Finally, The Soloist ends for us as readers. However, Nathaniel's life is just beginning. Although he is not cured of his disease and is by no means better, since he verbally attacked and threatened Lopez, the ending of the story is a positive one. Nathaniel lives in a safer environment where he can practice and produce as much music as he wishes, he has made some memorable experiences and he has reconnected with some individuals from his past.
Unlike most of my classmates, I was expecting a sad ending. I was certain that something terrible would happen to Steve or Nathaniel that would change the others life completely. Fortunately, I can say that The Soloists' ending surprised me and none of the characters were placed in negative situations.
I believe that a lot of people will get the same message as I did from this story. the message, although very popular and sometimes cliched is this, 'don't judge a book by its cover'. Nathaniel was a dirty, worn-out, homeless man living out of a shopping carts on the streets. Many passer-byers saw him as nothing more, until Steve Lopez came by. He looked past the dusty, ripped cover on Nathaniel's book and took the time to sit down and read the pages of his story. He ultimately gave Nathaniel another chance at life and i believe that if everyone capable did this for another, then we would able living in a happier and friendlier world.
-do my ideas and thoughts connect to one another
-are my thoughts clearly expressed
-am i staying in the same tense
-grammar/spelling
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Soloist 3
At this point in the novel The Soloist, a thought has crossed my mind. It seems that Steve Lopez has waltzed into Nathaniel's' life and has been making important choices and decisions without even consulting with him first. Lopez decided to write a column and ultimately a novel about this man as if he were a test specimen; inviting the public into his world and he contacted his past acquaintances and family members without asking his permission first. Also he gave Nathaniel instruments that could have potentially set him as a target for muggers and robbers and Lopez connived Nathaniel into living at Lamp by telling him that he couldn't play these instruments unless he was there. Although Lopez had Nathaniel's best interest at mind and in heart when he did all of this, he still never asked or thought about what Nathaniel would be truly comfortable and happy with. What if Nathaniel didn't want so much public awareness of his life? What if he didn't stay in contact with his sister or his friends for perfectly acceptable reasons? How would Lopez feel if Nathaniel did get injured from having expensive instruments in his shopping cart? What if Nathaniel's condition got worse from living at Lamp?
This last question really stuck with me throughout this section of the novel. I recently watched the movie 'Changeling' and although the main character was placed in a mental institution for invalid reasons, most of the patients at the institution were there legitimately. The institution was horrifying. People were force fed medications that made them incapable of moving and thinking straight, they patients were beaten if they behaved difficultly (sometimes even electric shocked) and the doctors and nurses there were more focused on keeping the mentally ill people off the streets, then actually helping them to improve their condition.
So, I decided to do some research on Lamp to see what kind of place it actually was. On the homepage of their website I read something very comforting. Under the heading titled 'How We Do It', I read the following, "The approach we use, and helped to pioneer, is called Housing First or Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH). Conventional wisdom has long said that homeless people with disabilities had to “straighten up” before they could obtain housing. But people with severe disabilities cannot access treatment, let alone make dramatic changes in their lives, while struggling to survive on the streets. Lamp treats housing as a prerequisite for coping with the debilitating challenges of mental illness, addiction, physical disability, chronic disease, and the trauma associated with 5, 10, even 20 years of homelessness. Customer choice is central to all of our services. Historically, people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other serious mental illnesses have been denied a voice in decisions that affect their lives. But Lamp knows that personal choice is paramount to success in treatment and in all aspects of one’s life."
Steve Lopez, a man who has given up a lot of things like family time, personal time, effort and resource, and who has trying his absolute best to help out a complete stranger, was actually doing the worst thing possible for him. Lopez was denying Nathaniel his 'voice in decisions that affect his life'. I hope that in the ending of the novel, Lopez will give up some of his control and let Nathaniel's voice be heard instead of trying to speak for him.
-grammar
-correct punctuation
-staying in the same tense
-common mistakes/typos ex. (writing form instead of from, or adn instead of and)
This last question really stuck with me throughout this section of the novel. I recently watched the movie 'Changeling' and although the main character was placed in a mental institution for invalid reasons, most of the patients at the institution were there legitimately. The institution was horrifying. People were force fed medications that made them incapable of moving and thinking straight, they patients were beaten if they behaved difficultly (sometimes even electric shocked) and the doctors and nurses there were more focused on keeping the mentally ill people off the streets, then actually helping them to improve their condition.
So, I decided to do some research on Lamp to see what kind of place it actually was. On the homepage of their website I read something very comforting. Under the heading titled 'How We Do It', I read the following, "The approach we use, and helped to pioneer, is called Housing First or Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH). Conventional wisdom has long said that homeless people with disabilities had to “straighten up” before they could obtain housing. But people with severe disabilities cannot access treatment, let alone make dramatic changes in their lives, while struggling to survive on the streets. Lamp treats housing as a prerequisite for coping with the debilitating challenges of mental illness, addiction, physical disability, chronic disease, and the trauma associated with 5, 10, even 20 years of homelessness. Customer choice is central to all of our services. Historically, people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other serious mental illnesses have been denied a voice in decisions that affect their lives. But Lamp knows that personal choice is paramount to success in treatment and in all aspects of one’s life."
Steve Lopez, a man who has given up a lot of things like family time, personal time, effort and resource, and who has trying his absolute best to help out a complete stranger, was actually doing the worst thing possible for him. Lopez was denying Nathaniel his 'voice in decisions that affect his life'. I hope that in the ending of the novel, Lopez will give up some of his control and let Nathaniel's voice be heard instead of trying to speak for him.
-grammar
-correct punctuation
-staying in the same tense
-common mistakes/typos ex. (writing form instead of from, or adn instead of and)
Friday, May 8, 2009
The Soloist 2
"If he's got a cart," he tells me, sharing a bit of street wisdom that seems obvious now that he mentions it, "that's not the type that's ready to come in." (p. 64)
This quote brings many questions to mind.
-Why does the shopping cart mean that Nathaniel wouldn't want to stay at Lamp?
-Is the shopping cart a representation of ownership, responsibility, pride?
-If Nathaniel gets rid of the cart, will that be the first step he takes towards improvement?
-Why is this piece of advice, coming from a homeless man, seem so critical and obvious to Lopez after he had heard it?
-Is it a well known fact that a homeless person with a cart isn't ready to leave his street sleeping night?
Maybe this quote is the answer to my questions above......
"you can't organize your mind, but you can organize your shopping cart. So you do." (p. 67)
This quote means that Nathaniel's condition prevents him from having an organized mind, so he organizes what he can in life, and all that is available to him is this shopping cart full of his personal items. I don't see why he couldn't organize his items in a room at Lamp though. Nathaniel states that he wouldn't want to live in a shelter because he would feel too confined but Lamp isn't like a normal shelter that most of the homeless population try to avoid. Lamp will provide Nathaniel will his own housing and medications for his schizophrenia. He would be able to go in and out as if it were his own apartment.
