The diction of the poem helps contribute to its meaning as a whole. The diction is slightly uneducated which it implies that it is a person of little to no education in our language. This implies that the person is most likely not a white person. The lack of education leads to a creation of sympathy for the speaker during the poem it also creates the implication that the speaker was duped. The abbreviated lines and incomplete sentences contribute to the diction. They aid in the creation of an uneducated speaker which creates more sympathy.
The point of view also helps create sympathy throughout the poem. Although in this particular poem the point of view does not provide in depth insight on the speakers thoughts it helps put the reader closer to the situation and the story being told. The way the point of view helps is the way it indicates what the speaker thought of her grandfather, which is one of the most important parts of the poem. The feelings towards the grandfather are those of love right up until the end of the poem, and then there is a shift that indicates that the thoughts changed.
I feel that the poem very accurately represents how the white people treated the Native Americans. The in the beginning, just like the beginning of the poem, the white people were kind to the Native Americans, then as soon as a greater offer or opportunity came along, the Native Americans were rejected and thrown aside. The meaning and historical accuracy and significance of the poem are what struck me the most. the format of it also really helped portray what it was trying to say.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The warden said to me: page 311 poem number 250
The capitalization, or lack there of, in this poem had significance. In the novel the things that are capitalized are things that are normally capitalized, like the beginings of sentences, with one exception, the names are not capitalized. The warden, whose name is "the warden" to the readers, is not capitalized, this indicates that although a warden is a man of power, in this situation he is meant to be seen as an ordinary man of the time period. The other name that is not capitalized is the name of the black inmate etheridge. In this situation the lack of capitalization indicates a complete lack of importance. This indicates the lack of respect towards black people in the time period of the writing. That indicates that in that time period lifes for black people was not as easy which goes with the last quote.
The use of parentheticals also helps the meaning of the poem. The parentheticals indicate a certain tension between the warden and the inmate different than that of a normal conversation with an inmate. The tension most likely comes from the prevalent racial tension at the time, indicated by the authors years of life. The placement of the parentheticals indicate that they are referring to the words said by the warden and inmate.
I thought that the poem was very powerful. I think the use of quotes really added to the poem and the last quote had such an impact. The poem profficiently illustrates the difficulty of the lives of black people in the 1900s, which is quite recent. This piece inpacted me with its use of quotes, first person point of view and meaning.
The use of parentheticals also helps the meaning of the poem. The parentheticals indicate a certain tension between the warden and the inmate different than that of a normal conversation with an inmate. The tension most likely comes from the prevalent racial tension at the time, indicated by the authors years of life. The placement of the parentheticals indicate that they are referring to the words said by the warden and inmate.
I thought that the poem was very powerful. I think the use of quotes really added to the poem and the last quote had such an impact. The poem profficiently illustrates the difficulty of the lives of black people in the 1900s, which is quite recent. This piece inpacted me with its use of quotes, first person point of view and meaning.
Friday, November 11, 2011
The Handmaid's Tale
Analysis:
The Handmaid's Tale makes a statement of desired equality between males and females. The novel does so by showing that extremist groups of any kind can lead to problems. The whole society in The Handmaid's Tale is an example of too much power given to males. Throughout the novel it is clearly seen that that is the wrong way to go. The example of extremist feminism in the novel is the book burning. Notoriously, book burnings are meant to send strong messages. Another message sent by book burnings is one of ignorance though. When a group reaches a point where it performs book burnings it displays a lack of rational thought. This lack of rational thought is meant to show that extremism in any direction, is bad extremism.
Favorite Passage:
My favorite passage in the novel was, "I almost gasp: he's said a forbidden word. Sterile. There is no such thang as a sterile man anymore, not officially. There are only women who are fruitful and women who are barren, that's the law." This quote is a drawback to times where culture was much more misogynistic, it references the times of King Henry the VIII, among most other points in time up until now. The whole concept of men not being sterile is what lead King Henry the VIII to create his own religion so he could have a child. The man-centered frame of thought is so absurd to me that this quote added humor to the otherwise bleak and sad novel.
Thoughts on the Novel:
I really enjoyed the novel because the allusions and how they were used were quite interesting. In this novel, the allusions made were quite clear and they were also used ironically. In some novels finding allusions is a stretch, however in this novel they were not hard to find, the allusions in the novel were definitely intended. I enjoy the allusions because they can add depth and meaning to a seemingly simple sentence or concept. For example, the secret police being called the Eyes. Without the allusion the image would simply be portrayed that the secret police see things. However, with the addittion of the allusion, the Eyes, meaning the Eyes of the Lord, can see everything, this adds an oppressive and frightening power to the Eyes in this context. In the real context it is supposed to be meant comfortingly, however, in this case the allusion was also used ironically.
