Grandpa's Life-Personal Narrative

“‘Race Politics” by Luis J. Rodriguez was about him and his brother living in a place called Watts. They journey over the tracks, trying to get the “good food” for their family. They go to the store, and find themselves face to face with five teenagers who knock the food out of their hands, and beat up the main character’s older brother, causing him to vomit. The teenagers leave, with them on the floor. The purpose for writing this essay is to identify syntax, connotation, and imagery within this poem, and decide what makes it important to the overall poem. The overall impression that Luis conveys within his work is the feeling of separation.

Everyone experiences loss, but the difference is our beliefs of where those individuals go when their time is up here. I have experienced losing friends and family from drugs, freak accidents, diseases, and just natural death. I have seen death right in front of my eyes, but somehow I still find something to comfort me. A place where there is only a peace and where there is no more pain, Heaven.

Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem, “Poema para los Californios Muertos” (“Poem for the Dead Californios”), is a commentary on what happened to the original inhabitants of California when California was still Mexico, and an address to the speaker's dead ancestors. Utilizing a unique dynamic, consistently alternating between Spanish and English, Cervantes accurately represents the fear, hatred, and humility experienced by the “Californios” through rhythm, arrangement, tone, and most importantly, through use of language.

When you think of losing a grandparent in your life, you think of them passing away. You dread the day you will get the call that they are sick. You then begin to cherish all the moments you have with them leading up to their passing. You have time to except their sickness, and come to terms with the outcome that is to come. My PopPop is not here anymore, but do not get confused, for he is alive. I did not have warning. I did not have time to cherish him. I did not have time to say goodbye. My PopPop was on no medication, which was almost uncanny for a 75-year-old. Trying to encompass everything he was boils down to a few things that may not seem like much to someone who didn’t know him. He went on a walk every night after dinner, and would whistle the same tune when he was happy. He played the same little ditty on the piano every time we were all in the living room. He was a simple man who could not harm a fly, and a good man. Unlike the grandchild warned when they are going to lose a grandparent, I did not have this notice. I did not have time to go on one last walk with him, and I did not have time to record him on the piano. I did not have time to replicate his whistling song, or to spend time with the man I knew. My PopPop was the heathiest man I knew, but then he got depression. First slowly, then all at once. The man I knew had slipped from my fingers without any chance to hold on tighter.

“Not a family room, but the room where my father twirled his hair while listening to eight-tracks of Elvis…where my mother learned to dance alone as she swept…” The quirks of the room are what remind him of the happy times he and his family had together; the times he seems to wish he wants back. In his poem, “El Florida Room”, Richard Blanco appreciates all the moments he had and all the memories that were created with his family in this room, especially with his parents and brother.

In contrasting or comparing literary works it is crucial that the reader analyze the author's voice to gain a better understanding of the theme they are implying. In the contrast between the poems “I, too, sing America” by Langston Hughes, and “I hear America singing” by Walt Whitman it is clear that the two poets have very different point of views regarding American patriotism. Walt Whitman’s views on America’s joy and peace in his poems are very straightforward, while Langston Hughes poem--a response to Whitman’s--wants the reader to acknowledge what America should be like for everyone, including people of color such as himself. The authors of these poems prove to have conflicting judgements on matters in America including a theme of

Pat Mora’s “Fences” is a delicate poem that deals with the timely issues of class divide and privilege. She begins her poem on a positive note, saying “Mouths full of laughter,” which creates this safe and harmless tone. The next line, she uses the word “turistas,” which is interesting; Mora uses a Spanish word (tourist in English) to indicate possibly the ethnicity of the speaker. It is not until the last few lines of the poem, however, when the reader can also detect the class and likely status of the speaker, when the speaker’s mother says, “It’s their beach,” after seeing the speaker’s younger sister running across the sand where the affluent tourists are. At only 19 lines, “Fences” is a relatively short poem, but Mora’s use of

The objects people keep in their homes can tell a story about who they are or were. Each item possessed by the residents of a house is evidence of how these people may have lived. Ted Kooser’s poem “Abandoned Farmhouse” takes the reader on a walkthrough of the remains of a farmhouse where a poor family once lived. In “Abandoned Farmhouse,” Kooser selects seemingly insignificant relics left behind by each family member to illustrate who these people were and how they lived. The picture he paints is a bleak one and reflects the impoverished life which the residents lived within this now lonely and desolate building.

The poem “Finding Home” written by Carolina Hospital tells the story of how Mexicans who come to America try to find their heritage in the United States. Like many who migrate to America, the immigrants miss their country and are concerned about losing their culture. In contrast to Harvey Gomez, this poem shows that many Mexicans in America appreciate their heritage. “I have travelled north again,/to these gray skies/and empty doorways,” (Hospital 101). This shows that they miss their native country and are concerned about forgetting their heritage. Perhaps Harvey’s grandparents thought the same thing when they first came to America from Mexico. Regardless of their arrival in America, they want to return to Mexico someday. “I must travel again soon” (Hospital 102). Despite leaving their native land they have respect for Mexico and will visit again. After the experience that Harvey had in discovering his heritage, I am sure that he will visit Mexico again.

