I'm+Nobody,+Who+Are+You?

I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there's a pair of us — don't tell! They'd banish us, you know. How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog!

A friend of mine was bugging me about how wonderful this poem is, so i finally sat down and read it. I was very impressed with it, and enjoyed it very much. I believe here Emily is trying to show how she is just there. She is one one person, she does not have a name nor label, she just exists. It sends a strong message about labels, and how society seems to need them to continue. No one can just float and be who they want, they must have a label. They must be who others say they are. Emily shows this when she says, "How dreary to be somebody!". The frog is a delightful and quite sublte symbol also. She uses a frog, because when describe a bog we use a frog, and when we go there, that's the first thing we expect to see, and everyone knows what it is at first glace. And yet, frogs are often wrongly classified toads. We put that name on toads simply because they look and act like frogs, and yet they are very different. 1205450807

I think that this poem was kind of pointless. I understand that Emily Dickenson had the message that she was simply one individual without being totally recognizable and a "someone." I think that the idea of labels is branded on us as soon as we are born starting with our name. No matter what, in my opinion, eveyone is always a someone because of that and no one can take it away from you. I feel extrememly comfortable knowing this because it almost eases me to know that out of the entire worlds population, there is only ONE me and no else exactly like me. I feel like sometimes people let labels define them or shape them when really life isnt about being what you are expected to be but as Emily Dickenson says to be kind of a "nobody." I associate this "nobody" label as being someone that isnt consumed in being labeled which is in itself beauty. 1205461045

I think it is very disrespectful to call someone's poetry pointless. The poem is speaking of labels, not names. Your name can give you comfort, because it gives you an identity. Not as in what you do and who you hang out with, but as in the fact that you have a life. Emily Dickinson is against the labels, not names. If she was against names, she would have disregarded hers in her life. She was a strong woman, and if she was that opposed to names, she wouldn't let something like that pass her by. 1205470366

At school being popular is sometimes the most important thing in the world, at least it seems that way. We often think that being the center of attention, like some of my friends, is so important. This poem admits to being an outsider. Being an outsider you dont have to worry about disapproval, popularity, etc. 1205470969