Which best describes one theme of both "A Man Said to the Universe" and "Sympathy"? The environment is indifferent to the indivi
dual. The individual is more powerful than the environment. An individual’s place in the world is determined by his or her environment. An individual affects society, just as a society influences individuals.
An individual's place in the world is determined by his or her environment.
Explanation: Sympathy is a poem by Paul Laurence which describes about the oppression of an individual. He used the metaphor of a caged bird which symbolizes the oppressed individual. The caged bird wants to get rid of the cage after seeing the beautiful landscape but it can't.
In the poem 'A man said to the universe' there is a conversation between a man and the universe. The man wants his recognition from the universe and the universe states him the facts. Here the man represents the individual and the universe represent the environment.
So in both poem the common theme is that an individual's place in the world is determined by his or her environment.
Tan’s anecdotes further her argument because they make the points in her argument personal. Which appeals to readers with a personal story of how the use of English can determine how someone is seen or treated. The anecdotes in this story make the reader feel sympathetic for Tan’s mother and the way she was treated because of her use of “broken” english.
