What kind of experience do people have to go through to "come of age" in the eyes of society? Do they have to live in poverty or lose someone important to them? Does their own mother have to love them at all? Francie, a Brooklyn girl growing up in the early 1900s goes through all of these things; This is her life, this is what made her grow up.
Poverty
Francie grew up in poverty. But poverty still exists today: still, so much of the population is living in poverty and grows up in poverty. Children who grow up in conditions where everyday life can be a struggle realize how hard the world is to live in so much earlier than those of us who don't.
Death
When Francie's father died, she was exposed to the pain of losing the one person in her family who understood her better than everyone else. Francie grew up a little more because of this, and had to deal with his death herself. Also, her family life would never be the same, because Johnny Nolan's death affected not only her but her mother and her brother as well.
Love
One of the things that made Francie grow up as well was love. When her mother gave birth to her younger brother, Cornelius, she loved him, but did not love Francie, but instead felt pity for her, love out of guilt. When Francie confronts her mother about this, she realizes that it's true, and has to cope with that fact that her mother does not love her as she loves Cornelius.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn Essay
How does poverty affect Francie and her family's daily life?
When I first started reading A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, I just thought that it was the story of a young girl growing up in one of the 5 boroughs of New York City. However, what I never took into consideration before starting this book was the fact that Francie's life isn't at all what my life is like in modern Brooklyn. In the early 1900s, life was hard for people living in the tenement areas of Brooklyn, and families lived in poverty. There weren't many high-paying jobs around, and children as young as 14 (like Francie) had to get working papers just to support their family, and skip high school education to work full time jobs. The fact that she and her family lived in poverty affected Francie's life negatively through her friendships, education, and overall life experience.
Although many other girls her age also lived in poverty, being poor affected Francie's ability to make friends. Since most of her time was spent collecting garbage and scraps of metal to sell, she didn't have time to really interact with other children her age and because she was more of a loner she had even less interaction. Other children who came from poor families like Francie also had trouble making friends with anyone else besides other poor children, because the rich children would be selfish and act as though they were more important than the poorer children. As it stated in the book, the brand new 50 cent bows that the rich children wore everyday would feed Francie's family for a day, and poor, hungry children would gather around a rich girl eating candy hoping for a piece, but one she was full, she would simply throw the remaining candy down the gutter.
Francie's education was also affected by the fact that Francie and her family were poor. In classrooms, most teachers favored the few students who were rich, and had nice clothes and could afford to buy the teachers presents for Christmas. The poorer children were treated unfairly; they were seated in the back and the teachers looked upon them with disgust because they could not afford the luxuries that the richer children took for granted, like nice clothes. Francie wound up transferring to a school where all the children were treated more as equals, but had to walk miles to get there and had to use a fake address because the school was not in her district. Francie wound up going to a very good school, but had to go out of her way to get a decent education and be in a school environment where she was not discriminated against.
Overall, Francie's life experience was affected by her family's lack of money. She and her brother were always hungry as children and had to grow up at a young age so that she could work and help her family survive. Even as a young teen, she had to take on full-time job and skip high school so that she could support her family financially. She also had to see her own mother stressed out from work every day, and her mother cleaned other apartment in their building so they could live rent free even when she was toward the end of her pregnancy with Francie's little sister.
In conclusion, Francie's life was harder because of the fact that her family was poor. Francie was denied a carefree youth because she was forced to work at a young age and didn't have the time or money to do things that rich girls her age did. She was constantly worried about her family's financial state and even missed out on things such as school to deal with them. Although Francie's life was filled with hardship, she always had hopes and dreams for her future, like going to college. Throughout this book, she believed in herself, and no matter how hard things in her family got, in the end she became a stronger person because them.
When I first started reading A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, I just thought that it was the story of a young girl growing up in one of the 5 boroughs of New York City. However, what I never took into consideration before starting this book was the fact that Francie's life isn't at all what my life is like in modern Brooklyn. In the early 1900s, life was hard for people living in the tenement areas of Brooklyn, and families lived in poverty. There weren't many high-paying jobs around, and children as young as 14 (like Francie) had to get working papers just to support their family, and skip high school education to work full time jobs. The fact that she and her family lived in poverty affected Francie's life negatively through her friendships, education, and overall life experience.
