Blog #40-5 poems

2 Chap 20-

"SO MEXICANS ARE TAKING JOBS FROM AMERICANS"
Jimmy santiago baca-

This poem stood out to me because of how baca uses a sort of sarcasm. He says " oh yah they come with rifles and horses and ask for your job"? This poem is about americans stereotyping mexicans for all taking their jobs. But in honesty, mexicans just want ANY job to make money. Americans really actually think they're taking their jobs, its funny. When in reality, I dont think any americans will work in the fields for 4$ an hour for 12 hrs a day, or work fastfood for 6.75an hour. MIddle class americans will NEVER take those jobs. Even if all the illegal immigrants were somehow (unrealsitcly) transportedto mexico, i can guarentee that the only people who would take those jobs are the poor people and the young kids. So what are people complaining about? It is true that people tend to blame the mexicans (victims) then to blame the higher people who are causing poverty. Baca portrays an exaggerated way of "taking the americans jobs" by saying they will mug them, put a knife to their throats. It's like these people are whining and protesting and stereotyping mexicans, when in reality, they just want a job, simple as that. they dont give a crap about what kind of job, how much, how many hours, they just want a job. My favorite part of this poem is " I hear only a few people got all the money in this world, the rest count their pennies to buy bread and butter". This is refereing to the multi-millionares who are the ceo's and executives that don't give a f*** about the poor while the poorest people in the wolrd are counting their pennies and trying to survive. This is a GREAT poem.







#2 chp. 20
" on the amtrak from boston to New York City"-Sherman Alexie

This poem is very strong and powerful to me. To me, this poem is about how ignorant people can be. People take advatange of others. Like how the white's took advantage of the american indians and took their land away, and killed them. Then we have the guts to say this is our land, our country. People actually say they are "natives" and true, born american, pure blood americans. This always makes me laugh, because in reality, they are ignorant idiots. They have no idea that we took this land from native americans. As we also took some land from Mexico.Native americans are told to live on certain reservations and leave behind their traditions and moral values. Alexie displays this through this poem. He expresses the anger native americans feel towards this country and the "americans" who talk about their founders, and their great american leads and landmarks. A strong part in this poem is when the man says " I could have told her I dont igve a shit (about the pond), I know hte INdians were living stories around that pond before the Walden's granparents were born." But he explains that he respects her, and doesnt want to break her heart. He is forced to be this person to blend in. This poem allows me to feel the pain and anger Native Americans must feel towards white people. It almost makes me mad as well even though i'm not native american. The end of the poem is a perfect realization for people to understand how upset the natives are when he says " for what I would do and say the next time someboday from the enemy thought I was one of their own".









2 poems from chapter 23)

"On being brought from Africa to America"
-Wheatley

This poem has some very old difficult, language, but I still tried to understand what it was about. This poem to me is mostly about the bible and religion, being brought to africa and he changes one had to make- and especially about Cain and Abel. "In the text, some christians developed the idea the color of africans was the mark of cain. As Cain killed abel and that "the lord set a mark upon cain". The biblican text explicitly says that the mark was to pretect cain from someoen who might take vengeance on him, but does ot say what mark it was" (577).The first line states about a pagan land- a pagan refering to someone who is not from mainstream religion (christiantiy, etc.) "Taught my benighted soul to understand.” This line of soul tells us that her soul once tarnished and scared by something or someone has been redeemed to something that is functional."








#2) " I heard a fly buzz-when I died"-Dickinson

This poem is another one of Dickinsons poem about death. I wonder why she was so endaged and interested in writing about death? This poem is about a woman who is about to die, and she is lying in her bed as her friends and family watch her die-"The eyes around,-and braths were gathering firm". She states something about a "king" which to me, stands out as some kind of God who is going to take her away, or a higher power. The buzzing of the fly emplies how death just comes and goes, it's not something to fear, but just something that happens. Like its nothing, it's not some crazy experience that people think it is,seeing "the light" and feeling a power come and lift you away to heaven.To me, Dickinson is implying that there is no afterlife, because she says the "window failed" ( like the window to heaven or the light). This poem reminded of me of "Because I could not stop for death". She also implies the simpleness of death as she "willed her keepsakes, signed away", just like that she is giving away everything she ever owned because she is dieing. Unlike the egyptians, who were burried with all their belongings. They worshiped death and saw death as a window to another world. There was ceremonies for the dead in egypt and other cultures today. Dickinson in no way is saying that, but just the opposite. Death is a cycle of life. We live to die sort of thing.