In these chapters we are introduced to a very important character. Joseph Russo considered himself a very good friend of Nathaniel. He tells us how he made it to Julliard and all about his relationship with Nathaniel. He goes on to describe more specific memories he had with his Julliard classmate. Russo says that he first had the thought that something was seriously wrong with Nathaniel when, at a party, Nathaniel got furious when Russo referred to him as kid. Nathaniel thought Russo was being a racists, despite the fact that Russo invited him over for the holiday and was one of his closest pals. I think this is a really important part of the novel because it gives the reader some insight into the life of Nathaniel before he became homeless and schizophrenic.
"It's not clear to either of us what my role is in his life."
I think that it is very clear to me as a reader what Lopez's role in Nathaniel's life is. He is a friend, a guardian, and a reporter. He is a friend because he truly cares for this man and he is doing everything that he can in order to help Nathaniel out. He is a guardian because he looks out for him and makes sure that he is safe. He pushes the issue of housing and medication to assure Nathaniel will be out of harms way. However, Lopez is still a reporter and we as readers have to remember that he might not have this much interest in a homeless person, unless he could get a story out of it. The facts that this man could play beautiful music and had a peculiar personality are what drew Lopez in. He wouldn't have spent this much time on a person that he couldn't advance a story out of. Now that he has gotten involved, he feels it would be wrong to neglect him now.
This quote brings many questions to mind.
-Why does the shopping cart mean that Nathaniel wouldn't want to stay at Lamp?
-Is the shopping cart a representation of ownership, responsibility, pride?
-If Nathaniel gets rid of the cart, will that be the first step he takes towards improvement?
-Why is this piece of advice, coming from a homeless man, seem so critical and obvious to Lopez after he had heard it?
-Is it a well known fact that a homeless person with a cart isn't ready to leave his street sleeping night?
Maybe this quote is the answer to my questions above......
"you can't organize your mind, but you can organize your shopping cart. So you do." (p. 67)
This quote means that Nathaniel's condition prevents him from having an organized mind, so he organizes what he can in life, and all that is available to him is this shopping cart full of his personal items. I don't see why he couldn't organize his items in a room at Lamp though. Nathaniel states that he wouldn't want to live in a shelter because he would feel too confined but Lamp isn't like a normal shelter that most of the homeless population try to avoid. Lamp will provide Nathaniel will his own housing and medications for his schizophrenia. He would be able to go in and out as if it were his own apartment.
In these chapters we are introduced to a very important character. Joseph Russo considered himself a very good friend of Nathaniel. He tells us how he made it to Julliard and all about his relationship with Nathaniel. He goes on to describe more specific memories he had with his Julliard classmate. Russo says that he first had the thought that something was seriously wrong with Nathaniel when, at a party, Nathaniel got furious when Russo referred to him as kid. Nathaniel thought Russo was being a racists, despite the fact that Russo invited him over for the holiday and was one of his closest pals. I think this is a really important part of the novel because it gives the reader some insight into the life of Nathaniel before he became homeless and schizophrenic.
"It's not clear to either of us what my role is in his life."
I think that it is very clear to me as a reader what Lopez's role in Nathaniel's life is. He is a friend, a guardian, and a reporter. He is a friend because he truly cares for this man and he is doing everything that he can in order to help Nathaniel out. He is a guardian because he looks out for him and makes sure that he is safe. He pushes the issue of housing and medication to assure Nathaniel will be out of harms way. However, Lopez is still a reporter and we as readers have to remember that he might not have this much interest in a homeless person, unless he could get a story out of it. The facts that this man could play beautiful music and had a peculiar personality are what drew Lopez in. He wouldn't have spent this much time on a person that he couldn't advance a story out of. Now that he has gotten involved, he feels it would be wrong to neglect him now.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Soloist
Steve Lopez tells the story of The Soloist in first person. It is from his point of view as a reporter that is desperately trying to find a story in a homeless musician he encounters on the street one day. The mans name in Nathaniel Ayers, he is African American and he is an alumni of Julliard, which is a very prestigious music school in New York. It perplexes Lopez how an African American kid could triumph through a time when racismn was very strong and most of his age mates were barely managing to survive. He tries to find out as much as he can about this homeless musician, connects with his sister, finds some of his old friends and aquaintances, and writes his article. In response to the article, many people send him insstruments to give to Nathaniel. Nervous that he will get mugged having all these expensive insturments attached to his shopping cart, Lopez convinces Nathaniel to go to a nearby angecy that works with mentally ill homeless people called Lamp Community. He is reluctant at first, but the desire to play the new instruments drives him there.
So far, this story is different than any other story that we've read in class and I think that it fits the genres of 'non-fictional/inspirational' or a 'real life human drama'. It deals with the issues of mental illness, racial over comings, homelessness, and unlikely frienships. There is a quote at the beginning of the book from the Bloomberg News. It reads "The Soloist is a beautiflluy written story that will forever change the way you feel when you walk down the street and pass a person who sleeps on the sidewalk." This quote fits perfectly because The Soloist tells the other side of the homeless persons story. Most aren't born to live on streets with shopping carts, roaming the streets day in and day out and it is very intriguing to hear about the lives of these people ebfore they became what we see on the streets.
Steve Lopez writes to the ignorant individuals for the misunderstood people of this world. He writes to inform people about issues that they aren't educated in and he wishes to tell of people all about those who are abandoned and have no one else to tell their stories for them. I think that when he tells these stories he goes into a lot of detail and he really descriebs things one-hundred percent. This is most likely becuase he is a reporter and he is used to telling stories like this.
I can't wait to read further and learn about the outcome in store for Nathaniel and Lopez.!!
So far, this story is different than any other story that we've read in class and I think that it fits the genres of 'non-fictional/inspirational' or a 'real life human drama'. It deals with the issues of mental illness, racial over comings, homelessness, and unlikely frienships. There is a quote at the beginning of the book from the Bloomberg News. It reads "The Soloist is a beautiflluy written story that will forever change the way you feel when you walk down the street and pass a person who sleeps on the sidewalk." This quote fits perfectly because The Soloist tells the other side of the homeless persons story. Most aren't born to live on streets with shopping carts, roaming the streets day in and day out and it is very intriguing to hear about the lives of these people ebfore they became what we see on the streets.
Steve Lopez writes to the ignorant individuals for the misunderstood people of this world. He writes to inform people about issues that they aren't educated in and he wishes to tell of people all about those who are abandoned and have no one else to tell their stories for them. I think that when he tells these stories he goes into a lot of detail and he really descriebs things one-hundred percent. This is most likely becuase he is a reporter and he is used to telling stories like this.
I can't wait to read further and learn about the outcome in store for Nathaniel and Lopez.!!
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Catcher and the Rye was written in first person by a teenage boy named Holden Caufield. The novel was very unique, not that it was written in first person, but how it was written in first person. The entire novel goes through a period of a few days after Holden gets kicked out of his school. During this time period the readers hear observations about people, and a random collection of stories from Holden's past and present. There is no basic summary of the book, because there is no plot or storyline. I do believe, however, that The Catcher and the Rye has a point to it and a lesson to be learned from reading the novel.
