Analysis of Milton, Soto and Kolvenbach

When reading these three pieces of writing a central theme I concluded was discovering hope in life and embracing it. Overcoming adversity within one’s life is depicted in each piece of work. In the poem “When I consider how my light is spent” by John Milton the speaker is struggling is with his religion now that he's blind which makes it challenging for him to resume his practice as a poet. “In A Red Palm” by Gary Soto, follows the perspective of a father working hard to provide for his family and his regret of not valuing his education how he is adapting with that result. Lastly in “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education” by Kolvenbach emphasizes the values of Jesuits through educating and embracing justice.

 

Though not evident each piece of writing in an intricate way possess a similar larger implication. First, the more comparable John Milton’s and Kolvenbach’s piece of writing, emphasizing the importance of hope gained through religion and faith. Milton’s poem utilizes the metaphor of light and darkness to express his emotions after losing his eyesight. In the poem, the metaphorical light he is losing is the light of religion; the hope it provides. Through the poem, Milton questions how he can serve God and fulfill his purpose as a poet when he can no longer see. He views himself as useless now but as the poem progresses with his inner voice who disputes those doubts, he reminds himself God does not need physical labor for one to serve him, and being patient and faithful is all he needs. This is very similar to Kolvenbach’s wiring because Kolvenbach put an emphasis on the Jesuit faith and spreading the word and educating others about it, however not through forcing the religion on others. Kolvenbach sees religion as something that brings out the best in others and does his best to educate others of how it is a Jesuits mission to promote the love and justice of all people. Milton’s poems emphasize the motivation religion can have and how it can help one overcome adversity. 

 

Gary Soto's poem using the second-person point of view, the writer establishes the reader in the position of the main character of the poem. Soto’s Poem depicts the speaker adapting to a life of labor due to his poor choices of not taking school seriously. Through descriptive words, it sets almost a sad tone of the speaker who is willing to work hard to care for his wife and children. The repetitive “Sigh” reveals the speaker's discontent and regret of his past however he most likely has no other choice. It also hints at the sense of hope he feels through his child who answers his math question correctly. Like the other two writings, finding something to hold on to as a motivator to overcome everyday struggles in life is emphasized in this poem. Each piece of writing was intriguing to me because we all experience adversity and moments of regret about things in our past however finding something to help us release those negative feelings whether it be religion or family is extremely essential.