"Cold Coming"

The poem combined the images of war with the ideas of brith and death by being descriptive with how the battles and how war are. The author says words like 'bomb-blasted" and 'charred Iraqi", these words are very descriptive and put images in your head. It goes with birth and death because during war thereis death and bad things happen but in other places there are new babies being born. The author uses the sperm bank and it makes the war look bad like those men will not be coming back so they need to put there sperm in a bank. I think that it is important that the Iraqi is talking to a poet rather then a journalist because a poet can put words into more of a meaning when a journalist is just looking for a story.

A Cold Coming

This story talks about the soliders freezing there sperm so that they can leave a legacy ehind if they die. It tells you how the Iraqi solider feels and how he wants forgivness. It talks about the bad things he has done under Saddam. This story was alright it showed you some different views of how the soliders react.

Journey of the Magi

This storywas good, I like how they described the journey I could really picture where and what they were doing. The author says in the story, "The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter." This gives you the idea of how cold and how they are struggling no this trip. I thought the story would have a happier ending but he seemed to be depressed and not happy.

She Unnames Them

This story was very confusing, I did not understand it. I like how they talked about the animals names but I did not understand why really. I just thought this story was to confusing. Was the lady naming these animals.

In the interview you find out why she writes how she does. She goes back to a lot of her childhood and does not think that names mean as much as people think they do. The interview helps you understand things better.

I get what he is saying but I did not have the same feeling. That view is interesting but wasn't what I thought.

My definition for a lion would be they are big, strong, smart animals. They are the king of animals and are good hunters, lions are very aggressive and people should not try to be around them.

Lioness
Is a female lion. They are very good hunters and are smart.

"So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs from Americans" Topic Proposal #3

I chose this poem because I find this topic to be very interesting and something that may affect my life in the future. I believe in hard work and fare work so I am kind of torn between whether or not it is right to let illegal immigrants work or not. The United States and Mexico have always had problems with illegal aliens, and those illegal aliens taking jobs away from American workers.
I reasearched this topic on illegal aliens coming to the United States and learned about NAFTA and how illigal immigration became very popular in the 1980's. That is significant because in 1986 Public law 99-603 Act of 11/6/86 was passed to help control this. This poem talks about many problems about Americans views on illegal aliens and how they treat them, this poem is not only about stealing Americans jobs but it is about the life style and way that this illegal aliens are viewed in the public eye.

Margaret Atwood "Siren Song"

This poem I thought was about death the first time I read it, but the more I read it, I changed my mind and it seemed like just a poem that was about a person who wasn't happy and was asking for help. They seemed like they did not like the position in which they were in and were beginning to become crazy. They wanted help from someone and thats why they sang that song.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson "Ulysses"

This poem was good I liked hearing abou his journeys and how he wanted to come back to his family but to find that his wife had changed and his son was different. This poem was good because I liked how it talked about his life and how he was so eager to keep taking on the world and that he would never be satisfied.

William Butler Yeats "Leda and the Swan"

This poem was confusing to me but I took it as a girl dieing in a mans arms. She was dieing in a strange mans arms that she did not know. It is talking about her lsat moments before she died and what was going on when the man was holder her. That is what I took the poem as.

The poem I chose to write about was “So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs from Americans”, written by Jimmy Santiago Baca. The reason I want to write about this topic is because it affects everyone that lives in America today and it has affected Americans in the past. Illegal immigrants want to work and they will work for cheap unlike the American worker, this causes concern for the everyday worker which is why there are so many problems with illegal immigration.

Susan Glaspell "Trifles", "A Jury of Her Peers"

When reading this story I enjoyed the play version better. The reason I enjoyed this better is because of the detail of the play. I like that they describe the scenery and what is going on during each scene, this makes it easier for me to picture. When picturing what is going on it is easier to understand what is going on. The story verision was also good but I just enjoy hearing what is going on and what the scenery looks like. The disadvantages with the play are that you can get lost switching from each character and having to read some of the play over again. You can get mixed up with each character and what they are saying, in the story version it is just there for you but you have to use your imagination more, to picture what is going on. In the play version I was abel to understand the time period better. It seemed like it took place in a older time, with how they describe the house, and what is in the house. How the author describes what is in the scenes makes you think that the time period is taking place in the past rather then the present. Hearing about the quilt and the fire and how they needed the fire to keep warm maeks you think it is not present day.

