In the Baggage Room at Greyhound

I found this poem to be very interesting, as it noted many aspects of society, from how people live, to how people act, and the positives and negatives individuals face daily. The poem was written through the eyes of an Operating Clerk and bag unloader, describing events he saw during his work routine, and the significance these events had on him and people around him. The main message i found within the poem included the racks on the bus, or the "great wooden shelves" as the poem described them. These racks on a Greyhound are used by many people, many of which are traveling to different places, believe in different ideas, and come from different cultures. In the narrators eyes, however, "the racks were created to hang our possesions, to keep us together, a temporary shift in space." In other words, it was the one place where individuals of different size, shape, and color could come together. The racks served as "God's only way of building the rickety structure of time" allowing the many types of people he created to come into unison. The many types of people are shown as the author mentions many nationalities and places within the poem, including Japanese, Mexican, Hawaiian, Sacramento, Stockton, and many others.

In the poem i aslo noticed some signs of racism and harmony. To me i interpreted the line "an indian dead with fright talking to a huge cop by the coke machine" to be some sign of tension between different races, as the cop (most likely either white or black) may be skeptical of the indian just based on his physical appearance. On the other hand, i interpreted the role of Spade as the Angel to bring signs of harmony and togetherness between the races. As described before, the bags together represent the different cultures coming together, and sense Spade physically puts the bags in the racks next to one another, his role is the Angel or peace maker.

Towards the end of the poem, i feel that the clerk narrorating the poem is quitting the job because of the tension and unfriendliness between people today. I feel that he realizes the only way people come together in this world is through the bags, proving that the relationship between cultures is negative and quite unfortunate. Within his job he see's dreams of harmony, but returning back to reality shows him that many changes need to be made in society. "Farewell ye Greyhound where i suffered so much."

Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin

"Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin was about the struggles faced by an African American family, and the hardships that come from racism and the unfair treatment of blacks at the time. More specifically, it shows Sonny's difficulty to advance and positively grow in life, leading to profound drug use and worry by his brother and beloved family members. Throughout the entirety of the story, it involves the two brothers coming to understand one another; the oldest trying to understand reasons for his brothers bad habits and the younger trying to understand his brothers constant pestering and nagging. The story is written in a specific order to show this, by beginning with no understanding and eventually working its way to an ending of love, confidence, and trust. Although the two brothers are very different, with one having a family and job and the other living off the streets, they eventually find common grounds and learn to appreciate one another for who they truly are ("The seven years difference in our ages lay between us like a chasm: I wondered if these years would ever operate between us as a bridge.")

To me racism played a huge role in the story. It showed that even if a black man worked hard to be successful, their achievements would never live up to that of a white man. For instance, although the older brother worked hard as a teacher, he and his family lived "in a housing project" one of which was described as "rundown". This in some instances lead to a lack of desire, eventually making some give up and take part in illegal activities, similar to Sonny. Racism was heavily shown in the story told by the mother about the dad's brother. His brother was hit by a car when they were younger by a group of white men after work. It states that "when they saw yours father's brother they let out a great whoop and holler and aimed the car straight at him." This shows the extreme differences and hatred between the two races, showing how difficult it was to live at a time of such negativity.

Sonny was eventually understood at the end of the story through his music and craftiness on the piano. "Sonny's fingers filled the air with life; his life." He expressed his thoughts and feelings through jazz, both negative and positive. Music proved to be the only way he could truly communicate his feelings, allowing him to release wait off his shoulders as well as bring he and his brother closer together.

The Glass Menagerie Scene 7

Scene 7 ended up being the opposite of what i expected. I thought Laura and Jim were going to fall in love with eachother, making a better life for themselves and giving Amanda a better attitude and some sense of relief for her daughter. Jims reassurance of nothing wrong with Laura, seen in the quote "You shouldn't have been self-conscious", may have given Laura some false hope. In this scene, however, there are many signs of heartbreak. The first one i noticed was the unicorn falling over and breaking. In my opinion, this represented Laura's love for Jim being broken after he tells her of his fiance. Just as Laura was beginning to open up and not be so insecure about her disabilities, her "comfort" in Jim was taken away, and her representation of the "blue rose" died.

In this scene i also realized that each character in the play is attempting to escape from reality in some way. Laura escapes from her disfigurement and shy personality by interacting with her animals and glass menagerie. Amanda and Jim disregard the real life by reminiscing about the past; Amanda with her past callers and Jim with his high school achievements. For instance, while talking to Laura, he asks "You remember that wonderful write-up I had in The Torch?" showing his arrogant and flashy personality. Tom leaves the ordinary world and the safety of his home by going to the movies every night. Overall, each person in the play is not content with their present lives.

