Lonely hearts.
how sad do personal ads make me? seriously, these people are advertising their desperate attempts at love ina newspaper? what the hell? do they realise howmany creepy people there are? Same with the internet. Yeah, she says she's a 21 year old hottie, until youfigure out she's not and she's actually a old MAN. ugh. dating has worked fine face-to-face for centuries. but that's my little rant... now the poem....
the author uses six different voices to represent the total diversity within the world. Gay, straight, rich, jewish, young, arty, old, fresh. just some of the many adjectives she uses to describe the possibilities for love. The six ads all end with either "do you live in north london, is it you? or, "can you make my simple wish come true?" the repetition of these two phrases play a role in the interpretaation of this poem. by saying can you make my SIMPLE wish come true is slightly ironic, for finding love os hard enough, not to mention trying to do it via newspaper or what have you. also, the mention of north london makes me wonder if she's only writing to a certain group of people or what? that part is kind of confusuing. like they know someone in north london can do it, they just arent sure who or how.
the last stanza is cute and approperiate, asking for a picture is confirming that these peoples prerequisets (i cant spell that) are met.
WHO KNOWS WHERE IT MAY LEAD ONCE WE"E BEGUN? that's so cute and hopeful. sorry honey, but it probably won't lead anywhere.... ha.
Friday, March 14, 2008
We aren't sexing like we used to
TIRED SEX.
oh, the allusions in the poem are on a grand scheme. The opening line of the poem talks about lighting a match in a old, damp matchbook. Whoa. What the author may be refering to is the spark has escaped from his realtionship, his sexlife. she says he's yawning, she's staring out the window. What i love about this poem is that the verbage the authro uses is so clear to understand thier feelings. even if one has never been in that situation. Everyone understand the relationships betweens cats and birds. matches and matchbooks. The author brilliant puts together a story so short, and packs so much meaning into it...
my favorite part of this peom is found in the last two lines...
"You ought to read it, she said.
It's great literature"
is she talking of her previous sex life, her relationship? I read it like she was looking at her self from above, having an out of body experience of sorts. Looking at her life, her relationships and saying it's quite interesting. Maybe she even thought it to be tragic in a way...
Also, made me think of the passing of time when she says "like turning the pages of a book the teacher assigned" like she just keeps pushing through this life that she may not be enjoying now, but she has to. TIRED SEX is the title, and it has so may different layers to it...
I'm not sure if i prefer to read this poem as a sad one, or one that just states the facts.
oh, the allusions in the poem are on a grand scheme. The opening line of the poem talks about lighting a match in a old, damp matchbook. Whoa. What the author may be refering to is the spark has escaped from his realtionship, his sexlife. she says he's yawning, she's staring out the window. What i love about this poem is that the verbage the authro uses is so clear to understand thier feelings. even if one has never been in that situation. Everyone understand the relationships betweens cats and birds. matches and matchbooks. The author brilliant puts together a story so short, and packs so much meaning into it...
my favorite part of this peom is found in the last two lines...
"You ought to read it, she said.
It's great literature"
is she talking of her previous sex life, her relationship? I read it like she was looking at her self from above, having an out of body experience of sorts. Looking at her life, her relationships and saying it's quite interesting. Maybe she even thought it to be tragic in a way...
Also, made me think of the passing of time when she says "like turning the pages of a book the teacher assigned" like she just keeps pushing through this life that she may not be enjoying now, but she has to. TIRED SEX is the title, and it has so may different layers to it...
I'm not sure if i prefer to read this poem as a sad one, or one that just states the facts.
Friday, February 29, 2008
...and the green grass grows all around, all around, and the green grass grows all around.
Grass by Carl Sandburg.
This poem is poignant, and subtle, bringing peace and sadness at the same time. He presents the reader with an idea of time transcending all pain, all death, through grass. One of the simplest forms of life, conquers death. The allusions in this poem create a sort of bittersweet feeling as one reads. He writes of all the great battles of international fame, Waterloo, Gettysburg, Austerlitz. By writing of events people know of, he is enabling the reader to connect their own history and knowlege to the poem. I really liked his use of Proper Nouns and the simple way he wrote the poem.
Death is something the passes with time, and after the generation is gone what is left to remember it? Only our knowledge of the past. But it's like the grass knows all, it has covered all, let it do its' work. This author may be calling attention to the fact that sometime generations later, people forget the cost of war. When he writes of the train with the people not knowning what sacred site they are visting, it's almost heartbreaking.
