The Upgrade of Happiness

By: Elika Razmjou

 

Life is perfect.

A new adventure every day to display

Click. Edit. Post. Wait… Comment. Like. Reply…

Repeat.

Today’s post is a spirited sunset splayed on a story

Broken that the only lenses it has seen have been those of a screen

The bright blue light that the ocean bestows is replaced with that of a device

 

Look and see one has become three

and watch as the numbers rise, and the sun slowly dies

Attached to this handheld box like a chain to rocks

                                                                              *DING*

Notification: story has been viewed by 82

And behind the circle is a face filled with blue

Removed from reality and immersed in a fallacy

Dependent on an app to bring sunshine but refuse to see the shining sun

Soon the box is drained, and the one percent can no longer entertain

 

But the brightest light is the dark and the silence is deafening.

Look up as the stars nestle into the sky

And listen to the sound of the waves hitting the sand nearby

Laughter floats in the wind

And the need to share has weakened

Because right here in this moment the perfection has gone

And with it the blue has faded

And my happiness has been upgraded.

 

 

The Upgrade of Happiness Poem Analysis

People are solely focused on their devices that the artificial life on screen has converted to reality. Society believes that technology will bring them happiness. However, it comes from expressing attentiveness for each moment. The free-verse poem The Upgrade of Happiness by Elika Razmjou explains technology’s interference in observing the beauty in our surroundings. Primarily, Razmjou establishes an ironic tone by stating, “life is perfect” when in fact it involves good and bad experiences (1). She suggests that the images posted to social media are edited and published for the user’s benefit of gaining a “like” or “comment” (3). Razmjou uses alliteration to illustrate a “spirited sunset splayed on a story” that is shared on social media (5). She uses internal rhyme to allude that the sun has only seen phone lenses rather than sunglasses because people are constantly distracted by their devices. As well, the simile comparing a “handheld box” to “a chain to rocks” conveys that our phones are a burden instead of a valuable tool (10). She uses a “circle” as a metaphor for a profile picture and connotes with the word “blue” that the person behind the screen is sad, yet they present their life on social media as wonderful (13). Notably, Razmjou suggests that people are “immersed in a fallacy” because they believe that social media will provide happiness and relationships (14). Thus, they prioritize technology without acknowledging their environment. Once the phone dies, there is a shift in tone, and it becomes hopeful as people begin to appreciate the sight in front of them. Although “perfection has gone”, people realize that imperfection is a part of life and moments of happiness cannot be captured through a screen (22). People feel content when they discard their phones and allow the “blue [to fade]” (23). Particularly, Razmjou’s inspiration arose from In a Season of Calm Weather by Ray Bradbury that tells the story of a tourist, George Smith, who meets his idol, Picasso on a beach in France. Initially, George is absorbed in saving the image created by Picasso in the sand. He thinks of various possibilities, such as getting his camera to help him remember the drawing before it is washed away by the ocean. Although George realizes that the image cannot be saved and chooses to embrace the moment by observing the details. Essentially, both Bradbury and Razmjou portray the importance of understanding that moments are not eternal, and people cannot acquire happiness through materialistic objects. The amazement of these ordinary moments arises from appreciating the intangible. Ultimately, people are distracted by technology that their environment becomes inconsequential. Social media has negatively affected people’s mindsets and happiness, as they compare themselves with an image of the ideal life displayed online.

 

What can a poem do? Analysis

Poems demonstrate duality by exposing issues and injustices in society while offering insights into a problem. The free-verse lyric poem What can a poem do? by Darius V. Daughtry highlights the benefits of poetry and the extensive influences it has on people. The poem resonates with me because it is thoughtfully written and has a meaningful message. I enjoyed analyzing the poem and searching beyond the surface to find its meaning. Daughtry utilizes various literary devices to capture the reader’s attention and provide the poem with rhythm. Notably, Daughtry uses an antithesis to create contrast between the title and the beginning stanzas of the poem. He begins explaining the various things a poem cannot do, such as “make you less woman/or less poor/or less Black” (4, 5, 6). Daughtry describes poetry’s inability to affect the social inequalities and violence in society. He uses words such as “bullet”, “bomb,” and “terror” to establish a critical and negative tone (10, 11, 12). He then states through a metaphor that a poem cannot “cut, copy, paste memories…[or] delete histories horrors,” implying that society cannot change the past (23, 24). However, he introduces a “but” and shifts the tone of the poem by saying, “a poem can love/like hold you and scold you at the same time” (25, 26). He reveals that a poem can hold people accountable while enlightening them. That a poem shows a problem, and it “can rip away the untruth that [has] cocooned us” (27). Specifically, the connotation of cocoon suggests that people are surrounded by their version of reality, but by breaking away they will have opened their minds to different perspectives. Primarily, I connected with this part of the poem because it brought awareness that I am sometimes in a cocoon, and it inspired me to reflect on my choices. Next, he uses the metonymy of “the pen is mightier than the sword” to signify that writing is more effective than violence (55). Furthermore, to exemplify the racial biases the police have in his neighbourhood, he uses repetition of the word “block” and says, “they’d blue and red light us on my block” (59). Also, he implies that “if there were more writers on [the] block,” then people could express themselves with language instead of violence (61). Then through alliteration, he states that writing can influence people from “conclave” to “commonwealth” (64). Therefore, Daughtry shares that when people express their emotions through writing, it impacts everyone and creates change. Similarly, activist and leader of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. influenced change without violence. For instance, his speech, I Have a Dream tells people about his vision for a future without racism and discrimination where everyone is equal despite their skin colour. His speech impacted countless people to join the civil rights movement and fight for equal rights. People believe violence is necessary to influence change, yet in history, writing has had a significant influence on the development of humanity.