Evening Concert, Saint-Chapelle written by John Updike is a very cool mental imagery poem. When I first read this poem I imagined a painting being painted. The way that Updike matched the sounds to colors and the way that he described them was so cool that I could see each movement of the paintbrush. Updike didn't only reference colors while describing the magnificent orchestra, but he also used tastes to compare the sounds too. It's not everyday that you read a poem that appeals to three of your five senses just by you reading it.
Another thing that i really liked about this poem was that it was written so that as you read it, you can feel the crescendos, slow moments, and grand finale. This was one of my favorite poems just because it had so many dynamics and it really was fun to read.
I really liked to just close my eyes while other people read the poem and just imagine everything. I saw the big church and orchestra. I heard the musical dynamics. I saw a beautiful painting being created. I tasted "passionate sweetness", and I loved it!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Lost Brother
Lost Brother by Stanley Moss is such a touching poem. I really liked this poem because I think it is really cool how Moss compared himself to a tree. He didn't make it obvious that he was comparing himself to a tree, so you really had to look to find that but it was really cool. To me, it almost felt like Moss was identifying with the tree in the fact that both himself and the tree were connected because they were both kids of mother nature.
I think that in this poem Moss was making a statement about nature and the cutting down of trees all around the world and how bad it really is. It was cool because so many trees get cut down everyday, but no one really pays any attention and it really doesn't effect them like it did Moss. I think that it was really cool that Moss wrote this poem the way that he did because it really makes you think about nature. I know that when I read the poem, I felt bad for the tree in the story even though it was an inanimate object. I felt a connection to the tree as well because Moss personified the tree by calling it his brother. My favorite part of the poem was at the end when Moss said:
Sooner or later, some bag of wind will cut me down.
I thought this part was funny because he distances himself from humans and refers to them as bags of wind. I think that this poem is very creative and really makes you think about nature. Also, I felt that this poem was very well written and one of my favorites so far. Two thumbs up Moss!
I think that in this poem Moss was making a statement about nature and the cutting down of trees all around the world and how bad it really is. It was cool because so many trees get cut down everyday, but no one really pays any attention and it really doesn't effect them like it did Moss. I think that it was really cool that Moss wrote this poem the way that he did because it really makes you think about nature. I know that when I read the poem, I felt bad for the tree in the story even though it was an inanimate object. I felt a connection to the tree as well because Moss personified the tree by calling it his brother. My favorite part of the poem was at the end when Moss said:
Sooner or later, some bag of wind will cut me down.
I thought this part was funny because he distances himself from humans and refers to them as bags of wind. I think that this poem is very creative and really makes you think about nature. Also, I felt that this poem was very well written and one of my favorites so far. Two thumbs up Moss!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Mr. Fear
The poem Mr. Fear by Lawrence Raab is a very interesting piece of writing. In this poem Raab turns fear into a living thing, something that you can talk to and ask questions; Mr. Fear he calls it. I think that it is cool how Raab addresses fear in this way because it almost makes fear less scary. It's almost as if he is saying that fear is just a part of life, especially when he says:
"Mr. Fear, we say in our dreams,
what do you have for me tonight?"
Even though in this poem Raab makes fear feel like just a part of life, he also doesn't avoid the fact that we still don't like fear and wish not to have it. When reflecting on our fears we hope that they are small and manageable, and don't take control of our lives.
Throughout the poem Raab brings up dreams and sleeping a lot and to me this is pointing out that, as humans, we think about our fears the most while we sleep. When we sleep, we can't lock our fears out with everyday distractions and they come rushing back to the front of our minds. I really like this poem because it really makes you think about fear in a different way than usual.
"Mr. Fear, we say in our dreams,
what do you have for me tonight?"
Even though in this poem Raab makes fear feel like just a part of life, he also doesn't avoid the fact that we still don't like fear and wish not to have it. When reflecting on our fears we hope that they are small and manageable, and don't take control of our lives.
Throughout the poem Raab brings up dreams and sleeping a lot and to me this is pointing out that, as humans, we think about our fears the most while we sleep. When we sleep, we can't lock our fears out with everyday distractions and they come rushing back to the front of our minds. I really like this poem because it really makes you think about fear in a different way than usual.
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Kite Runner
I just got finished with the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini in the car on the way to South Dakota. The last hundred pages or so had me on a roller coaster of emotions. My family gave me several 'it's just a book, calm down' looks as I either yelled in horror at Amir's encounter with Assef or clapped as Sohrab and Amir flew the kite together.This book was one of the most incredible books that I have read, and I loved it. I thought that though there were some dry parts, for the most part it was well written. I annotated it by summarizing every chapter as I finished with it. This was perfect for me because some of the chapters flew right over my head and I needed to reflected upon them. This book took me a while to finish because I started reading on the first day of school and, well, let's just say that I haven't had very much free time. Summarizing all of the chapters was also a big help because if I didn't get a chance to read it for a couple of days, I could look back and quickly catch myself up on the story.