Although many other girls her age also lived in poverty, being poor affected Francie's ability to make friends. Since most of her time was spent collecting garbage and scraps of metal to sell, she didn't have time to really interact with other children her age and because she was more of a loner she had even less interaction. Other children who came from poor families like Francie also had trouble making friends with anyone else besides other poor children, because the rich children would be selfish and act as though they were more important than the poorer children. As it stated in the book, the brand new 50 cent bows that the rich children wore everyday would feed Francie's family for a day, and poor, hungry children would gather around a rich girl eating candy hoping for a piece, but one she was full, she would simply throw the remaining candy down the gutter.
Francie's education was also affected by the fact that Francie and her family were poor. In classrooms, most teachers favored the few students who were rich, and had nice clothes and could afford to buy the teachers presents for Christmas. The poorer children were treated unfairly; they were seated in the back and the teachers looked upon them with disgust because they could not afford the luxuries that the richer children took for granted, like nice clothes. Francie wound up transferring to a school where all the children were treated more as equals, but had to walk miles to get there and had to use a fake address because the school was not in her district. Francie wound up going to a very good school, but had to go out of her way to get a decent education and be in a school environment where she was not discriminated against.
Overall, Francie's life experience was affected by her family's lack of money. She and her brother were always hungry as children and had to grow up at a young age so that she could work and help her family survive. Even as a young teen, she had to take on full-time job and skip high school so that she could support her family financially. She also had to see her own mother stressed out from work every day, and her mother cleaned other apartment in their building so they could live rent free even when she was toward the end of her pregnancy with Francie's little sister.
In conclusion, Francie's life was harder because of the fact that her family was poor. Francie was denied a carefree youth because she was forced to work at a young age and didn't have the time or money to do things that rich girls her age did. She was constantly worried about her family's financial state and even missed out on things such as school to deal with them. Although Francie's life was filled with hardship, she always had hopes and dreams for her future, like going to college. Throughout this book, she believed in herself, and no matter how hard things in her family got, in the end she became a stronger person because them.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
16. What is rebellion? Why do so many young people “rebel”? Is rebellion a necessary element of growing up?
Definition of "Rebel(verb)"
a : to oppose or disobey one in authority or control
I think that young people rebel so that they can prove their independence. By proving independence, they might get punished, but people can see how responsible they are and eventually get them have more freedom.
No, because the "authority" for every young person is different. While some people feel the need to rebel because their parents are suppressing them, others don't because their parents are pushing them to grow up and give them more responsibility and freedom than they will use.
Definition of "Rebel(verb)"
a : to oppose or disobey one in authority or control
I think that young people rebel so that they can prove their independence. By proving independence, they might get punished, but people can see how responsible they are and eventually get them have more freedom.
No, because the "authority" for every young person is different. While some people feel the need to rebel because their parents are suppressing them, others don't because their parents are pushing them to grow up and give them more responsibility and freedom than they will use.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Similarities/Differences Between Childhood and Adulthood
Click on the venn diagram to view the photo on LARGE*Note to Ms. Galang
I didn't have internet on Friday through today but the tech-guy whatever came over so finally I got internet (yay), so sorry it's late
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac 2nd EDIT
Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac is a girl named Naomi, who is an orphan that was adopted from Russia after she was found in a typewriter case. The book Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac is about how she lives in Brooklyn with her adoptive parents her friends, but after an tragic accident, she can't remember anything from the last few years. Although some elements of her story sound unique, I think that most of her story follows the same plot and storyline as another book that I've read about an amnesiac, called Remember Me?
In both the books, a female trips and falls, gets into a car accident, or suffers some other slight damage to their head. Then, she wakes up in the hospital acting like how she acted before the time period that she can't remember. Then, you think that she's kind of witty, and a funny person, (you like her) but in reality, she's acting totally different than how she did in their "old life". As it turns out, she went from zero to hero within the time that she's forgotten. Outside of her personality, she has a close friend, a guy of course, and someone that she's in a relationship with. After a while of trying to ease into where she left off in their life before her accident, she decides that she doesn't fit in there anymore, and gets a new group to hang out with, or at least is friends with a few other people. And then she breaks up/divorces (with) her boyfriend/husband and admits her feelings for her best friend, who has had feelings for the girl along.
The thing that I dislike about this book is that it's so much like the other traumatic-head-incident-turns-amnesia books, like Remember Me?. They were both good books, but both had the same exact story line, which made it un-interesting to me because I knew what was going to happen.
