The three literary pieces i have chosen are "the road not taken" " if the world were crazy" and "captured by the feministas." I thought long and hard about my choices only beacuse i feel like every literary piece we've read so far has been so important. I feel that the class was really involved in everything we did. I saw how some pieces of work affected my peers, and it was a good experience. Every poem had its different affect on each student.
In the road not taken Robert Frost expresses himself in a way that i can relate to. Making decisions is hard, making the right one is even harder. He compares choosing the right path to a road split in two. When i read it i feel very mellow and calm. It helps me to want to be more patient with my decisions.When making decisions you can only choose one, he says "and sorry i could not travel both" as if he is saying sorry i cant pick two decisions only one. Especially if its a decision that will affect the rest of your life, you want to put time and much thought in making the right one.
When i first read If the World Was Crazy by Shel Silverstein it made me reminise about being child and having a wild imagination. I think when you're young everything is so new to you and you dont know much about anything, and all you imagination can do is imagine. This poem in particular made me think outside the box. He says things out of the ordinary, which would make them carzy like "I'd fly through the ground and skip through the air." It made me wonder about the words we use to express ourselves, what if shoe really meant banana or orange juice meant soda.Who is to even say that everything we do is part of a"normal world."
Captured by Feministas was and awesome play i absolutely fell in love with the humor. What i love the most about it is that is what so realistic, these are real issues between men and women. And there are some men who are dogs! Like he explains himself when he says "as for the toilet-seat controversy, up or down who cares? I'll go outside. Who needs to use a toilet? I'm a dog. Theres always that one incident that a women goes through and she wishes all men were punished for the one mans mistake. We think "hell yea" torture that jerk! while reading it. One man needs to pay! Men go around with more than one woman and he is aplauded for it, but women must be faithful or we are looked down upon. This play made me laugh it off, i laughed all these dumb issues off , these dumb issues that we have with men that we can never sort out. Very humorous play, i wished it was longer.
These three pieces you can say im favoring them. They stood out to me like a sore thumb. I have a special place for them in my thoughts. And they have had great impact on my life and in my imagiantion.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas made me think about looking up into the sky at night and the only thing you can see is the moon. He is saying rage , rage against the dying of the light. Dylan says this as if the daytime will never

return.

We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks put a picture in my head of a group of tough hoodlums, walking around thinking they're so cool. Gwendolyn describes them by saying what they do wrong. We sing sin. We thin gin. Its very short but means a lot. They sing sinful music,drink alcohol and carry guns.

I felt a funeral in my brain took me a couple times to understand. And im not sure that i understand it still. Every person picks up different vibes and emotions from poems. This one made me feel like she knew she was dying before she actually died. She sensed a funeral, makes me think of a crowd of people crying.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost made me understand that life is about making decisions and not every decision will be the right one. And at times we will have regrets. I picked a picture of two diverged roads because when i have to make a decision this will be what i picture in my head after this poem.

If the World Was Crazy by Shel Silverstein was a comical poem but there is something about it that makes me giggle every time. I chose a picture of a cartoon and nothing is real and will never happen in real life, only in a crazy world.

P.S. Late:(

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blog 4

Poetry is a form of expression using literary art. I believe that what determines a poem is a poem is the free lance writing. You know a peice of writing is a not a poem when it is really long or when it is a detailed story. A poem has a lot of feelings. There are many different ways to write a poem, each poet has their own style. Poetry is a unique form of writing. There are no rules, no punctuation. Poetry is a form of art and individuality.
I decided to look up one contemporary poet and one historical poet. The contemporary poet is Gary Soto who my mom likes very much. Gary was born in Fresno California in April,1952. He claimed to be never be motivated in school until he became interested in poetry. He attened Fresno ity college and California State University. He later studied poetry at the University of of California, Irvine, he got his MFA in 1976. I chose a poem called Looking Around, Believing. I think this is a good example of poetry because it is very short and to the point. Very discrete. But even though it is so short it means so much.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19709
The next poet I looked up is a historical poet, Robert Frost. Robert was born in San Francisco on March 26, 1874. When he was eleven he moved to new england and became very interested in reading and writing poetry while he was in high school. he attended Dartmouth college in 1892, and then he attended havard after that. His first professional poem was called Butterfly in was published on november 8, 1894 i a newspaper. The poem i chose by Frost is called the Road not Taken. I feel the two poems i chose are very different from each other, but they are both good examples of poetry. This poem by Robert reminds me of a code language when what you are reading doesnt mean what it says. I love the comparisons.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15717

