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