*Sigh*... For this weeks readings we were assigned Frost and Stevens both of which are poems.... I thought to myself "this should be easy". Wrong. As I began reading I realized that these poems have a lot more to say then they actually do. I'm currently struggling on where to start and what to write about... but I will give it my best.
I will begin with Frost and the first poem on our assignment. "Mending Wall"... several times through out the poem the author says; "Good fences make good neighbors." To me that says we don't want people to know who we really are. We build walls around us to protect ourselves maybe. Or maybe even we hide our true identities from our neighbors so we don't have to deal with explaining anything to anyone.
Looking at the poem as a whole and taking the larger picture of it all, considering it was written in 1914, the country was going through some rough and controversial times. I almost want to say that’s what he is talking about. People and the nation divided.
I will take a shot at another one of Frost poems “Neither Out Far Nor In Deep”. Here I believe he is talking about the American society. People don’t look inside the souls of one another. They only see the color of ones skin or the social class of one another. This thought entered my mind when I read the fourth stanza first two lines. “They cannot look out far. They cannot look in deep.” I think people even now a day are stubborn, and don’t like to change. People back in the beginning of 1900s were even more close-minded then they are now. Changing someone’s mind can be the most difficult task. We don’t want to look at the big picture. Most people judge the book by its cover so to speak. And that’s what I think Frost is trying to say here. Look beyond someone’s race. Look deep into the soul.
Stevens to me is a lot harder to read. I keep reading through his poems over and over and cannot make sense of what he is trying to say. “The Snow Man” caught my attention because of the title. But I don’t see how it has anything to do with the poem? The last stanza all three lines stood out to me. Personally they were my favorite even though I might not understand them.
“For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.”
Maybe Stevens like Frost is talking about the nation at the present time. No one wants to listen to one another. Everyone is in it for himself or herself.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Up from Slavery
As I read through this story I cannot help but wonder how can one individual have so much good after all that he has been through. Booker T. Washington grew up as a slave and yet he had no bitterness towards he's owners. He wanted to prove himself to the world and was willing to do whatever it took to reach his goals.
When Washington describes the cabin that he and he's family lived in I cannot help but feel sad for them. It was a tiny space that was also used as a kitchen for the plantation. As I read through the passage I think more and more about the times that we live in now. We have so much to be great full for and yet people are still not satisfied. We always want more and more and more. When read about this little boy that had to wear a shirt who hurt him, and who ate food only when it was available.
Seems so not fair to me that people had to go through this. The slaves were treated poorly. They were not considered people. Yes, there were owners who were better then others but most of the time they did not care for anyone but themselves.
One passage that stood out to me a lot was on page 667. When Washington compares a schoolhouse to a paradise. “I had no schooling whatever while I was a slave, though I remember on several occasions I went as far a the school house door with one of my young mistresses to carry her book. The picture of several dozen boys and girls in a schoolroom engaged in study made a deep impression upon me, and I had the feeling that to get into a schoolhouse and study in this way would be about the same as getting into paradise.” He longed to study… just to go to school something so simple but yet so precious to a child. Breaks my heart to see this sad little boy in front of a school door and not being able to go in just because of his skin color.
While reading the second part of this story I was fascinated to find out that the owners made up names of their slaves either “John or Susan”. It just doesn’t make sense to me. They didn’t have the decency to call them by their real name. To celebrate their freedom they left to change their names and get last names. It was so exciting for the slaves to become free and yet some of them didn’t know how to deal with it.
Just so much I could say but it won’t change the past. I ‘m just happy and thankful that we live in the time and age that we do live in.
When Washington describes the cabin that he and he's family lived in I cannot help but feel sad for them. It was a tiny space that was also used as a kitchen for the plantation. As I read through the passage I think more and more about the times that we live in now. We have so much to be great full for and yet people are still not satisfied. We always want more and more and more. When read about this little boy that had to wear a shirt who hurt him, and who ate food only when it was available.
Seems so not fair to me that people had to go through this. The slaves were treated poorly. They were not considered people. Yes, there were owners who were better then others but most of the time they did not care for anyone but themselves.
One passage that stood out to me a lot was on page 667. When Washington compares a schoolhouse to a paradise. “I had no schooling whatever while I was a slave, though I remember on several occasions I went as far a the school house door with one of my young mistresses to carry her book. The picture of several dozen boys and girls in a schoolroom engaged in study made a deep impression upon me, and I had the feeling that to get into a schoolhouse and study in this way would be about the same as getting into paradise.” He longed to study… just to go to school something so simple but yet so precious to a child. Breaks my heart to see this sad little boy in front of a school door and not being able to go in just because of his skin color.
While reading the second part of this story I was fascinated to find out that the owners made up names of their slaves either “John or Susan”. It just doesn’t make sense to me. They didn’t have the decency to call them by their real name. To celebrate their freedom they left to change their names and get last names. It was so exciting for the slaves to become free and yet some of them didn’t know how to deal with it.
Just so much I could say but it won’t change the past. I ‘m just happy and thankful that we live in the time and age that we do live in.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Cochise - "I am alone"
As I read through our reading assignments I could not help but go back and think about the first piece “I am alone” by Cochise. It brought sadness to me and I could not help but wonder why people are and were so evil to each other.
As I continue reading this I see this sad Chief who has given up all that he has to the American people and yet, still they are not satisfied. He doesn’t know what else he could do but ask for peace. Seems like the Natives are tired of fighting and just want this to be done and over with it. They only not had to fight Americans but the Spanish have come first and tried to take over their land. After that as he says the “whites” came and went into war with the Natives.
