Retired Greyhound II

I wanted to write about one of the dog poems this week since I have yet to, so I chose the poem about the abused dog. People sometimes do not think about animals' thoughts and feelings because animals cannot talk to express them, but that does not mean that they do not exist. I like this poem because it gets inside the dog's mind and shows the reader that how humans treat animals has more of an impact on them than the human may think. The dog in the poem remembers being abused, and still cringes when a human raises their hand. The poem even compares the dog to its human companion who was attacked by a dog. I love the irony in this poem. The dog fears all humans (except the woman) because it was abused by humans. The woman fears dogs (except the dog in the poem) because she was attacked by a dog. Yet they still lean to each other for support and understanding. I think this scenario can be applied to multiple parts of life. Something hurts you, but you still go back to it because you need it. If anyone has any examples of this that they would like to share, I would love to hear them.

We Real Cool

This poem was...different. It was definitely easy to understand. It seemed like something I could have written myself, which gives me a little confidence because if a poem that simple can become famous, then I could also write poetry worthy of fame. I have always considered myself quite bad with poetry. This poem fooled me though. When I was reading it in my head, I was reading it in the form of sentences that would be grammatically correct. I am sure I am not the only one that has fallen for that trick. When we heard the woman that wrote it read it in class one day, she read it completely differently than how I had. After I heard her, I went back and read it again, and realized that how she read it was how it was written. My mind had moved some words around for it to make sense in my head. It gave the poem a new rhythm for me. I think a lot of people could relate to this poem. I hope never to. It is kind of depressing when you really think about what it is saying, and that it sums up many lives.

The Road Not Taken

This is actually one poem that I do not mind reading. I think it is because I have read it so many times by now that it is familiar to me, and therefore I am comfortable with it. I think that is my problem with poetry. It is not always an easy read, making it out of my comfort zone, which is the reason I do not like it. It is kind of hard to like something when you do not understand it. Going back to this particular poem, however, I not only like this poem because I understand it, I also like its message. It is saying not to be like everyone else. You should not be afraid to be different and take chances. Robert Frost is encouraging you to take that road less traveled. My favorite lines in this poem are the last three of the final stanza. They are the ones I have memorized after having read this poem all of those times. Every time I have some decision to make, whether it is big or small, I think back to those lines. And I have to admit, they have influenced quite a bit of my decisions.

The Rape of the Lock

I think this poem is a bit ridiculous. It is so crazy that the whole time you are reading it, and trying to understand it, you are also trying to find metaphorical meanings to it because it could not possibly be about something as simple as it actually is. The rape of the lock is a lock of a girl's hair that was cut off. I do not think I would go so far as to call that rape. Nor would I attack someone over it. Do not get me wrong, I like my hair, but it is just hair. It will grow back. Belinda, whose hair was cut, came across as very conceited. She thought so highly of herself, she could not bear the thought of being imperfect. Which is why she freaked out when her hair was cut. The Baron, who cut her hair, was a jerk. You do not just chop someone's hair off for a good time, especially if you know that it will make that person very upset, or in Belinda's case, angry. I guess what I am getting at in this blog is that the poem was very exaggerated.

Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane

I am not a huge fan of poetry because, most of the time, I do not understand it, but I thought this poem was actually kind of interesting. From what I understood, Hard Rock was a bad guy, so he underwent a lobotomy to try to change that. Everyone thought it was a success since he stopped doing bad things, when really it mentally impaired him. This poem had to have taken place a long time ago because people do not get lobotomies anymore. We know the consequences of them and that they do not work. Even though it creeps me out, I find all the stuff that they used to do in the hospitals for the criminally insane fascinating. To think about some of the things that they used to do to people just blows my mind. It almost seems stupid to us now that they actually thought they were helping people by doing that stuff. Then again, it also makes you think about what if people in the future find some of the things that we do stupid because we are not actually helping anyone or anything. I am sure they will, but we learn from our mistakes.

The Mums

I am going back to a story we read quite a few weeks ago because we have not read anything new the past couple of weeks. This week I want to talk about "The Mums". I felt bad for the woman in this story. Her life seems pretty crappy. I think on the inside she knows this too, but she just tries not to think about it and keeps it bottled up inside. Seeing her mums on the side of the road, though, was the final straw. She just kind of broke down and let her true emotions show somewhat (she still did not let her husband see her crying). I hope I never end up, unhappily married, like her. I wish she would have tried to voice her opinions and feelings sometimes. I think that could have made a difference because her husband seemed like a nice guy that would at least take her words into consideration. Whether or not he acted on them, would be another story. Maybe if they made some changes, she would not feel the need to try to feel up a stranger's leg. I still cannot believe she fell for that guy's lies.

