The World Is Not a Pleasant Place to Be by Nikki Giovanni(p. 226 - Imprints)
The world is not a pleasant place
to be without
someone to hold and be held by
a river would stop
its flow if only
a stream were there
to receive it
an ocean would never laugh
if clouds weren't there
to kiss her tears
the world is not
a pleasant place to be without
someone
I think the poem "The world is not a pleasant place to be" is very interesting, because it reminds me on how I feel sometimes when something is going the wrong way with my friends.
I feel empty, dull, and I just don't want to do anything. I don't feel like laughing or having fun. I am just sitting somewhere, starring, without feeling my own body.
Especially during the last couple month I had this feeling more often. Although I have a lot of friends here, I still miss my old, really close friends that I know from kindergarten.
They know me so good that they always get a smile on my face, even in the worst moments. I think the peom makes this feeling very clear and strong.
Therefore, the speaker uses a lot of personification in his poem. "An ocean would never laugh" is one quote that refers to that. The ocean symbolises the sad person that needs somebody to talk to. The helping persons on the other side are the clouds "clouds [that are there] to kiss her tears" and make the other person feel better. The part shows how important those realtionships are and that everybody needs somebody at some time. To show this strong thought, the speaker uses repetition in the beginning and ending of the peom. He makes very clear at the beginning on what the peom is about and in the end he reminds the reader again on that.
Other poetic techniques used by the speaker are methaphors. The second stanza as a whole is a metaphor. "A river would stop its flow if only a stream were there to receive it " shows the reader in another way again the importance of connections or relationsships to other people.
http://www.wildernesstrips.com/images/rogue-river-whitewater.jpg
I think this picture relates very good to the peom, because it shows that even if there is a breaking point in our lifes, we are strong enough to get over it when we work all together and other people are there that care about us.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Poetry Journal #3
Warm Rain by Midori Iwasaki (p. 233 - Imprints)
Warm
rain
runs
off fresh green boughs
and
wets
my
cheek
as I sail out
into
a
new
morning
I chose the peom "Warm Rain" by Midori Iwasaki because of its different design and the feeling that it gives me reading the it. The design is as a symbol for the floating rain. I like rainy weather because it gives me the feeling like it cleans all the "dirt" of the world. After the rain is gone, a new fresh smells is in the air. If you go outside or just open the window you breath in deeply and it feels so good and pure. It is as if a new morning starts and I can just start all over again. I especially like days on which the sun comes out right after and a rainbow is in the light and dark sky. It lets you forget all your problems.
Midori Iwasaki says the same in his poem."As I sail out into a new morning" is a metaphor for this "new" feeling. It means that the rain washes everything away and makes it new. It leaves a fresh smell in the air, like in a new morning. The speaker also has another technique to make his thought clear. He uses the design of the peom as a symbol for the flow of the rain.
I could not decide for one picture so I put them all in here.
The first picture is similar to the peoms last sentence. The new morning is symbolist by the sunrise in the picture.
http://blog.thildkroete.de/uploads/regen.jpg
This next picture just shows one of my favorite rainy days.
http://www.wissenschaft-online.de/sixcms/media.php/395/190402_sommerregen.jpg
And this last picture shows a usual rainy day. :)
http://img-x.fotocommunity.com/80/4386980.jpg
Warm
rain
runs
off fresh green boughs
and
wets
my
cheek
as I sail out
into
a
new
morning
I chose the peom "Warm Rain" by Midori Iwasaki because of its different design and the feeling that it gives me reading the it. The design is as a symbol for the floating rain. I like rainy weather because it gives me the feeling like it cleans all the "dirt" of the world. After the rain is gone, a new fresh smells is in the air. If you go outside or just open the window you breath in deeply and it feels so good and pure. It is as if a new morning starts and I can just start all over again. I especially like days on which the sun comes out right after and a rainbow is in the light and dark sky. It lets you forget all your problems.
Midori Iwasaki says the same in his poem."As I sail out into a new morning" is a metaphor for this "new" feeling. It means that the rain washes everything away and makes it new. It leaves a fresh smell in the air, like in a new morning. The speaker also has another technique to make his thought clear. He uses the design of the peom as a symbol for the flow of the rain.
I could not decide for one picture so I put them all in here.
