Final Blog

This blog is going to focus on three pieces of my choosing: 'A Clean, Well - Lighted Place' (fiction), 'Harlem' (poetry) and 'You Know How to Wistle Don't You?' (drama) and how the theme of each piece affected and influenced me.

I will firstly be looking at the story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place'. After reading this fictional piece, it was apparent that the recurring theme was 'nothing' as was evidenced by the repition of the word 'nada' in the recitation of the Lord's Prayer close to the end of the story. This affected me a bit negatively in that as a Christian, I believe in an omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent God and so the line 'Our nada, who art in nada' suggesting that this is not so, ruffled my feathers to say the least. However, the portrayal of the circumstances being experienced in the lives of the drunk who tried to commit suicide and who 'had a wife once too' and the older waiter who admittedly lacked everything that the younger waiter had - a wife and a family - gives me some insight as to how a person would think that not even God could help them. It is clear that although they hoped and obviously prayed, through the reference of the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary, for their circumstances to be better, that they had given up hope and given into a deep despair and nothingness. Therefore, this has influenced me to see the other side of the religous coin so to speak and gain an appreciation for a person who feels so overcome by the nothingness in their lives that they believe that it relates to all aspects and facets, even God.


Secondly, I consider the work of Langston Hughes in his poem 'Harlem. Having read this poem, it is clear to me that the theme of the poem is presented in the opening line of 'What happens to a dream deferred?', a question which is answered by the lines and stanzas of the poem. This poem had the effect of making me realize that we all have dreams and aspirations, but how many of us are willing to realize them, plodding ahead without fear? Although the poem gives quite a few recommendations as to what happens to a deferred dream: 'Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun' or 'Fester like a sore and run' and so on, the one which really intrigued me was the line 'Or does it explode'. This caused me to reflect upon the circumstances of my grandmother and her decision to put off her dream of becoming a nurse so that she could start a family. I wonder; 'Did her decision blow up in her face and make things harder financially for herself and her children?' and 'Is is too late now that she is past the retirement age, for her to actualize her dream, meaning that is is now forever lost?' I must say yes to both these questions. Nonetheless, the poem has influenced me to pursue my dreams with all the strength and will that I can muster, so that in later life I will not be plagued by thoughts of what could have been had I not decided to give up.

Finally, I consider the melodrama "You Know How to Whistle Don't You?' whose theme seems, in my opinion, to be escape and freedom. This is seen in the prostitute's lines 'I'll be off this island for just one moment, even if it's just in my mind' and 'I can set you free', an act of pure desperation of such epic proportions that it is saddening. With this in mind, I do not think that the question is 'How does it affect me?' but rather 'How does it not affect me?' since I am all too familiar with the feeling of desperation and suffocation which comes when a situation seems insurmountable and you resort to doing things which are completely outside of your character and against your morals because you think there is no other way out. Additionally, the lines 'I'm not angry. I'm just Caribbean' amuse me primarily since it is the first time I have ever heard a Cuban - real or fictional - refer to themselves as 'Caribbean' and not 'Cuban'. Furthermore, being Caribbean myself, I can relate to the line knowing full well the typical Caribbean banter which employs the use of 'insults' and fast paced spoken dialect for comedic effect, though this is usually done between persons who know each other very well (best friends, even family members). However, since she was doing this to someone who not only is outside of the culture but is someone who she does not know, I would assume that she really was angy in this case. Nevertheless, I have taken from this story that it is wise to take into consideration every possible option before acting out of desperation. The play also gives the message that it is not worth selling yourself, literally or firguratively, just to escape a problem.

Having reviewed the themes of these literary pieces and done some introsepction as a result of these unlikely sources (a story, play and poem ... wow!), I have learned that there is something to take away from everything which I read. Additionally, it drives home the idea that there is a message behind everything as long as you are willing to seek it and I am gald that I had the opportunity to do this.