Miss Brill

The historical context of the theme is Miss. Brill and how old she is. She grew up in a different time period then the younger period that she watches. The cultural background is a town outside of in a park where Miss. Brill is listening to people's conversations, it is taking place in a modern time period. The cultural background is familiar to me it seems like a normal background with people having conversations and an old lady listening it does not seem to differnt. Some cultural views in the story are the two girls who are dressed in red to meet two soldiers who were dressed in blue which shows the regualr culture in America, with how sailors look and how the girls meet them. Two peasent ladies walk by with straw hats and the straw hats are significant because they are associated with peasent you do not here of to many rich people wearing them. This story is big on showing the difference between elderly people and younger people. Key words for finding signifcant culture and historical knowledge are, sat, swooping, laughing, pattered, young, and elderly. I want to see how the young people interact with the elderly people.

Battle Royal

When reading this story you really see how badly African Americans were treated. It is ashame that people treated other humans like they were animals. When I read this I pictured a lot of old rich white men smoking cigars in a dark room with a lot of smoke, then I pictured a lighted up stage with all the African Americans up there being made a fool of. This story shows how cruel humans can be to one another.

Becky

The main theme of this story is that people discrimante aganist people who are different. Becky had a black son which was different and the white people looked at her in a negatvie way as did the black people. The setting is a small town with a house set off by itself on an island. Not an island in water but inbetween the railroad tracks and the road, this is signifcant because it shows how becky is different from everyone else.

Becky

Her house is located between a railroad track and a road kind of its own island this represents how she is serperated from the town being a white women with a black baby. The white people talk about her badly and so does the black community. I think this takes a major toll on her life, and how she lives.

America

This poem was not clear to me. I think the author is talking about someone who hates the women he is with but still can not seem to leave. It talks about how eventually with each day things will get worse and things will finally become to bad to handle.

If We Must Die

This poem is talking about how we you die you don't want to just accept it you want to fight back and even when you do die you still want to kepp that fight. You want to die nobly not just accepting death, you want to be brave and stay honored.

How to date a browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie
This was an interesting story, the narrator of the story seemed like he understood the girls he was asking out pretty good. He understood how they would act, what they would say, and how there parents would be. It seemd like the narrator asked a lot of girls out and went out with different types of girls from different areas. I think where he grows up has a big part of how he talks about the girls he goes out with.

Cultrural/Historical Inventory
The cultural history in this text is reflected by how the author brings up the different time periods and areas that people live in and how it can affect their culture. Yes this does help explain the text, it makes you understand that even if you live in the same country people still live in different areas and have different cultures. No it does not effect my understanding of the text I thought it was easy to understand.

The Soldier
I thought this was a good poem, it makes me think about people going to war and how there family's and friends are affected. This poem makes you think of the otherside of war, not just the battles but the other effects that war has on society.

Anthem for Doomed Youth
When reading this poem I thought about how war makes people just look like they are animals and not cared for. The first line when is what makes me think of this, and when I kept reading I just kept thinking about how in war people are killed and it is accepted as being fine because it is war.

Dulce et Decorum Est
This poem describes war very well, you can picture bombs going off and the horror of what is going on in the battle field. I thought about how the soldiers must be going threw so much suffering and pain, you can tell the passion when reading this poem. When the author talks about the gas you can just picture the panic of the soldiers and the fear they must feel. You can picture bombs going off, men dieing, shots being fired, blood, explosions, and seeing soldiers running. This poem describes war in a very good way and gives you a good picture of what it would be like.

Glory of Women
This poem describes the opposite side of war, what the women are going through when there men are gone. This poem shows how people may be thinking one thing but not ever know what is going on at war. The lady knitting socks for her son, not knowing that he was already killed at war, shows such a reality that family's go threw during war.

They
When reading this poem you don't think about how the soilders will react to what they have seen, and how they will change, but in this you read that the men will change and not be the same. They go through problems when they saw horrific things at war, the bishop talks about how god works in strange ways and that is the case in this poem when they talk about how the soilders will be different.

Jarrell was a native of Nashville, Tennessee and graduated from Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, he was acquainted with poets of the Fugitives group. Jarrell followed critic John Crowe Ransom from Vanderbilt to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where Jarrell wrote a masters thesis on the poetry of Alfred Edward Housman, and roomed with poet Robert Lowell. He taught at Kenyon College, the University of Texas, the University of Illinois, Sarah Lawrence College, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was married to second wife Mary von Schrader from 1952 until his death.
On October 14, 1965, while walking along a road in Chapel Hill near dusk, Jarrell was struck by a car and killed. The coroner ruled the death accidental, but Jarrell had recently been treated for mental illness and a previous suicide attempt. In 2004, the Metropolitan Nashville Historical Commission approved placement of a historical marker in his honor, to be placed at Hume-Fogg High School, which he attended.
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has an extensive Randall Jarrell Collection which "includes over two thousand manuscript items and books relating to one of the mid-20th century's most important American poets and critics."[1]
Recently, community activists proposed to name a new elementary school in Greensboro in honor of Jarrell, but some parents protested. The name change was defeated 7-2 by the school board, and the schools was named Northern Elementary instead.

