So I read this poem about four times and still didn't understand it. The first time I read it I was like what in the world is he talking about. As I was reading it I was noticing that he was really straight forward with the way he said things and he didn't hold anything back. There were things in the poem about drugs, alcohol, and he didn't refrain from cussing either.
Anyone care to explain what Howl is about? Because I really don't get it.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
HARRISON BERGERON
This was a very interesting thing to read. I wonder if the world will really be like that in 2081. It was really weird how after just one different sound in their ears and they would forget everything that they were just thinking about and be completely clueless. It also was really weird to me how everyone had to wear those headsets and they were disciplined if they weren't wearing them. The whole story revolved around the show with ballerinas that they were watching on tv. It was really confusing to understand because all of a sudden it switched to their son being on tv and how he was a really bad criminal and how everyone obeyed to what he said. Apparently their son was seven foot tall and handsome and he spoke aloud to everyone and told them that whoever rose first was going to be his empress. When the ballerina rose, he removed her mask and took away her "handicap" bags. Also mentioned in the story the father, George, says that he was going to remove his bags and be as equal as his wife. I'm guessing that if you weren't wearing the "handicap" bags then you were lower status in society. George also mentioned that he wouldn't remove any of the weights out of the bag because he would be imprisoned and charged money if he removed them. The story reminded me of how people with Alzheimer's Disease were, in the way where they didn't remember anything that was going on after a few minutes. The only difference was that the only reason they didn't remember the things that were happening in the present time was because of a noise broadcasted into their ears. I think they try really hard to remember what had just occurred but they can't remember so they just go on about their day and act like nothing had changed.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
A Good Man is Hard to Find
This has to be one of the saddest things I have ever read in my life. It really shows how heartless some people can really be.
This story is about a family of a mother, father, three children, and the father's mother that lives with them. They were arguing in the beginning of the story on where they were going to go on vacation. The grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee and the rest of the family wanted to go to Florida. The grandmother did not want to go to Florida because she said thats where the misfit was and he was on the loose and she didn't want to run into him. They didn't listen to what the grandmother said and left for Florida just as they had planned. The grandmother sneaked her cat into the basket and she covered it with some sort of blanket so her son wouldn't say anything because he despised the cat. They went on their road trip to Florida and made a few stops along the way for food and things. On their way there, grandmother babbled on about how she would love to see this old house that reminded her of her childhood but the son refused to stop. Once the children begged and nagged him, he finally turned around and they headed down the road that the grandmother had told them about. She realized when they were driving down the road that the plantation house was in Tennessee and not in Georgia where they were at. She was so embarrassed at her mistake that she didn't say anything. The grandmother accidentally hit the basket that the cat was in and he jumped out onto the father. This startled everyone and cause the car to flip and the family flung out in their wreck. Once they figured out that everyone was okay they sat in the ditch and pondered on what they were going to do. They saw a car coming and when it pulled up, three men got out that had guns and began to talk to them about the predicament that they were in. The grandmother then realized that one of the men that were standing in front of them was the misfit. The misfit told his two partners to take the two males into the woods and after a while the women and the misfit heard two gunshots. The misfit's two partners returned and took the female's with them this time except for the grandmother. The whole time all of this was going on the grandmother kept saying to the misfit that he was a good boy and would never harm a lady. The misfit would agree with her but he kept saying how he was different. The misfit also mentioned that he had good parents, which didn't make a lot of sense because usually people who turn out bad have had a rough childhood or a bad experience previously. He told her that he wished he would have seen when God raised the dead, because maybe things wouldn't have turned out the way they had. He said that "it's nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness," which kind of made it seem like that he believed that if you knew you were going to die anyways you might as well do bad things. He eventually shot the grandmother three times in the chest, which finished off the whole family and the two partners drug her off into the woods where the rest of the family was.
I don't understand how someone could just shoot a whole family like that for no reason at all. I wonder if something really did happen in his past that made him have that attitude towards life and not care what happened to him in the end. This story is really sad, but it shows just how cruel some people can really be.