5th poem from any chp 20-23
Chp 20-"The Melting pot" randall


This poem is about america, and our melting pot of different cultures. This poem is about the "melting pot theory" that we all mesh with eachother to form who we are. We are all made of many many geneartions of different cultures and ethniticies. In the 2nd stanza, it talks about how all these different cultures and people come in with their names from their countries like " juan, ivan, giovanni" and all eventually call them selves "JOHN". This is very true! For example, when I go to nail salons, i'd say about 90% of the workers are vietnemese or some sort of asian culture, and they have these very americanized names like "tammy, tracy" but When i ask them for their real names they are embarassed to reply " my-ling" or something. When I read this, I understood that we as americans accept all cultures from all over the world, especialy europeans-greeks-czechks-scot- and we welcome them with open arms. But that we dont accept black people-"we dont want your black stain" and they kick him out. The black person wont accept to be like everyone else and says " I dont give a damn, shorve your old pot, you can like it nor that, I'll just be just What i am". Black people don't try to be like everyone else, and be white. They are who they are. It is the whites who forced them to come here hundreds of years ago on ships.The theme i took from this poem is that no matter where you come from all over the globe, and you come to America- in one way or another-weather it be changing your name, dressing liek americnas, speaking like americans, eating american food- you can pretend to be something you're not here.

poetry reading

BARBIE DOLL-MARGIE PIERCY

I really liked this poem right when I read it. It criticizes the way women are supposed to be portrayed. Women are stereotyped as growing up playing dolls, ironing and playing house " And presented dolls that did pee-pee and mini GE stoves and irons", playing with lipstick " and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy". I think that Piercy is trying to imply that corporate america is brainwashing kids by having skinny barbies and dolls that cause them to believe they have to look like that. Barbies, tv, dolls and all the other typical things girls do and play with break a womens self-confidence down. The title in itself has contrevorsy because the word "barbie (doll)" is used towards fake women now a days, plastic women, etc. The barbie is attractive but overly skinny and unrealistic for a women to look that way. In the poem, the girl is made fun of by a classmate and said she "has a big nose and fat legs" and this is when the breakdown begins in a girl. If she wasn't raised with the pretty skinny dolls, tv, magazines, she wouldn't think anything of this.She is to think that appearance is everything. I thought this poem was very sad because she ended up klling herself, and everyone at the funeral thinks she looks so beautiful. Its very ironic, and i love this poem because it is 100% true.







I'm NOBODY! WHO ARE YOU? - EMILY DICKINSON

This poem was silly to me in the begining, and I didnt quite understand the subliminal meaning until I read the summary the poem in the text book. It seems like this poem is a symbol for popularity as children since it means the world to kids,. At the begining of the poem it is read by one person talking to someone else. Then someone else joins along and the person says " then tehre's a pair of us!" So they are both saying they are nobodys' THey can both share eeachothers company and feelings of being a nobody. It is funny though, because you can be a nobody by yourself, but withsomeone else you ARE A SOMEBODY, but only in eachothers eyes. Then in the second stanza, they are both stronger and more comfortable with the fact that they agree on being nobodys. It is the acceptance she feels by one person that makes her feel better then trying to fit in a crowd and "being someobdy" she says " how dreary - to be- somebody!" She compares being somebody so " public like a frog" which is a comparision that i dont understand. But overall since they are both "nobodies" they can stay strong together as someone in their own ways.

Chrysanthemums-Steinbeck

In Steinbecks Chrysanthemums, I really like all the similies and metaphores he uses in this. For example: The fog sat like a lid on the mountains, She crouched low like a fawning dog-All of these similies help me imagine the scene and actions of the characters. Steinbeck describes the setting in Salinas very well, just as he does in all of his writings. To me, Elise - the husband of Henry ( who owned the ranch) was struggling to find out who she is, as a woman. She tries really hard not to be to lady like, but more as a "strong" woman. Steinbeck describes her as a "Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful". Handsome and mature are usualy terms people use towards men and boys."The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy." These are all examples of the identity she is struggling with. She seems to be fighting an inner trouble within herself as a female. She seems to focus all her energy towards the chrystanthemum flowers, and she is very proud of her garden. She doesn't have any children, so this makes up for her emptiness in the family. When the traveler and elise come across eachother, Elise likes him and his personality, and who he acknowledges her garden, and well maintence of the garden. She shows her female side when he comes along by shaking down her hair. After he leaves, she gets ready to go out to dinner with henry, and then she is complimented by him- henry says she looks "nice", and she questions what he means by that. Elise did not just want to accept "nice", but she earned for something else, until he says she looks "strong and happy", and yet again, elise is not pleased with this answer. Henry says that it looks like she can "Break a calf over her knee", but Elise wanted a more internal meaning of strong-as in a strong woman, not by physical strength. There are many woman today who feel this way about their feminity, and Elise portrays a woman who struggles with that, the only difference is the time the story took place in, which back then, women were simply women, and were typicaly not allowed to question that.

The Vixen and the Lioness-Aesop

In order to understand this fable, I had to do some research on this particular fable. Because at first, this made no sense to me. I also read the conflict section in the reading after the fable. I believe this fable is soley talking about the mora valuel of QUALITY VS.QUANTITY. Like I said, at first this made no sense to me, and I thought it was just saying that the lion can raise one cub better than many. But Aesop is known for his deep moral values in his writing, so I scratched that one out. The vixen sneers at the lioness, taunting her about her having only one cub. In that part, she is negatively commenting on the lioness and her one cub. And then the lioness replies with only "yes, only one" which is a reply to the vixens negative comment. She is proud to carry only one, which then she replies "but a lion". To me, she (the lioness) knows her one cub will be a strong true lion. The vixen stands for "small minded people confused with quanity vs. quality" (pg.92) I Agree with the authors statement. All of aesops writing are amazing to me, and I admire them very much so because I can apply all the values to my life. I appreciate this one very much as well because I used to always believe quantity was better then quality. Reading this fable also lead me to read more of Aesops writings online because they have such deep and valuable meaning! =)