Randall Jarrell's experience I think helps with his poetry, even though was not able to fly he still saw some horrific things I am sure. Knowing his backgorund I think it would help with writing a paper for this poem. I believe his background helps with his poerty and makes them better, he has personal expreience which makes things good.

After reading the poem again It is a lot clearer. I can picture the situation he is in now which makes it easier to understand. It is more specific now with detail and makes the poem make sense.

My strongest association with the term World War II is that it was a horrific war, and many people were killed. World War II is a word that is frightening knowing that the whole world was involved in this.

What I know about the words, war, gunner, and attack are they all associated with death, and battles. I think about Iraq, terrorism, are country's freedom, how are country started. For the word gunner I think about a sniper, soldiers, men dieing, a person who kills people. For the word attack I think about 9/11, Iraq, George Washingtons attack on the British, and terrorist. Each of these three words are not positive and all reflected negative things about the world. The color I think about with this are, red, black, yellow and I also think about destruction, and rebuilding.

The Holocaust Party
This story was kinda of weird to me. The main character who is jewish is invited to a party to hear a lady who survived the holocaust talk. That does not seem to make sense to me. The parents in the story seem to have a lot of tention with each other, the father seems angry and likes to be alone and the mother who use to beat her daughter seems like she tries to be nice but is under stress. The daughter Amy seems like she is normal but I just don't get the whole story. Mrs. Isabel is telling a story about the holocaust but does not seem to ahve that much emotion about it. When I was reading this I did not know if the story she was telling was true or not. I did not get why Amy invited her friend over to hear this story.

Turning Out with a Focus on Historicism
This was an interesting topic because it is something that I believe many people take for granted. A lot of students are not exactly into learning about our countries history, they will take the required courses in school and just do the work and learn what they hear from the teachers and books. There is more to are history though, not everything we read or are told is true. People always tell stories differently and through the years stories change. Yes I believe that our history is true but it might not exactly be how it is described today. Some people like to make things seem more dramatic then it really was, others like to say some people were more heroric then they really were, it also works in the opposite way some people say people were less then they were or things were less important but in fact actually ment a lot to our countries history. You can't always believe exactly everything you hear, history is an interesting topic but has a lot of flaws in it.

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
I believe this poem is about a soilder who dies while at battle, he is talking about how the whole thing went. I did not really understand everything about this poem though. When he says, "And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze", I was not to clear on what that ment I felt like I knew what the poem was about but just didn't quite understand the meaning of some of the sentences.

my concerns for my paper are it might not be in good order, i don't state an arguement, and that I don't say why this magazine is so popular.

The message of my poster was to show how we are putting to much pollution into are enviroment and how we are building way to much. I wanted to show how nature was being destroyed and soon it will be gone.

Essay #2 Topic Proposal
The object I selected was the cover of an ESPN the magazine. The reason I chose this particular piece is because it is something I read a lot and I bought because of the cover. The cover catches your eye and makes you want to look at the magazine more. This is important because the colors make you want to read the inside of the magazine because it looks like something interesting will be in there. The text surface message is that inside the magazine the main story is about professional baseball players. You can tell this by the picture on the cover and the comment next to the two players saying ‘You’d be crazy not to draft us.” The text reveals that the two players are brothers, and that when you first think about those two players they wouldn’t come to your mind right away as top players.
On the cover there are two professional baseball players both in there home white jerseys. One player playing for the Tampa Bay Rays the other player on the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are each carrying a bat, both stances are unique to, the one on the left has his legs open looking at his brother as if he were crazy, the other player confidently has his legs crossed with the bat leaning against his side and kind of a relaxed grin. The background is just dark green which brings out the players jersey more to make them appear more important. I think the color of the background and the jerseys are important because the players appear larger on the cover and stand out more with the white against the green. The way the players are looking to you can tell that there is some kind of relation between them. The ESPN behind them is even a lighter green so that it is noticed but not the main point of the cover, it blends well with the players. The intended audience is a sports fan, and the age ranges from teenagers to older people that are interested in the sport.

Posters or billboards that have to do with politcal things or world problems don't really affect the way I think. I usually notice them but don't look to deep into it, I will still have my own view and a poster isn't going to make me change that view. It is good they are out there though so that people do know what problems are in the world.