Holden is the middle sibling and his parents aren't even mentioned a great deal in the book. Holden does seem to care for his parents, because he waits to tell them about his expulsion from school because he knows his mother is a nervous person and won't take the news very well. Holden's mom became nervous when her youngest child, Allie, passed away. Holden talks about Allie a lot and wonders what would've been different if he had spent some more time with her. He also mentions his big brother D.B a lot. He seems to think D.B was a failure, yet he isn't shaping his life from his brother's mistakes, seeing that this is the fourth school Holden has gotten kicked out of.
I don't think that Holdens' character is unintelligent or a failure. I believe that he was misguided as a child and that he needs to hit rock bottom before he can start up a new and improved life. This is the lesson of the novel. 'When you get knocked off course, keep falling off until you can't fall any farther. This way, everything bad has already happened and all of your mistakes have been made, so when you start back on the course, there is nothing left that could go wrong.'
**I think that grading should be an even balance between my actual ideas and how they are conveyed (content, development and style) and the grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary that is used in the paper (conventions). I don't think that what you have to say is important without the use of proper conventions and vice versa (a paper with blande ideas that had no effort put into it shouldn't be considered a good paper because it was written with appropriate commas and subject verb agreement.)
Holden is the middle sibling and his parents aren't even mentioned a great deal in the book. Holden does seem to care for his parents, because he waits to tell them about his expulsion from school because he knows his mother is a nervous person and won't take the news very well. Holden's mom became nervous when her youngest child, Allie, passed away. Holden talks about Allie a lot and wonders what would've been different if he had spent some more time with her. He also mentions his big brother D.B a lot. He seems to think D.B was a failure, yet he isn't shaping his life from his brother's mistakes, seeing that this is the fourth school Holden has gotten kicked out of.
I don't think that Holdens' character is unintelligent or a failure. I believe that he was misguided as a child and that he needs to hit rock bottom before he can start up a new and improved life. This is the lesson of the novel. 'When you get knocked off course, keep falling off until you can't fall any farther. This way, everything bad has already happened and all of your mistakes have been made, so when you start back on the course, there is nothing left that could go wrong.'
**I think that grading should be an even balance between my actual ideas and how they are conveyed (content, development and style) and the grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary that is used in the paper (conventions). I don't think that what you have to say is important without the use of proper conventions and vice versa (a paper with blande ideas that had no effort put into it shouldn't be considered a good paper because it was written with appropriate commas and subject verb agreement.)
Friday, April 3, 2009
The Death of a Salesman
Miller's play, The Death of a Salesman, opens up a different world during the 1920's. Back then, success meant that you had a steady job, with an impressing salary, and were very well liked. Being a salesman was a very respectable job that most people were anxious to have. The main character Willy Loman is a salesman, and so is his brother Charlie. Uncle Charlie says that someone is only as good as what they can sell. I disagree with this opinion because Willy Loman is a great salesman, yet in his old age, he has yet to make a substantial amount of money, he doesn't own his own home, and he eventually gets fired from a job that he has committed his entire life too. Willy is a very unhappy person and he even falls into episodes of dimensia because of the stress that has been put on him from his job.
Willy had aspirations when he was younger. He had hoped to move to Alaska and maybe strike gold, but he didn't follow his dreams. That is where he went wrong. He wanted to be respected by everyone so he made a career choice that could get him that respect. However, there was a problem. Willy Loman didn't have the self-respect he needed to obtain respect from others. He always second guessed himself and was very critical of himself. Willy always thought that the buyers were making fun of him and he was very paranoid. No one in his business respected him because he didn't know how to respect himself, but his family saw past that and they all admired him; for the most part.
Willy saw himself as a failure, so he pushed his sons to succeed. I think that he pushed his sons too far because they were both forced into a job that they wouldn't be interested in or happy with. His eldest son, Happy, would do anything for his father, because he respected him fully. Biff, on the other hand, caught his father cheating on his mother in Boston, and lost all respect for him from that day on.
Willy died the death of a salesman. The stress of his job (or the stress of loosing his job) caused him to have these crazy dellusions. During one of his episodes he got into a car accident and was killed. No one showed up at his funeral except for his wife, Biff, Happy, Uncle Charlie, and his son Bernard. I think that the moral of this story is "no matter what your job is, or how much money you make, if you enjoy what you are doing, then happiness is yours."
Willy had aspirations when he was younger. He had hoped to move to Alaska and maybe strike gold, but he didn't follow his dreams. That is where he went wrong. He wanted to be respected by everyone so he made a career choice that could get him that respect. However, there was a problem. Willy Loman didn't have the self-respect he needed to obtain respect from others. He always second guessed himself and was very critical of himself. Willy always thought that the buyers were making fun of him and he was very paranoid. No one in his business respected him because he didn't know how to respect himself, but his family saw past that and they all admired him; for the most part.
Willy saw himself as a failure, so he pushed his sons to succeed. I think that he pushed his sons too far because they were both forced into a job that they wouldn't be interested in or happy with. His eldest son, Happy, would do anything for his father, because he respected him fully. Biff, on the other hand, caught his father cheating on his mother in Boston, and lost all respect for him from that day on.
Willy died the death of a salesman. The stress of his job (or the stress of loosing his job) caused him to have these crazy dellusions. During one of his episodes he got into a car accident and was killed. No one showed up at his funeral except for his wife, Biff, Happy, Uncle Charlie, and his son Bernard. I think that the moral of this story is "no matter what your job is, or how much money you make, if you enjoy what you are doing, then happiness is yours."
Sunday, March 29, 2009
"My Opinions on Blogging" Blog
Blogging has been extremely beneficial to me as a student, thinker, reader, and a writer. As a student, the standard shell of how homework is done was completely broken by the opportunity to blog. Assignments don’t seem as strict and the pressure has decreased because of that. As a thinker, blogging has been extremely beneficial; especially last weekend’s blog. When we are given the chance to free write I think that is when most of my brain cells are spinning and my inner most thoughts are portrayed. Blogging has also improved my reading and writing skills. Our blogs are always on topics that include some sort of preliminary reading, so in order to successfully blog, I always make sure that I have read and understood the text clearly. As a writer, I think that blogging has made those writing skills stronger because each week I am challenged to write a new paper, on a completely different topic. By doing this I am learning how to write about different things in different ways.
This approach to submitting writing for class has given me confidence and responsibility. I gain the confidence when my peers comment about how they agree and like my ideas and when they give kind remarks. Also, I feel confident when [YOU] Mr. Fiorini gives me positive feedback on my writings. I also take responsibility from this new experience because not only do I have to make sure to sign on BlogSpot, write a powerful paper, and then finally submit my blog, I also have to read and comment on a classmate’s blog.
I feel that this work has only been helpful and that we should continue to do this kind of work. Hopefully in the future we can have some more free writing opportunities. Maybe we could also have blog assignments that we as students have come up with. This way we all get a chance to blog about a topic, issue, or thought that we personally want to discuss. I think that we should be graded the same way we would get graded on regular essays that we would be submitted on paper. Since we get them every weekend and not during the course of the week, in fairness, they should be graded higher than an average homework assignment would. I don’t think that this work has changed the community within 11-1 and 11-2. To change this I think that every once in awhile we should be assigned to a person that we normally wouldn’t comment on or read their blogs. This way we can get insight into a person’s writings that we normally wouldn’t’ experience on our own.
