Positive Imagery Essay, Research Paper

Positive ImageryThe tragedy of the death of a child is almost ignored completely in “Bells for John Whiteside’s Daughter.” Ransom focuses on the brighter aspects of the child’s life, like when she would play with her own shadow. He also talks about her exploits with the geese. She is also remembered as not only a rambunctious girl, but a royal princess. Ransom writes about how this little girl used to play with her own shadow. She seemed to be very vivacious and imaginative. He tells of how he enjoyed watching her by saying, “He wars were bruited in our high window. We looked among orchard trees and beyond.” She seemed so alive, it is hard for the author and all at her funeral to believe that she is dead. The little girl’s games with the geese are also remembered by Ransom. He gives her harassment of the fowl a positive connotation by associating the characters with natural things. He says, “The lazy geese, like a snow cloud, Dripping thier snow on the green grass.” He does this to make it seem as though she could do no wrong. Everything he says about the girl is done with a positive tone. By making even the crueler things the child did seem innocent

and pure, he tries to pull the negativity of her death away from the minds of the mourners and remind them of the happiness of her life. The child is not only portrayed as a tomboy, but as a princess as well. He tells how “The little Lady with rod that made them rise.” The author wanted the girl to be portrayed as spirited and vivacious but also as someone gentle and sweet enough to be royalty. By making such comparisons, it makes it easier for the grief stricken to remember not her death, but her glorious life. The death of a young girl is viewed not as a sadness of passing, but as a happy remembrance of a spirited child. Ransom remembers seeing her playing with her shadow and other imaginary friends. He also remembers her endless games with the geese and how humorous they look in retrospect. Despite some of her boyish ways, she is also remembered as the true Lady she was. Throughout this poem, attention is drawn away from the casket that holds John Whiteside’s daughter and is centered on the most important thing about her death, which was her life.