Analyzing the Design of an Everyday Text
This article really helped me understand the topic for essay #2. I wasn't sure what to write about but now I have an idea and how to write my paper.

Politics of Design
The author of this does not seem to be a fan of how graphic designers are today. There job is mainly to help sell products like coffee, diamonds, credit cards, and sneakers, which is taking away from the art. Designers are not so caught up with selling products that they don't use as much art. I do not really understand why the author is mad about designers working for commerical companies. I would think you would be happy that they are making good money because they know how to do there job. I like how the authoer brings up how Prada shoes will be in Washington, DC, to strategize their social and political engagement with capitalism. I think this is a good example of how the world works today.

Light unto the Wealth of Nations
I like how the author talks about how christmas lights are becoming more popular and are creating more jobs and buisness. I never really thought about the christmas light buisness until now. Not only are people able to buy more lights for cheaper prices now they can even keep them up longer which is showing how much better technology is getting even with something as simple as christmas lights. The lighting buisness is helping landscape companies grow at rapid numbers during the holiday seasons which is interesting because I don't think of landscape companies as doing holiday lights.

Car Culture
I thought was interesting how they pointed out the difference between men and women with cars and younger celebrities and older ones. I like how they pointed out how younger celebrities buy more cares like Hummers and how older more notable celebrities are starting to drive the Toyato Prius, which is a hybrid. I also like how they were describing how women are not usually part of the design of cars but make up a lot of the buyers of cars. I think this is important because companies might begin looking into this and hiring more female employees.

I like pc's better then mac's because I am more use to the pc's and mac's seem like they are a pain because not everything works right on them. I use pc's everday, I think it works good and it has everything I need on it. I like how it is built its not to big or to small, and it is easy to bring with me. The advertising campaign is good to for the company because they use famous people and companies to promote their company.

Carl I swear I will never eat buffalo wings again know matter how much I like them, im done.
Owen Wilson "You Me and Dupree"

The text I picked was "Ducks on a Pond" by Mark Sibley-Jones
The texts main point was about a older man who ran into what he saw as a local legend who played baseball with his dad. The mans name was Carl Mixson, and he was throwing bread to ducks with his grandson. As the story goes on the older man who is narrating the stoy talks with Mixson and the grandson about his father and other stories about growing up.

The passage I selected was on page 260 paragraph 4. It said " Back at the pond, Mixson shuffled once more to the edge of the water. He pulled the bread crust out of his pocket and pinched off a small piece. Again the windup, arm moving back to his hip and then forward, knees quaking on the follow through. His face brightened as the ducks came. He picked at the bread a second time, but before tossing it, turned to Carl and said, "Time for you to practice".

I think the tone of this passage is a happy lving old grandfather. The words in this passage are very descriptive and I think that helps you understand the passage better. There are no rhymes in the passage I think it is just described in detail that helps you understand the story more.

The features from points four and five help you get the undercut of the story because of how its written, the way the grandfather tells the grandson you need to practice now, and the ay the narrator describes how the grandfather throws the bread in the water helps you understand the quote a little more.

My group had laugh/smile for the story, "Sonny's Blues" early in the story when Sonny's sister is talking to one of Sonny's olds friends they talk about him grinning. This isn't really a happy story but they do describe some family memebers laughing and smiling through out the story. The mood of the story to me is kind of depressing just because Sonny was a drug addict and they talk about family members dieing. I do not think the key words I had really describe the setting very well.

Inhabiting and Transforming a Poem ENGL102-066

Readers often find themselves wary – even fearful – of poetry because they don’t think they can “get it.” This exercise, from an idea developed by the poet Wendy Bishop, is designed to help you find a way in to a poem so you can look around and see what’s going on.

There are no right or wrong answers, but I will ask you to support your responses when we discuss this.

1. Copy the following poem (by hand or by typing).

Character
by Taslima Nasrim

You’re a girl
and you’d better not forget
that when you step over the threshold of your house
men will look askance at you.
When you keep on walking down the lane
men will follow you and whistle.
When you cross the lane and step onto the main road
men will revile you and call you a loose woman.

If you’ve got no character
you’ll turn back,
and if not
you’ll keep going
as you’re going now.

2. Write down your first reaction to the poem (write about a paragraph and be specific).
I thought this poem was written by a strong women who is into womens rights. I first that it was talking about a young women and trying to teach her what to do in certain situations.
3. Read the poem again, looking up any words you don’t know. Then, write the story of the poem (the plot) in two or three sentences.
The plot of the story is men looking and yelling at women when they are walking by. The story wants a girl to know what to do when this is going on.