This approach to submitting writing for class has given me confidence and responsibility. I gain the confidence when my peers comment about how they agree and like my ideas and when they give kind remarks. Also, I feel confident when [YOU] Mr. Fiorini gives me positive feedback on my writings. I also take responsibility from this new experience because not only do I have to make sure to sign on BlogSpot, write a powerful paper, and then finally submit my blog, I also have to read and comment on a classmate’s blog.
I feel that this work has only been helpful and that we should continue to do this kind of work. Hopefully in the future we can have some more free writing opportunities. Maybe we could also have blog assignments that we as students have come up with. This way we all get a chance to blog about a topic, issue, or thought that we personally want to discuss. I think that we should be graded the same way we would get graded on regular essays that we would be submitted on paper. Since we get them every weekend and not during the course of the week, in fairness, they should be graded higher than an average homework assignment would. I don’t think that this work has changed the community within 11-1 and 11-2. To change this I think that every once in awhile we should be assigned to a person that we normally wouldn’t comment on or read their blogs. This way we can get insight into a person’s writings that we normally wouldn’t’ experience on our own.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The Great Gatsby - Freewrite!
"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald was a book mainly focused on characters living in a world in which they didn’t belong. The characters in this novel were always trying and never actually being what they wanted to be. They were so engrossed with being ‘great’ that their lives shaped according to that very definition.
“It is the business of thought to define things, to find the boundaries; thought, indeed, is a ceaseless process of definition. It is the business of Art to give things shape. Anyone who takes no delight in the firm outline of an object, or in its essential character, has no artistic sense. He cannot even be nourished by Art. Like Ephraim, he feeds upon the East wind, which has no boundaries.”
This is a saying that I came across from an Australian author and poet, Vance Palmer. This is a perfect description of what “The Great Gatsby” characters were trying to do. They were trying to define the word great as themselves, when in actuality the individual is the definition of great. It is our actions and achievements that make us great. You cannot want the money, and the popularly known name, because you know that it is great. Working towards this image will get you attention, but won’t suffice in the end.
Jay Gatsby was born on a farm in North Dakota. His life was simple until he was inspired to become wealthy while working for a millionaire. Gatsby’s entire life was based on trying to get approval from Daisy. He was involved in illegal activities all to obtain the power and money that he thought would win her over. Did he achieve his short term goal? Yes, he was extravagantly rich, his Saturday night parties were famous, and everywhere you went, someone knew who Gatsby was, but he didn’t t win the girl of his dreams, wasted his entire life trying hard to impress people and eventually was killed by Wilson. Gatsby’s life may have seemed ‘great’, but it was all an allusion.
Daisy Buchannan was a gorgeous woman who was loved and adored by the people in her hometown. However, she only felt love for one man-Jay Gatsby. She promises to wait for him to marry her once he returns home, but foolishly marries Tom Buchannan instead. She lives a ridiculous life, never concerned about her daughter, who is mentioned once the entire novel, and is only concerned about material things. She always harbors a hidden pain because she knows her husband Tom is cheating on her. Instead of getting a divorce and pursuing a life that would make her happy, she stays, probably because she is too afraid of what others would think of her. She lived an unhappy life because she was to afraid to be who she wanted to be.
We don’t know much about Myrtle Wilson, except that she feels that marrying George Wilson was a huge mistake, and so she tries desperately to change her life. We now have another female character unhappy with her marriage and won’t get a divorce. She decides on having an affair with Tom. In her mind, this will eventually work out in her benefit, but in reality she is only being used. The way she transforms from her introduction at the garage in the Valley of Ashes to the aristocratic townhouse woman at the apartment is truly remarkable, but not in any form of the definition – great. Myrtle could’ve had the life she wanted if she only waited for someone who would treat her right, instead of trying to be this socialite that she never truly became.
Jordan Baker is a liar and a cheat just like Tom Buchannan. There isn’t much more to add to the characters of the two, except both of them are considered beautiful in some way and both of them try to achieve greatness in the wrong ways.
Finally, the narrator of our story is Nick Carraway. He wasn’t exactly rich growing up, but his family was well-off and there didn’t seem to be any financial worries. His father owned and operated a hardware store that dated back generations and was also a graduate of college. Nick seemed to be following in his fathers’ footsteps by attending the same college. Unfortunately, Nick was attracted to the city life of a bondsman and left home to pursue a career in New York City. There he tries to live out the American dream. He associates with the right people, attends the lavish and widely-known parties, and becomes engulfed in this new lifestyle. Thankfully, at the end of the novel he has an epiphany and realizes that he has wasted his time with these outrageous people and living in West Egg and decides to return home.
Like Ephraim in the quote above, these characters “feed upon the East wind, which has no boundaries”. They see the lavish lifestyles and attitudes of the people living in East Egg and aspire to live like that without any problems or limitations. What they do not know is these people have more trouble and sadness in their life, because of the image they uphold. Without the image, they’d probably all be living simple, happy lives with the people they love. Instead, they become wrapped up in a pretentious world and forget what greatness really is.
“It is the business of thought to define things, to find the boundaries; thought, indeed, is a ceaseless process of definition. It is the business of Art to give things shape. Anyone who takes no delight in the firm outline of an object, or in its essential character, has no artistic sense. He cannot even be nourished by Art. Like Ephraim, he feeds upon the East wind, which has no boundaries.”
This is a saying that I came across from an Australian author and poet, Vance Palmer. This is a perfect description of what “The Great Gatsby” characters were trying to do. They were trying to define the word great as themselves, when in actuality the individual is the definition of great. It is our actions and achievements that make us great. You cannot want the money, and the popularly known name, because you know that it is great. Working towards this image will get you attention, but won’t suffice in the end.
Jay Gatsby was born on a farm in North Dakota. His life was simple until he was inspired to become wealthy while working for a millionaire. Gatsby’s entire life was based on trying to get approval from Daisy. He was involved in illegal activities all to obtain the power and money that he thought would win her over. Did he achieve his short term goal? Yes, he was extravagantly rich, his Saturday night parties were famous, and everywhere you went, someone knew who Gatsby was, but he didn’t t win the girl of his dreams, wasted his entire life trying hard to impress people and eventually was killed by Wilson. Gatsby’s life may have seemed ‘great’, but it was all an allusion.
Daisy Buchannan was a gorgeous woman who was loved and adored by the people in her hometown. However, she only felt love for one man-Jay Gatsby. She promises to wait for him to marry her once he returns home, but foolishly marries Tom Buchannan instead. She lives a ridiculous life, never concerned about her daughter, who is mentioned once the entire novel, and is only concerned about material things. She always harbors a hidden pain because she knows her husband Tom is cheating on her. Instead of getting a divorce and pursuing a life that would make her happy, she stays, probably because she is too afraid of what others would think of her. She lived an unhappy life because she was to afraid to be who she wanted to be.
