I chose the text “Game” by Donald Barthelme. I categorized it as a first degree of americanness because it shows how Americans act and their way of thinking in my opinion. Americans are always watching out for themselves and not always watching out for others. Also Americans are always saying “that's not fair.” Especially little kids when they don't get their way. Thirdly Americans are usually selfish human beings, they don't like to share with others. “We watch the console and think about shooting each other and think about the bird..” They are watching each other not knowing what to do. Americans do that same thing with one another all the time. Being an average person even just walking around in public, most people will judge one another on their clothing or the way they look and wonder if they could truly trust that person. Also watching over neighbors in a neighborhood is another example. You are friends with your neighbors but never know what they could be hiding. “Sometimes when Shotwell cradles me in his arms and rocks me to sleep, singing Brahms' "Guten abend, gut Nacht," or I cradle Shotwell in my arms and rock him to sleep, singing, I understand what it is Shotwell wishes me to do. “ Americans care about each other some what but not always, they always keep their guard up. …show more content…
That is fair. “ Life isn't fair. If everything was fair, then what would America be like? What would the world be like if everything was fair? Things in life aren't supposed to be fair, then others couldn't achieve their dreams. Things not being fair brings jealously. Like in the text, he called the man a mean name because he wouldn't let him play with his jacks. Life being perfect and fair to everybody wouldn't help
Fair does not always mean equal. Fair and equal are not the same this can be illustrated in the similarities and differences between Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut and Martin Luther King Jr's “I Have a Dream speech.”
Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.
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.
The poem “To This Day” written by Shane Koyczan, the symbolism is the black things grabbing the kid. This is showing that words do hurt and it stays with you this is shown through the whole story of the pain and suffering of the kid. This is said " who used to say that rhyme sticks and stones as if broken bones hurt more than the names we got called" this is showing word do hurt and the black things grabbing him is showing that like a broken bone it still hurts over time just like words do. With this evidence it shows that if you don't want to be called that don't say it at all.
Clint Smith is a writer, teacher, and doctoral candidate in Education at Harvard University with a concentration in Culture, Institutions, and Society. Smith Clint wrote a poem called “Something You should Know.” The poem is about an early job he had in a Petsmart. The poet allows the readers into his personal life, but before he had trouble opening up to people and his work. Moreover, Clint wrote an insight in the poem about relying in anything to feel safe and he says it is the most terrifying thing any person can do.
The short story/debate, “Life Isn’t Fair - Deal With It” by Mike Myatt, is about his opinion on why life isn’t fair, what fair is, and if life itself should be fair or not. Mike Myatt explains that the term “Fairness” is a subjective idea and is not a natural characteristic of life. So, in this debate, Mike Myatt tells us about why people think the way they do when it comes to fairness. Some people have their own choices and it is largely based on the choices they assemble, and the attitudes that they start to adopt. Some of those choices that are being made come with dreadful and awful consequences. He also says how kids start to blame their problems on their parents, their teachers, their pastors, their government, or their society. On that occasion, he gives eleven rules of life and all at once explains that life is not fair and we all should try and pull through at whatever life throws at us, because in the end it is the choices we decided to make. Whether those were acceptable choices or not, we can’t not blame others for our mistakes.
The Poem “Introduction to Poetry” is by Billy Collins, an English poet, and it is about how teachers often force students to over-analyze poetry and to try decipher every possible meaning portrayed throughout the poem rather than allowing the students to form their own interpretation of the poem based on their own experiences.
Poets have the power to present their perspectives of the human experience through their poetic voice. Gwen Harwood, Judith Wright, and Bruce Dawe, all Australian poets have all expressed common ideas expressed by their unique poetic voice.They also speak for those who have no voice, such as the soldiers in Bruce Dawe’s poem Homecoming and in Gwen Harwood's poem Mother Who Gave Me Life where she gives a voice to the Mothers. A key theme resinating through all of these poets poems would be their common ideas on society and the role of a mother.
People are like onions; they have several layers and consist of a bitter core. In consideration of this reality of human nature and reality of a man-made society, “The Most Dangerous Game”, written by Richard Connell, reveals these dangers. It unveils the truth about blood lusting hunters and defines the meaning of civilization. In the story, just like in the real world, so-called rules and laws are made to suppress and dignify human savageness. Here, Sanger Rainsford and General Zaroff are two essential characters—capable of virtuous actions, yet prone to decisions that reflect immoral tendencies, and so; a message is conveyed: without the practice of morals and consequences, corruption of man is inevitable.
In the passage, the narrator characterizes a young man by the name of McTeague. The narrator reflects his attitude of subtle admiration of McTeague through diction, detail, tone, and syntax.
Countee Cullen was a famous African American poet during the Harlem Renaissance in during the early 1900´s. She wrote two famous poems called “Tableau” and “Incident.” These pieces of American literature, both depict the racial interaction between the blacks and the whites at this point in history. The interaction with the two is shown by the way they describe each other and the way that they interact. These poems both use many instances of figurative languages such as imagery, metaphors, and similes to develop the tone and theme of each poem.
Could you imagine being hunted down by a gang or being hunted by a big game hunter? High Noon and "The Most Dangerous Game" are very similar and different. The plots are very similar, both characters Will and Rainsford are being hunted down by enemies. In both stories there are patterns that show . The characters are very different in personality.
Ted Kooser, the thirteenth Poet Laureate of the United States and Pulitzer Prize winner, is known for his honest and accessible writing. Kooser’s poem “A Spiral Notebook” was published in 2004, in the book Good Poems for Hard Times, depicting a spiral notebook as something that represents more than its appearance. Through the use of imagery, diction, and structure, Ted Kooser reveals the reality of a spiral notebook to be a canvas of possibilities and goes deeper to portray the increasing complexities in life as we age.
Poetry is a reduced dialect that communicates complex emotions. To comprehend the numerous implications of a ballad, perusers must analyze its words and expressing from the points of view of beat, sound, pictures, clear importance, and suggested meaning. Perusers then need to sort out reactions to the verse into a consistent, point-by-point clarification. Poetry utilizes structures and traditions to propose differential translation to words, or to summon emotive reactions. Gadgets, for example, sound similarity, similar sounding word usage, likeness in sound and cadence are at times used to accomplish musical or incantatory impacts.
Some of the poems and essays I have read during this class were relatable to me. Being away from college, I have struggled with not being at home. I have become a different person when I am at school, but when I am home, I feel like I am my normal self again. Some of these authors of the poems and essays that I have read throughout this class has struggled with being somewhere where they don’t belong and that they are someone else when they are not home. Unlike the other poems and essays we have read throughout the course. I enjoyed reading the ones about “home” because I actually understood what they are going through and that I can relate. Some of these poems and essays include “Going Home” by Maurice Kenny, Postcard from Kashmir”, by Agha Shahid Ali, “Returning” by Elias Miguel Munoz and “Hometown” by Luis Cabalquinto. All of these poems deal with duality.