With Jim leaving i feel the family is torn apart. His high expectations and eventual downfall lead to a fight between Amanda and Tom, and ultimately Tom moving out of the house. Tom, in my opinion, kept the house together by being there for both Laura and Amanda. With his absence, things may drastically change. Although Tom wanted to move out, and showed signs throughout the entire play of wanting something different, leaving was apparently pretty hard. By saying "Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!" it shows his love and strong attachment to his family. Similar to the college experience, leaving parental control is great at times, but not having them around for instant comfort is always hard.

The Glass Menagerie Scenes 1-6

Throughout scenes one through six of the "Glass Menagerie" i found the work to be somewhat boring and dull. As stated in my letter of introduction, i enjoy works of art with some sense of adventure and action. As of right now, however, this work of art simply describes the life of Tom, and his mother Amanda and sister Laura. In scene one, as the setting and beginning scenario were described, i interpreted the main character to be Tom. As a result of Tom being the main character, there may be some bias, as each memory and account stem from his personal interpretation. Each character in this play in my opinion is extremely different. Tom is not content with his life at home, as each night he leaves his family and goes to the movies. He is also not happy with his job proven as he states "Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter". None of these can he accomplish in the warehouse. His mother Amanda seems bitter about her husband leaving and also her daughter Laura not going to school and not having a husband yet. Not having a husband may be due to Laura's physical disabilities, and as a result her shy and somewhat standoffish personality.

Throughout scenes one through six, the only "change" that occurs is the introduction of Tom's friend and co-worker Jim. Jim is invited over in order to meet Laura, although he is not originally aware of her presence. Amanda is very excited, as she believes his presence will change Laura's demeanor and lonely life. In my opinion, Amanda seems to live vicariously through her daughter, trying to improve her past mistakes through Laura. She feels as if Laura can't succeed, she did not exceed as a parent. As previously stated, Laura is insecure about her disabilities, seen at the dinner table as she has to excuse herself after "feeling sick". By not impressing Jim, the scene is described by Tom as the family having no sense of "change or adventure". I am interested in how the play will resolve, anticipating any hopeful positive changes for each member of the family.

Alice Walker and Jamaica Kincaid

The short story “The Flower” by Alice Walker I found to be very interesting and detailed. Although the writing techniques and literary elements remained the same throughout the whole poem, the vibe and mood changed half way through. At first, it vividly described a day in the shoes of a ten year old girl, through bright details of the girl, her actions, and the surrounding scenery. For instance, the scenery was noted as having “silver ferns and wildflowers”. The second half of the poem became bizarre, however, as she came across a corpse without panicking or showing any signs of fright. I feel this story may be a representation of the narrator’s life. For instance, in my opinion, I feel that the narrator’s life was good and happy, similar to the girls, until something tragic came along or occurred. Instead of becoming upset or trying to deal with the situation, the narrator acted as if nothing happened. This “tragedy” may be something like an addiction that he or she has accepted or a divorce that hasn’t been coped with.

The second story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid was full of directions and advice from what I thought to be a mother to her daughter. I discovered that it was a girl from the quote “prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming”. Also from this quote I inferred that the narrator had very strict parents that may have been mean and possibly verbally abusive at sometimes. This short story also shows that the narrator may have not learned life lessons on her own, as her parents obviously told her what they thought to be right and wrong rather than letting her form her own opinions. From my interpretation I also feel that the mom may be trying to live through her daughter, especially because of an unsuccessful marriage. By attempting to teach her daughter how to find “love” and how to go about keeping it and not keeping it, it shows that the mother may not have been successful in one of her marriages. Overall, the story represents the life of both the narrator and her parents.

Robert Frost "Birches" and "Mending Wall"

Robert Frost's poem "Birches" was full of self interpretation and personal theories. After reading the poem multiple times, i discovered what i thought to be many sexual references. In my opinion, the author is describing the difficulties of manhood, constantly referring to and remembering the joys of childhood. In other words, he feels as if childhood, and the luxury of multiple sexual endeavors is better than that of manhood, where one generally settles down. For instance, in the poem it states "So was i once myself a swinger of birches. And so i dream of going back to be." To me this refers to "swinging" from one girl to the next instead of "love". Similarly, the "pathless wood" symbolizes the freedom adolescence brings. But as seen in the poem, with age comes expectations, and with expectations comes the formation of a path with only one direction. Throughout the poem, the birches refer to females and their development in different "seasons" and the boy refers to the authors view of adventure, curiosity, and changes in manhood.