Other than that, I like the story; it's one of those stories where you know that there's going to be a happy ending, and everything turns out ok. There's also a lot of character development, because the main character struggles throughout the book at finding out who they "really" are.
In the future, I would want to find a book about amnesia without a similar plot line, and take notes more on the character's development and look deeper into their actions. I think that if I reread Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac and Remember Me? and read between the lines more, I would have a better understanding of what the characters went through and could better distinguish the story lines based on what the character feels.
In conclusion, although I think that Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac and Remember Me? have similar plot lines, I think that rereading them thoroughly will help me appreciate them separately.
In both the books, a female trips and falls, gets into a car accident, or suffers some other slight damage to their head. Then, she wakes up in the hospital acting like how she acted before the time period that she can't remember. Then, you think that she's kind of witty, and a funny person, (you like her) but in reality, she's acting totally different than how she did in their "old life". As it turns out, she went from zero to hero within the time that she's forgotten. Outside of her personality, she has a close friend, a guy of course, and someone that she's in a relationship with. After a while of trying to ease into where she left off in their life before her accident, she decides that she doesn't fit in there anymore, and gets a new group to hang out with, or at least is friends with a few other people. And then she breaks up/divorces (with) her boyfriend/husband and admits her feelings for her best friend, who has had feelings for the girl along.
The thing that I dislike about this book is that it's so much like the other traumatic-head-incident-turns-amnesia books, like Remember Me?. They were both good books, but both had the same exact story line, which made it un-interesting to me because I knew what was going to happen.
Other than that, I like the story; it's one of those stories where you know that there's going to be a happy ending, and everything turns out ok. There's also a lot of character development, because the main character struggles throughout the book at finding out who they "really" are.
In the future, I would want to find a book about amnesia without a similar plot line, and take notes more on the character's development and look deeper into their actions. I think that if I reread Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac and Remember Me? and read between the lines more, I would have a better understanding of what the characters went through and could better distinguish the story lines based on what the character feels.
In conclusion, although I think that Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac and Remember Me? have similar plot lines, I think that rereading them thoroughly will help me appreciate them separately.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac: EDITED
Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac is a girl named Naomi, who is an orphan that was adopted from Russia after she was found in a typewriter case. The book Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac is about how she lives in Brooklyn with her adoptive parents her friends, but after an tragic accident, she can't remember anything from the last few years. Although some elements of her story sound unique, I think that most of her story follows the same plot and storyline as another book that I've read about an amnesiac, called Remember Me?
In both the books, a female trips and falls, gets into a car accident, or suffers some other slight damage to their head. Then, she wakes up in the hospital acting like how she acted before the time period that she can't remember. Then, you think that she's kind of witty, and a funny person, (you like her) but in reality, she's acting totally different than how she did in their "old life". As it turns out, she went from zero to hero within the time that she's forgotten. Outside of her personality, she has a close friend, a guy of course, and someone that she's in a relationship with. After a while of trying to ease into where she left off in their life before her accident, she decides that she doesn't fit in there anymore, and gets a new group to hang out with, or at least is friends with a few other people. And then she breaks up/divorces (with) her boyfriend/husband and then kisses her best friend, who has had feelings for the girl along.
The thing that I dislike about this book is that it's so much like the other traumatic-head-incident-turns-amnesia books. For example, the book Remember Me? was a good book, but it had the same exact story line.
Other than that, I like the story; it's one of those stories where you know that there's going to be a happy ending, and everything turns out ok. There's also a lot of character development, seeing as were they were before they lost their memory.
In both the books, a female trips and falls, gets into a car accident, or suffers some other slight damage to their head. Then, she wakes up in the hospital acting like how she acted before the time period that she can't remember. Then, you think that she's kind of witty, and a funny person, (you like her) but in reality, she's acting totally different than how she did in their "old life". As it turns out, she went from zero to hero within the time that she's forgotten. Outside of her personality, she has a close friend, a guy of course, and someone that she's in a relationship with. After a while of trying to ease into where she left off in their life before her accident, she decides that she doesn't fit in there anymore, and gets a new group to hang out with, or at least is friends with a few other people. And then she breaks up/divorces (with) her boyfriend/husband and then kisses her best friend, who has had feelings for the girl along.
