Labour_Day__Dreaded_Bell_in_the_Schoolyard_of_the_Mind

Labour Day: Dreaded Bell in the Schoolyard of the Mind Most statutory holidays bring joy to students, giving them an excuse to be away from school. Students use this time to gain a little bit of freedom, which they lack during the school year. On the other hand, Labour day is quite the opposite. It is the entrance to the school year, the final day of summer vacation. Henry Bruce effectively communicates the attitude of students towards Labour day, in his essay “Labour Day is a Dreaded Bell in the Schoolyard of the Mind.” He uses simile and metaphor to portray Labour day to be the death of students' independence and gateway to prison-like school. Bruce employs simile and metaphor to express his view on how Labour day is a last chance at freedom. In the first sentence of the essay, he describes Labour day “[as] a sniff of the woods or glimpse of the sea before they [lead] you down to the dungeon ,” (3). The use of words 'sniff' and 'glimpse' evoke a sense of a brief encounter, a pleasant experience, yet not long enough to fully enjoy the moment. This connects to how the summer holidays are child's days of freedom. They are away from school and out in the sun, but the independence only lasts a certain period of time and has to end, no matter how great of a vacation it is. Bruce uses the term 'dungeon' as a comparison for school. The associations and thoughts which relate to 'dungeon' do not hold positive traits. Images of a cold, dark room, a place to shut people away from the world, leaving them no freedom, come to mind. Using this powerful imagery, Bruce effectively represents Labour day like a dreadful holiday. It is dreadful because it is the last day before school starts and students have to enter the 'dungeon', either willingly or with a frown. As students awake on the morning after Labour day, they are bound to a full year of school. Bruce continues to use both simile and metaphor to show the prison-like qualities of school. Bruce further develops the idea of school being a form of punishment by stating, “ The teachers, like prison guards, kn[o]w society want[s] their institutions to be unpleasant for us inmates,” (3). Relating teachers to 'prison guards' and students to 'inmates', Bruce presents the idea that school is a terribly strict environment. 'Teachers, like prison guards' suggests that they have extreme power and control over the students, being tough and ruthless. As 'inmates' students have no choice but to follow orders, giving them no freedom. Bruce says that going to school is an order, a consequence, just as prison is the consequence for committing a crime. Comparing school to prison, Bruce states 'society want[s] their institution to be unpleasant' meaning the purpose of school is a place for students to suffer, and to create troublesome conditions for the students. In a situation like this, no student would be happy on the last day before the school doors open, as they enter into confinement. After school starts, students have to wait until the next statutory holiday for a break from imprisonment. Bruce produces strong views on the lack of independence Labour day brings and the complete disappearance of it once school starts. He enforces these thoughts through similes and metaphors by developing them into reasons as to why Labour day is a unique statutory holiday. All other statutory holidays are a getaway from school where as Labour day is its entrance. The fear of going back to school becomes stronger as Labour day approaches. Amazingly, one holiday can mean the end of two months worth of sheer freedom. Bruce, Henry. “Labour Day is a Dreaded Bell in the Schoolyard of the Mind” Essays: Thoughts and Style. Ed. Brian Kellow and John Krisak. Prentice Hall Ginn Canada. Scarborough: 1996. Pg. 3-4