The first picture is similar to the peoms last sentence. The new morning is symbolist by the sunrise in the picture.
http://blog.thildkroete.de/uploads/regen.jpg
This next picture just shows one of my favorite rainy days.
http://www.wissenschaft-online.de/sixcms/media.php/395/190402_sommerregen.jpg
And this last picture shows a usual rainy day. :)
http://img-x.fotocommunity.com/80/4386980.jpg
Friday, April 27, 2007
Poetry journal #1
Modern Edifices by Maria Holod (p. 220 - Imprints 12)
In concrete, in iron,
up the stairs of stone,
between escalators
and elevators
in blinding neon
my world lost its way
Smoky windows,
Smoky sky
for my world.
Artificially cool
air soaked
in metallic smell
spins around my world.
My paper world
my world in machines
my world in digits
my world, my world
At one time
my world was
in the sun
in the sky
in trees and birds
and in human beings.
http://www.nabiarts.com/06/rochegova/citylife.jpg
this is a picture for her world as it is now and the next picture is for her old world.
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/n/images/nature_durer_largeturf_lg.jpg
The peom "Modern Edifices" by Maria Holod is about the change of the world in relation to technology.I chose this poem because it is related to our century and makes us think about all the things that are changing. We sometimes have the feeling that we can't live without cell phones or computer, but there were times that people lived without it and they didn't miss anything. They didn't know all the technology and so they didn't need it. The poem makes me think of my childhood. All the technology as we know it today just developped. The PC's as we know them today in every household just came a couple years ago. This is the same way with cell phones. Nobody even knew what a cell phone is exactly, and today, everybody has one. As soon as I forget my cell phone at home I feel like I lost something. I never know what time it is or what time I am going to meet somebody. It feels like I lost a friend. Years ago, the people had to be better organised, because they couldn't just call somebody and ask where he is. Today people take the car or the elevator whereever they are going instead of taking the bike or the stairs.
The poem is a contrast itself. The speaker starts talking about her world today and then she remembers how it was before all the technology came and changed everything. Her world today is smoky, hectic and bright. Her world before this "new world" on the other hand was fresh, clean, and pure. The new world is full of "escalators and elevators" ,the old world was just the "sun", "sky"and "human beings".The new world also has "smoky windows and smoky sky", the old world has "trees and birds". All the words and images are in contrast to each other, the same as the two worlds that the speaker describes.
http://www.nabiarts.com/06/rochegova/citylife.jpg
this is a picture for her world as it is now and the next picture is for her old world.
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/n/images/nature_durer_largeturf_lg.jpg
The peom "Modern Edifices" by Maria Holod is about the change of the world in relation to technology.I chose this poem because it is related to our century and makes us think about all the things that are changing. We sometimes have the feeling that we can't live without cell phones or computer, but there were times that people lived without it and they didn't miss anything. They didn't know all the technology and so they didn't need it. The poem makes me think of my childhood. All the technology as we know it today just developped. The PC's as we know them today in every household just came a couple years ago. This is the same way with cell phones. Nobody even knew what a cell phone is exactly, and today, everybody has one. As soon as I forget my cell phone at home I feel like I lost something. I never know what time it is or what time I am going to meet somebody. It feels like I lost a friend. Years ago, the people had to be better organised, because they couldn't just call somebody and ask where he is. Today people take the car or the elevator whereever they are going instead of taking the bike or the stairs.
The poem is a contrast itself. The speaker starts talking about her world today and then she remembers how it was before all the technology came and changed everything. Her world today is smoky, hectic and bright. Her world before this "new world" on the other hand was fresh, clean, and pure. The new world is full of "escalators and elevators" ,the old world was just the "sun", "sky"and "human beings".The new world also has "smoky windows and smoky sky", the old world has "trees and birds". All the words and images are in contrast to each other, the same as the two worlds that the speaker describes.
She also has a lot of repetition in her peom. She keeps on saying "in my world" to show her special way of view.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The girl with a baby
The Novel “The girl with a baby” by Sylvia Olsen is about a 14-year-old girl that is pregnant and gives birth to her baby. Jane, the main character is very interesting. Her life changes from on day to another completely, but she can’t do anything against it. She has to deal with her new situation. Considering Jane is only 14 years old, she is responsible, incredibly strong willed and confident.
The birth of Jane’s daughter Destiny brings a big change in her life and now she has to be responsible for more than just herself, “[She has] to be Destiny’s mother…” (p. 93).
Everything that she is doing is not just affecting herself; it is also affecting her child.
She cannot go to parties and hang out with friends all the time; she has to be there for her baby. She has to feed and play with the baby and change its diapers whenever needed.
Nevertheless, her child is not the only thing she has to take care of. After Jane’s mother died, she had to take over the role of her mum. She has to take care of her dad and also of her two brothers which are the opposite of her, undependable and always in trouble.