This story is about a family of a mother, father, three children, and the father's mother that lives with them. They were arguing in the beginning of the story on where they were going to go on vacation. The grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee and the rest of the family wanted to go to Florida. The grandmother did not want to go to Florida because she said thats where the misfit was and he was on the loose and she didn't want to run into him. They didn't listen to what the grandmother said and left for Florida just as they had planned. The grandmother sneaked her cat into the basket and she covered it with some sort of blanket so her son wouldn't say anything because he despised the cat. They went on their road trip to Florida and made a few stops along the way for food and things. On their way there, grandmother babbled on about how she would love to see this old house that reminded her of her childhood but the son refused to stop. Once the children begged and nagged him, he finally turned around and they headed down the road that the grandmother had told them about. She realized when they were driving down the road that the plantation house was in Tennessee and not in Georgia where they were at. She was so embarrassed at her mistake that she didn't say anything. The grandmother accidentally hit the basket that the cat was in and he jumped out onto the father. This startled everyone and cause the car to flip and the family flung out in their wreck. Once they figured out that everyone was okay they sat in the ditch and pondered on what they were going to do. They saw a car coming and when it pulled up, three men got out that had guns and began to talk to them about the predicament that they were in. The grandmother then realized that one of the men that were standing in front of them was the misfit. The misfit told his two partners to take the two males into the woods and after a while the women and the misfit heard two gunshots. The misfit's two partners returned and took the female's with them this time except for the grandmother. The whole time all of this was going on the grandmother kept saying to the misfit that he was a good boy and would never harm a lady. The misfit would agree with her but he kept saying how he was different. The misfit also mentioned that he had good parents, which didn't make a lot of sense because usually people who turn out bad have had a rough childhood or a bad experience previously. He told her that he wished he would have seen when God raised the dead, because maybe things wouldn't have turned out the way they had. He said that "it's nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness," which kind of made it seem like that he believed that if you knew you were going to die anyways you might as well do bad things. He eventually shot the grandmother three times in the chest, which finished off the whole family and the two partners drug her off into the woods where the rest of the family was.
I don't understand how someone could just shoot a whole family like that for no reason at all. I wonder if something really did happen in his past that made him have that attitude towards life and not care what happened to him in the end. This story is really sad, but it shows just how cruel some people can really be.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Langston Hughes
Theme for English B was so simply written by Langston Hughes and directly straight to the point. He talks about how he is twenty-two years old and the only african american male in his class. He mentions throughout the poem that just because he's african american doesn't mean he can't like the same things as other people who are a different race. He's trying to explain to us how diverse it is to live in America and be a different race. He wants the audience to know that just because he's a different race doesn't mean that he can't think or have the same opinions of someone of a different race. People shouldn't judge someone because of their race, but because of what they think.
Harlem is really kind of confusing to understand. It starts out talking about dreams getting deferred and how they gave up on them. I think Hughes is referring to where did the dreams go? Did they "fester like a sore, And then run?" He makes it seem like the people in Harlem just gave up on their dreams and didn't pursue them like they intended to.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Countee Cullen
In "Yet I Do Marvel," Cullen starts out by using God in his couplet. This poem kind of seemed like in the beginning of it, Cullen tried to use God as a way to open up the audience but after the first two lines, he contradicted himself and made it look like he didn't know what to believe. He makes it seem like he questions God, because it God was "so good" then there wouldn't be blind me, starving men, or dying men..but what he is forgetting is that God had to die for us for us to even have life so therefore he should be a little more grateful. This poem was kind of confusing and it was short as well which made it a little harder to understand but I understood it once we discussed it in class.
In "Heritage," I was kind of confused with what he was talking about. Cullen talks about whether Africa is "true" or not and he has a hard time distinguishing which way he should go. He feels like his heart is going with Africa which is his emotional side, but his head is telling him to go to America because there is more opportunities for him there. He italicizes certain the beginning, a piece in the middle, and a portion at the end to distinguish that these are important parts of the poem, kind of like the chorus of a song. He tries to explain to the audience that he feels like he isn't accepted by either heritage, so therefore it makes the decision for him harder. He feels like he is alienated from society and his home, so he really has no where to go which is kind of sad. He also kind of puts down Africa as well, maybe inferring that it wasn't exactly what he wanted but its where he felt like he really belonged.
