Found Poetry: The Things They Carried

No Problem

He fell in love with a classmate
she was young
her pretty eyes seemed to glow
They married
a smooth and peaceful time
No problem

"you're pregnant"
I'd almost died of shock
no problem
I just loved her

Time passed

In the hospital...waiting
things got quiet
like you never heard quiet before
Something had gone wrong

Yelling out for a medic
I felt miserable
the baby...he said
I'm sorry

It was loud now
Loud, hard, crying
"No" I said
I blamed myself

Grief, terror, love, longing
There was really nothing he could say to her
he still loved her
but...it was never the same

Now

can't even talk to each other
and the thing to do was go on
No problem,
problem.

-Rachael Moore

America- Claude McKay

      

  

         The poem is a story and like many other stories the brain connects images and memories with certain words. Although this poem is a big analogy, you can still see the images. "feeds me bread of bitterness...sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth" I can imagine a poor man not having enough to eat after much misfortune (the bread of bitterness) and constantly being kicked down by the economy and others around him (the tigers tooth). You see the author is powerful and doesn't let anything push him down. "flows like tides into my blood...giving me strength..."bigness sweeps me like a flood." can visually see the "tides" or perseverance into his blood, giving him the strength to overcome his fears and accomplish something in the vast land of opportunity, (bigness sweeps me) America, something as big and powerful as a flood.

          The sound devices in this poem are very subtle but you are still able to identify them. With the line "stealing my breath of life" I can hear the sound of somebody getting the wind knocked out of them. A man who has been beaten down so many times, so abruptly, that it's taking away one of the simplest acts of life, breathing. Sound devices can also be the same as personification. "Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer." This is saying that his fear is making fun of him. I would consider this a sound device over imagery, because I can make out the sound of a little kid, calling names and "jeering" at others.

          To me, the whole poem is a figure of speech. He is personifying America. There are many analogies and examples of these things such as "Giving me strength erect against her hate." You can see America is a "she" who as difficult as "she" is gives him the motivation to be better because he knows there's opportunity out there. There's another example of personification later on, "Beneath the touch of Time's unerring hand", is making time a person, comparing time to someone who is stubborn and changes for nobody. These are all important as they add to his view on the wonder and adventure of America. 

Modern Transcendentalist

   Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also known as Lady GaGa, is a modern transcendentalist. She is mainly known for her pop music, but her persona goes so much farther than that. She values imagination and intuition over reason and logic. "Art is, and cool is, and fashion is, what you say it is. I said "I am the fame. I am art. I am GaGa. My music is fantastic. And it became true."(Lady GaGa) Her carefree personality and music express this idea. She is a "right brain" person who puts creativity over what is the "proper" thing to do.      

Lady GaGa is not one to be held back by the standards of “proper”. She does not allow society to tell her what to do, and brushes off the criticism of others. She is the best person I know when it comes to the belief in strong individualism and non-conformity. “My fashion is part of who I am. Though I was not born with these clothes on, I was born this way.” (Lady GaGa) She is explaining that it’s not the clothes that make her different, it’s why she wants to wear what she does that makes her different. She is not trying to stand out through her clothes, but rather tell people that this is who she truly is. Her meaningful ideas and lyrics are what appeal to her fans and assure them that it’s okay to be who they really are.      

The belief in human divinity can be thought of in different ways, and I think that in at least some ways, Lady GaGa shows examples of the idea. She puts her money and her mouth toward human rights and cause she believes in. She knows every human being has his or her own life and is special in their own way. "When you're lonely, I'll be lonely too" (Lady GaGa) She saying her fans and herself, will always have each other. That she truly cares for her fans, and understands their importance. That being said, she thinks human are divine creatures that should be treated as equal and be able to live any life they choose.

--All quotes found on posters in my room.

   

Gatsby Question

Do you think that Gatsby continues to love Daisy throughout the rest of the book? Or is has his love for her left, and been replaced by infatuation?

Poetry Post

     The poetry unit has been very helpful to me. I've grown to understand the poetry terms that I had previously heard of, but never understood. Things such as sound devices, and figures of speech.
     Before, poetry to me was just a story or flowing words, but now I understand that there is so much more to it than that. Poetry isn't just random words strung together made to sound nice. There are things the authors have to take into consideration such a where to place that internal rhyme, or weather or not they want that alliteration. Do they want the poem to be told in euphony or in cacophony?  All these new poetry terms that have been introduced to me, and have helped me to further understand and appreciate poetry on a whole new level. It has also added a few new words to my vocabulary!

American Dream

To me, the American Dream is about getting an education for yourself and trying to make yourself into the best person you can be. Also, since many Americans eventually settle down and start a family, I think it is their job as American parents to try their best to raise their children to grow up and live to their potential. I would think you would like a better, easier life for your children. This way the next generation is more efficient than the next.

I think my idea of the American Dream is relatively similar to the usual interpretation. It's slightly different because money isn't as important to me, but the idea of working hard is still the same.