Interpreter of Maladies

      This short story, "Interpreter of Maladies" written by Jhumpa Lahiri, has many different conflicts arise throughout the story. One event that stood out to me the most was when Mrs. Das tells her taxi driver whom she has just met, Mr. Kapasi, about the strife she has endured the last eight years. She tells him secrets no one else knows, including the fact that her children are not all from her husband. What bothered me the most about this is that Mrs. Das assumes Mr. Kapasi will help her since he works in a doctors office. This is far from the case though, because his work has nothing to do with offering people guidance. Mrs. Das says, "Don't you realize what it means for me to tell you" (Lahiri, 159). I think, at this point, Mr. Kapasi was probably thinking something along the lines of "No, I have no idea why you're telling me any of this right now." It is not his job to be her therapist, and I thought it was just all around strange that she told him this.

     I couldn't help but think about what Mr. Kapasi must have been feeling during this. If I were him, I would want Mr. Das to know the truth. While I would never want to get involved in something that is not my business, I feel it is right that he knows. However, I think hearing this story was beneficial to Mr. Kapasi. He tells of how he and his wife are not very close. I think after hearing this, he will learn to appreciate her and their marriage more.

Everyday Use

     I really enjoyed Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use." I not only appreciated the story line, but I also found her writing to be extremely engaging. She used quite a bit of imagery throughout the story to make the reader feel as if they were apart of the scene. She wrote in an easily understandable manner without making the story overly simple or boring.
     I feel as though I can relate to both of the daughters, Dee and Maggie. In my house, I am usually Maggie in the aspect of my older sister usually getting what she wants. I usually take the approach Maggie takes in the novel when she says "She can have them, Mama" (Walker, 180) referring to the quilts. However, I can also relate to Dee. Usually my sister is the one to stay closer to my mother, while I am more distant. Walker seems to have made these characters easy to relate to on purpose. I think relating to a character in any story one reads is important. In this case, being able to relate to both daughters, I had somewhat of a less biased opinion on who I thought was "right."
     I spent some time thinking about the title Walker chose for the story, "Everyday Use." I know it comes from a quote from Dee reading "She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use" (Walker, 180) referring to the quilts. However, I think this title goes much deeper than simply this line. I really like the title Walker chose, but I really can't think of a way to put into words what deeper meaning it could have.
   

Hazel Tells Laverne

     I really liked the relaxed tone Katharyn Howd Machan uses in "Hazel Tells Laverne." As I read the poem, I noticed one literary technique she utilizes that conveys the true meaning of the poem, and that is her use of diction. Machan wrote in extremely informal language, seemingly southern. She drops the final g on words like "cleanin," "swimmin" and "tryin" just as we often do in Indiana. She writes in the way we speak, like saying "sida the bowl" (Machan)  instead of "side of the bowl." By using the accent Hazel would talk in, instead of writing the poem in formal English, I feel the reader gets a good look into what Hazel's character truly is. While reading the poem, I felt as though someone was actually telling me a story, instead of me reading a poem. Without this crucial literary technique, I don't think the reader would be as engaged in the story or really understand the meaning.
     Another aspect of the poem I liked is the title, "Hazel Tells Laverne." The title of the poem tells the reader from the beginning that this is the telling of a story from one person to another. This acts as a clue that the poem will be informal.

Mr. Z

     The first line of Carl Holman's poem "Mr. Z" absolutely infuriated me. It reads, "Taught early that his mother's skin was a sign of error" (Holman, 848). It is evident that Mr. Z is African american, or at least partially from his mother's side. This first line really sets the tone for the entire poem because it shows how Mr. Z is an insecure man lacking pride in his heritage. This continues on in a metaphor near the end of the poem that I feel truly sums up the entire meaning of the work. Holman writes that Mr. Z is like "an airborne plant, flourishing without roots." As previously stated in the poem, Mr. Z is ashamed of his ethnicity. This metaphor really raps up his life's meaning saying that he has no roots, no foundation to build his life on.. It seems as though Mr. Z lives his entire life without a purpose because he never came to terms with the beautiful ethnicity he was blessed with. I really like that Holman started the poem with  a fact and then tied back into that fact with a metaphor

Dream Deffered

     The poem "Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes explores what happens to postponed dreams. Initially, I was confused whether Hughes meant dreams as in aspirations or as in literal dreams while sleeping. After reading the poem a few times, I came to the conclusion that he is speaking of the idea of what happens when we put off our aspirations. Also, while I know very little about Hughes, I came to this conclusion because of his work for African-American rights.

     Hughes utilizes many literary techniques when conveying his message. The two that stuck out to me were his use of similes and imagery. By comparing postponed aspirations to other things, such as "a raisin in the sun," "a sore" or "rotten meat," we are able to truly understand the topic in a more relatable way. We can easily connect these pushed away dreams with something simpler such as a common sore. Hughes use of imagery helps the reader to easily understand his point. 

     I also loved Hughes' creative use of imagery. The line that stuck out to me the most reads, "Maybe it just sags like a heavy load" (Hughes, 805).  I immediately thought of a laundry bag when reading this line. His creative use of imagery displays how one always carries their dreams with them, however sometimes not as plesently when they are deferred. 

     While Hughes uses many more literary techniques, these two stood out the most to me and helped a great deal in conveying his message.

Perrine Poetry
August 19, 2012

     Before reading Laurence Perrine's article, I had no idea whether or not I would agree with him. And honestly, after reading, I still don't know which side I would take if I were forced to choose. However, as I began reading, I strongly disliked his argument. I really did not like the way he proposed his argument as if it were "in a court of law." Poems are not something so serious that there is one definitive answer and everything else, even slightly different, is wrong, as in court. I believe an imagination is necessary when both writing and interpreting a poem. The poet, when writing, probably does not think about writing a poem that is perfectly logical and economical. The poet uses his imagination, just as the reader should. While I do not necessarily think a poem is "like an ink blot in a Rorschach personality test," I think they are always open for interpretation. I feel if one can give intelligent reasoning for why they feel a poem means what they think, it is correct to them. What may be correct to one student may seem completely wrong to another, but that can always go both ways.
     Another reason I disagree with Perrine's argument is because I feel he spent too much thought on proving others wrong. While explaining why his interpretation of the Emily Dickinson poem was correct, I feel he went into too much detail proving the "garden" interpretation wrong, instead of proving the "sunset" interpretation right. After his explanation of his interpretation, I completely agreed that his interpretation could be right. However, even after he tried to disprove the garden version, I still agreed that that could be just as correct. While I do agree that one should be able to back up their interpretation, I feel someone else can prove a different interpretation to be "right" as well. Something I did agree with, to some extent, was that an interpretation should be somewhat logical. As I previously stated, a writer might not always thing their poem must be perfectly logical. And I think that is ok. But when interpreting a poem, the reader should not be ridiculously far-fetched. However, that being said, if one can offer valid reasoning for their interpretation, who is to say whether it is too far-fetched?

This picture was taken in Cuenca, Spain, which is near Madrid. The town I am in is one of the oldest towns in Spain, and many of the buildings and houses I saw were built before the United States was discovered :)

This picture was actually taken in Portugal, but we thought it was cool that the graffiti was in Spanish. It roughly says "rise to the top, Spain" because of their current economic crisis.