In "Heritage," I was kind of confused with what he was talking about. Cullen talks about whether Africa is "true" or not and he has a hard time distinguishing which way he should go. He feels like his heart is going with Africa which is his emotional side, but his head is telling him to go to America because there is more opportunities for him there. He italicizes certain the beginning, a piece in the middle, and a portion at the end to distinguish that these are important parts of the poem, kind of like the chorus of a song. He tries to explain to the audience that he feels like he isn't accepted by either heritage, so therefore it makes the decision for him harder. He feels like he is alienated from society and his home, so he really has no where to go which is kind of sad. He also kind of puts down Africa as well, maybe inferring that it wasn't exactly what he wanted but its where he felt like he really belonged.
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
I decided to translate the beginning to help me get an idea with what the poem was talking about and it pretty much was telling us about they come upon this guy that they feel safe with him because they don’t believe anyone can come back from hell. He tells the person that he can’t tell anyone but he’s going to tell him a secret, because he knows he can’t tell anyone. The irony is that Dante really can speak and tell other people later on.
Throughout the poem by the interpretation that I got, Prufrock is really insecure about himself and doesn't feel like he is good enough for anyone. Prufrock starts out the poem with nice things to say but then he changes up the mood of the poem by adding in how the how the streets are half-deserted with annoying people, how he had a restless night in a cheap hotel. It kind of seemed like he was going to have a positive attitude with the poem but then he changes the mood really quickly. Some things we pointed out in class that also helped me understand how miserable he was, was when he was describing the fog. He says that "rubs it's back against the window panes," but he also describes it as yellow which meant it was literal fog, that it was combined with sewage smells and pollution from the disgusting environment he lived in.
Prufrock also tells us how he is shy towards women. He mentions that the women only speak of Michelangelo, but they were only doing it out of a fashionable sense. He feels like he is inferior to women and has no ability to talk to them. At one point, Prufrock kind of seems like he is going to talk to the mermaid but of course, he never does. We also mentioned in class "if you measure your life with coffee spoons, then your not going anywhere," which true because you have to venture out and not judge what is happening day by day.
Throughout the poem by the interpretation that I got, Prufrock is really insecure about himself and doesn't feel like he is good enough for anyone. Prufrock starts out the poem with nice things to say but then he changes up the mood of the poem by adding in how the how the streets are half-deserted with annoying people, how he had a restless night in a cheap hotel. It kind of seemed like he was going to have a positive attitude with the poem but then he changes the mood really quickly. Some things we pointed out in class that also helped me understand how miserable he was, was when he was describing the fog. He says that "rubs it's back against the window panes," but he also describes it as yellow which meant it was literal fog, that it was combined with sewage smells and pollution from the disgusting environment he lived in.
Prufrock also tells us how he is shy towards women. He mentions that the women only speak of Michelangelo, but they were only doing it out of a fashionable sense. He feels like he is inferior to women and has no ability to talk to them. At one point, Prufrock kind of seems like he is going to talk to the mermaid but of course, he never does. We also mentioned in class "if you measure your life with coffee spoons, then your not going anywhere," which true because you have to venture out and not judge what is happening day by day.
The Wasteland
I've been putting off this blog for a while. Me and poetry do not get along, if you couldn't tell by my quietness in class. I was really confused at what I was reading but after reading it a few times and you guys blogs I kind of understand. The first time I read it I was soo confused because it talked about so many different things and I didn't understand where all the subjects were coming from.
Section three seemed like he was talking about how everything was deserted. It was titled "The Fire Sermon," which kind of fit what he was saying to me, like everything had been burnt down and the town was empty. Just by the way Elliot is describing the town and his actions towards the audience make it seem like something terrible happened, maybe a fire. This poem really confused me, so can you guys bring it down to my level and help me out? :)
Section three seemed like he was talking about how everything was deserted. It was titled "The Fire Sermon," which kind of fit what he was saying to me, like everything had been burnt down and the town was empty. Just by the way Elliot is describing the town and his actions towards the audience make it seem like something terrible happened, maybe a fire. This poem really confused me, so can you guys bring it down to my level and help me out? :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)