TDA Writing Prompt &

TDA Essay Response

Writing Prompt

Nature often has a role in many myths. Write an essay analyzing the role of nature in ​both​ the
passage and the poem. Use evidence from ​both​ the passage and the poem to support your
response.

TDA Essay Response

Nature is the driving force in the poem and the passage by being the one to cause all of the

ideas and problems in both of the stories. In both stories, Daedalus and Icarus have escaped

from a prison with a pair of wings, but the wings broke for Icarus because of his arrogance,

which would leave him to fall down to Earth. The role of nature in the passage and the poem is

the inspiration for the wings, the distraction for Icarus, and the reason he fell to the ground.

The first role of nature is that nature inspired Daedalus to create the wings. When Daedalus

was in prison thinking of a way to escape, all he could look at was the birds, which would of

given him the idea of the wings from one of nature’s animals. The narrator states, “At length,

watching the seagulls in the air-the only creatures that were sure of liberty.” ( Peabody 3) This

piece of evidence supports the role of nature because it shows that since the birds were the

only thing he watched and that he called them the only creatures sur of liberty, this would mean

Daedalus would get inspiration from the bird in nature because of the wings and how they would

fly away. The narrator also stated, “Little by little, he gathered a store of feathers greta and

small. He fastened these together with thread, molded them with wax, and so fashioned two

great wings like those of a bird.” (Peabody 4) This piece of evidence supports the role of nature

because is is showing that Daedalus had the inspiration from the birds of nature because the

narrator stated that he created wings like those of a bird, so this would lead to mean that

Daedalus did get inspiration from the birds.

 The second role of nature is that nature was the distraction of Icarus because in the poem

and the passage, with was showing that Icarus was making his way up to the Sun because he

thought it was heaven. The narrator stated, “He stretched out his arms to the sky and made

towards the highest heavens.” (Peabody 8) This piece of evidence supports the role of nature

because it is showing that Icarus is rising in the sky to reach the heavens, but in reality he is

only going closer to the Sun. This means that nature has distracted carus into coming toward to

Sun because of its beauty and resemblance to the heavens in Icarus’s mind. According to the

speaker, “Did he rail at the Sun, which beckoned enticingly…” ( Shaffer 2) This piece of

evidence support the role of nature because it is showing that Icarus is becoming distracted by

the Sun and its natural glow by railing and gazing at it while flying. This means that nature’s

beauty in the Sun was the cause of Icarus’s distraction, so this would make nature’s role

distracting Icarus.

The final role of nature in the passage and poem is that nature was the reason why Icarus

fell to the ground because when Icarus was rising to the Sun, the temperature started to

increase with his altitude, so when it heated up, the wax on the wing melted and he fell.

According to the narrator, “Alas for him! Warmer and warmer grew the air.” (Peabody 9) and

“The heat of the Sun has melted the wax from his wings; the feathers falling, one by one, like

snowflakes; and there was none to help.” (Peabody 9) This piece of evidence supports the role

of nature because it is showing how the natural heat of the Sun is heating up the Icarus’s wings,

which would leave him to fall because of the natural cause of heat. This also shows that since

Icarus was going towards the Sun, the heat from the Sun was causing the air to become

warmer, so it would lead to the wax coming off of his pair of wings and then to him falling.
According to the speaker, “Curse the wax as a fair-weather friend? It seemed such a strong

solid type, but it melted away when things got hot.” (Shaffer 1) This supports the role of nature

because it is showing that when the temperature beame warmer when Icarus grew in altitude,

then the wings began to fail because of the heat. When it got warmer, the wax began to run off

of the wings, which would leave to the feathers falling off and then the wings failing, to leave

Icarus to fall to the ground.

In conclusion, the passage and the poem both show the different roles of nature by showing

what natural causes have had their effects on the wings from start and finish. The role of nature

in the passage and the poem is the beginning thought for the wings, the oversight for Icarus,

and the cause for Icarus’s dive to the ground. Those are the roles of nature in the passage and

the poem.

● Stronger introduction

● Stronger conclusion

● Find another quote for the first paragraph