Howl

This poem was very hard to understand. I noticed a lot of drug references and psychology. It purposes this in a negative way. The imagery is very dark in my opinion. I got the idea that mental illnesses were a big discussion topic. Electrotherapy was talked about specifically. The author is clearly against it but this topic is very interesting to me. The way this was written I think this Poem was meant for a select group of people and not the general public.

I do have questions, one being, what does "Moloch" mean? It is mentioned in the second section before every line.

Harrison after class

In class we talked about how much control should the government have. This writing made me think about what kind of rules the government has put in place to promote total equality. Is that even possiable? Do we want total equality? I think it is not possiable because everyone is different. I may be more athletic than some people but there is always someone else who is faster or stronger than me. The quote that we talked about "everyone makes the team" is a bad thing in my opinion. If everyone gets a metal for participating then what's the point of working hard to win. Treating everyone equal kills the desire to workhard and goes against what being an American is all about. America is suppose to be the land of oppertunity. In todays society they tell you if you work hard you will be successful and achieve your goals. But does the government really believe that? I don't think they do. Look at our educational system.

Harrison Bergerson by Kurt Vonnegut jr.

This story was extremly interesting to read in my opinion.  the first paragraph caught my attention when I read that everybody looked the same and no one was smarter than anyone else.  In this story Harrison represents the part of america that still wants trys hard, flaunt his talents, and show what he can do.  I imagine I'd do the same if I was a 7 foot tall, 14 year old with unbelievable strength.  However, the america of 2081 is not a pleasent place to flaunt your talents.  The government tries everything to knock Harrison down like making him wear headphones to so he can't think, glasses so he can't see, 300 pounds of metal to weigh him down.  Not even jail time can stop Harrison because his will to live as a full human being is too strong.  Harrison wants to overthrow the government and live free.  He plans on fathering many superior children. When Harrison was dancing and managed to defy gravit by jumping 30 feet to the ceiling, where he kisses her.  I think the author is trying to say that Harrison is kinda like a sexual superman.  Before Harrison can overthrow the government he is murdured which shows that anyone brave enough to show off there talents and be different will not be allowed to live or have kids. 

Hemingway- short happy life of Macomber

This story is based on these main characters: Macomber, Margot and Wilson Macomber and his wife are trying to rekindle there marriage by going on a African safari. This story reminded me of the last story we read because both characters had a moment of clarity. Hemingway protrays Margot as a necessary evil. She is cruel, unfaithful, and possible murderous. Why does Macomber put up with her. The only question I have is did Margot want to kill Macomber?

O'conner (after class)

From our class disscussion I learned a few thing about what was going on in 1955 when this was published. Traditional roles of the family were dominant. The mom cooks and cleans, the dad works and the son is a momma's boy. It's the idea of a perfect family. O'conner displays the kids as brats that makes you root for the gun shots which goes against the "perfect family". No one stood up to the grandma and told her to shut up like they should have. The idea of isolation plays a big role in this story. Towards the end of the story when the grandma has her moment of clearity the misfit shot her because she reached out to him and touched his shoulder. That's kinda the reaction we have in today's society.

O'conner- good man is hard to find

In this short story an escaped convict Murdurs a family because of a lot of mistakes by the grandmother. The escaped convict in this story is called "misfit". I'm guessing it's because he doesent really fit in with society but I could be wrong. The way the "misfit" talks its obvious that he is uneducated. Why does the grandmother blurt out the "misfits" real name? That has got to be the biggest mistake she made. What was the point of the grandmother hiding the cat from everyone? Baily drove off the road because the cat scared him. The detour the grandmother says to take lead everyone to there graves. As you can see I think the grandmother is pretty dumb.

Langston Hughes- Harlem (after class)

In class we mentioned that the poem "Harlem" was written about the Harlem renaissance. The first line says "what happens to dreams deferred". When you read the rest of Langstons poem he talks about festering wounds which was common back then but it gives you a nasty image in your head. Langston is comparing this festering wound to a dream defferred. It constantly eats at you and bothers you to have a dream crushed.

Lagston Hughes- English B

This poem, titled English B, was interesting to say the least. I had to read it several times before I got an idea of what the author is saying.