Poetic Venting

I read two poems today before my peers about personal issues called 'Mommy Loes You' and 'The Promise to Be a Better Man'. I had read and reread the first poem in the hopes of getting all the emotion out so I wouldn't cry when I had to present it. Fortunately or unfortunately - depending on how you looked at it- I did get emotional when reading this poem and I cried. Yes I admit it, I CRIED! I for one take it as a positive since I don't feel that a poem of such a deep, personal nature could have been read devoid of emotions. It would have ruined the effect which the poem was supposed to have. The only negative of this was that I cired in front of everyone and they saw my snot bubbles, but that pales in comparison to the good which came out of the words.

On the other hand the poem 'The Promise to Be a Better Man' drew not only from personal experience, but also from the experiences of friends and family (the part about the std was not about me but an unfortunate friend, to whom my heart goes out). I honestly felt that the contents of that poem needed to be said out loud for both sexes to hear. If anyone can relate or finds that they are perpetrating some of the wrongs listed. They could make things better for themselves in their relationship and for men, mayebe become a 'Better Man'

Feeling Poetry - Blog #4

Here are a few poems which I have read and below is a catalogue of how they made me feel. Enjoy.

"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" by Dylan Thomas

After reading this poem, I felt both saddened and angry. Sad that the poets father was dying and also, angry that there was nothing he could do about it, but to keep admonishing him to fight and 'rage against the dying of the light'. I chose this picture from 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' as I thought it encapsulated the feeling of the poem in its entirety. At this point in the movie (for those who have not seen it) Harry's godfather, having engaged in a vicious battle to protect Harry, is killed by one of their aggressors. He then drifts off beyond a dark veil, although Harry pines after him, trying to get him to stay. It is an all too familiar feeling to me to say the least, having lost my father as well and knowing the feeling of an emotional concoction of denial, anger and greif.

"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

Now here is a poem which had me thinking 'these pretty little things don't know what they are getting themselves into'. It evoked pity in me and literally made me shake my head at how these little shool children reject an education to pursue a lifestyle which they were no where near ready to handle, just to look cool. Then, I thought 'I sound like my mother!' And I wondered if this is how she felt when she observed me engaging in something that I could not understand the

consequences of in the fearlessness of my youth. The picture I associated with this poem comes from Cycle 9 of 'America's Next Top Model', where they did a photo shoot about the effects of smoking. Although some of the models don't look it, they are actually 18 and 19 year olds who have left high school or taken time off of college to pursue a career in modeling. In this image, they portray the 'coolness and glamour' which is associated with smoking with their current selves, whereas, the image in the mirror shows what they do not know; that they are harming themselves irreperably and this is the future which awaits them. 'Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?'

"I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain' by Emily Dickinson

Dazed and confused is how I felt after reading this poetic jem (sarcasm). I take this time to apologize to all the Emily Dickinson fans out there because I just might be ripping her to shreds for the rest of this section. So here goes. I read the poem the first time, and I was confused. I read it a second time and I felt my brain get knocked sideways, and I was dazed. I read it a third time and somewhere within myself (for my brain was dazed) I willed myself to stop before I went crazy. And that is the conclusion I came to about Ms. Emily Dickinson: THIS BITCH IS CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But in the spirit of trying to illustrate the feeling of the poem, I came up with the piece 'The Scream'. I believe that in the instant that my subconscious took control of my body and retrained me from further reading to avoid permanent mental damage, I related to Ms. Dickinson in a small (much emphasis on that word) way. We both lost control of ourselves for a moment and something more basic took over. We were essentially trapped within ourselves, completely at the mercy of something we could not control but that something was ourselves and we, although numb to stop it, were conscious of the whole occurrence. Confused? Now you get what I'm talking about.

'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost

Robert Frost made me feel something I have also felt before; the feeling of no matter what decision I make, I would have regretted not making the other. I felt that there is no clear or concise way of dealing with the situation and that everything is grey. I chose this picture because it represents to me the picture of the two roads which diverged in the wood which Frost had described.

