Two Poets and Two Cultures
Two poets from two different sides of the planet whose cultures are just as far apart exchange letters that are themed on single words. The first trick, the word, is based on a memorized arbitrary pairing between a sound and a meaning. [S. Pinker pg.2] A word is a simple concept when thought about at first. A word is an arbitrary sound used to represent some random thing. Memorize what each arbitrary sound and the random thing it stands for and that should be all there is to fill your mental lexical database. Words are the building blocks to sentences, but before you're ready to build a sentence there are few rules you must memorize.
Then the movie "Letters not about love" should have been simple. State a word then state its meaning. For example, 'Dog' four-legged mammal that barks (incessantly if it lives next to me) and chases cats. End of statement, well except there is so much more. These poets and poets in general act like scavengers in a dark corner of a basement rummaging around in the clutter and finding treasure buried there. The treasure they are finding is some stray meaning for a thought. Bakhtin's statement "Language does not move through uncluttered space." is a true representation of this. Each time someone utters something it must move past your lexical database of meanings. This stray representation can add a dimension to a word like the strokes of paint from a paintbrush.
Poets use this clutter like clay to mold an image of something in our minds; some of the things they overturn in this basement of clutter will mean nothing to some and everything to others. When Arkadii Dragomoshchenko wrote of his Grandmother and how he felt free of fear about her tight lips, her dark eyes, all of the different ways he described her, were words that really filled in the picture of who his grandmother was.
Some of these 'words' weren't so far out of the ordinary but free of fear, there is some clutter overturned here. I immediately get the feeling of safety when I think free of free.
My feelings of being free of fear came from somewhere else, I remember as a child, late at night I would have scary thoughts before falling asleep, then I could hear my father walking around downstairs, this filled me with a feeling of safety, free of fear, the scary thoughts wouldn't be so scary anymore.
Fear is a thing that strikes someone at heart. This man had overcame it in such a way it moved many people and had became another thing that this man has overcome. It sure will not be the last of it.As Wiesel said “Hunger—thirst—fear—transport—selection—fire—chimney: these words all have intrinsic
Fear is something very foreign to countless people, not the idea, but the response to it, the way people react to fear. Everyone has their own fears; their own definitions and triggers to these unique varieties of fear. We imagine our worst fears and what would happen if they became a reality. This is where imagination plays a key role in the response to fear. Imagination can overcome one’s ability to reason out an abnormal situation, in which fear kicks in; frequently resulting in the situation becoming worse than the previous extent. Fear is in everyone’s lives, although it doesn’t affect some as much as others due to their response to this fear. Meaning they don’t let their imagination overcome their reason, creating a mindless fear as exhibited throughout our lifetime.
The characters and themes in these writings contrast and relate in several ways. The poem is told through the perspective of the grandfather’s grandchild, who cares for him, saying certain things remind them of him after he didn’t “live here anymore” by stating that their grandfather “is blankets and spoons and big brown shoes.” Like the grandfather in “Abuelito Who”, the grandfather in “The Old Grandfather” is old and it is stated that his legs “would not carry him” and his eyes “could not see”, which affected his family’s feelings towards him. The grandfather’s old age was viewed as a weakness, and he was not treated as an equal by his family, such as not being able to sit with them at the table for dinner.
lust. To his Coy Mistress is a pure lust one even though in parts may
For example, in “We Are Not Responsible,” a poem written by Harryette Mullen, the narrator is an employee on a plane, who is speaking over a loudspeaker. This is all a metaphor and the poem is really a social commentary addressing the problems with racial stereotypes. Mullen could have wrote a paragraph in prose, but instead chose to write a more ambiguous poem, requiring the reader to think about the subject. That being said, in my opinion, great poems use concise and understandable language to best communicate their message. Poetry is often synonymous with unnecessary and outdated language, but this does not have to be the case. The poem “Weep,” written by George Moses Horton, gives a comprehensible description of the Civil War and its effects. Good poetry uses metaphor and complex language when a subject can not be described in a universally
...and multidisciplinary approach to set up policies, programmes and activities relating to areas such as housing education, transport, taxation, and income security that will improve the quality of life of the ageing population and promote healthy aging. This would require coordination and linkage between policy planners, administrators, service deliverers, and the research community; between individuals and groups of older adults. Planning, development, delivery, and evaluation of services and activities provided will need the availability of strong data bases and relevant research. Importantly, the elderly must remain integrated in society and themselves must have a say in the formulation and implementation of policies that directly affect their well-being, while sharing their knowledge, skills and wisdom with society, and in particular the younger generation.
