Poem #1 and Author The Stranger by Rudyard Kipling The Stranger within my gate, He may be true or kind, But

does not talk my talk I cannot feel his mind. I see the face and the eyes and the mouth, But not the soul behind. The men of my own stock, They may do ill or well, But they tell the lies I am wonted to, They are used to the lies I tell; And we do not need interpreters When we go to buy and sell. The Stranger within my gates, He may be evil or good, But I cannot tell what powers control What reasons sway his mood; Nor when the Gods of his far-off land Shall repossess his blood. The men of my own stock, Bitter bad they may be, But, at least, they hear the things I hear, And see the things I see; And whatever I think of them and their likes They think of the likes of me. This was my fathers belief And this is also mine: Let the corn be of all one sheaf And the grapes be all one vine, Ere our childrens teeth are set on edge By bitter bread and wine.

Analysis of Close Reading In Rudyard Kiplings The Stranger, societal acquiescence undermines the ability to overcome individualism. Society is shown to create bonds in which the masses submit to standard behaviors and actions. With the arrival of a stranger who does not talk [societys] talk (Kipling 3), Kipling describes the hopelessness in which individuals maintain their lack of individualism. The speaker, who believes that the corn [should] be of all one sheaf (Kipling 31), that all people in the surrounding society should behave familiarly, in unison, depicts the individual in society who chooses to remain subservient to societys will, no matter if the society in which he or she is chained to is immoral. In Jeffrey Eugenides Middlesex, similar ideas are presented. Eugenides describes hybridity through multiple thematic messages within the novel. This includes the arrival of Calliopes mutation, in which she is a hermaphrodite. With this discovery, this stranger (Kipling 1), Calliope understands her position. She, if choosing to appear as a hermaphrodite, will be ostracized as a monster. However, her choice to maintain as a part of society, by appearing as a complete male, allows Calliope to remain within societys good graces. Whether or not outwardly showing or supporting the hybridized idea of intersexuality is evil or good (Kipling 16), Eugenides is stating that maintaining appearances allows one to avoid the bitter bread of being different. Word Count: 224