Hughes tells you that He is 22 years old, attending college in Harlem above the hill and the only colored person in her class. This tells me that during this time period college students were dominatly white. Then he talks about Harlem. "Harlem, I hear you". This is when I started getting confused. Towards the end of the poem, line 31-32, caught my attention. It sounded very powerful to me. I doubt that this kind of thinking was really accepted back then.

Countee Cullen poems after class

After discussing both of these poems in class I discovered that I completely misunderstood what Cullen was saying.

In "yet do I Marvel" the beginning of the poem should show that cullen has doubt in god. the words that Cullen choose tells you this. Cullens ideas are very suddle. The author also compares being a black poet to eternal torture. I don't fully understand why but it was mentioned in class. If someone could explain that to me I'd appreciate it.

The poem "heritage" starts out by Cullen questioning what Africa looks like. Cullen says "3 generations removed" in the first stanza which should be a clue. This poem does remind me a lot of t.s Eliot because the poem gave me a sence of absurdity and chaos.

Culleen- heritage

This poem was much more interesting to read than "yet do I marvel". Colleen explains what Africa means to her and I think it's a great poem. From her writing I can get a sence of what Africa is like. The 6th stanza was my favorite to read. It reminded me of "yet do I marvel" because she talks about god. The very last line when she mentions human greed asks god to forgive her caught my attention. She seems to be comparing a good and evil part of herself throughout the stanza.

Yet do I marvel- culleen

The first thing that came to my mind when I read this poem Was the fact that it was very religious. The first line mentions that god is "good, well meanany, kind". The author did confuse me when she mentioned "tortured Tantalus" but I can assume it is biblical reference. I am also confused about the awful brain that compels an awful hand.

comment- Emily Sharpe

I tried to comment on Emily Sharpe's Prufrock post but I could not get it to post so here it is:

I agree with you that Eliot want to be understood but I'm not sure if he is actually frightened by it. the yellow fog stumped me too at first.  I would have never guessed he was talking about pollution

Eliot- prufrock

This poem by Eliot was just as difficult to understand as the last one. I Noticed the poem began with a quote written in Latin I think.

The first part of the poem talks about women coming and going, talking to michelangelo. I'm assuming their in a hotel or some kind of inn. I was stummped when Eliot mentions yellow smoke and fog. Then he talks about losing his hair. I think he is trying to look good for someone but he is getting old. Maybe this is a poem about getting older in life and trying not to have any regrets. Eliot seems to be reflecting on his life asking "was it worth it" throughout the poem.

T.S Eliot- wasteland

The Wasteland by T.S Eliot was by far the most difficult poem I have ever tried to read. The first time I read through it I had no idea what to blog about. It was obvious that this poem is very dark, almost depression and I can understand that since WWI had just ended when this was published. This poem is so chaotic I can't keep up.

After our class discussion I learned a lot and somewhat understood Eliots writing. The purpose of this poem was to get the reader to have a sence of chaos. Eliot was a existentialism which means the study of your own existence. He wants the reader to question there own existence.

I was confused about all of the sexual episodes Eliot wrote about. Why would he write these things? I guess it did give us a sence of American life. For example: line 140 when the two low class girls were talking about not having teeth or getting an aborstion. You can see that the duty of a women back then was to look good for her man and have children.

War prayer 2

In our class discussion about the war prayer we pointed out this writing is very sinicle. When you read this it is very obvious. This writing tells a story about praying to win the war but it also gives you another dark perspective. When u pray to win the battle you are also praying for the destruction of other people. Mark twain tells you about the fatherless kids and the widows that are consequences of war. I thought this was interesting because I never thought about it this way.

the war prayer

I really liked this writing by Mark Twain.  It is very clear and straight to the point.  this writing seems to be about the feelings of a town in a time of war.  It shows that churches played a big role.  From this writing you can see that church and religion gave pelople a sense of security much like it does in todays society. 

the paragraph that starts with "I came from the throne" is my favorite section of this entire writing.  Mark Twains examples are very clear and his point is easy to understand.  Mark Twain says "If you pray for the blessing of rain on your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse on some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it".  He wants you to think before you pray. Know the whole situation and full consequences of your prayer.