Richard Blanco is the son of two immigrants from Cuba: he grew up in a Cuban cohort in Miami, Florida. It was instilled in him at a young age that his ancestry and America were one in the same. They were both magical. His foreign home was talked about often, never condemned, while America was their physical home and their place to earn a better life than their previous one could afford them. Blanco’s poem, “One Today,” exhibits his cultural pride, optimism, and gratitude for life and his country: The United States.

There have been countless influential people in my life that I’ve come across. One who was a meticulous inspiration continues to be my grandfather. My grandmother had remarried to the one I call “grandpa” when I was at the age of five, and they both took to each other’s grandchildren as their own. With my mother and me only living a mile down the road from their farmhouse out in the country, I’d spent heaps amount of time there as a child. Indeed, I had been without a father but my grandfather stepped up to the plate and had taken me under his wing and willingly played the personification of a father figure.

In this poetic memoir, Engle shares her memories of her childhood in meticulous detail. She is a person who comes from two different cultures -- Cuba and California. In the quote below, Engle describes how she falls in love with the Cuba farm and how much the farm means to her. Writing in the “Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Win”, Engle said: “ I fall in love with the farm where my abuelita and her ancient mother were born. My dazzled eyes absorb the lush beauty of a land so wild and green that the rippling river on my great-uncle’s farm shimmers like a hummingbird, all the dangerous crocodiles and gentle manatees deeply hidden beneath quiet waters. Surely there must be mermaids here, and talking animals, the pale, humpbacked Zebu cows and graceful horse that roam peaceful hillsides, moving as mysteriously as floating clouds in the stormy tropical sky.” (Engle, 9) This quote shows Engle falls in love with the Cuba farm because she extols beautiful farm landscape, quiet countryside, and untrammeled animals. At first, Engle describes the green river, crocodiles, manatees, Zebu cows and horse with five different adjectives -- “rippling”, “dangerous”, “gentle”, “humpbacked” and “graceful”. Five different adjectives show the characteristics of these five things and show the first reason to fall in love with the farm -- Engle loves this beautiful and harmonious Cuba farm. The benefit of using adjectives is that the readers can easier to imagine a vivid picture of the beautiful riverside scenery. The second reason to fall in love with the farm is Engle loves mysteriously things on the farm.

Pat Mora begins her poem, “Fences,” on a positive note, saying “Mouths full of laughter,” which creates a safe and harmless tone. In the next line, Mora uses the Spanish word ‘turistas’ (tourist in English) to indicate possibly the ethnicity of the speaker. It is not until the last few lines of the poem, however, when the reader gains a hint of the speaker’s social class; the speaker’s mother says, “It’s their beach,” after seeing the speaker’s younger sister running across the sand where the affluent tourists are. At only 19 lines, “Fences” is a relatively short poem, but Mora’s use of language packs so much meaning into every sentence, and thus creates this rich and symbolic display of social and class division.

The crunch of frozen grass could be heard a mile away at five o’clock in the morning. My grandpa and I whispered conversation as we strolled over to our favorite deer blind. We cautiously marched over sticks trying hard not to make any sounds. We eventually made it without spooking any deer and set our guns down, waiting for sunrise. These are the times I enjoy the most with my grandpa. It is a chance to sit back and enjoy life with one of my favorite people on this planet. Time goes slower in these moments. It gives us a chance to share conversation about anything. We swap stories from the past and I always seem to learn something new from my grandpa. Whether it be from advice he gives me or from an experience long ago, I’m always listening. Although our experiences may be different we still love to enjoy the same hobbies together, whether it’s woodworking, hunting, or time out on the lake; sharing life with my grandpa is priceless.

While I was spending this past year in Israel studying, my grandparents decided to come spend a couple months there touring and spending time with their grandchildren who were there. My grandfather always surprises me with new stories beginning with him escaping from the holocaust all the way until coming to the United States and starting a beautiful family. Many of my weekends in Israel while my grandparents were there, were spent going with them to visit different family members and friends living in different cities. In Israel, a lot of people don't have cars because there is an amazing transportation system which is a lot less expensive than owning a car and paying for gas. Being so, while spending my weekends with my grandparents we would take buses to all the places we were going to, some of them being longer bus rides, so my cousin and I would ask our grandfather to tell us any stories he had not told us yet and we would sit there recording and listening to all the stories there were. There would even be times where we would be passing through different places where some of my grandfather's stories took place and he would point them out, which was really cool because we were actually able to see and imagine what he was talking about.