I think the author wants his readers to look past the meaning on grass, and make a paralell to the passing of all things, and the remeberance of most. it's almost as if the grass knows its' duty is to work, to cover, to forget, but they author doesn;t want you to. His personification of the grass and its' duty calls one mind to ponder the question of how much has the average person forgotten? Where does history start and the present begin?
probably my favorite poem so far, i just love how much it makes you think.
This poem is poignant, and subtle, bringing peace and sadness at the same time. He presents the reader with an idea of time transcending all pain, all death, through grass. One of the simplest forms of life, conquers death. The allusions in this poem create a sort of bittersweet feeling as one reads. He writes of all the great battles of international fame, Waterloo, Gettysburg, Austerlitz. By writing of events people know of, he is enabling the reader to connect their own history and knowlege to the poem. I really liked his use of Proper Nouns and the simple way he wrote the poem.
Death is something the passes with time, and after the generation is gone what is left to remember it? Only our knowledge of the past. But it's like the grass knows all, it has covered all, let it do its' work. This author may be calling attention to the fact that sometime generations later, people forget the cost of war. When he writes of the train with the people not knowning what sacred site they are visting, it's almost heartbreaking.
I think the author wants his readers to look past the meaning on grass, and make a paralell to the passing of all things, and the remeberance of most. it's almost as if the grass knows its' duty is to work, to cover, to forget, but they author doesn;t want you to. His personification of the grass and its' duty calls one mind to ponder the question of how much has the average person forgotten? Where does history start and the present begin?
probably my favorite poem so far, i just love how much it makes you think.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
lets weigh down the brilliant and stalemate our society!!
Harrison Bergerson
in a world where excellence is stifled, and the crowning achievements of humanity are covered with a veil of normalcy lives.... GEORGE AND HAZEL! two average (on purpose) citizens of this crazy messed up world controlled BY the United States Handicapper General! SCARY...this story FREAKED the HELL out of me. i know that is a bit dramatic, but seriously, something similiar to this, maybe not on such a enormous scale. but with all the talk of equal rights, and making everyone happy. and changing laws to encompass all freedoms of everyone, deserved or not. it was crazy
Vonnegut is a genius, and his story is poignant. who will draw the line between ridiculous and equality? it really make you wonder, makes you question the government, basically everyone in authority. i though the most ironic thing in the story is that here is this huge commotion with harrison bergeron interupting at causing a scene, and then he and his 'queen' get shot and killed in a very public way, broadcasted on television, and yet a few minutes later hazel and george cannot remeber what just ahppened. that they just watched thier son gte murdered on television.
was he drawing a paralell to the other things that go unseen in our world. the things we let the media twist? the statistics we accpet from the government? how true are they? how reliable? what means do we have to believe them as true? what do we see but not accept as reality. Vonnegut brings two different layers of questions with this story. He questions the future. he questions the present. i think he wants his readers to walk away from the story with a sense of questioning, with skepticism...
this was my favorite story we have read so far, because it made me think... "What if?"
in a world where excellence is stifled, and the crowning achievements of humanity are covered with a veil of normalcy lives.... GEORGE AND HAZEL! two average (on purpose) citizens of this crazy messed up world controlled BY the United States Handicapper General! SCARY...this story FREAKED the HELL out of me. i know that is a bit dramatic, but seriously, something similiar to this, maybe not on such a enormous scale. but with all the talk of equal rights, and making everyone happy. and changing laws to encompass all freedoms of everyone, deserved or not. it was crazy
Vonnegut is a genius, and his story is poignant. who will draw the line between ridiculous and equality? it really make you wonder, makes you question the government, basically everyone in authority. i though the most ironic thing in the story is that here is this huge commotion with harrison bergeron interupting at causing a scene, and then he and his 'queen' get shot and killed in a very public way, broadcasted on television, and yet a few minutes later hazel and george cannot remeber what just ahppened. that they just watched thier son gte murdered on television.
was he drawing a paralell to the other things that go unseen in our world. the things we let the media twist? the statistics we accpet from the government? how true are they? how reliable? what means do we have to believe them as true? what do we see but not accept as reality. Vonnegut brings two different layers of questions with this story. He questions the future. he questions the present. i think he wants his readers to walk away from the story with a sense of questioning, with skepticism...
this was my favorite story we have read so far, because it made me think... "What if?"
Monday, February 4, 2008
well lit places = happiness
A Clean Well Lit Place
I love hemingway's portrayal of the simplicity of life, and the recognition of patterns in life. In a clean well lit place, HEmingway write of these two waiters. I can identify with them as i am a waiter too. I liked that he showed the hurried waiter as a younger man, full of confidnce but lacking wisdom. It is very common for a young person to be in a rush to get on with thier lives, their way fo doing things. Hemingway contrasts this with the patient waiter. An older man, who with his years has come to understand the decisions people make and the way they carry themselves.
i liked hemingway's representation of the change you can see between the two waiters in thier speech and the understanding... I wondered if the poem was more about the relationship between generations, and the chnages that occur than the old man drinking late into the night.