'If The World Was Crazy' by Shel Silverstein

I felt happier than I had ever felt in my adult life (7 months since my 21st birthday). It brought back happy childhood memories and made me reminisce about simpler days, when things did not have to make sense and imagination was the greatest asset I possessed. The Mad Hatter definitely came to mind from the off when I read this poem as he moreso symbolizes the meaning of the poem than the concept of Wonderland. The poem rolled along stating unconventional ideas and concepts like there was nothing wrong with them, but just to appease the conventional thinkers, it states these things with the proverbial 'grain of salt' that is the line: 'If the world was crazy'. I found this to be similar to the Mad Hatter since he rolled along, doing unconventional things (as was his nature) and personifies 'If the world was crazy' in his natural way of being.

Thus brings the end of feeling poems from my perspective. I hope you can do the same when you read them.

Note: I was given permission to hand in this assignment after class time. Thanks alot! = )

Poetry - Blog No.3

According to www.dictionary.com , poetry is the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, elevative or imaginative thoughts.


In my mind, a poem must have a message to convey to the reader whether the tone of the poem is serious or otherwise. Also, it should be the baring of one's soul on paper in a few verses and in it's words, show hidden aspects of the writer to a reader and possibly touch the soul of the reader in turn by revealing something within themselves. On the other hand, if a bit of writing fails to do this, is just a rambling, or is too long, I do not consider it to be true poetry but the beginnings of a short story or essay or just incomplete thoughts.

After researching a few poets, I came across two in whom I am particularly interested and have compiled some facts about them.

Born Marguerite Johnson on April 4th 1928 in St. Louis Missouri, Maya Angelou is very accomplished in many facets of the arts, from poetry to play writing, books to movie producing and directing, singing and dancing. Her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her collection of poems Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore "I Diiie, were nominated for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize respectively. In addition, as the first black female director in Hollywood, she wrote the original film Georgia, Georgia, as well as several other award-winning documentaries and won the Golden Eagle award for Afro-Americans in the Arts. She was also a part of the civil rights movement in the United States, when on the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, she became the Northern Coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Langston Hughes, born James Langston Hughes, was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1st, 1902. He was raised by his grandmother after his parents got divorced until he turned thirteen. He then moved to Lincoln, Illinois to live with his mother and stepfather and began writing poetry. Hughes spent a year in Mexico and Columbia University eventually ending up in Washington, DC where he had his first book The Weary Blues, published. He was also influential in the Harlem Renaissance, writing about the struggle of African-Americans whilst inputting his own personal experiences and won the Harmon Gold Medal for Literature for Not Without Laughter in 1930. However, Hughtes died on May 22nd, 1967, in New York from prostate cancer. His former residence in Harlem has since been named as a landmark named "Langston Hughes Place".

Here are a coouple of poems which I like personally and consider 'my type of poetry' for lack of a better term.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The free bird leaps on the back of the wind

And floats downstream till the current ends

And dips his wings in the orange suns rays

And dares to claim the sky.




But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage

Can seldom see throguh his bars of rage

His wings are clipped and his feet are tied

So he opens his throat to sing.




The caged bird sings with a fearful trill

Of things unknown, but longed for still

And his tune is heard on the distant hill

For the caged bird sings of freedom.




The free bird thinks of another breeze

And the trade winds soft through the sighing trees

And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn

And names the sky his own.




But the caged bird stands on the grave of dreams

His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream.

His wings are clipped and his feet are tied

So he open his throat to sing




The caged bird sings with a fearful trill

Of things unknown, but longed for still

And his tune is heard on the distant hill

For the caged bird sings of freedom.




The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes




Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,

Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,

I heard a Negro play.

Down on Lenox Avenue the other night

By the pale, dull palor of an old gas light

He did a lazy sway...

He did a lazy sway...

To the tune o' those Weary Blues.

With his ebony hands on each ivory key

He made that poor piano moan with melody.

O Blues!

Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool

He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.

Sweet Blues!

Coming from a black man's soul.

O Blues!

In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone

I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan--

"Ain't nobody in all this world,

Ain't got nobody but ma self.

I's gwine to quit ma frownin'

And put ma troubles on the shelf."





Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.

He played a few chords then he sang some more--

"I got the Weary Blues

And I can't be satisfied--

I ain't happy no mo'

And I wish that I had died."