We don’t know much about Myrtle Wilson, except that she feels that marrying George Wilson was a huge mistake, and so she tries desperately to change her life. We now have another female character unhappy with her marriage and won’t get a divorce. She decides on having an affair with Tom. In her mind, this will eventually work out in her benefit, but in reality she is only being used. The way she transforms from her introduction at the garage in the Valley of Ashes to the aristocratic townhouse woman at the apartment is truly remarkable, but not in any form of the definition – great. Myrtle could’ve had the life she wanted if she only waited for someone who would treat her right, instead of trying to be this socialite that she never truly became.
Jordan Baker is a liar and a cheat just like Tom Buchannan. There isn’t much more to add to the characters of the two, except both of them are considered beautiful in some way and both of them try to achieve greatness in the wrong ways.
Finally, the narrator of our story is Nick Carraway. He wasn’t exactly rich growing up, but his family was well-off and there didn’t seem to be any financial worries. His father owned and operated a hardware store that dated back generations and was also a graduate of college. Nick seemed to be following in his fathers’ footsteps by attending the same college. Unfortunately, Nick was attracted to the city life of a bondsman and left home to pursue a career in New York City. There he tries to live out the American dream. He associates with the right people, attends the lavish and widely-known parties, and becomes engulfed in this new lifestyle. Thankfully, at the end of the novel he has an epiphany and realizes that he has wasted his time with these outrageous people and living in West Egg and decides to return home.
Like Ephraim in the quote above, these characters “feed upon the East wind, which has no boundaries”. They see the lavish lifestyles and attitudes of the people living in East Egg and aspire to live like that without any problems or limitations. What they do not know is these people have more trouble and sadness in their life, because of the image they uphold. Without the image, they’d probably all be living simple, happy lives with the people they love. Instead, they become wrapped up in a pretentious world and forget what greatness really is.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Reading Journal - Chapter 1
"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had”, are the words of Nick’s father on the first page of the book. This piece of advice was the best that Nick ever received and I agree that it is worth saying and listening to. We are told in this chapter that Nick comes from a prominent family in the mid-West. His father owns a hardware business and also graduated from the same college that Nick did;
Nick seems to have a great plan by buying a house with a friend in
Tom seems to be a very opinionated and ignorant person, while his wife Daisy is the complete opposite. We are also introduced to Ms. Baker. She is a very mysterious character that we don’t know much about and Nick even points out on p. 11, “It occurred to me now that I had seen her, or a picture of her, somewhere before.” Ms. Baker tells Nick a few family secrets, including one about Tom having an affair.
As Nick leaves he feels disgusted and doesn’t seem in awe of the Buchanan’s like the way he did when he first arrived. I probably would have felt the same way. I find it funny how money can try to mask the problems in a person’s life, yet they always seem to surface while you’re in the issues company for awhile. I’m also looking forward to learning more about Gatsby. At the end of the chapter Nick sees him and wants to invite him for dinner, but he vanishes. This leaves me very intrigues at the end of chapter 1.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder was born on May 8, 1930 in San Francisco. He was brought up and spent most of his childhood in Washington and Oregon because of the Great Depression and his parents’ divorce. In Oregon he and his family tended dairy cows, kept hens, had a small orchard, and made cedar-wood shingles. In Washington Snyder developed a strong interest in the Coast Salish people and the Native Americans of the area. Most of his poems are based around the visuals, aspects, and interests he experienced as a child in these three states. An example of a poem that was written around his experiences in San Francisco is ‘North Beach Alba’, http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/gs-alba.html. An example of a poem inspired by his Oregon life is ‘Rolling in at Twilight’, http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/gs-rollingin.html. An example of a poem written based on his life in Washington is ‘Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout’, http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/gs-sourdough.html.
He worked as a newspaper copy boy, a logger, a tail-crew member, and a seaman on a Pacific tanker. He received his BA in Anthropology and studied Oriental languages at Berkeley. For 12 years he lived in Japan and studied Buddhism while he was there. He interest in japan and India was was drove his writing career towards an entire new world. Some of his poems have high Buddhist and Asian influences in them. Some examples include, ‘For a Stone Girl at Sanchi’, http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/gs-sanchi.html , ‘The Snow on Saddle Mountain’, http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/gs-saddlemtn.html , and ‘An Autumn Morning in Shokoku-ji’ http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/gs-robin3.html.
Gary Snyder is often associated with the San Francisco Renaissance, which was a global term for the poetic activity that centered around San Francisco including visual and performing arts, philosophy, social sensibilities, and an appreciation of other cultures; specifically the Asian cultures. He is also associated with the Beat Generation, which was a group of American poets who rejected the standard American ways of life, experimented with sexual preference and drugs, and had great interests in Easter spirituality. Besides being a great poet, Gary Snyder was also a lecturer and an essayist. He has been called the modern-day Henry David Thoreau and described as an eco-writer and an eco-poet.
I picked the following poem entitled ‘Ripples on the Surface’, by Gary Snyder.
Ripples on the Surface
"Ripples on the surface of the water - were silver salmon passing under - different from the ripples caused by breezes" A scudding plume on the wave - a humpback whale is breaking out in air up gulping herring - Nature not a book, but a performance, a high old culture Ever-fresh events scraped out, rubbed out, and used, used, again - the braided channels of the rivers hidden under fields of grass - The vast wild the house, alone. The little house in the wild, the wild in the house, Both forgotten. No nature Both together, one big empty house.
Gary Snyder
Snyder, Gary. No Nature: New and Selected
Gary Snyder has a definite theme in this poem. He talks about how nature is neglected and forgotten by humanity. Humanity is the house standing alone and the wild in the house is the natural connection humans have with nature. He goes on to say that both nature and our connection with it are forgotten. Snyder uses figurative language to describe nature’s beauty and a metaphor saying ‘nature not a book, but a performance’. He has not structure or meter in his poem. Like most of his others ‘Ripples on the Surface’ is written as free write.
As a reader of Gary Snider’s work I find that we can learn a lot from these short simplistic poems. He talks about very serious earth and environmental issues in discreet and beautifully disguised ways. I admire his passion and respect for the earth that we live on and I find that his life experiences are very unique and interesting to read about. It must have been hard for him as a child since he moved from city to city within three states. To take those hardships and struggles he faced and transform them into poetry that we can hopefully obtain knowledge from and learn from is an awesome thing.
As for Gary Snyder having anything that makes him distinctly American, I would have to say that would be everything about him. He opposed all of the standard living styles of regular Americans and he strives to be unique and individualistic. Most of his adulthood was spent in the East and his writings talk more about life in India, Singapore or Japan than they do about his dairy farm in Oregon. I’m not sure if he was distinctly American in the sense that he acted like other Americans at the time, but he was more of an American than anyone else because of his passion and respect for the Native Americans, who I believe are the true and ‘pure’ Americans. So I guess that Gary Snyder’s ideas and outlooks on life made him a distinct American in every sense of the word.
He worked as a newspaper copy boy, a logger, a tail-crew member, and a seaman on a Pacific tanker. He received his BA in Anthropology and studied Oriental languages at Berkeley. For 12 years he lived in Japan and studied Buddhism while he was there. He interest in japan and India was was drove his writing career towards an entire new world. Some of his poems have high Buddhist and Asian influences in them. Some examples include, ‘For a Stone Girl at Sanchi’, http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/gs-sanchi.html , ‘The Snow on Saddle Mountain’, http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/gs-saddlemtn.html , and ‘An Autumn Morning in Shokoku-ji’ http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/gs-robin3.html.