I didn't feel like the fact that Hassan was a Hazara and Amir was a Pashtun really made much of a difference in the story. Yes, Hassan was a slave while Amir was not but I think that their relationship was deeper. I think that Amir used the fact that Hassan was just a Hazara and slave as an excuse to treat him the way he did. Amir and Hassan were very close because they were best friends but like any friends they did have their fights. When they didn't get along and Amir treated Hassan like dirt it wasn't because he was a Hazara, but instead because he was jealous of him. I completely understand why Amir was jealous of Hassan, I would be too. I would not be as jealous as him or do the things that he did because of jealousy, but I would still feel jealous. Baba was Amir's father and Amir just wanted him to be proud of just him. He wanted to be the one to get a new kite without Hassan getting one as well. I bet it was confusing for Amir because, to him, Baba was HIS father not Hassan's and yet he did the same things for Hassan that he did for Amir. Shouldn't a father treat their son better than any other kid? When I say this, i'm talking about before Amir found out that he and Hassan were brothers. I'm not justifying any of the things that Amir did or saying that Hassan should have just been ignored, but after I finished the book I could see where Amir was coming from. I also love to make my parents proud, and I usually strive to make them proud.
One of my favorite things about this book was that it was not super predictable. I never had any idea what tragedy would strike next. This was by far the saddest a book has ever made me feel. I have never been much of a crier, so even when the book tugged on my heart strings I didn't shed a tear. I did come close though, especially after Sohrab came into the story. To me, that little boy was the bread and butter of the book, and he wasn't even the main character. Sohrab symbolized forgiveness and redemption for Amir. Poor Amir carried so much guilt for so much of his life and when Rahim Khan told Amir the news about Hassan, it was devastating. Sohrab was a second chance for Amir because after the loss of Hassan, his only chance at righting his wrong was through Sohrab, Hassan's son.
In the end, I feel like Amir did finally break free of his guilt and whatever else had been holding him back throughout his life. I found myself feeling happy for him because he had made it through a lot. I was so proud of him when he decided to take Sohrab home because I knew that that was what Amir needed, and i was right. It was very sad when their blossoming relationship came to a sudden halt just as Sohrab got to go back to America with Amir. They did start to make a little progress when they flew the kite together, but I just wish that I could keep reading to find out just how much Sohrab and Amir's relationship really got to become.
I didn't feel like the fact that Hassan was a Hazara and Amir was a Pashtun really made much of a difference in the story. Yes, Hassan was a slave while Amir was not but I think that their relationship was deeper. I think that Amir used the fact that Hassan was just a Hazara and slave as an excuse to treat him the way he did. Amir and Hassan were very close because they were best friends but like any friends they did have their fights. When they didn't get along and Amir treated Hassan like dirt it wasn't because he was a Hazara, but instead because he was jealous of him. I completely understand why Amir was jealous of Hassan, I would be too. I would not be as jealous as him or do the things that he did because of jealousy, but I would still feel jealous. Baba was Amir's father and Amir just wanted him to be proud of just him. He wanted to be the one to get a new kite without Hassan getting one as well. I bet it was confusing for Amir because, to him, Baba was HIS father not Hassan's and yet he did the same things for Hassan that he did for Amir. Shouldn't a father treat their son better than any other kid? When I say this, i'm talking about before Amir found out that he and Hassan were brothers. I'm not justifying any of the things that Amir did or saying that Hassan should have just been ignored, but after I finished the book I could see where Amir was coming from. I also love to make my parents proud, and I usually strive to make them proud.
One of my favorite things about this book was that it was not super predictable. I never had any idea what tragedy would strike next. This was by far the saddest a book has ever made me feel. I have never been much of a crier, so even when the book tugged on my heart strings I didn't shed a tear. I did come close though, especially after Sohrab came into the story. To me, that little boy was the bread and butter of the book, and he wasn't even the main character. Sohrab symbolized forgiveness and redemption for Amir. Poor Amir carried so much guilt for so much of his life and when Rahim Khan told Amir the news about Hassan, it was devastating. Sohrab was a second chance for Amir because after the loss of Hassan, his only chance at righting his wrong was through Sohrab, Hassan's son.
In the end, I feel like Amir did finally break free of his guilt and whatever else had been holding him back throughout his life. I found myself feeling happy for him because he had made it through a lot. I was so proud of him when he decided to take Sohrab home because I knew that that was what Amir needed, and i was right. It was very sad when their blossoming relationship came to a sudden halt just as Sohrab got to go back to America with Amir. They did start to make a little progress when they flew the kite together, but I just wish that I could keep reading to find out just how much Sohrab and Amir's relationship really got to become.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Still Memory
Still Memory by Mary Karr is a very touching piece.The memory is a crazy thing, and sometimes it is unreal how vivid it can be. This poem is a description of how Karr remembers her childhood. A reflection on how she remembers life to be when she was ten and before her mother and father passed away. At the same time, however, this poem also brings up her passion for writing and how it blossomed at that time in her life.
My ten-year-old hand reaches
for a pen to record it all
as would become long habit.
When I read this poem and especially that last stanza, I get the feeling that when she wrote it she was thinking about how much everything has changed since this time. I feel like Karr was almost expressing how naive she was at that time and how small her world felt but as she grew she found out how big it really was. The bulk of this piece is small details about her childhood which, to me, shows that when she was then her world was pretty concentrated. It is natural to miss what was and think often about childhood and how easy everything was, but it is also easy to think about how far you have come and how much has changed. That is what I think this poem is about.
My ten-year-old hand reaches
for a pen to record it all
as would become long habit.
When I read this poem and especially that last stanza, I get the feeling that when she wrote it she was thinking about how much everything has changed since this time. I feel like Karr was almost expressing how naive she was at that time and how small her world felt but as she grew she found out how big it really was. The bulk of this piece is small details about her childhood which, to me, shows that when she was then her world was pretty concentrated. It is natural to miss what was and think often about childhood and how easy everything was, but it is also easy to think about how far you have come and how much has changed. That is what I think this poem is about.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)