KirbyAcojedo
MarkJemzelleCogtas
AnneTan
ENG10,TeacherJeanilleCogtas
Quarter3LiteraryAnalysisPaper
April1,2022
CastAside:OnPeerPressure
A perfect concept always comes to our minds, thinking of what we are now or what would be in the future, and slowly reaching the point where we end up being disappointed in ourselves. Freedom is not worth achieving if it does include the privilege to make mistakes, errors, or missteps. The Sonnet, Cast Aside, by Jeanille B. Cogtas(2019) talks about Pressure, stress,tension,anxiety,andliberty
Sometimes, life isn’t just fair. There are moments in our liveswheresituationsjustdon’t turn out the way we wantittobe.Thetoweringstandardsofsocietyputindividualsunderstrain, making it more difficult to live freely without the fear of being judged and prejudiced, which resultedfromafewoftoday’ssocialissues,discrimination,andstereotyping.
The rhythmic pattern of this sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg, which is the standard Shakespearean rhyme scheme. The sonnet is written in iambic pentameter with a. It has a strict 10-syllableperlinerule,however,the1stand12thlinehave11syllables.
The speaker of the sonnet isaladywhoisanxious,becauseratherthanbeinghonestwith herself, she focuses more on her errors and got persuaded by society to be someone who she is not. The lady as well felt the fear of not being accepted, trying to please everyone, but herself, resultinginalackofself-discovery.
The tone of it is sad because the sonnet discussed the struggles,pressure,anxiety,stress, mistakes, and the lack of freedom of an individual.Thesadtonealsofitsperfectlytothesonnet.
The theme of the sonnet is about an anxious lady who felt great pressure to keep up with society'sstandards.
The exposition articulates about a lady being an outcast from society. A person who preferred to do the things that gave her joy and happiness. The metaphor talks about the lady who’s always wrong, a lady who’s terrified of the errors that she makes. A person who doesn’t know where or how to start due to the mistakes, errors, and missteps she creates. The twist occurred when the lady decided to gather herself up andtakeonthejourneyofself-discovery.It was a moment of realization that she should prioritize herself first and not care about the thoughtsofothers.
The couplet is all about a lady who’s lost and anxious, A lady who’s tryingtocreateher own path of happiness and freedom. The poet argues that society shouldn’t define you for who you are and shouldn’t controlyouforwhatyoushouldbe.Thepoetconcludesthatnotallpeople aren’t always what they seem on the outside, they may have expressed a face full of gleam and happiness, but deep down, they are strugglinganddepressed.Possessingutmostanxietyforthey arepressuredtopleasethepeoplearoundthem.
What I like about the sonnet is its message towardsthereaders,thatweshouldn'talways focus on hitting the standards of society, in spite of that we should focus more on ourselves,on doing the things that gives us joy and happiness. The line that struck me the most is “Nothing seems right by me, no day nor night” because I’ve always experienced this type of situation, where everything feels so wrong and nothing seems so right, a feeling that even you couldn’t understandorcomprehend,andafeelingthateverythingyoudoisamistake,amisstep,anerror.
What I least like about the sonnet are the selection of words, some phrases sound weird or it doesn't really fit together, like “pulling me to err” and “I’m chic” it just sounds wrong,the “I’m chic” lacks an indefinite article, and it should have “a” so that would be “I’m a chic” and that should sound more correct. The “pulling me to err” also lacks an indefinite articlewhichis “an” so that it won’t sound“pullingmetoher”insteadof“pullingmetoerr”andifyou’regoing toadd“an”thenitwouldturnouttobe“pullingmetoanerr”andthatsoundsmorebetter.
Line 1, The lady expressed the feeling of being lost and abandoned. Home? Like others believe, it is where your heart resides. But, can a place still even be considered as a home, despite the fact that it is compromised with tension and pressure, leading towards a mentally draining environment. Occasionally, we get so preoccupied with living, that welosesightofthe importance of analyzing our lives. We get so caught up in running, that we neglect to question ourselves why we're running in the first place. Such pressure that the lady felt, to the point that sheexperiencedanxiety,andismentallytired.
Line 2, Confusion, muddled, and uncertainty, a feeling of being astray in a disorganized way,iswhatisbeingperceivedbytheladyinthesecondline.Shesetsouttogoonajourney,but thenfeltlostthemomentshereachedherdestination.
Line 3 and 4, She felt left out, excluded from society, just because shewasdifferentand was far from close to the standards that the society has instilled in the minds of the people. Therefore, it gave her anxiety as well as fear, and like most individuals,anyformofdangerand discomforting feeling will inflict them an impulse, the urgent need to act. In her case, she heedlessly made a decision without thinking much of the consequences that may affect her well-being.
Line 5 and 6, As what most people thought, trying to fit in is the best solution to avoid criticisms, but what they don’t realize is that their lives are going downhill, rather than to prosper, trying to satisfy others and living their ambitions at the price of our own, thus, took effect to the lady She didn’t feel like herself at all, moreover felt empty, like a soulless living being. Itappearsthatsheisn'tanymoredoingthingsthatherhearthasdesired,andhassomewhat becomealivingdollthatsocietyhasmoldedherinto.
