A Coney Island Life

“A Coney Island Life” by James L. Weil is a representation of how life goes on from beginning to end. With context clues and figurative language, it helps us find the meaning of the poem. Weil had many life lessons that were hidden inside of the poem and it was our job to figure out. This poem was really unique and different because he used the carnival in Coney Island; a happy place, to talk about something fragile that everyone knows as death.

Many of the lines of the poem have a hidden meaning that guides us to the actual big idea of the poem. The line, “on roller coaster ups and downs” is compared to roller coasters and how on a ride, you go up and down. From the highest point to the lowest; the good and bad in life. That metaphor is also comparing the physical feelings you get in a roller coaster to the emotional feelings you get from life in general. The other line that stood out in the poem was, “now arms filled with dolls, I threw so much for” This part is talking about the achievements that he had accomplished in his life and all that he did to get to that point. It also seems like he's talking about the sacrifices he made to be where he is and all he's earned as a person. These metaphors interpret an idea of how life, and how we face mountains but through those struggles we gain so much more than we ever think we will. In the end, we are successful because do so much to pull through it all.

In the second half of the poem, it talks and speaks more of the ending in life. For example, the line, “I take perhaps my last ride on this planet-carousel” means that the author was coming towards the ending of his life and perhaps his last days. Because our group had come to the conclusion that this poem was about life from beginning to end, when they said ‘last ride’, there was such a great emotional effect. The final lines of the poem were, “How many more times round I have to catch that brass-ring-sun before the game is up.” To us, this was the most emotional part of the poem that really hit us in the gut. The author really emphasized the fact that life was coming to an end. The brass ring was a really big prize that riders would strive to pick up as the carousel went around in circles and passed it each and every time. When the author said ‘before the game is up’, it was more clear and obvious that the author was talking about death. It made it clear and distinctive to us readers who interpreted the poem. With dreams, hopes and goals, he tries to accomplish and achieve the very last moments he has left of the precious thing we know as life.

This poem was roughly about the different stages in life. Although it wasn't detailed or in depth, it was very broad. It was was also about the good and bad in life and how we always strive to become something better or make something better of ourselves.