The thing that I dislike about this book is that it's so much like the other traumatic-head-incident-turns-amnesia books. For example, the book Remember Me? was a good book, but it had the same exact story line.
Other than that, I like the story; it's one of those stories where you know that there's going to be a happy ending, and everything turns out ok. There's also a lot of character development, seeing as were they were before they lost their memory.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Reading Response to Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac
Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac is a girl named Naomi, who is an orphan that was adopted from Russia. Now, she lives in Brooklyn with her adoptive parents, her friends, and everybody else.
Her best friend, Will, is one of the nicest, most relate-able people she knows, although he gets mad easily...too bad you only find that out later, because in the beginning of the book, Naomi can't even remember him.
Following her traumatic fall, when she saved the yearbook camera from pulverization and bumped her head, Naomi can't remember a single thing about the past four years.
Going through her things when she returns home from the hospital, she's still in the mindset of who she was four years before. She think it's ridiculous when she finds the notebook with the calorie counts for the day, she finds a dress that's a bit too small and hears about a boyfriend named Ace, who she plays tennis, her favorite sport, with.
What I dislike the most about this book is that it's so much like the other traumatic-head-incident-turns-amnesia books. For example, the book Remember Me? was a good book, but it had the same exact story line.
I mean, EXACT.
A female trips and falls, gets into a car accident, or suffers some other slight damage to their head. Then, they wake up in the hospital acting like how they acted before the time period that they can't remember. Thennn... you think that they're kind of witty, and a funny person, but they remember none of their old life. As it turns out, that they went from zero to hero within time that they've forgotten. Well, they have a close friend, a guy of course, and someone that they're in a relationship with. After a while of trying to ease into where they left off in their life before their accident, they decide that they don't fit in there anymore and they get a new group to hang out with, or at least be friends with a few other people. And then they break up/divorce (with) their boyfriend/husband and then kiss their best friend, who has had feelings for the girl along.
Other than that, I like the story; it's one of those stories where you know that there's going to be a happy ending, and everything turns out ok. There's also a lot of character development, seeing as were they were befor they lost their memory.
Her best friend, Will, is one of the nicest, most relate-able people she knows, although he gets mad easily...too bad you only find that out later, because in the beginning of the book, Naomi can't even remember him.
Following her traumatic fall, when she saved the yearbook camera from pulverization and bumped her head, Naomi can't remember a single thing about the past four years.
Going through her things when she returns home from the hospital, she's still in the mindset of who she was four years before. She think it's ridiculous when she finds the notebook with the calorie counts for the day, she finds a dress that's a bit too small and hears about a boyfriend named Ace, who she plays tennis, her favorite sport, with.
What I dislike the most about this book is that it's so much like the other traumatic-head-incident-turns-amnesia books. For example, the book Remember Me? was a good book, but it had the same exact story line.
I mean, EXACT.
A female trips and falls, gets into a car accident, or suffers some other slight damage to their head. Then, they wake up in the hospital acting like how they acted before the time period that they can't remember. Thennn... you think that they're kind of witty, and a funny person, but they remember none of their old life. As it turns out, that they went from zero to hero within time that they've forgotten. Well, they have a close friend, a guy of course, and someone that they're in a relationship with. After a while of trying to ease into where they left off in their life before their accident, they decide that they don't fit in there anymore and they get a new group to hang out with, or at least be friends with a few other people. And then they break up/divorce (with) their boyfriend/husband and then kiss their best friend, who has had feelings for the girl along.
Other than that, I like the story; it's one of those stories where you know that there's going to be a happy ending, and everything turns out ok. There's also a lot of character development, seeing as were they were befor they lost their memory.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Three Best Reading Responses
Humanity Is A Dream
I found Johana's blog very interesting. This is because she gives lots of opinions about what she thinks about books, as well as movies that go along with it. I liked her post about Percy Jackson, and how the movie she saw about it changed her point of view on how she saw the characters and how she saw them in her head. She said that she enjoyed this , because she didn't have to guess what they looked like for herself.
Jasmine Pachceo
Jasmine is really good at unpacking stories and poems and making them her own. Most of the time she will express her opinions and thoughts about something, while being equally factual. She does a good job also including other people's opinions, like in her post about the poem "My Papa's Waltz", she includes what other people thought about the poem when we had discussed it in class.
