Can Birds Enlighten the Day?

I was thinking about the poem, The Darkling Thrush, by Thomas Hardy, and the real meaning of it. There is no real meaning, it can be interpreted in many different ways, depending on the person who is reading it. This got me thinking about how we view nature and animals.

I thought that this poem was about a person living a long time ago. It is described as a very dark, cold, and scary place, with words that imply death. The people in this town seem to be very depressed, and that is why they are all inside their houses, with their fireplaces. They don't want to go outside because of the bad vibe everywhere. After the setting is described, he starts to describe this old, and tiny bird that is singing. It is implied that since this bird is so small, and does not have a lot of energy he has to "fling his soul", which means that he has to try very hard to accomplish it. But then the speaker goes about reflecting on this little creature making such beautiful sounds in such a gloomy place. He says that there is no need for this singing, but the bird sings anyways, because the thrush has hope. Finally, at the end he really lets the reader know what he thinks by saying that he was unaware of this hope.

This ties into my understanding of how people think of animals. In our society, we are taught that certain animals are good, and pretty, while others are not. Usually, birds, dogs, cats, rabbits, etc are considered to be nice, gentle, and loving animals, while in contrast, spiders, flies, rats, and cockroaches, are not. But on a dark, rainy day, when things seem to be bad, when we see a bird singing, or a puppy, it seems that the animal enlightens the day, and brings some sort of happy feeling inside of us. I know that when I had a bad day, and the weather is not so great either, if I see a bird outside, that will make my soul feel happy. It is something about their songs and melodies. But this speaker in the poem did not feel that a little bird, that was old, could bring any hope to such a depressing place. It was not enough for him, because compared to everything else, he was too small to make a change. In our society, animals are very important, and they can be very symbolic. Certain animals are seen as hope, and as a good thing for people. People like to go camping, and when they do, they like to see all of the animals. They like to be in nature. This ties into Thoreau's understanding of nature. He goes to live in the woods to live a simple life, and to see all of the natural things. Well, animals, including birds, are pleasant to be around.