what gramma said about her grandpa: page 317, poem number 257

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.

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.