Hospital For A Mind
What I love about Sammie Jo's blog posts are that she never pretends to like something or is dishonest about her opinions on something. In her post "Response to a poem", she starts off her response by saying: "I find it hard to respond to poetry, mostly because I've never met a poem I've liked. I find that most of it has tried too hard to convey something, and it loses the element of mystery in art." I think that by saying these things throughout a response ora blog, you get to know a person ebtter, because you know more of what they think, and whether or not they're faking it.
I found Johana's blog very interesting. This is because she gives lots of opinions about what she thinks about books, as well as movies that go along with it. I liked her post about Percy Jackson, and how the movie she saw about it changed her point of view on how she saw the characters and how she saw them in her head. She said that she enjoyed this , because she didn't have to guess what they looked like for herself.
Jasmine Pachceo
Jasmine is really good at unpacking stories and poems and making them her own. Most of the time she will express her opinions and thoughts about something, while being equally factual. She does a good job also including other people's opinions, like in her post about the poem "My Papa's Waltz", she includes what other people thought about the poem when we had discussed it in class.
Hospital For A Mind
What I love about Sammie Jo's blog posts are that she never pretends to like something or is dishonest about her opinions on something. In her post "Response to a poem", she starts off her response by saying: "I find it hard to respond to poetry, mostly because I've never met a poem I've liked. I find that most of it has tried too hard to convey something, and it loses the element of mystery in art." I think that by saying these things throughout a response ora blog, you get to know a person ebtter, because you know more of what they think, and whether or not they're faking it.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
My Papa's Waltz
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.
Theodore Roethke
Today in class, we read and analyzed a poem called My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke, and even held a fake jury to determine whether the boy in the story was being abused. Almost everyone in our class had different ideas on what happened, based solely on the poem and what it says happened. We all agreed on one thing: that the father was drunk.
Although I think that the father in the poem could be interpreted as abusive in some parts, such as the line that states "my right ear scraped a buckle" or "you beat time on my head", I know that I've spent times with my whole family on a holiday where they get drunk, and dancing and knocking over some kitchen supplies isn't that harmful. hat I think that the poem is about more is how the little boy loved his father, no matter what he did. He started the poem by saying in the third line, "But I hung on like death" and ended, the last line being "Still clinging to your shirt", although the mother seems upset about the father knocking over some pans.
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.
Theodore Roethke
Today in class, we read and analyzed a poem called My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke, and even held a fake jury to determine whether the boy in the story was being abused. Almost everyone in our class had different ideas on what happened, based solely on the poem and what it says happened. We all agreed on one thing: that the father was drunk.
Although I think that the father in the poem could be interpreted as abusive in some parts, such as the line that states "my right ear scraped a buckle" or "you beat time on my head", I know that I've spent times with my whole family on a holiday where they get drunk, and dancing and knocking over some kitchen supplies isn't that harmful. hat I think that the poem is about more is how the little boy loved his father, no matter what he did. He started the poem by saying in the third line, "But I hung on like death" and ended, the last line being "Still clinging to your shirt", although the mother seems upset about the father knocking over some pans.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Beyond This Looking Glass (Narrative Poem, Mother to Child)
Beyond this looking glass (protection)
The night wind sings its song of death
But in the morning all is brought to life
again.
So don't cry
as the night settles in; (the city is lost without light)
I will hold you
(fall asleep to the sound of my breathing)
until the sun overthrows
The revolt of the moon once more, until it falls to the deepest depths
again.
The night wind sings its song of death
But in the morning all is brought to life
again.
So don't cry
as the night settles in; (the city is lost without light)
I will hold you
(fall asleep to the sound of my breathing)
until the sun overthrows
The revolt of the moon once more, until it falls to the deepest depths
again.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Incident Poem
Water built of glass
I am the pin that shatters it
Sinking slowly to the bottom
Oh, what creatures you can find
That are hidden
Through an opaque wall.
The top of the pin slips under
Although bubbles float to the top
A thin design of oxygen...
Air slithers in and out
Through plastic
Straining from sky to lung.
The ocean shatters
Shards become panicked birds
Clogging the tube
Sucking life out of the pin
When suddenly the pressure gives in
And the pin becomes nothing
But a small sanity within the glass.
I am the pin that shatters it
Sinking slowly to the bottom
Oh, what creatures you can find
That are hidden
Through an opaque wall.