And far into the night he crooned that tune.

The stars went out and so did the moon.

The singer stopped playing and went to bed

While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.

He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.

I chose these poems because they resonated somewhere within me. I remember reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and thinking that it was a message to me from a kindred spirit; someone who knew my innermost thoughts and feelings at that time in my life and had been able to put into words what I effectively could not. With regards to The Weary Blues, I felt like I could relate to the singer and his contemplations about his troubles, how they made him feel and how he would try to deal with them. And how he, like me, cried from his soul (only he did so in song).

Light in the Darkness; Blog no. 2

In the story "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" we find that the story is set in a cafe which has an outside terrace near to the street in a more than likely Spanish area or country. We can assume that the area has some latin influence by the mentioning of "bodegas" and at other times in the text where the author has the characters correspond in Spanish. An example of this is the "No hombre, only to make a joke" and the several repititions of the word "nada" when the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary are being recited.

In my estimation the idea of a clean well-lighted place is significant because it represents to the characters in the story, particularly the deaf drunk, a light in an otherwise dark and disorderly world. Since he has tried to commit suicide, he is drawn like a moth to the 'light' of the bar where he finds solace, order and has some control although he is fueling his alcoholism. The same can be said of the older waiter who is trying to find some 'light' in his day in the absence of a wife and family of his own. We can assume this lack of family where he says at the end "he would go home to his room", when the younger waiter was impatient to go home to his wife.

Additionally, the author leaves the characters of the story nameless, only referring to them by descriptions: 'the older waiter', 'the old man', 'the young waiter'. After reading the story, I am inclined to say that the characters were not named so as not to place a limit on them. The limit being the one that comes with a name hence, making the reader attribute the words and the characteristics of the characters only to those mentioned in the story and not to themselves. So in leaving them nameless, Hemingway draws the reader into his story and allows them to effectively put themselves into the shoes of the charater and assume the role themselves.

As previously mentioned, the older waiter connects with the old man in that he is seeking a 'light' in his otherwise dark and dismal life. The older waiter connects with the old man in that he seems, in analyzing the strifes of the old man, he does not judge him and his tone at certain points in the story, conveys a feeling of empathy and understanding for his plight. This is particularly evident where he mentions that the old man "had a wife once too", something that we find the older waiter also lacked, when he said he woud go home only to his room.

The plot of the story is centered around the conflict within the young waiter who is torn between the decision of asking the old man to leave the cafe after hearing of his recent suicide attempt and trying to get this deaf man -the last customer at the cafe- to leave, so that he could get home to his wife. We also see complications arise with the young waiter, as he becomes more entangled with the life of the old drunk, when enquiring for details about the man's life and the reasons and means of how he tried to commit suicide. The rising action sees the point where the young waiter decides to ignore to some extent the plight of the old man saying "I don't want to look at him. I wish he would go home. He has no regard for those who must work." and in that instant, decides in the climax of the story to cut him off saying he is "Finished" and gets the drunk to finally leave the cafe. After the departure of the old man and the young waiter, the story winds down with the short internal monologue by the old waiter and a short interaction between him and the barman.

From all this, I gather that the theme of this story is we all have varying deegrees of darkness in our lives that we must face (whether they be internally or externally induced) and we all try different ways to shed some light on the dark corners of our lives. This is depicted by all the characters in the story who have either resorted to drinking, congregating with others at their workplace to avoid going to an empty house or retreating to their loved one.

Quick background on Ernest Hemingway. He was born on July 21st, 1899 in Oak Park, Illonois and died July 2nd, 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho as a result of suicide. He was the son of a physician and drew most of his literary inspiration from his experiences of the World Wars. He started writing for the "Kansas City Star" newspapaer at the age fo seventeen before he became enlisted in the Italian military where he became a decorated officer for his efforts during the war. When he left the army, he went to work for the "Toronto Star" newspaper.Eventually, he moved to Paris with his first wife to pursue his writing career and earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954 for his book "The Old Man and The Sea". Hemingway was married three times and seemed to have a life filled with tragedy with his father committing suicide, his divorces, the traumatic experiences of the wars and several unfortunate accidents which he had survived during his life. In his later life, he retreated to Cuba but because of paranoia (thinking that the FBI would be after him in the Russian-assisted, communist island) he returned to the United States where he subsequently killed himself with a shotgun.