Line 7 and 8, the feeling stemming from self loathe, thedesiretochangeandtheneedto start all over again. She had crowned herself as the queen of err, but had also desiredagainstit. Her desire tochangecontradictsherthoughtsbecausetheactionsofherpastselfhadweighedon her mind so heavily. Soon she questiones herself wanting tostartfreshandbebornanew,,while lookingforananswershehadletgooftheguiltandself-loathingwithouthernoticing.
Line 9,10, 11,12, 13, and 14, onenight,atouchof curiosity,and self-discoverygotonto her mind, trying all the accessories and dresses as she was dazzled by the look of her, and thinking shewasasgorgeousasthebloomingflower.Shewasamazedandastonishedasshewas happily dancing as clock ticks until all of that joy faded and everything went backtonormal.A young lady not aligned on her true self, unable to see the wonders of the worldasthelittlelady wassittinglonelyontheshelf.
You spend your lifeconstructingyourselfandyourfuture,youarenotbornwithacertain ambition. There are no shortcuts to being the person you want to be because it takes time and effort. But, as social pressure exists, society has taught us that there are expectations for how people shouldlive.Ifsomeonedoesnotmeetacertaincriteria, theyareconsideredlessthan.We live in a world that is filled with ideals. The people and the media show us better versions of
almosteverything,instillinginusthenotionandbeliefthatweshouldalwaysstriveformore,it’s nosurprisethatmanyofusfeelinsufficientornotenough.However,ifyou’reconstantlystriving toshowyourworth,isn’titpossiblethatyoumayhavealreadyforgottenyourvalue?
“Negative Peer Pressure” is a poem created by Dion Penville and is somehow related to the sonnet “Cast Aside” by Jeanille Cogtas. Negative Peer Pressure, based on the title “Peer Pressure” it talks about the standards of society, Social pressure, and the importance of your identity. Basically, both gives a similar message or meaning. The “Achildalignedtoseenothis trueself”alsohasasimilarlineinthepoem“NegativePeerPressure”whichis“Whenotherssay you are not who youare”asyoucanseebothlinessharethesamethoughtaboutIdentityandthe importanceofknowingyourtrueself.
“Suffocatinginpeoplepleasing”isalsoanothersimilarworkonthesonnet“CastAside”
The poem is created by Mayalyn, and it talks about pleasing others, doingthethingsotherstold you to do but in the end, you still made a mistake and you’re nothing but a disappointment to others. Which is also connected to the sonnet “Cast Aside” because it also talks about being an outcast, a disappointment, and a lady who’s full of mistakes. The Poem Suffocating in people pleasing has this line “So many ways to disappoint” ” So many ways to mess things up” and is somewhat connected to a line onthesonnet“CastAside”whichis“Ishutthereddoorpullingto err” and “Nothing seems right by me, no day nor night “ both lines talked about the mistakes they get. Whatever you do, people would still find a way to always bring you down, a feeling thatyou’llalwaysbeabigdisappointment.
People, parents, friends, and schools tend to expect too much on our capability or our knowledge without them knowing that we are slowly being controlled by their selfish imaginations, an achievement that even they couldn't achieve. Putting pressure, stress, and
tension on everything we do without having the will or freedom to chooseourownpaths.Right or wrong, whatever we do people always judge us on what we accomplish, don’t be afraid of takingyourfirststeptofreedom.What'simportantisyouknowwhatyou'redoing,andthethings thatyoudogiveyouhappiness.
Instead of feeling compelled to follow the majority, we must first be loyal to ourselves, live our own aspirations, and be proud of what makes us unique in order to discover genuine pleasure. Consider our strengths and be certain of our core values, this aids in the search for like-minded people, they not only make us feel at peace, but they also assist us in growing and flourishing in line with our genuine selves. Always remember that everyone has their own definition, none of us is either correct or incorrect. We should not consider ourselves to be identicalwithoneanother,butratherembraceourdiversityandvalueouruniqueabilities.
Unfortunately, there will always be others that are better than you in some aspects. Likewise, there also will be those who are less than you. We tend to be fascinated with comparing ourselves,butinsteadofimaginingwhatyoushouldbe,tryjustbeingyourself.Allow yourself to be who you are rather than who you believe you should be. That is whyitisvitalto connect with compassion and most especially with sincerity, nevertheless, never be compassionate to others until you’re compassionate with yourselffirst.Don’tchangeyourselfto satisfy others, be who you are and the right people shall be there foryou.Thefollowingtips,as mentioned in an article by Azzopardi (2019),”Don't imitate, speak the truth, find peaceinbeing alone,anddowhatyoulove.”
WorksCited
Azzopardi,Emma.“TheImportanceofBeingYourself”. welldoing.org, 03April.2019,
https://welldoing.org/article/importance-being-yourself
Mayalyn.“SuffocatinginPeoplePleasing”. All Poetry, 17March.2022,
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16426305-Suffocating-in-people-pleasing-by-Mayalyn
Penville,Dion.“NegativePeerPressure”. Poetry Soup, 2017,
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/negative_peer_pressure_880892