Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

I was not a big fan of this story, i think it was easy to read and understand but it was not my favorite.
The characters were very important in this story. Everyone played a role and supported each other in some way. Bailey is a great example of a mommas boy. If he would have been a man and stood up for himself and for what he believed they would not have ended where they did. The kids were horrible and made it bad to read in some places. I wanted to put myself in the story and knock some sense into them. They would have not acted that way in my family. They had no filter, they said what they wanted without fear of punishment. They did not care about who they were or where they came from, only where they were going. The grandmother was very over powering but was allowed to be. No one really stood up or said much to her. There was No communication in this story between characters. If they would have communicated they would not have ended the way they did.
This is important because we can relate it to today. We are moving more and more away from communication (face to face) and more and more toward computers and machines that do everything for us. Is this good? Does it work in today's time?
Is there ever a point where the characters reach a point where they see what they have done or where they have come because of the choices they made?
I think that we do not see where we are going today, we just keep going and we are hoping that it works out for the good.

Yet Do I Marvel

The poem is a sonnet (14 lines)
It contains 3 quatrains and 1 couplet

I really like this poem it was fun and easy to read. I like the word choices that the writer uses. I feel like he uses them in certain places for a reason. In the beginning he uses the word "doubt" and at the end he uses the word "yet" i think that this was done to reconnect everything at the end. I feel like the writer is saying that while he thinks this way he know that this is actually how it is and he will just go with it. This was written during the Harlem Ren. and was something that many could relate to.

I think that there are a lot of things that can be talked about with this because of the issues that still exist today, but the important thing is to realize that it is literature. It is something that everyone can read and in their own way feel apart of. I feel like making categories makes issues, which then creates problems.

Heritage

The poem talks about how the speaker does not really know where he sits in life and who he really is. He does not know anything about Africa because he is not from there nor has he been there. But he does not feel he is apart of this world because he has no place as a black slave. He gives the christian God a "dark" physical feature in hope that He (the God) will understand him. This was his hope that she had someone that knew and could see him for who he was. It was a belief that became a faith because he had nothing else.

Where does he fit as a person?
Who can really say?

I think that this can be related to Huck Finn because of the overall theme of nature and civilization. What really is civilization? Can the definition change according to the person and his or her beliefs?

The main point or chorus is in italics because it is something that the writer want to stand out. It is something they believe to be importnat and want to make sure the reader sets that out in his or her mind.

I am not sure who Harold Jackman is other then from the beginning of the poem is says for him. I feel like because of the type of poem it could be a secret lover? I am not sure and will have to look it up but if i had to guess i think it could be.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Harlem

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?


In this poem the writer talks about the power of pursing a dream. This poem uses great images that help create a very real picture for the reader.

He ask two questions
- the placement of the questions are important, he ask one in the beginning and one at the end. They are made to make the reader think about what they are reading and what it means to them.

Poetry does not have a right or wrong answer it is written for the reader not the writer. The great thing about poetry is it can mean something different to everyone. It allows the reader to use their imagination and come up with what they think or feel.

I think that people do not see the importance of a dream. I think that this poem is meant to shed some light on the importance of the dream.

Theme for English B

This poem was a response to a assignment given by Langston's teacher, in it he discusses the differences between him and his teacher dealing with race. He talks about how he is the only "colored" person in his class and how he is different but in some ways closely related.

I enjoyed the poem, it was easy to read and it made sense. I like how the writers thoughts and ideas were presented. He talks about how he feels and creates emotion.

I think the the writer wanted to show how it was for a "colored" man in this time. He wanted people to see and understand that skin color is just a color and holds no deeper meaning. He wanted people to see that we are all a lot alike in some ways.

Something that people may not know is that Langston did not want white and blacks mixing together. He did not want one influencing the other. Although in this poem he does seem to come to a realization that both influence each other and it may not be a bad thing.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

twain

The War Prayer is some thing a little different, it makes the reader really take a step back and think about things. It gives all the information to the reader and then allows the reader to think, it does not pick a side but does give the information needed. I think that it is saying we really do not know or understand someone until they are dead and gone. We often fight and get upset over things that at the time we think we know everything, but once we have taken the time to step back and think we soon see that we did not know as much as we thought. I feel like this story does just that. I really liked reading it, it was short and to the point. Twain did not beat around the bush he dove right in and stated how he felt. This piece was not published in his day i do not think because it was a big deal and a very different way of thinking. This shows that sooner or later we see things in different lights it just may take us a little longer which may end up costing us a little or a lot more in the long run.

Huck Finn

The book is about the story of Huck Finn's life. It shows different things he went through and the different stages in his life, that made him who he was. Huck was not the average character, he was different. He thought about things in different ways and was not always honest with himself. I think he knew the limits but followed others because he "thought" they knew best. Huck learns a lot through out the book and even though he did not always do the right thing, in the end he came out a better person then he started off.

I think some themes of this book would be:
slavery-Jim was a slave but yet a father figure to Huck, who was white.
nature-can be seen in the river and how it is like a path of freedom for Huck
independence-Huck did not want to be "civilized" he wanted to be "street smart" and live true to himself
education-can be seen in how Tom was "educated" and how Huck went along with him just because he was educated. It can also be seen with Jim because he was educated just in a different way.

There were lots of other themes that can be talked about but those were some of the major ones that stuck out to me. The beginning of the book had some humor, that maybe not everyone picked up on. I thought it was funny when Huck was telling the widow that if she was going to be in heaven he would rather not go there. He was expressing how he felt about her kind of "civilization" and how against it he really was.

The character of Jim can be seen in several different ways. I feel like he can be used as a image to show a deeper meaning then just what the surface shows. I feel like it was important that this character be a black man and that Huck be young. If these element would have been different i don't know if the story would have worked out the same way. I also feel like Jim as a slave being a father figure speaks loudly! It shows the reader that this white young boy has no true father figure other then that of a drunk and that of a slave. The funny picture is the slave is more of a father then his white father has ever been. It is funny how Huck thought that black men didn't care for their families and yet white people did...he was white (Huck) without a caring father figure. It just goes to show how great of a influence society played on even its young people.

I also thought that some of the things that Tom did were very wrong. He is a character that very quickly the reader sees is not the best of person. He ensures Huck that they are doing things right when in fact they are treating Jim and others very bad. But Huck does go along with it all because he thinks that because Tom is educated he "knows" best. We see that is clearly not the case here.

I think some things that interest me and that i was not 100% on are some of the things that happened to them on the river. And why was Huck a different person around certain people? I feel like he was a strong character but too often followed even when he knew things were wrong. I also feel like the ending shows a lot about Huck and what kind of person after all this he became. I think he was stronger but still not for sure on some things. I feel like when he picks to go out into the unknown rather then return with Tom shows just how much he was against that lifestyle choice. He would rather risk everything then returning to something that was not him.

I really enjoyed this book, i had read it in high school but when rereading found some new things that i did not see the first time. I think that there are deeper meanings behind the story and that they are very important. But i think that the writer allows the reader to see things in their own light and interrupt in the best way they see. I like the emotion behind the story and what some of it stood for. I think we could learn a lot from it.