Gary Snyder is often associated with the San Francisco Renaissance, which was a global term for the poetic activity that centered around San Francisco including visual and performing arts, philosophy, social sensibilities, and an appreciation of other cultures; specifically the Asian cultures. He is also associated with the Beat Generation, which was a group of American poets who rejected the standard American ways of life, experimented with sexual preference and drugs, and had great interests in Easter spirituality. Besides being a great poet, Gary Snyder was also a lecturer and an essayist. He has been called the modern-day Henry David Thoreau and described as an eco-writer and an eco-poet.
I picked the following poem entitled ‘Ripples on the Surface’, by Gary Snyder.
Ripples on the Surface
"Ripples on the surface of the water - were silver salmon passing under - different from the ripples caused by breezes" A scudding plume on the wave - a humpback whale is breaking out in air up gulping herring - Nature not a book, but a performance, a high old culture Ever-fresh events scraped out, rubbed out, and used, used, again - the braided channels of the rivers hidden under fields of grass - The vast wild the house, alone. The little house in the wild, the wild in the house, Both forgotten. No nature Both together, one big empty house.
Gary Snyder
Snyder, Gary. No Nature: New and Selected
Gary Snyder has a definite theme in this poem. He talks about how nature is neglected and forgotten by humanity. Humanity is the house standing alone and the wild in the house is the natural connection humans have with nature. He goes on to say that both nature and our connection with it are forgotten. Snyder uses figurative language to describe nature’s beauty and a metaphor saying ‘nature not a book, but a performance’. He has not structure or meter in his poem. Like most of his others ‘Ripples on the Surface’ is written as free write.
As a reader of Gary Snider’s work I find that we can learn a lot from these short simplistic poems. He talks about very serious earth and environmental issues in discreet and beautifully disguised ways. I admire his passion and respect for the earth that we live on and I find that his life experiences are very unique and interesting to read about. It must have been hard for him as a child since he moved from city to city within three states. To take those hardships and struggles he faced and transform them into poetry that we can hopefully obtain knowledge from and learn from is an awesome thing.
As for Gary Snyder having anything that makes him distinctly American, I would have to say that would be everything about him. He opposed all of the standard living styles of regular Americans and he strives to be unique and individualistic. Most of his adulthood was spent in the East and his writings talk more about life in India, Singapore or Japan than they do about his dairy farm in Oregon. I’m not sure if he was distinctly American in the sense that he acted like other Americans at the time, but he was more of an American than anyone else because of his passion and respect for the Native Americans, who I believe are the true and ‘pure’ Americans. So I guess that Gary Snyder’s ideas and outlooks on life made him a distinct American in every sense of the word.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Kate Chopin was a leading woman writer in her era. Her collection of short stories with embedded life lessons have touched upon the ideas of American Romanticism and American Realism. Chopin’s writings compare with those of American Romantics we have read in a great sense. All of the romantics express a celebration of the individual, as well as show a passion and a respect for nature. Also, Chopin shares the ideals of American Realism in that one can control their own lives, without anyone elses influences.
A Pair of Silk Stockings mainly demonstrates ideals found in American Realism. The fact that Mrs. Sommers initially had judicious ideas on how to spend the abundance of $15, and then went out and spent the money indulging herself on stockings, boots, gloves and an expensive lunch anyway, is an example of Realism. This is because Realism is all about people encouraging themselves and others towards self-development and self-improvement. Realists also believe that humans control their own destinies. In A Pair of Silk Stockings Mrs. Sommers tries to change her destiny and how she is perceived by others by dressing differently and acting accordingly with her new clothes. Seeing that she bought tight fitted gloves, we can determine that she wanted people to think that she was a ‘lady of leisure’ which we were told from the beginning that she was not. Mrs. Sommers was living in an environment that she didn’t want to be in, “The neighbors sometimes talked of certain “better days” that little Mrs. Sommers had known before she had ever thought of being Mrs. Sommers.” She tried to step out of her reality for a day and play a role in the life of a woman that she was not. This touches on the issue that some women aren’t satisfied with their lives and they think that by filling it with materialistic things they can improve it.
I don’t think that in A Pair of Silk Stockings there was any progression towards American Romanticism. This is because Romantics were sympathetic and willing to look back and remember their past. This excerpt says differently, “She had no time- no second of time to devote to the past. The needs of the present absorbed her every faculty. A vision of the future like some dim, gaunt monster sometimes appalled her, but luckily tomorrow never comes.”
In Chopin’s story Lilacs I believe that there are many examples of American Romanticism. Adrienne Farival is a performer from Paris who is driven to her childhood convent school each spring when she is approached with the scent of lilacs. Romanticism originated from those who rejected religious intellect and consisted of the people that desperately tried to break free of the strict religious traditions of early settlement. While reading Lilacs one can see that when Adrienne lives her risqué life in Paris she is subconsciously trying to break away from the religious aspect of her life. Also, I say that Lilacs entails more romantic ideals because when I read it I got more intense emotions than I did when I read A Pair of Silk Stockings, which was a very boring and cut and dry story to me. Romanticism is all about the emotions that you get and what those emotions make you think. That is exactly what happend when i read Lilacs.
Both of these short stories have messages about people dealing with dual personalities. The personalities Chopin writes about both have two very extreme sides to their character. One side is a modest, conservative, traditional side, and the other is an extravagant and unorthodox side. As a reader of Chopin’s work I have inferred that maybe this is how she viewed the world at that time. She saw average women who were suffering with boring lives at that time in history so she wrote short stories to encourage woman that they can lead whatever life they want to lead and act however they please.
I enjoy Kate Chopin’s short stories. They are very brief and to the point. They convey messages that are extremely relevant to today’s world. Also, the two stories I read and most of her others focus on the lives of women. This is very important since she was writing in an era of male domination in the writing world. I admire Kate Chopin for being so extreme and different. I like how she doesn’t have one set style of writing and that she in unpredictable in her thoughts, this makes her a very interesting writer.
“She stopped, as she had always done, to pluck lilacs in her path.” This quote is what draws my attention to this particular writer/story. In a short story full of drama, chaos, and unexpected twists, Chopin still manages to catch your breath with a single sentence, more than with a thickening plot. The beauty that nature takes in this story is so intriguing. The presence of a lilac illustrates the main characters (Adrienne’s) motives, decisions, emotions, and deep thoughts. This makes Chopin a great story teller because she can spin an entire story from the beauty found in a flower.