The top of the pin slips under
Although bubbles float to the top
A thin design of oxygen...
Air slithers in and out
Through plastic
Straining from sky to lung.
The ocean shatters
Shards become panicked birds
Clogging the tube
Sucking life out of the pin
When suddenly the pressure gives in
And the pin becomes nothing
But a small sanity within the glass.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Langston Hughes Apparently Dreams
The Dream Keeper
Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamers
Bring me all of your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.
-Langston Hughes
I like this poem. At first, the pace is a little fast, but it slows down at the line "that I may wrap them". The first four lines seem to be more rhythmic and upbeat, while the last four lines are slower and more relaxing; they have longer lines, and have words like "cloud-cloth", and "too-rough".
While most of the last half of the poem uses words that are (as one would assume) peaceful and slow, the phrase "too-rough" is the opposite. Hughes uses it in a way that says: "This is what the world can do, but if you leave your dreams with me, they'll be safe."
Although not the best, I can compare it to an advertisement on television. They say that they have the best prices, the bets deal, the best quality, the best results.
What sucks, though, is when another commercial comes on after it about people who have been known to die or have stroke or heart attack because of their product, and you too can call in now and get your money back.
No matter how reassuring this poem sounds, it's not, it's just reminding you about how "too-rough" the world can be. But to wrap your dreams in a blanket and hide them from the world is just taking the imagination form the world.
Dreams and the world belong together: Dreams lets you escape the reality for a while, but the world snaps you back into it. Without either one... who knows?
But some people like to wrap other people's dreams in a fluffy piece of fabric.
Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamers
Bring me all of your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.
Like Langston.
Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamers
Bring me all of your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.
-Langston Hughes
I like this poem. At first, the pace is a little fast, but it slows down at the line "that I may wrap them". The first four lines seem to be more rhythmic and upbeat, while the last four lines are slower and more relaxing; they have longer lines, and have words like "cloud-cloth", and "too-rough".
While most of the last half of the poem uses words that are (as one would assume) peaceful and slow, the phrase "too-rough" is the opposite. Hughes uses it in a way that says: "This is what the world can do, but if you leave your dreams with me, they'll be safe."
Although not the best, I can compare it to an advertisement on television. They say that they have the best prices, the bets deal, the best quality, the best results.
What sucks, though, is when another commercial comes on after it about people who have been known to die or have stroke or heart attack because of their product, and you too can call in now and get your money back.
No matter how reassuring this poem sounds, it's not, it's just reminding you about how "too-rough" the world can be. But to wrap your dreams in a blanket and hide them from the world is just taking the imagination form the world.
Dreams and the world belong together: Dreams lets you escape the reality for a while, but the world snaps you back into it. Without either one... who knows?
But some people like to wrap other people's dreams in a fluffy piece of fabric.
Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamers
Bring me all of your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.
Like Langston.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Big Big Big
I've seen this image a couple of times. It's by an insect macro photographer named Thomas Shahan and is of a male jumping spider.OBSERVATIONS
-There are reflections of what looks like a camera lens and flash in the spider's eyes.
-The eyes are perfectly round and have an orange rim around them.
-The skin of the spider looks smooth and shiny, yet wrinkly, and has a golden/plum color. Also, individual hairs can be seen.
-The (mouth?) has 2 large (fangs?) sticking out of it
INFERENCES
-The spider looks frightened, but I don't know if that's because its eyes are big and round, which might naturally be that way.
-The two things sticking out of its mouth may be fangs.
-The spider is alone because no other spiders can be seen in the picture
INTERPRETATION
-Since the spider looks bigger than it normally would, maybe the photographer is trying to tell his audience that most things are bigger than they seem, or are more powerful than they seem
-That insects aren't always ugly and dirty, (I got this idea from the article that accompanied this picture, it brought up the point that the photographer made "even the most underestimated arthropods look cute, interesting, and downright gorgeous.")
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Author's Note
Rabbits are the third most euthanized animals in the United States, behind cats and dogs.
"In reality, most rabbits facing euthanasia were once family companions or classroom pets who were bought at pet stores or breeders and surrendered to shelters when the novelty wore off or at the conclusion of a school year." ("About SaveABunny").
Aside from families and teachers who don't need the rabbit for the purposes of enjoyment for children anymore, some rabbits wind up in shelters after they've suffered abuse, abandonment, and other acts of animal cruelty.