As well as being responsible, Jane is strong willed. She WANTS to be a good mother for her child; she WANTS to be there for the rest of her family and she ALSO WANTS the leading role in a school play. Jane is working very hard for all of these things and she does not want to give up on anything.Her grandmother supports her a lot by telling her how strong Jane’s mother and great-grandmother were. “I [Jane] am going to audition for the part of Sandy. I’m going to put my name on the list, first choice Sandy, second choice Frenchy…” (p. 110).
This quote shows good how resolute and determined she is. She wants to try as hard as she can to get the leading role in the play, no matter what is going to happen. Even after her life went into a totally different direction as she planned, she still wants to make the best out of it and she is not going to give up.
Her dream to play the leading role in the school play also shows that she is very confident. As soon as she is on stage every single feeling of fear just disappears. She is only singing and everything around her seems not to exist.
“…that is going to be too bad for her, because I know who’s going to get the leading role.” (p. 113) shows once more her confidence about what she is doing.
Especially in those conversations with Vanessa, an extremely snobbish girl, Jane always knows how to act without getting herself down. Even if Vanessa makes her feel like she has not the tiniest chance, she either ignores her or she shows her the opposite.
Jane’s character is completely different than a stereotypical character of a 14-year-old girl. She is a fulltime mother and student simultaneously. Whenever one thing is done, another one is already waiting. Only her strength and responsibility help her, and without her confidence she would never have got the leading role in the play.
The birth of Jane’s daughter Destiny brings a big change in her life and now she has to be responsible for more than just herself, “[She has] to be Destiny’s mother…” (p. 93).
Everything that she is doing is not just affecting herself; it is also affecting her child.
She cannot go to parties and hang out with friends all the time; she has to be there for her baby. She has to feed and play with the baby and change its diapers whenever needed.
Nevertheless, her child is not the only thing she has to take care of. After Jane’s mother died, she had to take over the role of her mum. She has to take care of her dad and also of her two brothers which are the opposite of her, undependable and always in trouble.
As well as being responsible, Jane is strong willed. She WANTS to be a good mother for her child; she WANTS to be there for the rest of her family and she ALSO WANTS the leading role in a school play. Jane is working very hard for all of these things and she does not want to give up on anything.Her grandmother supports her a lot by telling her how strong Jane’s mother and great-grandmother were. “I [Jane] am going to audition for the part of Sandy. I’m going to put my name on the list, first choice Sandy, second choice Frenchy…” (p. 110).
This quote shows good how resolute and determined she is. She wants to try as hard as she can to get the leading role in the play, no matter what is going to happen. Even after her life went into a totally different direction as she planned, she still wants to make the best out of it and she is not going to give up.
Her dream to play the leading role in the school play also shows that she is very confident. As soon as she is on stage every single feeling of fear just disappears. She is only singing and everything around her seems not to exist.
“…that is going to be too bad for her, because I know who’s going to get the leading role.” (p. 113) shows once more her confidence about what she is doing.
Especially in those conversations with Vanessa, an extremely snobbish girl, Jane always knows how to act without getting herself down. Even if Vanessa makes her feel like she has not the tiniest chance, she either ignores her or she shows her the opposite.
Jane’s character is completely different than a stereotypical character of a 14-year-old girl. She is a fulltime mother and student simultaneously. Whenever one thing is done, another one is already waiting. Only her strength and responsibility help her, and without her confidence she would never have got the leading role in the play.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
On the Bright Side, I'm now the Girlfriend of a Sex God
My novel " On the Bright Side, I'm now the Girlfriend of a Sex God" is about a 14- year old girl that fell in love with a 17-year old "Sex God". The boy has a problem with the big difference of age and dumbs the girl, that is now terribly unhappy. The book is written in a diary form and shows the girls life. The problems in her family, the life with her friends and all the unavailing tries to get the love of her life back. Her life is very stereotypical for her age. She feels like nobody likes her and her whole life is a tragedy.
I really liked this book, because it was relaxing to read and it reminded me on my situation when I was in her age. It happend exactly the same thing as in the book, and I felt misunderstood. Everything was meaningless and I just felt like my life was ruined. I could never imagine to feel better some day. But now I know that it is just the way that you feel for a while and then you get over it and go on with your life. I thought the book was very funny, because even if the girl was in a bad mood, she could still be sarcastic and laugh about herself.
She made everything worse than it actually was. She felt like nobody cared about her and everybody was just interested in their own lifes, but it was actually her that was just thinking of her own good.
I liked the perspective that the story was told from. The diary form showed all the girl's feelings and I felt like I am the person that is experiencing everything. The girl is a round character.