A Pair of Silk Stockings mainly demonstrates ideals found in American Realism. The fact that Mrs. Sommers initially had judicious ideas on how to spend the abundance of $15, and then went out and spent the money indulging herself on stockings, boots, gloves and an expensive lunch anyway, is an example of Realism. This is because Realism is all about people encouraging themselves and others towards self-development and self-improvement. Realists also believe that humans control their own destinies. In A Pair of Silk Stockings Mrs. Sommers tries to change her destiny and how she is perceived by others by dressing differently and acting accordingly with her new clothes. Seeing that she bought tight fitted gloves, we can determine that she wanted people to think that she was a ‘lady of leisure’ which we were told from the beginning that she was not. Mrs. Sommers was living in an environment that she didn’t want to be in, “The neighbors sometimes talked of certain “better days” that little Mrs. Sommers had known before she had ever thought of being Mrs. Sommers.” She tried to step out of her reality for a day and play a role in the life of a woman that she was not. This touches on the issue that some women aren’t satisfied with their lives and they think that by filling it with materialistic things they can improve it.
I don’t think that in A Pair of Silk Stockings there was any progression towards American Romanticism. This is because Romantics were sympathetic and willing to look back and remember their past. This excerpt says differently, “She had no time- no second of time to devote to the past. The needs of the present absorbed her every faculty. A vision of the future like some dim, gaunt monster sometimes appalled her, but luckily tomorrow never comes.”
In Chopin’s story Lilacs I believe that there are many examples of American Romanticism. Adrienne Farival is a performer from Paris who is driven to her childhood convent school each spring when she is approached with the scent of lilacs. Romanticism originated from those who rejected religious intellect and consisted of the people that desperately tried to break free of the strict religious traditions of early settlement. While reading Lilacs one can see that when Adrienne lives her risqué life in Paris she is subconsciously trying to break away from the religious aspect of her life. Also, I say that Lilacs entails more romantic ideals because when I read it I got more intense emotions than I did when I read A Pair of Silk Stockings, which was a very boring and cut and dry story to me. Romanticism is all about the emotions that you get and what those emotions make you think. That is exactly what happend when i read Lilacs.
Both of these short stories have messages about people dealing with dual personalities. The personalities Chopin writes about both have two very extreme sides to their character. One side is a modest, conservative, traditional side, and the other is an extravagant and unorthodox side. As a reader of Chopin’s work I have inferred that maybe this is how she viewed the world at that time. She saw average women who were suffering with boring lives at that time in history so she wrote short stories to encourage woman that they can lead whatever life they want to lead and act however they please.
I enjoy Kate Chopin’s short stories. They are very brief and to the point. They convey messages that are extremely relevant to today’s world. Also, the two stories I read and most of her others focus on the lives of women. This is very important since she was writing in an era of male domination in the writing world. I admire Kate Chopin for being so extreme and different. I like how she doesn’t have one set style of writing and that she in unpredictable in her thoughts, this makes her a very interesting writer.
“She stopped, as she had always done, to pluck lilacs in her path.” This quote is what draws my attention to this particular writer/story. In a short story full of drama, chaos, and unexpected twists, Chopin still manages to catch your breath with a single sentence, more than with a thickening plot. The beauty that nature takes in this story is so intriguing. The presence of a lilac illustrates the main characters (Adrienne’s) motives, decisions, emotions, and deep thoughts. This makes Chopin a great story teller because she can spin an entire story from the beauty found in a flower.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Writing is a very powerful thing. People from all ages, races, and cultures have used writing as a form of expression for centuries. Some works of writing can influence or change certain aspects of life. Those who read these works are sometimes so heavily inspired that they take matters into their own hands and carry out the visions of the writer. There are particular writers that are always quoted and never forgotten. We have to remember that there are thousands of writers from past times as well as our times that create powerful writings as well.
One writer whose writings had the power to enact social change is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His speeches and writings have been some of the most influential and inspiring documents of all time. His writings changed social class and economic issues. They also started the Civil Rights Movement, which has opened many doors for people. The writings of King have been so powerful that his messages seep through the lines in other writers of today. There are three poets in particular that have developed their own perspective on the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The first poet that illustrates a message of King’s writings is Terry Tempest Williams. The three line poem reads,
The erosion of voice is the build-up of war.
Silence no longer supports prayers,
But lives inside the open mouths of the dead.
(February 12, 2003).
This poem is compared with a passage from King’s “I See the Promised Land”. In his passage he talks about how the nation is sick, troubled, and in a state of confusion. He expresses his desire for God to let him live a few years in the second-half of the twentieth century so that his voice can be the cause of the ‘masses of people who will be rising up’. Both writings demonstrate how one person’s voice can impact a society and how a prayer won’t support you unless there is some individual’s action behind it. These two writings influence people to use their voices to stand up for what they believe in. Many people today have been so inspired that they have accomplished great goals by using their voice alone.
On April 7, 1957 King gave a sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church called “The Birth of a New Nation”. In it, he reminds his fellow Americans that they can ‘break loose from oppression without violence’ and that they ‘must revolt in such a way that after the revolt is over (they) can live with people as their brothers and sisters’. Gregory Orr is the second writer whose poem “Refusing” demonstrates this nonviolent resistance ideal of Kings’. Orr uses the following metaphor to express his message,
Tough bargaining,but easy on the violence.
That's what we poets learned from poems: it's all on the table,
but it's stupid to break up the table with an axe,
to splinter the chairs.
When he says that ‘it’s stupid to break up the table with an axe to splinter the chairs’ he is saying the same thing as King. They both agree that there are limitless ways to revolt that don’t include violence. Today many people use this message by using forms of protest, sit-ins, boycotts, and civil disobedience to resist instead of turning towards violence.
The final poet, Rose Styron, talks about the death of children in the midst of violence. Dr. King also talks about this in his “Eulogy for the Martyred Children”, Sept. 18, 1963, Birmingham Ala. Styron writes,
What shall we sing on the crest of a war all sense we ride wrong
save the mad boy in power deaf to the cries deep in cities and forests
tuned only to praise from his patriot chorus?
What anthems or lullabies soon can restore us
after we killed the children?
(Untitiled, March 2003)
King expresses his compassion for children when he writes ‘they are martyred heroines of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity.’ These two writers express their humble attitudes towards children who are affected by wars/violence. Today there are thousands of services provided to protect and aid children. There are also many people who have devoted their lives to making sure that the children of our world are safe and provided for.
All in all, I believe that writings can enact social change. If someone doesn’t agree, then I believe that they are reading the wrong type of writings. In today’s society people have very malleable minds and when they retain information from writings, they feel as if it is their responsibility to take action. I think that more people should tell their opinions and ideas on life so that we can all communicate and help one another out in the beautiful form of expression we know as writing.
One writer whose writings had the power to enact social change is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His speeches and writings have been some of the most influential and inspiring documents of all time. His writings changed social class and economic issues. They also started the Civil Rights Movement, which has opened many doors for people. The writings of King have been so powerful that his messages seep through the lines in other writers of today. There are three poets in particular that have developed their own perspective on the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The first poet that illustrates a message of King’s writings is Terry Tempest Williams. The three line poem reads,
The erosion of voice is the build-up of war.
Silence no longer supports prayers,
But lives inside the open mouths of the dead.
(February 12, 2003).
