The Human Condition in Poet's Obligation by Pablo Neruda - Book Report/Review Example

This paper takes a glance at the main theme that Neruda states are one based on the human conditions which take one away from nature, which is a reflection of one’s freedom.  He creates imagery in the beginning based on the worker that is constantly inside and forced to work with machinery by stating “To whoever is not listening to the sea / this Friday morning, to whoever is cooped up / in house or office, factory or woman / or street or mine or harsh prison cell”.  This shows the human condition and those who are cooped up or unable to be free within society by being locked in a prison cell.

  The ideology of men being in a prison then becomes the main association with the conditions of most.  Neruda then compares this to his own obligation which is to remember nature and how this is a part of what men should experience while they are alive.  The idea of the natural is one in which he shows an awareness and an important aspect of being a part of living on the earth.  He then associates this more with the ideas of freedom and how this is one that is lost from the human condition.

  He does this by stating “So, through me, freedom and the sea / will make their answer to the shuttered heart”.  Freedom is one that Neruda is then able to define as a lack that humans don’t have and which they have to be reminded of by nature and the poet. The first way is through the observation of culture and how this relates to the current time frame. The Australian culture is one that is fast-paced and which carries expectations that draw the individual away from nature.

The need to have a job, sometimes two, the movement to the computer and the Internet, using a cell phone, and constantly being in need of money and a better job are the driving forces of most individuals. Most have forgotten the sea, nature, and the other things which are surrounding the area. This is related to other cultures which still have reverence and respect for this while noting that the conditions of the workers are what takes away from the true reality of what exists around a given area.