The Glass Menagerie (Part 2)

Now that I have finished reading this play and we have discussed it in class, it makes more sense. So I wanted to blog about it again this week since I understand it more, and I have a different perspective on it. Apparently, the title The Glass Menagerie is not necessarily referring to Laura's collection itself, but to the characters in the play as the glass menagerie. They are fragile like glass. This is not what changed my perspective on this play, however. What really changed my mind about it was when I started thinking about it as a memory play. Tom was just thinking back to all of that stuff happening. Sometimes you remember things differently than how they actually were. Therefore, Amanda may not have actually been that annoying, and Laura may not have been that crippled (both in the physical limp and shy sense). Also, he was not even in many of the scenes, so how did he know what really happened? I thought this made the play more interesting because it was no longer just a simple play about a family and their problems. It became a story with possibilities. It got me thinking...

The Glass Menagerie

Okay, so I have not finished reading this yet, but I decided I wanted to blog about it now anyways. I cannot make up my mind whether or not I like this play. Part of me thinks it is kind of boring, especially compared to some other plays, but then the other part thinks maybe it is not actually that boring since I have yet to fall asleep reading it or watching it in class. Two things I have been confused about are how Laura is crippled and why is the glass menagerie so important. Is Laura's leg what makes her crippled? And I know Laura loves her glass menagerie, but I do not see how they are important enough for the play to be named after them. I thought Tom was the main characters since he is the narrator, not Laura. Or maybe this is just one of those times where the play is named that because it sounds cool and it interests you. I know I was definitely interested in reading it based on the title alone because I was not sure what menagerie was. Maybe the answers to my questions are at the end of the play and I should just stop being impatient and go finish reading it.

Hills Like White Elephants

I had to read this story twice. The first time I read it, I completely missed the point of the story. The whole time I was waiting for something obvious to jump out at me as the main point. When I got to the end I was just kind of like "ohhh, so that's it?" Once I realized what the story was supposed to even be about, I reread it so that it would make more sense to me. I did not fully understand the things it was supposed to be hinting at until after our class discussion on it though. After that, I just had a whole new perspective on the story, so that made me want to read it a third time. I do not know if it was that I was not looking for clues to pick up on because I was not expecting it to be that type of story or if I am just not good at taking a hint. I would like to believe it was the first option. Whatever the case, if anyone would like to fill me in on more subtle clues I missed, please do. I now know about the use of the words ‘man’ and ‘girl’ and their significance, and also about the operation being an abortion.

A Good Man is Hard to Find

This was probably one of my favorites out of the stories that we have read so far. The surprise ending was a real shocker! I think the reason I liked it so much is because I want to be a Forensic Scientist so all of that crime stuff really interests me. My only complaint about the story was the middle. The middle was kind of boring and just seemed to drag on. For example, I understand that the part where they stopped to get something to eat was significant because they talked about a good man being hard to find, but I did not think that part was all that interesting. I believe the story could have had just as much of an impact without that scene as it did with the scene. Maybe even more so of impact because more people would want to read it since it was not quite as long. On the other hand, that scene helped build suspense. While reading the story, it is like you are just waiting for something to happen because the story does not really seem to have much of a point. You are just reading and waiting and waiting and reading and then all of a sudden...SLAP TO THE FACE!

Yellow Wallpaper

I did not like Yellow Wallpaper. It left too many questions unanswered. Was she crazy the whole time? Or did being locked in that room with the wallpaper make her crazy? At first, I did not think she was crazy. I thought she literally meant she was sick as in had a cough or sneeze or something of that nature. Then later in the story, the way she described the wallpaper, I began to wonder if she was a little off in the head. Either that or she really did see that stuff and her husband was actually out to get her and drive her to insanity by denying that stuff was there or happening. The last page of the story is when I just did not know what to think anymore. I know there could be more than one interpretation of the ending, but I am not sure which one I believe. I am kind of leaning more towards the one where she hung herself. That would explain the purpose of the rope. I also think that would make for the juiciest ending. If anyone would like to share what they think happened, I am all ears!

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

           I thought the main character in this story was weak. He had the potential to do and be so much more, but he gave up. He gave in to society's stereotype of his race. I really hate it when people become a stereotype for no reason. Like just because I am a woman does not mean that I am going to clean up your mess or get in the kitchen and make you a sandwich. The truth is I cannot even cook and I hate to clean. It was pretty obvious that the character in the story did not like the attributes that went along with his stereotype either. I wish he would have tried harder to pursue his dreams and not let the world get him down. I give him props for stepping outside of his comfort zone and trying to do something better with his life. However, since he hardly even put forth an effort, I did not pity him at the end of the story. I picture that fistfight in heaven going from Tonto (the main character) putting up a good fight and looking like he is taking the lead to Tonto waving the white flag and falling to his knees before the Lone Ranger.