This poem is compared with a passage from King’s “I See the Promised Land”. In his passage he talks about how the nation is sick, troubled, and in a state of confusion. He expresses his desire for God to let him live a few years in the second-half of the twentieth century so that his voice can be the cause of the ‘masses of people who will be rising up’. Both writings demonstrate how one person’s voice can impact a society and how a prayer won’t support you unless there is some individual’s action behind it. These two writings influence people to use their voices to stand up for what they believe in. Many people today have been so inspired that they have accomplished great goals by using their voice alone.
On April 7, 1957 King gave a sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church called “The Birth of a New Nation”. In it, he reminds his fellow Americans that they can ‘break loose from oppression without violence’ and that they ‘must revolt in such a way that after the revolt is over (they) can live with people as their brothers and sisters’. Gregory Orr is the second writer whose poem “Refusing” demonstrates this nonviolent resistance ideal of Kings’. Orr uses the following metaphor to express his message,
Tough bargaining,but easy on the violence.
That's what we poets learned from poems: it's all on the table,
but it's stupid to break up the table with an axe,
to splinter the chairs.
When he says that ‘it’s stupid to break up the table with an axe to splinter the chairs’ he is saying the same thing as King. They both agree that there are limitless ways to revolt that don’t include violence. Today many people use this message by using forms of protest, sit-ins, boycotts, and civil disobedience to resist instead of turning towards violence.
The final poet, Rose Styron, talks about the death of children in the midst of violence. Dr. King also talks about this in his “Eulogy for the Martyred Children”, Sept. 18, 1963, Birmingham Ala. Styron writes,
What shall we sing on the crest of a war all sense we ride wrong
save the mad boy in power deaf to the cries deep in cities and forests
tuned only to praise from his patriot chorus?
What anthems or lullabies soon can restore us
after we killed the children?
(Untitiled, March 2003)
King expresses his compassion for children when he writes ‘they are martyred heroines of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity.’ These two writers express their humble attitudes towards children who are affected by wars/violence. Today there are thousands of services provided to protect and aid children. There are also many people who have devoted their lives to making sure that the children of our world are safe and provided for.
All in all, I believe that writings can enact social change. If someone doesn’t agree, then I believe that they are reading the wrong type of writings. In today’s society people have very malleable minds and when they retain information from writings, they feel as if it is their responsibility to take action. I think that more people should tell their opinions and ideas on life so that we can all communicate and help one another out in the beautiful form of expression we know as writing.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Gabrielle Sammartino
Mr. Fiorini 11-1 English
Price of a Child – Narrative Poem
The Price of Freedom is Vigilance
Opportunity knocks, so I decide on leaving Proctor and his plantation behind, letting it seep to the corners of my mind and slowly settle down as being a part of the past.
Realization sets in; I have left my baby boy Bennie with the wife of my slave owner, I begin praying he won’t be sold off as a result of my actions.
The empowering thought of leaving the slanted South, where they strive on the institution of slavery, and navigating north where the white man will pay a slave to speak in public reaches my head and spins around and around to the point where everything has become a gigantic blur.
Traveling to Philadelphia; where I obtained the most precious gift of life, despite Proctors protests. With the help of Nig Nag, a Negro messenger, Passmore Williamson, and William Still, who told me to ‘rise up with my children and walk away’, I have become a free woman.
Traveling to the Olive Cemetery; where the Quick’s were mourning their deceased family and I was ‘quickly’ trying to make my own family. Meeting Manny, the man who made this family and kept them tightly together like the walls of his strongbox, Tyree, Bea, and Aunt Zilpha, whose home in West Chester safely separated me and my children away from the nightmarish horrors of discovery.
Traveling to New York; to hear new ideas from abolitionist William Wells Brown; a brown skinned man, who means all things well in ending slavery in the South, dinning at my first restaurant, and signing an affidavit of hope for a man that my gain of freedom has placed in jail.
Speaking to Eliza Ruffin, Eugenia Pitts and the Ladies of the Anti Slavery Society in halls and parlors; smelling the aroma of sweetly baked cakes, and hearing the clank of the china tea cups on each ladies plate.
Speaking to the multitudes at mass services in Massachusetts, offering my knowledge hoping they won’t get offended.
Many speeches, towns, and faces changed. Countless days and two deaths later, it was time to move on.
The hardest part was leaving Tyree. Leaving Tyree for a new life in Canada. Going to Canada on the same ferry Proctor would’ve taken towards Nicaragua. The same ferry where I found my freedom up on its docks. The docks where I began my new life - my free life. The life I was leaving, and Tyree, who I was saying goodbye to.
Tyree, the man who carried my children, the man who welcomed me, the man who loved me and the man that I loved, the man who gave me the silver toothpick.
The silver toothpick that glistened like the horizon would on the day when I would be reunited with my son Bennie. Nothing could separate me from my boy any longer. Leaving my beloved Tyree was the price for my child, and that was the price I was more than willing to pay.
Mr. Fiorini 11-1 English
Price of a Child – Narrative Poem
The Price of Freedom is Vigilance
Opportunity knocks, so I decide on leaving Proctor and his plantation behind, letting it seep to the corners of my mind and slowly settle down as being a part of the past.
Realization sets in; I have left my baby boy Bennie with the wife of my slave owner, I begin praying he won’t be sold off as a result of my actions.
The empowering thought of leaving the slanted South, where they strive on the institution of slavery, and navigating north where the white man will pay a slave to speak in public reaches my head and spins around and around to the point where everything has become a gigantic blur.
Traveling to Philadelphia; where I obtained the most precious gift of life, despite Proctors protests. With the help of Nig Nag, a Negro messenger, Passmore Williamson, and William Still, who told me to ‘rise up with my children and walk away’, I have become a free woman.
Traveling to the Olive Cemetery; where the Quick’s were mourning their deceased family and I was ‘quickly’ trying to make my own family. Meeting Manny, the man who made this family and kept them tightly together like the walls of his strongbox, Tyree, Bea, and Aunt Zilpha, whose home in West Chester safely separated me and my children away from the nightmarish horrors of discovery.
Traveling to New York; to hear new ideas from abolitionist William Wells Brown; a brown skinned man, who means all things well in ending slavery in the South, dinning at my first restaurant, and signing an affidavit of hope for a man that my gain of freedom has placed in jail.
Speaking to Eliza Ruffin, Eugenia Pitts and the Ladies of the Anti Slavery Society in halls and parlors; smelling the aroma of sweetly baked cakes, and hearing the clank of the china tea cups on each ladies plate.
Speaking to the multitudes at mass services in Massachusetts, offering my knowledge hoping they won’t get offended.
Many speeches, towns, and faces changed. Countless days and two deaths later, it was time to move on.
The hardest part was leaving Tyree. Leaving Tyree for a new life in Canada. Going to Canada on the same ferry Proctor would’ve taken towards Nicaragua. The same ferry where I found my freedom up on its docks. The docks where I began my new life - my free life. The life I was leaving, and Tyree, who I was saying goodbye to.
Tyree, the man who carried my children, the man who welcomed me, the man who loved me and the man that I loved, the man who gave me the silver toothpick.
The silver toothpick that glistened like the horizon would on the day when I would be reunited with my son Bennie. Nothing could separate me from my boy any longer. Leaving my beloved Tyree was the price for my child, and that was the price I was more than willing to pay.
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