The second poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost in my opinion is about boundaries that an individual makes in his or her life. In other words, people have the choice to block out and ignore certain ideas, information, and theories while accepting others. In the poem, the blocking of ideas is associated with the "boulders" while letting in objects is associated with the "fence". As i interpreted it, boulders are large and solid objects, thus letting nothing pass. On the other hand, fences are not completely solid, allowing some ideas to pass through, but not all. This to me showed the freedom that individuals have to preserve personal ideas, keeping certain things to their self. In my opinion the poem also had reference to individuality. For instance, in the poem it states "Before I built a wall I'd ask to know what I was walling in or walling out, and to whom I was like to give offence". To me this quote shows that people may have different opinions on what is acceptable and unacceptable, ultimately absorbing many different ideas.

Being the first two Robert Frost poems i have ever read, i found the author and his writing to be very different and interesting. His poetry makes people think, giving room for different interpretations and mental pictures.

Ezra Pound and Raymond Carver

Ezra Pound's poem "In a Station of the Metro" to me was very confusing at first. Being only two lines, the poem was hard to interpret and thus hard to understand. After analyzing each word separately, however, a meaning i feel to be correct was portrayed. The first word that stuck out to me was the word "apparition". Apparition in most cases stands for a ghostly figure. From my interpretation, i feel that this word stands for more of a surprise from the mixture of people the author sees in the station rather than an actual ghost itself. The next word that i noticed was the word "petal". Petals in most circumstances portray beauty as they are the most colorful and distinctive part of a flower. As a result, i feel the main message from this poem is the fact that although their is a large array of people in the station, many with different characteristics and features, each individual represents a different yet positive type of beauty.

The second poem "Photograph of my Father" by Raymond Carver to me seemed more interesting and easier to understand. With more details and information, i feel I reached a more accurate interpretation. The main idea of this poem involves the main character looking at a picture of his father, remembering his negative aspects and poor qualities as a father yet showing some compassion and love for him. Two times within the poem the author recognizes the "perch" and "beer". I feel this represents the father being an alcoholic and as a result not being trustworthy. The poem states the "all his life my father wanted to be bold" which in my opinion shows the fathers recognition of not being a good father and living the way he ought to. The final three lines in my opinion were the most important to the message of the poem. It shows the desire the main character had for a role model and true father figure, one that would guide him in the right direction and do simple things like show him "places to fish". Overall "Photograph of my Father" had a sad tone, showing conflict between a family and the father son relationship.

Both poems had very different characteristics, representing the overall theme in message in varying ways. One was very short leaving room for self interpretation while the other was long and more self explanatory. Overall, each was successful and interesting.

Letter of Introduction

Throughout both high school and college, i have never really read or composed essays or stories on my own. As bad as it sounds, the only time i have is when it was forced from a class in order to receive a good grade. When forced, however, i do enjoy reading books. Majority of the time i enjoy mystery novels, those of which involve you to think and figure out the problem being discussed. For instance, books like Sherlock Holmes and other of those nature usually keep my attention. History novels, on the other hand, i find boring and hard to keep up with. Although they are full of information, there is not enough action or suspense to keep me interested.

In high school, a teacher that really excelled my writing skills was Mrs. Lovelace. Being an IB teacher, she was very good at critiquing techniques and finding the problems in students writing abilities, and in turn offering a solution and ways to better the situation. For me, transitions from one idea to the next seemed to be the problem but with her help i feel i have heavily improved. Throughout my senior year, the primary pieces of literature we composed involved critiquing both poems and short stories. As a result, i feel i am prepared for the many blog entries to come. Other than these required in class essays and critiques, however, i have not done much writing.

In the writing i have done, i feel that i try to be too detailed and use too much intricate vocabulary. Sometimes i feel like it hurts my overall message and makes things confusing. This habit, in my opinion, alters my online persona from my essential I. Overall, with the help of this class, i would like to change this habit. Although i am required to take this class because of my major (Pre-Rehabilitation Science), i still hope to learn a lot and better my writing skills.

Clemson Poem:
Clemson has been everything i dreamed,
from making friends to growing into an older me.
I have changed my actions and goals when at home,
after leaving the family and living on my own.
Although it is sometimes chilly,
i have learned facts and information a many,
and hope to do so in the years to come.