It was also funny to see how often she actually wrote in the diary and how her thoughts were floating in her head ( " 2:05 a.m. ...." and "2:05 and 30 secs...." ).
She changed her opinion on things very quickly sometimes and you can see all these thoughts in a funny way all the way through the story ( "1:06 a.m. - Oh I love him, I love him." "1:10 a.m. - I hate him,....").
I really liked this book, because it was relaxing to read and it reminded me on my situation when I was in her age. It happend exactly the same thing as in the book, and I felt misunderstood. Everything was meaningless and I just felt like my life was ruined. I could never imagine to feel better some day. But now I know that it is just the way that you feel for a while and then you get over it and go on with your life. I thought the book was very funny, because even if the girl was in a bad mood, she could still be sarcastic and laugh about herself.
She made everything worse than it actually was. She felt like nobody cared about her and everybody was just interested in their own lifes, but it was actually her that was just thinking of her own good.
I liked the perspective that the story was told from. The diary form showed all the girl's feelings and I felt like I am the person that is experiencing everything. The girl is a round character.
It was also funny to see how often she actually wrote in the diary and how her thoughts were floating in her head ( " 2:05 a.m. ...." and "2:05 and 30 secs...." ).
She changed her opinion on things very quickly sometimes and you can see all these thoughts in a funny way all the way through the story ( "1:06 a.m. - Oh I love him, I love him." "1:10 a.m. - I hate him,....").
Saturday, March 17, 2007
The Return - Setting
The loneliness and emptiness in the beginning of the story create a feeling that the man is isolated. The setting around the man shows how he feels. Lonely. He comes back home after years and the first thing he sees is the river that is still the same and this is a symbol for him that the other things with his family and friends will be the same too.
Novel- reading journal
The book, the magician’s nephew, which I am reading at the moment, is about two little kids, a boy and a girl, that live near London.
Like all the kids, also these two like adventures and they find a secret corridor between two houses. At the end of this corridor, they find the boy's uncle’s secret study room, in that he is hiding in all day and nobody knows what he is doing in there. Opening the door, they find the boy’s uncle. He is forcing them to go in another world that he said he discovered. On that journey they find out that there is a world between a whole bunch of other worlds, which are hidden behind paddles. To get in these worlds they need two different colored rings.
As far as is read the story, it reminds me on my dreams that I always had when I was a child. I always wished that I could just disappear sometimes and go to another world, where everything is different, and discover it. Reading the book makes me feel like a child again. I really want to know what else is going to happen in the story. Whether they are discovering new worlds and how these are going to be like. Maybe some of the worlds are the same as the ones that I always imagined when I was younger.
In the story, I especially liked the part when the “middle world” was described. The author used a lot of metaphors and so I can imagine this place really good and reading it makes me feel like I an right there. It is such a quiet and peaceful place, where you feel relaxed and satisfied and nothing seems to be changing that.
Like all the kids, also these two like adventures and they find a secret corridor between two houses. At the end of this corridor, they find the boy's uncle’s secret study room, in that he is hiding in all day and nobody knows what he is doing in there. Opening the door, they find the boy’s uncle. He is forcing them to go in another world that he said he discovered. On that journey they find out that there is a world between a whole bunch of other worlds, which are hidden behind paddles. To get in these worlds they need two different colored rings.
As far as is read the story, it reminds me on my dreams that I always had when I was a child. I always wished that I could just disappear sometimes and go to another world, where everything is different, and discover it. Reading the book makes me feel like a child again. I really want to know what else is going to happen in the story. Whether they are discovering new worlds and how these are going to be like. Maybe some of the worlds are the same as the ones that I always imagined when I was younger.
In the story, I especially liked the part when the “middle world” was described. The author used a lot of metaphors and so I can imagine this place really good and reading it makes me feel like I an right there. It is such a quiet and peaceful place, where you feel relaxed and satisfied and nothing seems to be changing that.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
“Touching bottom”
The story “Touching Bottom” by K.S. is about the fear of the unknown and the overcoming of it. In the story a woman is at the beach with her stepson and he wants to go deeper in the water. The woman that has a fear of unclear water since her childhood and is afraid, but she is finally doing it.
But then the situation gets out of control. They are in too deep water and they can’t get back to the beach. Now the woman has to decide whether she rescues herself or her stepson. She overcomes her fear and can rescue her stepson and herself.
The story is full of conflicts in every sort. It is a conflict between the woman and the water, when she tries to survive, a conflict between the woman and herself, when she fights against her own fear, another conflict between the woman and her dad, when he doesn’t come to her marriage, and also a conflict between the woman and herself again, when she has to decide whether she wants to rescue her stepsons life or her own life.
