"A Coney Island Life" by James L. Weil is about how life is through it's ups and downs, achievements and last moments. The author compares how life is to a fu carnival on Coney Island. Through his metaphors, he gives a deeper meaning to his poem about life than just the carnival. This poem is one stanza, but says more than what it actually says. "A Coney Island Life" shows us how life is through your good and bad times until your very last moments alive.
In this poem, the author is having a fun day at the carnival but puts a deeper meaning to it. For example, one of the lines says, "now arms filled with dolls, I threw so much for" it gives the readers a feeling of achievement and accomplishing goals in life. At the carnival, the games are basic and easy, but sometimes can be tricky to actually do. Just like in life, our goals and accomplishments, are hard to do but can look very easy to someone who hasn't done it before. In another line, it says, "and seen my helium hopes break skyward without me," reminds me of those goals or dreams someone has that don't become a reality. Most kids dream about what they want to do when the grow up, but in reality, it's possible to never actually become that dream. Your goals, or helium hopes, escape from your reach just like your unrealistic dreams we all have. The author of this poem taught how are dreams and goals aren't always achieved but when they are, it's a great feeling to know that you have done.
Another hidden meaning this poem expresses is how life always has it's good and bad times until your very last moments of your life. In this poem, the second line says, "on rollercoaster
ups and downs", this shows the good and bad times in life. A roller coaster
has it's twist and turns just like how life is. When you're on a roller coaster, being so up high and having to go down is a scary thing, and in life it's still a scary thing. In the last half of the poem, it says, "I take perhaps my last ride on this planet-carousel and as how many more times round I have to catch that brass-ring-sun before the game is up." meaning his last moments on earth and his last chance at life. He has had his day at this carnival, and now it's his last chance to win his last game. In life, we never know when our last moments will actually be, that's why it's important to always live your life to the fullest. This poem shows how our lives can be like a roller coaster with ups and downs and how our last moments in life is also our last chance at life too.
"A Coney Island Life" isn't just about a fun day at a carnival but a life until it ends. The author, James L. Weil shows his readers how life is through its good and bad times, lost dreams, accomplished goals, and last chances at life. He expresses his thoughts using meaningful metaphors in one stanza. "A Coney Island Life" is more than just a carnival, it's a lesson about life itself.
