Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Digging

I really enjoyed the direction that this poem took. I myself am not a big fan of tradition, so to read that the speaker took a different path than "[s]tooping in rhythm through potato drills" like his father and grandfather had done, seems like good choice to me (line 8). Most think that breaking tradition is bad, but I believe breaking tradition can be for the better. The speaker seems to yet be envious of his forefathers. He states, "Through living roots awaken in my head. But I've no spade to follow men like them"(lines 27-28). So maybe he didn't follow in their footsteps, but now he can follow his own path using his pen to "dig".

My Papa's Waltz

This is the type of poem that I enjoying reading because it demonstrates an idea that makes me have emotions. I hated reading this poem because it was upsetting that something like this had happened to someone, "You beat me time on my head" (13). It is disturbing to hear this but it is good for people to have knowledge about the world than to be ignorant about such issues. One of the things in this poem that really upset me is that the father acted as if nothing had happen, "Then waltzed me off to bed" (15). To me it seems like the waltz was the boy and father dancing back and forth from the abuse to everything being fine in their lives. I know it may be hard for the boy but at sometime I would hope that he would shut the music off and end the dance between them.
In the beginning of the poem I was not sure what it was about besides the obvious that the speaker is describing this photo of his father from when he was younger. The last three lines of this poem gave it a real meaning. I found it interesting how something as simple as a photograph can rise these emotions out the speaker, “…Father, I love you, / yet how can I say thank you, I who can’t hold my liquor either, / and don’t even know the places to fish?” (13-15) This story touched me because it really shows how a parent influences their children and the effects that may have on the child. It also got me thinking about the things that I do now and how they may effect someone else. I hope that no one every sees a old picture of me and it brings up memories that want to be forgotten or bad thoughts of the person that I am.

So Mexicans are Taking Jobs away From Americans

First of all, this poem struck me as a little bit odd. It did not seem to flow like poetry that I have typically read in the past. This poem seems to read just like a letter-to-the editor in a newspaper. The views are obviously of a person that is in support of Mexicans seeking entry to the United States for the purpose of employment, as the author makes comments like “I hear... white farmers…shooting blacks and browns…I see the poor marching for a little work”(lines 20-24). I do think that this is a very pressing issue in politics today that deserves attention. I think that the author does make a point about the misconceptions that Americans have about the Mexicans seeking jobs here when he says “Do... [Mexicans] come on horses with rifles and say Ese Gringo gimme your job…do they mug you, saying I want your job” (lines 1-3)? By this the author hits on the paranoia and ignorance that some people display toward immigrants. It seems like the author’s goal is to expose the greediness of the American culture, that seems to have plenty of prosperity to go around but complains about Mexicans getting jobs here that complainers would never have a desire work anyway. I think he makes good points in the poem, but I just didn’t think that it seemed like a true poem. It didn’t draw me in or keep my attention at all.

Those Winter Sundays

I was a little confused by this poem. It begins simply enough. I think that the author is talking about when he was a boy and his father used to sacrifice and cut wood to keep his home warm during the cold winters. I almost kind of get the feeling that the author was unappreciative to his father then. He says “Slowly I would rise and dress…speaking indifferently, to he who had driven out the cold” (lines 8-11) I am unsure if the author is trying to say that he was mean to his father because the next line of the poem seems to almost have a tone of regret. The author ends by saying “What did I know of loves austere and lonely offices” (lines 13-14) I take this to mean that he was saying that he didn’t know any better as a child and that now that he has grown, he looks back wishing he would have appreciated his father’s love and sacrifice. Then again, that could be totally wrong. That is why I thought it was hard to uncover the true meaning of this poem.

“Moving Camp Too Far Away”

I thought that the poem “Moving Camp Too Far Away” was interesting. The poem begins by speaking of things that were important to Native American culture back in its glory days. I get the impression that the author is someone from present day speaking about the best parts of her culture that she has never gotten to experience. I actually can relate with the writer in her expression of loss when she states “I can’t speak of many moons...I can’t tell of the last great battle…I don’t know what it was to hunt a buffalo” (line 1-9). The writer’s personality seems like one of someone who looks at the history of her culture with great respect, and seems to mourn for what she has missed now that the cultural identity of the Native Americans has been watered down. It is kind of sad when she goes on to say what she does know of her culture today. The author states “But I can see an eagle…on slurpee cups…I can travel to powwows in campers and winnebagos…I can and unfortunately I do” (lines 11-23). The ending was my favorite part. It is very symbolic of how I am sure a lot of Native Americans feel. It seems like the things the author lists at the end of the poem are not a very proud part of their heritage, but they go one with these things because it is what they have left. It is a way to connect to the times that used to be the glory days of their culture, even if the generation of today was never able to experience that time.

Do not go gentle into the night

This poem by Dylan Thomas was fluent and easy to read because of the rhyme pattern and repetition throughout the lines. I like when they rhyme the last word of every other line because it makes the words flow well together. The repetition of, “[d]o not go gentle into the good night” (1,6,12,18) made me more conscious of the statement and to think about what it means. I do not like what I conveyed from it; that no one dies at peace with their mind or soul. The other line of repetition, “[r]age, rage against the dying of the light” also gave me a sour taste in my mouth. I felt like the author is almost in a way trying to scare us about death, and to me death is something natural that every single person needs to come to term with because eventually it will happen to them.

