Depression. Women were getting jobs at ammunition plants and other places since the guys were fighting in the war, so there was more open on jobs because of the war. This could make a connection to how the Americans got very rich during the second World War and that’s how they could afford all these war vehicles and equipment.