Poet William Carlos Williams stated that a reader must be able to “complete” what the poet has begun. I think this refers to uncovering the meaning behind a poem that isn’t so easily mentioned. For example, in the poem “white lies” by Natasha Tretheway, she states “I could even keep quiet, quiet as kept, like the time a white girl said, Now we have three of us in this class.” In this poem we can imply that the narrator is of mixed race and she struggles with her identity. She has skin light enough to be considered white, so she chooses to pretend she is white. I think that she lies because she is ashamed of her background and I feel like she just wants to be able to fit in with the other girls, or her society in general. By uncovering the real meaning behind “white lies” is how I am able to “complete” what the poet has begun.
Anais Salcedo
My ideas of poetry have changed and broadened after the week 11 readings and activities. I’ve never liked poetry because I felt like sometimes it didn’t make sense to me. In activity two’s reading, it elaborates on the idea that poetry can be difficult to understand at times but it is up to the reader to try and figure it out. The reading also mentions how a poem can be seen as a game, it makes you work a little and it can be challenging. But like most things, you need to practice in order to gain skills and succeed in understanding and completing its task. Poems are meant to be read several times and aloud, in order to get a better understanding of them. I think what makes poems difficult is that the meaning behind them aren’t always so clear and they can be interpreted in many ways. Which is why reading and understanding poetry takes practice.
I am writing about James Joyce’s short story known as “Araby”. The narrator of the story is a young boy who is infatuated by a girl from his neighborhood. In the story, we notice that the author uses bright color to represent the girl and to demonstrate her significance in the young boy’s life. The setting of the story is dark and dull. The author uses lots of imagery throughout the story to paint a picture of the young boy’s life, which is dull and boring. And how the girl seems to be the only bright light in the young boy’s life. It was difficult to find a critique that related to the theme of my essay. I went through several BMCC databases and I didn’t specifically find results relating to the author’s use of imagery. But “Blind streets and seeing houses: Araby’s dim glass revisited” by Margot Norris is the source I will most likely use for my research essay.
In “The Wife” by Emily Dickinson, the narrator talks about how she leaves her childhood behind in order to play the role of a wife. She implies the idea that being a wife is like making a great sacrifice of leaving behind any potential and possibilities you once had before becoming a wife. “If aught she missed in her day of amplitude, or awe, or first prospective, or the gold in using wore away”. These lines from the poem demonstrate the wife’s curiosity and questions of what could have been her potential or possibilities. Also, it shows how she is unhappy in her marriage but it’s something that is not talked about during that time period. “The Story of an Hour” relates to the theme of “The Wife” because of how both the women are unhappy in their marriage and how that is a topic, during that point in history, that was not talked about. But the wife in “the story of an hour” is filled with new found hope of independence after hearing about her husband’s death. She repeats the word “free” and is now happy over the thought of living a full long life. Both the poem and story show how women felt about the role of a wife and wondering about possibilities of life before becoming a wife.
I believe that “A Good Man is Hard to Find” interior is about the way people change their ways when put in a dangerous situations. From the beginning of the story, we notice that the grandma is a very selfish and manipulating lady. She tries to convince her family to go to Tennessee instead of Florida by telling them that there is a Misfit on the loose and it would be very dangerous to go to Florida because of it. And that Tennessee could be a great learning experience for the kids. On the trip, they encounter the Misfit and his guys and the family is slowly killed one by one. The grandmother is the last to be killed but before she is, she tried to convince the misfit to not kill her by telling him he is a good man. The misfit states “she would have been a good women..if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” This quotes implies that the grandmother only change her ways from a selfish, hypocritical, and manipulating woman to a Christian faith and “kind” woman when she is put in a violent situation. Which ties to the title that “a good man is hard to find”.
Oedipus the King has many timeless human experiences or behaviors. For example, the power of fate. Fate is something that people find very debatable. People being in control of their lives makes them feel superior over others as they are free to make decisions as they wish to. In the case of Oedipus, fate already had a plan for him, even though he found it difficult to accept his reality of no longer being in charge. Another timeless human experience is the concept of family and the troubles that they face. Also, we are taught to be ourselves and in order to do that we must find ourselves. This is shown when Oedipus goes on a journey to make an effort to know the truth about his upbringing. Oedipus is met with his original fate that he tries to get away from, which is a curse that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother.
The chorus, in “Oedipus the King” by David Grene, are an important role throughout the play. One passage by the chorus states ” One man may pass another in wisdom but I would never agree with those that find fault with king till I should see the word proved right beyond doubt. For once in visible from the Sphinx came on him and all of us saw his wisdom and in that test he saved the city. So he will not be condemned by my mind.” This passage is from lines 583-592 of the play. The meaning behind these quotes is that the chorus is confused about the accusations of Oedipus. Since the chorus is loyal to the king they stand with him unless there is evidence that proves he’s guilty. But some members of the chorus can’t help to question the King’s innocence. They are conflicted with having faith in the gods and choosing to believe in reasoning.
The short story, “Araby”, is about a young boy who is in love with a girl, Mangan’s sister. One day, Mangan’s sister mentions to the young boy that she would like to attend the Araby bazaar but can’t. The young boy tells the girl that he will attend and will bring something back for her. He thinks that if he buys the girl something from the bazaar that it will impress her. The young boy develops an obsession with the Araby and Mangan’s sister. On the day of the Araby, the young boy’s uncle arrives home late after he had promised to give him money for the Araby. When the boy arrives to the Araby, it is already too late and most of the shops are closed. The young boy is extremely disappointed and wasn’t able to buy the girl something. In the end, the young boy has an epiphany, he had fantasized about Araby so much just to be disappointed. He realized he was foolish for being so focused on his “love” for Mangan’s sister. The young boy doesn’t know what love is. This story shows the theme of coming of age and also maturing. The boy sees “love” and the Araby for what they truly are, instead of just his fantasized version of them. His experience at the Araby is like a teaching moment for him and a way of maturing him. Which is why “Araby” is really a coming of age story.
Sylvia, the narrator, is hesitant to walk into the FAO toy store just from taking a glance at the prices of certain toys. “I could see me asking my mother for a $35 birthday clown…you wanna who that costs what? she’d say”. This quotes demonstrates the fact that Sylvia’s mother wouldn’t even think about buying a toy for that much money. Sylvia continues to lists things that could be bought for the price of $35, things that are more important than a toy such as bunk beds, rent, and bills. She is shocked that people would buy toys that cost so much money. On the other hand, Mercedes seemed to enjoy the trip to the toy store and even states she would like to revisit when she gets her birthday money. Unlike Sylvia, Mercedes seems to have the privilege to be able to afford such expensive toys and even states that her parents would by her anything if she asks for it. Which is why Sylvia and Mercedes had different experiences while in the toy store.
In the beginning of “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, twelve year old Langston was excited to be saved by Jesus. Langston’s aunt told him that when you were saved, “you saw a light, and something happened to you inside!”. Langston believed his aunt and the stories other people had about what happens to you once your saved. He calmly waited in the church for Jesus to come to him. Langston waited for a long while to see Jesus and he watched as all the young people got up and were saved. He was the last person left still waiting for Jesus to come and save him but eventually he gave up waiting. He realized he wasn’t going to be saved and felt ashamed, but he got up and lied. By the end, Langston was brought to tears by the fact that he had lied to his aunt and deceived the church, about being saved. Twelve year old Langston went from being so excited to be saved by Jesus to questioning if there even was a Jesus anymore.