Fire and Ice

I enjoyed this poem because of its contrast. Robert Frost has a serious topic that is being discussed in the poem, "[s]ome say the world will end in fire," (1). The poems topic may be serious, but the speaker's tone is very monotone with no emotion. It is also intriguing because it made me think about a subject that usually does not come to mind in everyday life. I think that both ways of the world ending and us dying would be awful but the poem shows it differently "Is also great/And would suffice” (8-9). It is weird to be thinking of it as great but it made me think of other awful ways the world could end and then I realized the ice would be sufficient compared to other means of destruction.

you fit into me

This short by Margaret Atwood is simple but shocking. I thought it was fairly easy to understand the theme of this particular poem. The theme of the poem is stated right away "you fit into me" (line 1). All that the author is saying by this is that they work together. I was a little shocked by "an open eye" (line 4) because it was so blunt and in my eyes it seems quite a bit disturbing to have the image of a fish hook in yours or someone else’s open eye. By using the analogy it was a good way for the author to get the theme across to the readers because it really makes you think deeply about this hook stuck in the eye and then comparing it to the author stuck together solidly with his lover. So overall this story is short but I liked it because it gets the point across by not blatantly telling you what it is.

Coy Mistress

This poem is about a longing for a women who continually rejects her admirers' love. The speaker is persistent, insisting that she be his. "My vegetable love should grow/Vaster than empires, and more slow" (Marvell 11-12). The speaker's love grows more and more over time and almost seems to threaten her that if she doesn't return his love, her fate would be death. This poem was a bit hard to understand and I still don't think I understand it completely. Compared to "Porphyria's Lover", this poem isn't quite as dark, although it still seems to be about obsession.

Mending Wall

My reaction to this poem is that two neighbors work together to fix the fence so that each can make sure that their property lines are defined properly. The quote within the poem that is reiterated is, "'Good fences make good neighbors"' (Frost 27, 45). The importance of mending the fence (sounds like it is a annual thing), builds the bonds between neighbors as they work together to fix it. It also sounds like the speaker thinks it is somewhat non-purposeful to have a fence if you don't have cows. It also appears to me that they debate on whether they are "...walling in or walling out" (Frost 33). Are they trying to keep things in or keeps things out? It actually seems like they make a game out of this fixing of the wall. Even though my literary preference is not poetry, I somewhat enjoy Robert Frost's poems.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Those Winter Sundays

In this poem, we see distant love of a father and a child. The poem starts out "Sundays too my father for up early," (Hayden 1) this the father is demonstrating that he was a hard worker and still woke up before everyone else to warm up the rooms. The father basically says love in the simple act he does. The child, who all grown up now, realizes that he should have noticed more of all the hard work his father did for him. His father did this because he loved them, he maybe didn't show his love through spending time with his children but by working hard, providing food, and making sure they are safe. Hayden writes that "[n]o one ever thanked him." (Line 5) His father not got a thank you out of his children after all he has done. Maybe he has lots of children and thats why he has to work even harder. His child now sees how much his father loved him and wishes he could go back tell his father thank you. This relationhip between his father and son is difficult. His father showed love in different ways but his child wanted love that his father never gave him until he grows up and sees that the lack of empathy that he should have shown his father.

We Real Cool

This poem was short but has a strong meaning to it. The poem relates to the seven pool players that dropped out of school. The poem states "We Left School." (Brooks 2) The seven kids that left school thought that they are cool but are not. This kind of life style of partying and playing pool, does not lead to anywhere but an unheathly life style. We see this when Brookes writes "We Die soon." (Line 8) There daily carefree life seems to them that they are cool, but their cool life style only leads to death.

Barbie Doll

In the poem "Barbie Doll" states that this girl would rather be dead and beautiful, than alive and ugly. Most girls this day and age have the same state of mind. The poem states "You have great big nose and fat legs." (Piercy 6) Society makes you think that it is better to be dead and perfect, than alive and imperfect. It is really sad how looks are more important than intelligence and talent. The American youth doesn't have very good role models. If you take a look at the celebrities, some don't have any talent what so ever, but they are pretty and thats what the world likes to look at today. In this poem, the girl is done with being ulgy and gives into the world, so she can be pretty, and has cosmetic surgery done. Piercy writes "So she cut off her nose and her legs." (Line 17) She does this so she can fit into the world and look like a barbie herself. Now she feels that she could live a happy life but instead she died the way she wanted to look.

Photograph of my Father in his Twenty-Second Year

I liked this poem. I thought it showed deep meaning and love he had for his father. This person is looking at one of his father's photograph and sees that he has turned to be like his father. The author writes "Sheepish grin, he holds in one hand a string of spiny yellow perch, in the other a bottle of Carlsbad beer." (Carver 3-5) This photograph describes what his father liked to do and he is thankful that he has turned out like his father. We know that he is proud to be he son when Carver writes "Father, I love you, yet how can I say thank you, I who can't hold my liquor either, and don't even know the places to fish?" (Lines 13-15) He wishes that he was still alive, so he could say thank you for what his father has done for him and greatful for the way he raised him. There is a question mark at the very end of this last line. This is stating that, if his father was still alive, he would want to know where he used to fish. Sense his father is gone, he feels a bit of emptiness inside because he loved his father so much.