“I have destroyed many of your people, but where I have destroyed one white man many have come in his place; but where and Indian has been killed there has been none to come in his place, so that the great people that welcomed you with acts of kindness to this land are now but a feeble band that fly before your soldiers as the deer before the hunter, and must all perish if this war continues.” Cochise says this with such sorrow. He is not proud of anything anymore he just wants his people to have some sort of a home and a life. I could imagine this chief who is just looking out for the safety of the children and the women. And he is willing at this point to give up whatever it takes just to help them all out.
The chief comes to beg them basically for any mercy. He has no pride left of any sort. He is tired and is ready this all to be done with. “I have come to you, not from any love for you or for your great father in Washington, or from any regard for his or your wishes, but as a conquered chief, to try to save alive the few people that still remain to me.” When reading this is I see a selfless man who is not worried about his needs he is worried about everyone else in his nation.
I believe he was a very strong leader and gave up his pride to help others. Very loving and caring man, there should be more people like him this day and age. When reading through this piece I could very well see why he would title it “I am alone”. He was all on his own and had no one else to help him out but himself. Makes me think a lot about the foundations of this country and other countries that always fight for territory… Why can’t everyone just live in peace? Right… maybe in another lifetime.
As I continue reading this I see this sad Chief who has given up all that he has to the American people and yet, still they are not satisfied. He doesn’t know what else he could do but ask for peace. Seems like the Natives are tired of fighting and just want this to be done and over with it. They only not had to fight Americans but the Spanish have come first and tried to take over their land. After that as he says the “whites” came and went into war with the Natives.
“I have destroyed many of your people, but where I have destroyed one white man many have come in his place; but where and Indian has been killed there has been none to come in his place, so that the great people that welcomed you with acts of kindness to this land are now but a feeble band that fly before your soldiers as the deer before the hunter, and must all perish if this war continues.” Cochise says this with such sorrow. He is not proud of anything anymore he just wants his people to have some sort of a home and a life. I could imagine this chief who is just looking out for the safety of the children and the women. And he is willing at this point to give up whatever it takes just to help them all out.
The chief comes to beg them basically for any mercy. He has no pride left of any sort. He is tired and is ready this all to be done with. “I have come to you, not from any love for you or for your great father in Washington, or from any regard for his or your wishes, but as a conquered chief, to try to save alive the few people that still remain to me.” When reading this is I see a selfless man who is not worried about his needs he is worried about everyone else in his nation.
I believe he was a very strong leader and gave up his pride to help others. Very loving and caring man, there should be more people like him this day and age. When reading through this piece I could very well see why he would title it “I am alone”. He was all on his own and had no one else to help him out but himself. Makes me think a lot about the foundations of this country and other countries that always fight for territory… Why can’t everyone just live in peace? Right… maybe in another lifetime.
Monday, February 1, 2010
"Letters from Earth" Mark Twain
Growing up in as a Christian in a Christian household reading Mark Twains “Letters from Earth” was somewhat disturbing to me. The section “Satan’s Letter” caught the most attention from me. It was almost creepy to read. The way the Satan talks about people and laughs at them just game me the chills. The whole piece is very opinionated and seems to me that Twain had some anger issues about Christianity and is almost like venting here. In the beginning in the footnotes it said that Clara, Twains daughter did not want to publish this story because it would misinterpret what her father believed about religion. It made me wonder how so? If one doesn’t believe something they would not be writing a book about it. I believe that he did believe what he was saying but because it was against the law to write such things he wasn’t open about it with his family.
Although there are few different sections in this passage I will focus on the “Satan’s Letters”. The speakers’ tone in this section is sounds very evil to me, like the Satan is laughing while he is writing this. To me it seems that Twain is writing about more than just religious views or his beliefs. I think in a way he might be making fun of the society that he lives in. Back in the day they didn’t have as much freedom as they do now. Everything was based of off Christianity and people didn’t know anything else. God was all they had and heaven was the only desire most had. He wanted maybe people to think “out side of the box” for a change. Although the way he does it, is kind of rude and could be offending. I could see now why he’s daughter wouldn’t want anyone to read this.
In “Letter II” it is also interesting how the author makes a point about white men and how they do not associate with colored nations, but yet they are all expected to live together in heaven. So once again I think Twain wants to make a statement about the society, which he lived in. Everyone is considering himself a “Christian” but does not follow the rules of Christianity. It is like almost the author wants to reach out to people this way to get their attention and make everyone see how they truly live. Jealousy and hatred towards one another is not going to get them to heaven.
Although there are few different sections in this passage I will focus on the “Satan’s Letters”. The speakers’ tone in this section is sounds very evil to me, like the Satan is laughing while he is writing this. To me it seems that Twain is writing about more than just religious views or his beliefs. I think in a way he might be making fun of the society that he lives in. Back in the day they didn’t have as much freedom as they do now. Everything was based of off Christianity and people didn’t know anything else. God was all they had and heaven was the only desire most had. He wanted maybe people to think “out side of the box” for a change. Although the way he does it, is kind of rude and could be offending. I could see now why he’s daughter wouldn’t want anyone to read this.
In “Letter II” it is also interesting how the author makes a point about white men and how they do not associate with colored nations, but yet they are all expected to live together in heaven. So once again I think Twain wants to make a statement about the society, which he lived in. Everyone is considering himself a “Christian” but does not follow the rules of Christianity. It is like almost the author wants to reach out to people this way to get their attention and make everyone see how they truly live. Jealousy and hatred towards one another is not going to get them to heaven.
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