The Hill- Spoon River Anthology

I read "The Hill," which is an excerpt from the "Spoon River Anthology." I found it a very disturbing story. Usually things associated with nature seem to be calm and understanding, but this story was very different. The hill was a big symbol in this story. It ultimately represented all the people who died. All of the writer's family and friends had basically died a tragic death and were "sleeping on the hill." I almost wonder if the hill represents like hell because of the tragic deaths they all died from, or if it represents heaven because they are peacefully sleeping  on the hill. The fact that the setting is Spoon River, Illinois, which is our state, has a more personal effect because he includes Abe Lincoln and historical instances that are significant to the state.

When I tried to compare the work of this particular excerpt with those of Thoreau's ideas, I could not really make a direct connection between the two. I find Thoreau's philosophies were more words that were spoken and he made people listen. This story on the other hand was just like telling people about what happened. Like he was wondering where all the people around him had gone. I just did not find that there was really a connection between the two stories because they both have very different topics and viewpoints. In Thoreau's story he was close to death and he realized and accepted it because he was fighting for something he believed in. In this story though, many people had already died and there was nothing really significant about it other than the fact that hill represents the death and the author represents the ongoing life. The hill in itself is significant because it shows the variety of people who are on the hill. There are kind-hearted people and fighters, and alcoholics, and musicians, and veterans, and yet each one died a different death, tragic in their own way, and they are all together on the hill as one.


Masters, Edgar L. "1. The Hill. Masters, Edgar Lee. 1916. Spoon River Anthology."Bartleby.com: Great Books Online. Bartleby.com. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.bartleby.com/84/1.html>.