Godfrey Hodgson believes that the ideal for the American Exceptionalism stands for its great principle (rule of law, rights protection, constitution, and sovereignty of the people) that protects it from any political crisis that hit other great countries (xvi). He goes further and suggests that ideology was involved in establishing the exceptional character of American civilization (7). However, his purpose in writing the Myth of American Exceptionalism is to dispute Perry Miller’s (1905-1963) assumption of “the uniqueness of the American experience.” Essentially, he argues that the exaggeration of the American experience and destiny is extremely dangerous, “because they are the soil in which unreal and hubristic assumptions of the American history have grown” (16). That is to say, the American experience is less exceptional than it seems. He offers two counter arguments. First, the history of the United States is connected to the history of Europe. Second, the social and political ideals, especially democracy and liberty, have come into existence after a struggle as anywhere else (Hodgson 16). For him, it is true that American history has distinct and original features; yet, it is also true that America always been greatly influenced by European
The question is: What do you think the grandmother meant when she said to the Misfit, “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!” Why do you think the Misfit killed her when she said that? Since the question is two parts, I’ll answer it in two parts.
As Edgar Allan Poe once stated, “I would define, in brief the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty.” The two poems, “Birthday,” and “The Secret Life of Books” use different diction, theme, and perspective to give them a unique identity. Each author uses different literary devices to portray a different meaning.
While the word “exceptional” can mean “unusually good; outstanding”, it also means “unusual; not typical”. Those early observers of America took note of the fact that America was “not typical” of the nations in existence at the time, and that was the basis for calling it exceptional. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, "The position of the Americans is therefore quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no other democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one." This was the first known, and perhaps the best known, use of the word “exceptional” to describe
Since the day I was born, scary movies, rollercoasters, and haunted houses were not my "thing". I never appreciated scary pranks, darkness, and bloody movie scenes. I never knew, however, that I would get the scare of my life seven years ago. My heart never pounded so hard and I never felt such a trembling sensation throughout my body.
Poetry unlike fiction is solely based on the author’s personal take on a certain subject. The tone, diction, syntax, and mood of a poem are all determined by the author of the poem. For some readers, to interpret a poem or explain the plot can be a difficult task. Other forms of literature such, as fiction is much easier to understand and discuss.
By analyzing “Ars Poetica” by Archibald MacLeish, I’ll gain a definition of a poem that can be used to analyze other piece of poetry. I start by looking at the layout of the poem. This poem is divided into three parts with four stanzas in each. This tells me that these sections could be read independently and interpreted separately from each other. The first section uses words relating to ‘quiet’ such as mute, dumb, silent, and wordless. The next part of these stanzas talks about something that doesn’t have meaning until we impose one on it. For example, “as old medallions to the thumb,” a medallion is, on its own, worthless. It is only a hunk of metal that has been engraved, that is, until he ‘put our thumb’ or assign meaning to it. From this I get that the reader should have to find their own meaning of a poem, and that the poem should not directly tell you what it means.
My fears although real and still there, be it below the surface, are truly leaving. I never thought that I could feel safe and comfortable outside of the nice cushy box that I made for my self in the previous chapter of my life, but I stepped out. I ventured farther than anyone else in my family ever had gone. I have conquered my anxiety, or at least pushed it back for a while. I have faced my challenges of being out on my own, and maybe even created a few more that I cannot see yet on the horizon, but for now I am making it on my own.