Throughout the story, Hemingway creates parallels with his own life. He mentions a soldier walking along the road and at some point, the light illuminates his figure and moreso his badge. I find that this represents Hemingway reminiscing about his past self; him the young, stately soldier illuminated in the light while he looks on at who he was over his bottle, whilst sitting in the shadows. He also depicts the drunken, old man as a person who had amassed great wealth but still wanted to take his life. This is similar to Hemingway in that he came from a good home with his father being a prominent physician and he in his life, had gained success through writing, but also sought to and eventually did commit suicide. Furthermore, he links himself with the drunk old man in that like the character, he had no wife in the later years of his life. With his body degenerated, no support system and paranoia plaguing him, the words "A wife would be no good to him now" ring true, as he takes his own life similar to the character of the old drunk, who had attempted to do the same.

Sonny's Blues Indeed

I recently read a story called "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin. The story takes place in Harlem, New york circa the late 1940's early 1950's at the time of the Harlem Rennaisance. Unemployment is high, living conditions are far less than prime with the introduction of housing projects which have taken the place of the traditional houses, crime is up and narcotics lace the air. Yet, creativity through music particualrly, flows through the community as a means of escape from an otherwise dismal lifestyle.

It is this need to escape that shapes the character of Sonny in the story. Having lost both his parents and subsequently his brother to the military, it is not hard to see why Sonny needed to create for himself an escape. While living with his brother's fiancee's family, he sought to do this by playing piano. However, his talent and dedication went unappreciated causing conflict with their family and no odubt within himself, since no-one understood him and they were all to quick to cast him aside. This could have also driven him toward heroin abuse as (later revealed in the story) it would gave him a feeling of "control" over his situation.

In reading the story on ediscovers that the narrator was formerly enlisted in the army. This is interesting since African-americans in the army have had a long a varied history. It was traditionally considered a last resort to have 'blacks' in the army and if brought into the ranks, they were, it is believed, sent to the front lines to die and defend the ranks of white soldiers which were to follow.

It is ironic that Sonny would want to enlist in the army knowing that he would most likely be placed on the front lines, when he could not commit suicide when going through his period of addiction and withdrawal. The irony is further deepened in that being as free spririted as he is, he would consider the idea of joining a group which would seek to strip him of his individuality and conform to a strict status quo.

The song "Solitude" by Billie Holiday states:

"I sit in my chair and filled with despair
There's no one could be so sad with gloom everywhere
I sit and stare I know that I'll soon go mad
In my solitude I'm prayin'
Dear Lord Above

Send back my love."

I find that this lyric describes Sonny's afflictions in his time of rehabilitation as he would have had much time to reflect upon his choices and where they have brought him to. In addition, it shows his longing for his love of music and the piano which, I would believe, he had no access to while going through treatment.

Furthermre, the role of bebop comes into play significantly in the story. Bebop, being an updated or more modern approach to the classical art of Jazz music was frowned up by many Jazz musicians at a time when jazz was becoming popular and veritable. Bebop unlike jazz, focussed on the solos of particular musicians in the group who would make up a solo based on their mood at the time which lent a brooding and sometimes dark feel to the music, when jazz was more upbeat and lent itself to dancing.

Sonny was drawn to bebop in my estimation, because it represented an outlet to the spirit which he tried to express and was his way of being a social creature without words. It also showed his individuality and nonconformity in that he was experimenting with a style of music which was not main stream at the time and considered not up to par with the more established jazz. Conversely, it represented to hsi brother, the root of Sonny's problems since the man which Sonny's idolized was a heroin addict himself. Later however, bebop came to represent Sonny's sould to his brother and a means of understandign him on a level much deeper thatn any conversation could have acheived