Journal #13

Journal #13 – Edgar Lee Masters Epitaphs (p. 502)

Read “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” and answer the following questions.


1. What object symbolizes George Gray’s life? How is this object representative of him?

In the Epitaph, the object that truly repsents him is the bat waiting to go out and sail. This is s because George is too scared to attempt things in life. It can easily be compared to a boat that has been docked and will not go back out into the water. Like a boat that doesn't want to go out due to the possibility of bad weather, he refuses to take a chance in life that would possibly that something bad will happen to him. He stays in his home repeating the same thins he has done his entire life, which is why his life is easily compared to a boat that will never sail again. The sail of his boat was not opened and his boat left the harbor, describing the fact that he did not take the chances in life that he could have. When his ship did not set sail, he lost the chance to find love, and continue to chase his ambitions in life. If George opened his sail and took many uncertain chances in life, his life would, in the end, be more exciting and meaningful.

2. How was Lucinda Matlock’s life different than George Gray’s? How do you interepret the last line of the poem?

The life of Lucinda Matlock was different than George Gray's laife in many ways. Throughout Lucinda's life, she had many years of excitment through trying new things and taking chances, which caused her to feel fulfilled, rather than the life of George, whom refused to break away from what he knew and attempt new things.
Unlike George, who would never do anything new, Lucinda would try anything she could, because she knew life was short. Lucinda led a good life, rather than George who seemed not happy with the life he lived, wishing he did things that he did not do. To me, the last line of the poem is advice to all who read it. In your life, you must live it to its true potential, or you will not love the life you lived.


3. How are “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” examples of realism?

"George Gray" and "Lucinda Matlock" are perfect examples of realism since both of them deal with situations in everyday life. Both of these people described are normal, average people who face the same everyday situations as us normal people. They are two people who have opposite opinions on the way to live life, how to go about it, and what occured in their lives. Both of them are exact examples of realism because that’s what life is. They are both average people, telling how they lived their lives, and what occured because of it, which is very typical of the average person.