Blog #2

The setting was definetely at the cafe, and yes it was well lighted. In the story they explained the cafe to be very pleasant. The lighting at night created shadows of leaves against the window. The idea of a well lighted place is so significant to the story because it starts off with two waiters talking about a drunk older man at the cafe. One of the waiters began to complain about him, and how he wants to go home because it was late. The waiter expressed how the old man was drunk and deaf, which i think had alot to do with him wanting to be there. The old man could not hear all he can do is observe by looking around him and finding some place comfortable based on how it looks. The waiters also spoke about how it was not the same if you buy a bottle of liquor and drink it at home, it was better to sit at this well lighted cafe and enjoy your drink. I feel the characters are nameless for various reasons. The first reason is beacuse it gives it an extra kick, it helps you get more involved in the story, you have to pay close attention or you wont know who's talking. And I think that names arent really necessary because it is a short story. As long as each character has an identity such "old drunk man" it wont be hard to comprehend. The connection between the old man and the old waiter is their age, the old waiter sides with the old man probably beacause he knows exactly where he is coming from. He even defends him at one point when he asks the young waiter " Why didnt you let him stay and drink?" The conflict was the old man at the cafe, it was late and he was drunk, one of the waiters wanted to close up. At one point the younger waiter was worried that the old man might get too drunk and not pay. The only drama that intensified was the old man wanting more brandy and the waiter explaing to him that it was finished no more. Im sure the complications that occured in the story was the two waiters not knowing why the old man tried to kill himself. You would think that after hearing the news about the old man trying to commit suicide the younger waiter would back off a little bit, but he didnt. He even took full advantage of him since he was deaf and said things like '' You should have killed yourself last week." At one point in the story they desscribed him talking to the old man the way we would talk to foreigners. The turning point in the story is when the older waiter explains how the younger waiter and himself are very different. The older waiter says he is reluctant to close up every night because there might be someone who needs the cafe. In a way I feel the older waiter needs the cafe just as much as he feels others do, like the old drunk man. I have read over and over the part here he is talking about "nothing." It means so many different things every single time I read it. I think he's trying to explain why the cafe is such a good and pleasant spot to be but he cant. Or it can be him trying to explain the meaning of life. The theme is do not judge a book by its cover. In the very beginning the younger waiter is talking about the old drunk man without even knowing anything about him.

Ernest Hemingway was born July 21, 1899 and passed away July 2, 1961. He was born and raised in oak park, Illinois. He started his career as a writer for a newspaper office in kansas city at the age of seventeen. He also joined a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. Something that relates to him being in an environment where there were soldiers is the soldier walking outside in the story with the girl. Another issue that was a part of his life was the attempt of suicide. He attempted to commit suicide in 1961, this relates to the story because the old drunk man was also a victim of the attempt to kill himself. Around his time there were a lot of male writers, it wasn't very common at all for women to work. This especially relates to the story because he did not use any female characters.

Diandra Dominguez

Professor Bonaparte

Introductory to Literary Genres

March 16, 2010

"Sonny's Blues"

The setting of Sonny's blues is Harlem NYC, the city that never sleeps. New york city will always live up to its name even before my time. From experience I can begin to tell you that new york's environment is the most unpredictable. The atmosphere is free and so diverse. You will be naive if you believe that the things that happen there are ordinary. This particular setting shaped Sonny's character by influencing his state of mind. New york is very fast paced, this might of helped him become more independent and develop and quicker train of thought.

African american men in the military pre- civil rights movement was a really big deal at the time. It changed the military forever, and they were proud. it was a way of segregation going away without really going away. It was the start of something big, it was basically the beginning of an interracial world. The military is a main option for men especially when they want to become something of structure and discipline and I'm sure at that time it was an option for few, and mandatory for most. It seems ironic for Sonny to want to join he military because his brother was in the military, and they were obviously complete opposites. Sonny was into music, he wouldn't be able to follow his dream of playing music in the military. Sonny sounded almost as if he felt like he was not going to amount to anything, and it was impossible for him to find something he was good at, him going to the military was a last resort. But his brother had something to say very quickly to stop him. He told him that the military was not going to let him accomplish what he really wants. He wanted more for Sonny. He had a lot of faith in him.

Them that's got shall get

Them that's not shall lose
So the Bible said and it still is news
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child
that's got his own
That's got his own

Yes, the strong gets more
While the weak ones fade
Empty pockets don't ever make the grade
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child
that's got his own
That's got his own

These are the Billie Holiday lyrics i chose i feel that Sonny can relate because he thought he was so grown up all the time, he never wanted anybody to worry about him. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqaFkC0EMmQ) I read the lyrics first and i liked them right away but once i heard this song it was so soothing and i feel like even if i wasn't blue i can relate, thats how beautiful Billie sings.

Bebop is a type of jazz, it was developed in the early and mid 40's. there was a huge difference between bebop and swing music,but it was a good different and people loved it. Music is a freedom of speech with rules what so ever. It is a very fine art. And all music is unique in its own way. It is ones escape to somewhere different with no boundaries. And thats where Sonny's music took him, to another place. It expressed who he was since he could never say it out loud. Bebop took them both to a place in time where everything was ok. Sonny's brother began to think about his daughter. The music Sonny was playing was so beautiful and it touched the both of them, it definitely brought them closer together.