The Handmaid's Tale makes a statement of desired equality between males and females. The novel does so by showing that extremist groups of any kind can lead to problems. The whole society in The Handmaid's Tale is an example of too much power given to males. Throughout the novel it is clearly seen that that is the wrong way to go. The example of extremist feminism in the novel is the book burning. Notoriously, book burnings are meant to send strong messages. Another message sent by book burnings is one of ignorance though. When a group reaches a point where it performs book burnings it displays a lack of rational thought. This lack of rational thought is meant to show that extremism in any direction, is bad extremism.
Favorite Passage:
My favorite passage in the novel was, "I almost gasp: he's said a forbidden word. Sterile. There is no such thang as a sterile man anymore, not officially. There are only women who are fruitful and women who are barren, that's the law." This quote is a drawback to times where culture was much more misogynistic, it references the times of King Henry the VIII, among most other points in time up until now. The whole concept of men not being sterile is what lead King Henry the VIII to create his own religion so he could have a child. The man-centered frame of thought is so absurd to me that this quote added humor to the otherwise bleak and sad novel.
Thoughts on the Novel:
I really enjoyed the novel because the allusions and how they were used were quite interesting. In this novel, the allusions made were quite clear and they were also used ironically. In some novels finding allusions is a stretch, however in this novel they were not hard to find, the allusions in the novel were definitely intended. I enjoy the allusions because they can add depth and meaning to a seemingly simple sentence or concept. For example, the secret police being called the Eyes. Without the allusion the image would simply be portrayed that the secret police see things. However, with the addittion of the allusion, the Eyes, meaning the Eyes of the Lord, can see everything, this adds an oppressive and frightening power to the Eyes in this context. In the real context it is supposed to be meant comfortingly, however, in this case the allusion was also used ironically.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
We: Distopia to a T
Discussion:D-503 most definitely loved I-330. Although D-503 repeatedly states that he hates I-330, the way that he presents it indicates a love for her. From the begining D-503 does not report I-330 after she had broken rules due to a connection between them. Throughout the novel the connection grows, however, only for D-503. I-330 was using D-503, but he was not aware of this and it therefore did not shape his opinion of her. It is portrayed that the connection is growing in two distinct and important ways. The first way it shows is the fact that D-503 spends some of his days hopelessly waiting for I-330 at the end of the novel, showing clear enamoration. Also, D-503's willingness to rebel for I-330 shows great love for her. In the begining of the novel D-503 had great admiration for One State, an admiration that could only be broken by love. D-503 rebels to such a great extent that he aids in the attempted capture of the Integral, a rocket he was creating for the gobernment. He gibes up his own metaphorical child for this women that he had grown to love.
Favorite Line/ Passage:
"A knife is the most permanent, the most immortal, the most ingenious of all of man's creations. The knife was a guillotine, the knife is a universal means of resolving all knots..." (Zamyatin 113) I like the previous passage because of its absurdity. In the passage the knife symbolizes war at the end. War creates descruction, despair and a loser, when a war is over, the problems are less than resolved, maybe even worse than they were before. If anything, the knife, except for when used for cutting of things that are not mammals, is one of the worst inventions to come to this earth. Although the knife was the guillotine, and it inspired and promoted rebellion, the only reason the guillotine was needed is because the people who had more knives and more power were taking advantage of it. The mentioning of the guillotine as an example of a knife, is obscure and it lends to the point of necessary rebellion in the novel, because as we know, authors do not put random words in just for fun!
Likes/ Dislikes
Although at some points the rules did not seem to concrete to me, the novel was good. I just do not understand how with such a restrained society D-503 managed to do so much damage to himself and other before he was caught. Also, at some points in the novel I just flat out lost track of what was going on, other than that it was pretty interesting. I am a mathematical thinker so I thought that the incorporation of math was quite interesting. I particularly enjoyed how the square root of one played in with the concept of imagination.
(uprising at it's greatest, the song uprising with V for Vendetta Clips, enjoy)
Favorite Line/ Passage:
"A knife is the most permanent, the most immortal, the most ingenious of all of man's creations. The knife was a guillotine, the knife is a universal means of resolving all knots..." (Zamyatin 113) I like the previous passage because of its absurdity. In the passage the knife symbolizes war at the end. War creates descruction, despair and a loser, when a war is over, the problems are less than resolved, maybe even worse than they were before. If anything, the knife, except for when used for cutting of things that are not mammals, is one of the worst inventions to come to this earth. Although the knife was the guillotine, and it inspired and promoted rebellion, the only reason the guillotine was needed is because the people who had more knives and more power were taking advantage of it. The mentioning of the guillotine as an example of a knife, is obscure and it lends to the point of necessary rebellion in the novel, because as we know, authors do not put random words in just for fun!
Likes/ Dislikes
Although at some points the rules did not seem to concrete to me, the novel was good. I just do not understand how with such a restrained society D-503 managed to do so much damage to himself and other before he was caught. Also, at some points in the novel I just flat out lost track of what was going on, other than that it was pretty interesting. I am a mathematical thinker so I thought that the incorporation of math was quite interesting. I particularly enjoyed how the square root of one played in with the concept of imagination.
(uprising at it's greatest, the song uprising with V for Vendetta Clips, enjoy)
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