"Learning Persian" by Reza Shirazi is a poem that describes the experience of somebody who tries to speak a language after a very long time. The author manages to use words in a way that is totally unique.
For example, the line "A hibernating language lying in the dark corners of my mind, awakens slowly after a ten year sleep" (Shirazi, stanza 1), is basically saying that this language, Persian, has not been used in 10 years and is sitting in the back of the narrator's mind. The next stanza, "Naked, bones creaking, it crawls forward, searching for the lost pieces of clothing in forgotten nooks and crannies" says that the narrator is attempting to speak the language again. The personification in this stanza allows the reader to picture how the author's experience is going. The audience can see that although the narrator hasn't used this language for 10 years, he/she is trying to piece it together, bit by bit. In the third stanza, the author says that the narrator has started to speak the language again, albeit not that fluently. This is shows with the words "It ventures out on a wave of words." The final two lines of the poem, "The world lies before it waiting to be sung" show that there are a world full of opportunities with the narrator's ability to speak this language.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Theme of the "Rocking-horse Winner"/Characterization of the mother
Statement of Theme: A plethora of greed, shared by many and especially for wealth, can lead to one and their family's downfall.
This is the theme of the story because the family's need for money drove Paul to a point where he died. For example, the mother received 1,000 dollars for her birthday, but instead of taking the thousand and using it for the family's good, she asked for the whole 5,000 and didn't even use it to pay off her debt! That was one of the greediest things that happened in the story. Also, when Paul was going crazy about the horse races, the mother only pretended to care about him because she wanted more money. The mother was so hung up on money that she wasn't able to care about anybody. On page 10 of the story, the mother gets anxious about her children. She probably thought that if she pretended to care, maybe she would deserve the money that her child, Paul, earned. A major contrast in the mother's character is how she felt at the beginning of the book to how she felt towards the end of the book. At the beginning, the author says "...When her children were present, she always felt the center of her heart go hard" (Lawrence, 1). This signifies that she had no adoration for her children. "Then he fell with a crash to the ground, and she, all her tormented motherhood flooding upon her, rushed to gather him up" (Lawrence, 11). This shows a major growth in character from the beginning of the book. She suddenly has all this motherhood taking hold of her that she never had before. The mother's major downfall was the loss of her son. She has all the money, but no son to share it with.
This is the theme of the story because the family's need for money drove Paul to a point where he died. For example, the mother received 1,000 dollars for her birthday, but instead of taking the thousand and using it for the family's good, she asked for the whole 5,000 and didn't even use it to pay off her debt! That was one of the greediest things that happened in the story. Also, when Paul was going crazy about the horse races, the mother only pretended to care about him because she wanted more money. The mother was so hung up on money that she wasn't able to care about anybody. On page 10 of the story, the mother gets anxious about her children. She probably thought that if she pretended to care, maybe she would deserve the money that her child, Paul, earned. A major contrast in the mother's character is how she felt at the beginning of the book to how she felt towards the end of the book. At the beginning, the author says "...When her children were present, she always felt the center of her heart go hard" (Lawrence, 1). This signifies that she had no adoration for her children. "Then he fell with a crash to the ground, and she, all her tormented motherhood flooding upon her, rushed to gather him up" (Lawrence, 11). This shows a major growth in character from the beginning of the book. She suddenly has all this motherhood taking hold of her that she never had before. The mother's major downfall was the loss of her son. She has all the money, but no son to share it with.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Reading Skills
Haze by L.E. Modesitt Jr. seems like a very interesting book. I haven't read too much of it yet, but there are a lot of predictions that I can make about this book based on what I've read. So far, the main character, a "Major Roget", is part of the Federation, one of the biggest space corporations in the universe. He has to find a way to get to a new planet called "Haze". I think that once he gets to Haze he will discover something that will set the plot line for the book. Maybe, there will be aliens on the planet. Maybe, he'll have to save the Federation from something. Even better, he might have to go against the Federation because of something they might have hid from him.
