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Homework Help: ENGLISH 11

Posted by JIM on Monday, March 5, 2012 at 4:22pm.

Richard Bone by Edgar Lee Masters:

When I first came to Spoon River
I did not know whether what they told me
Was true or false.
They would bring me an epitaph
And stand around the shop while I worked
And say "He was so kind," "He was wonderful,"
"She was the sweetest woman," "He was a consistent Christian."
And I chiseled for them whatever they wished,
All in ignorance of its truth.
But later, as I lived among the people here,
I knew how near to the life
Were the epitaphs that were ordered for them when they died.
But still I chiseled whatever they paid me to chisel
And made myself party to the false chronicles
Of the stones,
Even as the historian does who writes
Without knowing the truth,
Or because he is influenced to hide it.

1) why does he feel shame?


2) what is he saying about the history we learn from books and newspapers?

I really don't understand poems, could someone please answer these 2 questions!!!!!! Thanx

• ENGLISH 11 - Writeacher, Monday, March 5, 2012 at 4:31pm

  Spoon River Anthology is an entire collection of poems that tell about different people who live in a fictional small town in the American midwest.
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_River_Anthology
  
  In this poem, Richard Bone is clearly the guy who makes headstones for people's graves.
  When I first came to Spoon River
  I did not know whether what they told me
  Was true or false.
  They would bring me an epitaph
  And stand around the shop while I worked
  ...
  And I chiseled for them whatever they wished,
  All in ignorance of its truth.
  
  He puts on the headstones whatever the people tell him to, but after he lived in the town for a longer and longer time, he realized that those words were mostly lies.
  But later, as I lived among the people here,
  I knew how near to the life
  Were the epitaphs that were ordered for them when they died.
  But still I chiseled whatever they paid me to chisel
  And made myself party to the false chronicles
  Of the stones,
  
  And then he compares himself to historians who write whatever they want, without caring if it's the truth or not.
  Even as the historian does who writes
  Without knowing the truth,
  Or because he is influenced to hide it.
  
  So ... how will you answer those two questions?
  

• ENGLISH 11 - JIM, Monday, March 5, 2012 at 4:36pm

  i don't understand the first one but for the second question i think his saying that the history we learn from books and newspapers is not always the truth
  

• ENGLISH 11 - Writeacher, Monday, March 5, 2012 at 4:51pm

  That's right for the second question.
  
  What do you think this means?
  
  But still I chiseled whatever they paid me to chisel
  And made myself party to the false chronicles
  Of the stones,
  

• ENGLISH 11 - Anonymous, Monday, March 5, 2012 at 5:32pm

  didnt care, just wanted moneY?
  

• ENGLISH 11 - Shadowmakr, Monday, April 8, 2013 at 4:25pm

  In a few analysis I've seen how the names reflect his work. Richard (Living) Bone (dead)
  Paraphrase (Each return is a separate thought):
  
  When I arrived in my new home
  I began to work and what they ordered
  Didn't seem honest
  
  They would bring me what they wanted the tombstones/ grave marker to say
  And stand around and gossip/reminisce
  And say nice things about these dead folks (two lines of compliments)
  
  And I did my job
  Writing epitaphs about their allusions of these dead people
  
  ... More analyzing later
  Sorry Class is over
  

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