Luckily, many organizations help rescue rabbits who have been placed in shelters where they're next in line to be euthanized. One organization, the House Rabbit Society, has saved over 25,000 rabbits since 1988 ("House Rabbit Society Background").
25,000 is a large number. 25,000 is a shocking number. Yet, 25,000 is just a fraction of the amount of rabbits that have been rescued through these kind of organizations, and just a fraction of those that have not.
When you hear statistics about the number of animals that get put in shelters each year (about 6 to 8 million cats and dogs alone, half of whom are killed) or the amount of animals that are abused each day, I don't think that it affects you as much as if you see it firsthand.
So, the first time I volunteered at Sean Casey Animal Rescue, I was shocked at the amount of animal 's that were there. It was cramped and noisy, with cages stacked on top of one another. Since SCAR is a on-profit no-kill shelter organization, they work as hard as they can to maintain decent conditions, but I was wondering if this place was better that the animal's original home. If people were aware of these conditions or aware of what rescue centers did, would they be more valued in society? Or would problems such as animal abuse still be happening as frequently as it is now?
What I want readers to take away from this book is that no type of animal abuse is good.
"In reality, most rabbits facing euthanasia were once family companions or classroom pets who were bought at pet stores or breeders and surrendered to shelters when the novelty wore off or at the conclusion of a school year." ("About SaveABunny").
Aside from families and teachers who don't need the rabbit for the purposes of enjoyment for children anymore, some rabbits wind up in shelters after they've suffered abuse, abandonment, and other acts of animal cruelty.
Luckily, many organizations help rescue rabbits who have been placed in shelters where they're next in line to be euthanized. One organization, the House Rabbit Society, has saved over 25,000 rabbits since 1988 ("House Rabbit Society Background").
25,000 is a large number. 25,000 is a shocking number. Yet, 25,000 is just a fraction of the amount of rabbits that have been rescued through these kind of organizations, and just a fraction of those that have not.
When you hear statistics about the number of animals that get put in shelters each year (about 6 to 8 million cats and dogs alone, half of whom are killed) or the amount of animals that are abused each day, I don't think that it affects you as much as if you see it firsthand.
So, the first time I volunteered at Sean Casey Animal Rescue, I was shocked at the amount of animal 's that were there. It was cramped and noisy, with cages stacked on top of one another. Since SCAR is a on-profit no-kill shelter organization, they work as hard as they can to maintain decent conditions, but I was wondering if this place was better that the animal's original home. If people were aware of these conditions or aware of what rescue centers did, would they be more valued in society? Or would problems such as animal abuse still be happening as frequently as it is now?
What I want readers to take away from this book is that no type of animal abuse is good.
Friday, December 10, 2010
If I Say It All Again Again Again It Doesn't Make It More True
I wonder if anybody ever wants to see the truth.
Or, at least the downsides of things. I think that it depends on whether you're an optimist or a pessimist. I feel as though optimistic people always try to block out the bad things, because to an optimist, almost everything has a solution and that solution will solve the problem they're dealing with, so they always look on the bright sides of things (or at least this is what I gather an optimist to be). There is always a positive outlook, a.k.a, the glass is half full. A pessimist is pretty much a person who looks at the downsides of things, the cons, the things that could go wrong with any theoretical solution to this theoretical problem. Me, being just that, always look for problems with things before getting my hopes up, thus resulting in the opposite of the phrase for optimistics: the glass is half empty.
I'm not saying that these are solid set types of people. Plenty of people are in-between, some are extremes in either, and some sit comfortably in one of the two. But I wonder if authors give clues to what the rest of the book is about through these groups.
So far, my answer is yes, even if it's not directly through the character in their dialogue or thoughts.
For example, Persepolis. The main character tells one of her mom's friend's daughter, "when people say that people are away on a trip, doesn't that mean that they're dead?". This was after the other girl, told the main character that her dad was on a trip.
To me, this statement is pretty pessimistic. Not only because it's obviously telling this girl that her dad is dead, but that it's said so casually, like it should be expected that he's dead because of the revolution. It's weird, because I was thinking that the main character was pretty optimistic. She "talks" to God, wanted to become a prophet, and always offered up solutions to problems.
But in books, most things aren't what you think they are. Looks can be deceiving.