It seems like the head of the Federation is a very sneaky man. When he sat down with Roget, I felt like he was hiding something. The author was also hinting at that because he said the head was blasé when the two were talking about something nobody should be blasé about. I really hope one of my predictions comes true because that would make for a very interesting plot for this book. I think that the book I did a review on, Ender's Game, can possibly be similar to this book. Both take place in space, and both have a protagonist who has to do something for a major company or corporation.
It seems like the head of the Federation is a very sneaky man. When he sat down with Roget, I felt like he was hiding something. The author was also hinting at that because he said the head was blasé when the two were talking about something nobody should be blasé about. I really hope one of my predictions comes true because that would make for a very interesting plot for this book. I think that the book I did a review on, Ender's Game, can possibly be similar to this book. Both take place in space, and both have a protagonist who has to do something for a major company or corporation.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Book Recommendation
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is definitely a book that I would recommend, to anybody our age and above, to read. It is a science fiction book that talks about a young boy's journey to ending the war between mankind and aliens. I think that this book has a great plot, a descriptive setting, and dynamic characters. The main character of the book is Ender Wiggin, and he is the boy who has to "save the world". The setting is mainly space, but in the middle of the book, it reverts to Earth only to go back to space after a chapter or two. If you are into anything that has to do with a hero's journey, or a "defeat the enemy" kind of plot, then this book is definitely for you. Also, the book was published back in 1985, but there is a movie based on the book that will be released this winter!
Theme of "The Swimming Contest"
The theme of "The Swimming Contest" is ''Memories can be hard to overcome. "Memories" is the subject and "can be hard to overcome" is the author's point of view on the subject.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Interlopers new plot structure
When our group rearranged the story, the most significant change was putting the ending line "Wolves" at the start. We thought this would be a major plot twist because the characters have to deal with wolves attacking them throughout the story. Both of the main characters believe that their men will come to save them from the wolves and that the other will die, but once it is known that their men aren't coming, they must end their family history and become friends. Another reason why we thought the ending should be at the beginning is because it adds suspense to the story. Once the reader sees "Wolves", they will want to know what happens next, but they must read on. After the first line we cut to the first section of the actual piece to give a little background of the story. So, ultimately, the choice to put the climatic part of the story is a crucial one.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/as-i-grew-older/
The poem "As I Grew Older" by Langston Hughes talks about achieving dreams that you had as a child. You have to overcome obstacles to be who you want to be in life. I really enjoy the lines "To smash this night, to break this shadow, into a thousand lights of sun, into a thousand whirling dreams of sun!" (Hughes, 25-29). This part of the poem talks about the achievement of your goal, or dream. It talks about getting rid of the obstacles that stand in your way and throwing them aside like a rotten tomato. If you read these lines and put yourself in the author's shoes, then you can truly feel where the author is coming from. This is the main reason for why I incorporated the link. I want you to feel what Langston Hughes felt when he was writing this poem.
I find this poem very inspiring because it makes my aspiration to become a surgeon even stronger. I feel like I can accomplish anything.
Nihar Rama
The poem "As I Grew Older" by Langston Hughes talks about achieving dreams that you had as a child. You have to overcome obstacles to be who you want to be in life. I really enjoy the lines "To smash this night, to break this shadow, into a thousand lights of sun, into a thousand whirling dreams of sun!" (Hughes, 25-29). This part of the poem talks about the achievement of your goal, or dream. It talks about getting rid of the obstacles that stand in your way and throwing them aside like a rotten tomato. If you read these lines and put yourself in the author's shoes, then you can truly feel where the author is coming from. This is the main reason for why I incorporated the link. I want you to feel what Langston Hughes felt when he was writing this poem.
I find this poem very inspiring because it makes my aspiration to become a surgeon even stronger. I feel like I can accomplish anything.
Nihar Rama
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