When so much has happened in one's life doesn;t that give them more to think about? When one has t o ponder the meanings of events in thier life, wondering how and why. it seems like the drunken old man, and the older waiter have something in common: experience. that's why they understand each other. to sit in a clean, well lit place and think, drink, and not have to worry about the pressures of life,... or be reminded of them in a dark, dirty, damp place.
I love hemingway's portrayal of the simplicity of life, and the recognition of patterns in life. In a clean well lit place, HEmingway write of these two waiters. I can identify with them as i am a waiter too. I liked that he showed the hurried waiter as a younger man, full of confidnce but lacking wisdom. It is very common for a young person to be in a rush to get on with thier lives, their way fo doing things. Hemingway contrasts this with the patient waiter. An older man, who with his years has come to understand the decisions people make and the way they carry themselves.
i liked hemingway's representation of the change you can see between the two waiters in thier speech and the understanding... I wondered if the poem was more about the relationship between generations, and the chnages that occur than the old man drinking late into the night.
When so much has happened in one's life doesn;t that give them more to think about? When one has t o ponder the meanings of events in thier life, wondering how and why. it seems like the drunken old man, and the older waiter have something in common: experience. that's why they understand each other. to sit in a clean, well lit place and think, drink, and not have to worry about the pressures of life,... or be reminded of them in a dark, dirty, damp place.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Brother's Keeper?
The Rich Brother: Tobias Wolff
wow. this whole story i felt sad, and i didnt ever realise why until the very end of the story it hit me. All along you think pete is happy and successful, but he's not. And while his brother maybe a little bit lost in the world, it is his naivety and kind heart that make him a pillar of strength for his brother who is caught up in his own fast paced life. Pete seems to drawn maybe some adventure out of donald's wild ways. Much like a parent might use thier children;s life to live thier own dream, it seems that pete may be living vicariously (however secretly) through Donald's crazy ways.
when donald becomes born again, he goes to this impound in the country to begin a society of believers. to me, it seems like a cult, and that idea is inforced again when donald is seemingly kicked out of the impound for silly things. GEtting the wrong groceries, and giving the groceries to the needy. it seems like those should be the cornorstones of their society, but instead it is regulated by strict rules to follow. though donald does say something about a fire, it is clear to see that he would hjave eventually gotten kicked out anyway. he was too much of a free spirit, loving people no matter what. his brother however seems to be a strict follower of rules. committed to his wife, and family and business, and here you have to two opposites causing tension.
one part of the story i did not understand was when donald get very emotional about his brother trying to kill him. i did not know what to make of his story. was it a dream? did he mean it in a less literal meaning?
i really liked the ending of the story. his driving away, acting confidant of his decision to lose his brother... and subtlely the author mentions that he turns around to go get him. that is reality in a nutshell. of course you are sure of your decisions in the heat of the moment, and then you fix them, still thinking you were right all along... haha siblings.
wow. this whole story i felt sad, and i didnt ever realise why until the very end of the story it hit me. All along you think pete is happy and successful, but he's not. And while his brother maybe a little bit lost in the world, it is his naivety and kind heart that make him a pillar of strength for his brother who is caught up in his own fast paced life. Pete seems to drawn maybe some adventure out of donald's wild ways. Much like a parent might use thier children;s life to live thier own dream, it seems that pete may be living vicariously (however secretly) through Donald's crazy ways.
when donald becomes born again, he goes to this impound in the country to begin a society of believers. to me, it seems like a cult, and that idea is inforced again when donald is seemingly kicked out of the impound for silly things. GEtting the wrong groceries, and giving the groceries to the needy. it seems like those should be the cornorstones of their society, but instead it is regulated by strict rules to follow. though donald does say something about a fire, it is clear to see that he would hjave eventually gotten kicked out anyway. he was too much of a free spirit, loving people no matter what. his brother however seems to be a strict follower of rules. committed to his wife, and family and business, and here you have to two opposites causing tension.
one part of the story i did not understand was when donald get very emotional about his brother trying to kill him. i did not know what to make of his story. was it a dream? did he mean it in a less literal meaning?
i really liked the ending of the story. his driving away, acting confidant of his decision to lose his brother... and subtlely the author mentions that he turns around to go get him. that is reality in a nutshell. of course you are sure of your decisions in the heat of the moment, and then you fix them, still thinking you were right all along... haha siblings.
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