Just like the lipeic tree in The Zookeeper's Wife.
First off, let me clear something up. I did not finish the book, so I don't know what happens at the end, or past around page 28. But I can tell you that I'm almost positive that the lipeic tree, a kind of lilac shrub, is a symbol or representation of something throughout the book.
The zookeeper's wife talks a lot (about a page and then some of font this or this big) about the lipeic tree. She talks about how it's beautiful, it makes her home beautiful, it makes her town beautiful. It makes everything beautiful and perfect in her life. Its flowers, its scent all make the lipeic tree beautiful and breathtaking.
I absolutely love what the author did next. Okay, I know that sounded super-corny but let me tell you, it is probably the most genius thing ever, because it's just like when magnets don't attract each other and wind up pushing each other away and you see the magnets move and sway without either one of them touching each other and your fingers barely moving.
What she said next was that the local slang for white lies was lipia.
Lipia. Lipeic.
Lipia. Lipeic.
Lipia. Lipeic.
I think it's pretty neat how she incorporates this seemingly small detail into her story with one sentence. While the Lipeic tree is supposed to be this beautiful, calming tree, something so similar is the opposite of what it actually is.
Like in Persepolis, a dad being on a trip is so innocent, but the fact that he might be dead brings doubts into your mind. Doing something big or small may not seems so simplistic or innocent anymore.
Anything can have two sides, and most things do: the optimistic side or the pessimistic side.
So which one do you beleive?
Or, at least the downsides of things. I think that it depends on whether you're an optimist or a pessimist. I feel as though optimistic people always try to block out the bad things, because to an optimist, almost everything has a solution and that solution will solve the problem they're dealing with, so they always look on the bright sides of things (or at least this is what I gather an optimist to be). There is always a positive outlook, a.k.a, the glass is half full. A pessimist is pretty much a person who looks at the downsides of things, the cons, the things that could go wrong with any theoretical solution to this theoretical problem. Me, being just that, always look for problems with things before getting my hopes up, thus resulting in the opposite of the phrase for optimistics: the glass is half empty.
I'm not saying that these are solid set types of people. Plenty of people are in-between, some are extremes in either, and some sit comfortably in one of the two. But I wonder if authors give clues to what the rest of the book is about through these groups.
So far, my answer is yes, even if it's not directly through the character in their dialogue or thoughts.
For example, Persepolis. The main character tells one of her mom's friend's daughter, "when people say that people are away on a trip, doesn't that mean that they're dead?". This was after the other girl, told the main character that her dad was on a trip.
To me, this statement is pretty pessimistic. Not only because it's obviously telling this girl that her dad is dead, but that it's said so casually, like it should be expected that he's dead because of the revolution. It's weird, because I was thinking that the main character was pretty optimistic. She "talks" to God, wanted to become a prophet, and always offered up solutions to problems.
But in books, most things aren't what you think they are. Looks can be deceiving.
Just like the lipeic tree in The Zookeeper's Wife.
First off, let me clear something up. I did not finish the book, so I don't know what happens at the end, or past around page 28. But I can tell you that I'm almost positive that the lipeic tree, a kind of lilac shrub, is a symbol or representation of something throughout the book.
The zookeeper's wife talks a lot (about a page and then some of font this or this big) about the lipeic tree. She talks about how it's beautiful, it makes her home beautiful, it makes her town beautiful. It makes everything beautiful and perfect in her life. Its flowers, its scent all make the lipeic tree beautiful and breathtaking.
I absolutely love what the author did next. Okay, I know that sounded super-corny but let me tell you, it is probably the most genius thing ever, because it's just like when magnets don't attract each other and wind up pushing each other away and you see the magnets move and sway without either one of them touching each other and your fingers barely moving.
What she said next was that the local slang for white lies was lipia.
Lipia. Lipeic.
Lipia. Lipeic.
Lipia. Lipeic.
I think it's pretty neat how she incorporates this seemingly small detail into her story with one sentence. While the Lipeic tree is supposed to be this beautiful, calming tree, something so similar is the opposite of what it actually is.
Like in Persepolis, a dad being on a trip is so innocent, but the fact that he might be dead brings doubts into your mind. Doing something big or small may not seems so simplistic or innocent anymore.
Anything can have two sides, and most things do: the optimistic side or the pessimistic side.
So which one do you beleive?
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