4. Answer the following questions: Who is the narrator (speaker) of the poem? To whom is the narrator speaking? (Characterize each of these people – gender, age, etc.) What is the relationship between the speaker and the listener?
The narrator is an older women maybe a relative, and I believe the narrator is speaking to a younger girl in her teens.

5. Read the poem once more and write down what you think the theme is (what the poem means) and why you think this.
I think the poem is about a women trying to teach a younger girl on how to act when she caught in that situation

"Videotape"
I understood the story but didn't get really what the point was. I was thinking that maybe it meant that you never know whats going to happen, and how so innocent children are and how the girl filming didn't really understand what she filmed. I didn't get the end of the story though when it was talking about watching the film a lot. I don't understand what watching the film a lot has to do with the story.

when I was walking to class I was tired and cold so if I was painting a picture of this I would probley use blue, white, and green for the colors of my painting.

"Hills Like White Elephants"
What is the couple arguing about in the story? What specific lines best illustrate their positions in this argument in the first half of the story? In the second half?
The couple is arguing about if they should get an abortion or not. The man says, "We'll be fine afterward. Just like we were before." This comments makes it seem like the man does not want the women to have the child. the girl says, "And once they take it away, you never get it back." This comment shows how the girl is confused and doesnt know what she wants to do. In the scond half of the story they both agree that getting an abortion is the right thing to do.

"Girl"
What does the primary speaker believe about the world, and women in general?
I think the primary speaker believes that the world thinks as women as hard working house keepers. She thinks that women need to know many responsibilities in and out of the house.

"The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven"
Who is the narrator of this story? How does his narration create a sense of his character? Find a specific moment in the text in which the way the story is told reflects the character of the teller.
The narrator is a native american who is not happy with his life. He was a college student and eventually went to leave in Seattle. The narrator talks a lot about his life and how he feels out of place. int he story the narrator says, " When I got back to the reservation , my family wasn't surprised to see me." This shows how he feels like a failure and out of place.

In Ernest Heminways "Hills Like White Elephants", The girl in story comments on the hills resembling white elephants, the man she is with doesnt really seem to care. This is because the women is pregnant and the man wants her to get an abortion and that is on his head. They never say that in the story but that is the underlining theme.

In Jamaica Kincaids, "Girl", i didnt really understand the story I thought maybe she was a servent but I honestly have no clue what it was talking about. Also I was wondering why it said dont sing benna on Sunday.

"The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven", by Sherman Alexie, is a weird story. I think it was about a indian who was a young adult and never really did anything with his life. Since he went to college his family probley wanted more out of his life. Since he never really did anything he became a alcoholic and would fight with his girlfriend. He felt since he was a Native American in society that he did not fit in and this caused him pain. His dreams are caused from all his pain from not doing anything with his life and his drinking and fighting with his girlfriend.

Golden Grove
I feel like the translation that was downloaded is better. It seems clearer to me then the first one I read. Both poems talk about the brightness of the Rowan trees. The second one is different because it seems like it explains story better. I understood it more.

Homework

Genre- Art that is characterized by a certain style
Your interpretation of a text should be supported by a strong statement to back up your comment.
Context - the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Why are details important in texts? Details can give you information that helps you realize something that you might not have picked up while reading. Details give you a good discription of whats going on in the story.
point of view - Is someones take on a certain situation

neverending, a lot of things, planets, someones things

dry, hot, cactus, scorpians, the west, arizona, africa, california, native americans, water, boring, open

Shepherd, sheep, countryside, europe, religion, peaceful, old person,

Mistress is a women who is with a man who is not her husband.

Mistress 1: a woman who has power, authority, or ownership: as a: the female head of a household b: a woman who employs or supervises servants c: a woman who is in charge of a school or other establishment d: a woman of the Scottish nobility having a status comparable to that of a master2 achiefly British : a female teacher or tutor b: a woman who has achieved mastery in some field3: something personified as female that rules, directs, or dominates 4 a: a woman other than his wife with whom a married man has a continuing sexual relationship Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Nymph 1: any of the minor divinities of nature in classical mythology represented as beautiful maidens dwelling in the mountains, forests, trees, and waters Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Pastoral means peaceful.
Pastoral d: pleasingly peaceful and innocent : Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

close reading to me means when you are reading a poem or story and you pay more attention to detail then you usually would when you are reading. You look into the meaning of the words in the poem in greater depth and find the underlining meaning of what the story or poem mean.