Reverting to the Greater Glory of God

Matt McIntyre

Understand Literature

Dr. Juniper Ellis

Reverting to the Greater Glory of God

The stories "Mending Wall," "Accident, Mass. Ave.," "Learning to Read," and the Jesuit Higher learning agenda, written by Frost, McDonough, Harper, and Kolvenbach, respectively are very different from each other, yet one commonality is the reversion from hostility or anger, back to peacefulness. The neighbor in “Mending Wall” disagreeing heavily about the unneeded wall, the driver in “Accident, Mass. Ave.,” being the one responsible for the collision and dealing with a hateful argument, or the clear hatred for “the Rebs” in “Learning to Read.” Although, each poem has a different launch point, they all have a similar landing point. It took several readings for me to piece this together. Each poem starts off independently and soon turns into something hostile, full of anger or even spiteful, but by the end of each poem, all that frustration becomes calm and collected as if the situation did not take place and one’s self is replaced to its rightful spot.

How is it possible to control a temper as bad as the ones in the poems? Faith is always an answer. It is Jesuit philosophy to live and let live, not hold grudges, or demean another one of God’s children over your own pile of frustration or grief. It is essential to promote justice in all that is done for the Jesuits. This is where I found a connection to all three poems. At first, all three human natures get the better of the characters in the poem but the Jesuit ideologies of justice and tolerance show why one should not overreact. It is a mission of the Society to serve others always, not yourself.

Next, my last thought in the first paragraph was “one’s self is replaced to its rightful spot.” I went to the sit down interview with Wes Moore, a man whom I had seen in high school for a presentation just two years ago. He mentioned it then, and he mentioned it subtly again. Be yourself and don’t let anything cloud who you are. This really struck me because I was strictly listening on for something to add onto my blog that he said, something that I could use as a connection, and just as I was about to give up, I heard this thought. This made me think about all three stories, where anger would cloud the mentality of each person, only to be settled again and ones self to be returned to its rightful spot. Moore, unknowingly, linked up all of my poems with a simple, non-elegant statement.

 I realized from the stories and the interview, always be yourself and never let anyone or anything impair who you are. Always act rationally and walk away from a situation where you can risk hurting someone or something you care about.