I think the water is a metaphor for her whole life, after that day she finally recognizes that her husband didn’t deserve her and that she had to care more about her life and things that are happening in it.
She isn’t afraid anymore of the ocean, but she has respect.
I know the fear to swim without knowing what is on the ground. Once, when I was younger, a friend told me a story about a part of a train that is in the ground of a lake, that we used to swim in. From that day on I always had a bad feeling when I was swimming in the middle of a lake. I always had the bad feeling that something could be sticking out and o could hurt myself swimming right in the middle, and having no way to get back to the shore. Because if that I can feel how the woman in the story feels about the ocean.
She is afraid because she has no idea if she will survive or not.
But then the situation gets out of control. They are in too deep water and they can’t get back to the beach. Now the woman has to decide whether she rescues herself or her stepson. She overcomes her fear and can rescue her stepson and herself.
The story is full of conflicts in every sort. It is a conflict between the woman and the water, when she tries to survive, a conflict between the woman and herself, when she fights against her own fear, another conflict between the woman and her dad, when he doesn’t come to her marriage, and also a conflict between the woman and herself again, when she has to decide whether she wants to rescue her stepsons life or her own life.
I think the water is a metaphor for her whole life, after that day she finally recognizes that her husband didn’t deserve her and that she had to care more about her life and things that are happening in it.
She isn’t afraid anymore of the ocean, but she has respect.
I know the fear to swim without knowing what is on the ground. Once, when I was younger, a friend told me a story about a part of a train that is in the ground of a lake, that we used to swim in. From that day on I always had a bad feeling when I was swimming in the middle of a lake. I always had the bad feeling that something could be sticking out and o could hurt myself swimming right in the middle, and having no way to get back to the shore. Because if that I can feel how the woman in the story feels about the ocean.
She is afraid because she has no idea if she will survive or not.
Friday, February 16, 2007
"Boys and Girls"
“Boys and Girls”
The story “Boys and Girls” from Alice Munro is about a girl and her little brother Laird. The girl lives on a farm with her family and her father has a fox farm. The girl was in the beginning of the story more interested in the stereotypical work of the man and she hated working with her mum in the house. For her the work in the house was just boring and endless.
Instead of playing with dolls like other girls in her age, she helped her dad carrying the water for the foxes or she helped cutting the long-grass.
Within the time the girl starts changing her character even if she doesn’t want to. She starts decorating her room nicely and also the stories that she told herself every night changed. Usually she was the person in her stories that rescued other people but now she was the person that has to be rescued. The stories ends, when she opens a gutter instead of closing it to rescue a horse that her dad wants to shoot.
The story reminds me of a friend of mine, she also lived further away from a city and even later in school she always just played soccer or hockey with the boys. It was never really important to her to have nice clothes or dolls.
She was kind of like the girl in the story and she hated helping her mum, but she loved being outside and just helping her dad with the animals or other things.
What I really like about the story is how the character changes with the time. But it is not just the dynamic character; it is especially that the girl doesn’t want to change. Only our society just makes her change. The end of the story really made me a little bit sad because the girl was so special before she changed and also in the end the dad just says” she is just a girl” and he knew that she was not just a normal girl.
The story “Boys and Girls” from Alice Munro is about a girl and her little brother Laird. The girl lives on a farm with her family and her father has a fox farm. The girl was in the beginning of the story more interested in the stereotypical work of the man and she hated working with her mum in the house. For her the work in the house was just boring and endless.
Instead of playing with dolls like other girls in her age, she helped her dad carrying the water for the foxes or she helped cutting the long-grass.
Within the time the girl starts changing her character even if she doesn’t want to. She starts decorating her room nicely and also the stories that she told herself every night changed. Usually she was the person in her stories that rescued other people but now she was the person that has to be rescued. The stories ends, when she opens a gutter instead of closing it to rescue a horse that her dad wants to shoot.
The story reminds me of a friend of mine, she also lived further away from a city and even later in school she always just played soccer or hockey with the boys. It was never really important to her to have nice clothes or dolls.
She was kind of like the girl in the story and she hated helping her mum, but she loved being outside and just helping her dad with the animals or other things.
What I really like about the story is how the character changes with the time. But it is not just the dynamic character; it is especially that the girl doesn’t want to change. Only our society just makes her change. The end of the story really made me a little bit sad because the girl was so special before she changed and also in the end the dad just says” she is just a girl” and he knew that she was not just a normal girl.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
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