E block--Danielle on 288

Danielle Balanov

                                                                                288; Personalized.

            Like so many of Emily Dickinson’s majestically beautiful poems, 288 develops deeper ideas and meanings than just the words on the page. In this instance, the poem speaks to the notions of seclusion and keeping to oneself, which compare very similarly to feelings felt on the very first days of school.  In the poem 288, references and meanings in the poem relate to and remind the reader of their first days of school by exemplifying making friends, staying out of the social limelight, and maintaining a reputation. While the poem itself was clearly not meant to be written about school, it portrays the same sort of social environment and situations that can be found at school. This poem starts off with Dickinson referring to herself as a ‘Nobody’. She writes, “I’m Nobody! Who are you? Are you- Nobody- too?”. This first line mirrors ones introduction to others. The dashes in the wording paints a feeling of uncertainty which is often felt when meeting new people. This uncertainty exemplifies the fear of being shut down or rejected as one might be when dealing with new groups of people, so much like in school. These lines can be interpreted as the very first greeting and the very first conversation you may have in school. It’s a chance to speak about yourself, because prior to an introduction, a person might as well be a nobody. As well as this concept of introduction and opening oneself up to others, this poem also speaks to the social limelight in school. It generally speaks of its negative impacts and the fact that the social mainstream is not somewhere one would want to be. When Dickinson writes, “Then there’s a pair of us? Don’t tell! They’d advertise- you know”, she’s speaking right to this notion. When someone has finally found a legitimate friend in school, you should be eager to get out of the middle of any sort of gossip. “They’d advertise”, is so directly relative to idle gossip and the idea that everyone knows everything about everyone else. Dickinson wants to maintain some sort of secrecy about her life, away from scandalous chitchat. Saying “Don’t tell!” indicates how much she doesn’t want even a little sliver of her personal life to get out in public, even if it’s as small as finding another Nobody. Finally, Dickinson’s poem relates to the connections of school in terms of maintaining a reputation. She writes about those who are “Somebody”. She writes about how public and engorged in reputation people can be. Dickinson writes, “How Dreary – to be- Somebody! How public- like a Frog, To tell one’s name- the livelong June- To an admiring bog!” as her last stanza. In this text, the Frogs, croaking and loud and the least bit reserved represent the somebodies. The people who are somebody have no desire to hold back. In school, these somebodies can be found at the top of the social chain. They are people who are submersed in their egos and statuses. “How public”, she says; so open without the littlest interest in privacy. Dickinson does not seem to understand how people like this can be. In school, there are those exact types of people with no interest or intention of keeping a private life. The croaking frogs drown in their bogs of idle gossip. Overall, Dickinson’s poem establishes a pretty insecure and low-key vibe. She doesn’t want to be well-known or talked about; she’s alright being a Nobody. This poem mirrors and reflects experiences in school that present the same type of message that Dickinson is trying to convey. From making friends and maintaining a reputation, Nobodies are Nobodies, whether it’s in school or written by Emily Dickinson.