The poem “Behind Grandma’s House” by Gary Soto is a poem about rebellion, through the eyes of a boy who desperately needs attention, who has a lack of respect, and who ironically receives a lesson from his grandmother as a consequence from his behaviors. During the reading of this poem, the reader can feel somewhat caught off guard by its abrupt and disturbing ending. However, after analyzing the author’s own idea of who he was as a child, and the behaviors that may have been expected from him, it gives the reader a better understanding behind the inspiration the author used for his work, more specifically “Behind Grandma’s House.” Many articles have been wrote about Gary Soto’s life and work. However, there is an article titled “About Gary Soto: A profile” by Don Lee, which gives the reader a better understanding of Soto’s background. It also helps in understanding the character that is being represented in the poem. Significantly, the poem’s main character, a ten years old boy, has clear that he wants fame and that he wants to prove to be tough, as he expressed “At ten I wanted fame” (Soto line 1), …show more content…
He wanted to be famous, “At ten I wanted fame” (Soto line 1) and to achieve his dreams he became rebellious, this was the only way he had to get the attention he wanted from those around him. Soto portrayed the child’s personality as a reflection of his own, he knew that he could act in similar ways to the character and had no consequences or being discipline it for it; at the end Soto’s parents were acceptable oh his behavior, as long he stayed out of prison. The fact that acting in a good way was not going to lead to receive any attention, acting rebellious is the only way the child has to be noticed. Evidently, there is a lack of respect displayed54t by the child in the poem; he images himself cursing to an imaginary priest, “I said ‘shit.’ ‘Fuck you,’ and “No way Daddy-o” (Soto lines
Raul Ramirez is a very confident, creative student that is in Mr.Ward’s high school english class in The Bronx,New York, who loves to paint. Raul used to paint his sister by bribing her with whatever he could scunge up,but know his girlfriend just sits for him. He knows that painting will not give him much money and tells the readers by saying “People just don’t get it.Even if I never make a dime --which,by the way,ain’t gonna happen--I’d still have to paint.” Raul is also a very shy teenager that wants to be an artist and will be the first person in his family to be a painter if he becomes one. The thing is even though his “brothers” don’t support him--by laughing at him and saying he's loco-- he still wants to paint and says it by saying
In his essay, Gary Soto seems to look back on his memory with great esteem. A good example of his comical side was though this quote: “The wallpaper was bubbled from the rain that has come in from the bad roof…. These people are just like Mexicans, I thought” (pp.220). When Gary Soto was visiting his soon to be parents-in-law, he starts to observe his surroundings and pick apart anything negative about the house; though not from a sense of superiority. Mr.Soto was just realizing how lovingly similar he was for a family of a different race. From Gary Soto’s writing style, he could display his past quite wonderfully in a humorous
The poem told the story of a man who is inhibited by language, and has never quite had the ability to articulate his thoughts and feeling through words. It is said that his family members have tried
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.
Soto’s “Black Hair” is a perfect example of a poem that is effective through close analysis of certain concrete images which hold the key to the foundation of the poem and its underlying themes. In this poem, the universal themes of family and culture are hidden under the figure of Hector Moreno, the image of the narrator’s hair, as well as the extended baseball metaphor about culture. Although the title may seem ordinary at first glance, the challenge that the poem presents through its connection of concrete images and themes is very intriguing, and the themes are made clear through the effective use of certain poetic elements.
With every different scene, Soto makes it flow very well by introducing each place with detail and what is surrounding the characters at that moment. I think it was thought out well and every “W” question can be answered easily. The poetic devices that I found were simile, metaphor, and personification. The similes within the poem were “tiered like bleachers,” and “fog hanging like old coats.” The metaphors that I found were “That was so bright against / The gray of December / That, from some distance, / Someone might have thought / I was making a fire in my hands.” and “Light in her eyes, a smile...” The personification I found was “a few cars hissing past,” and “the lady’s eyes met mine.” His tone in this poem was nonchalant but at the same time passionate. I used two opposite words to describe his tone because he is nonchalant in telling it; it is about something that was so simple. Though the tone is also passionate because it’s a bigger memory that someone could have and cherish. Soto’s attitude was more of carefree and nostalgic. This poem shows Gary Soto’s different colors and that is represented from when he was acknowledged for his first collection of poems in 1976 for the United States Award of the International Poetry Forum. I think that is a great accomplishment considering his family and education situation. Him and his family were struggling to find work as he was growing up, so instead of focusing on his
The 1990 poem “I Am Offering This Poem” by Jimmy Santiago Baca is themed around the life of a prisoner who has nothing else to offer except poetry. As one learns, more about the author’s background, the context of the poem becomes clearer. Examine this piece of information taken from the biography of Baca, “A Chicano poet, Baca served a ten-year sentence in an Arizona prison and his poetry grows out of his experience as a convict” (Baca). Baca’s experience as a prisoner reflects in his writing in that prisoners are often deprived of their rights and many of their possessions while serving a sentence. In his poem, “I Am Offering This Poem”, Baca speaks from the point of view of a prisoner having nothing to offer his love interest except the
Brooks’ selection of single syllable words helps set the rhythm of a jazz mood. The monosyllable words provide a rhythmical tool for generating a snappy beat to her tale. Her repetition of rhyming words close together adds unity to the poem. By placing the one syllable words close together: “cool / school” (1-2) and “sin / gin” (5-6), it emphases each word. The feelings and imagery are clear in this poem. The rhyming lines in her verse contain only three words, and it keeps the poem’s rhythm moving. The short verse makes it easy to remember. The short lines speed it up, but the sound on each stop really stands out. Only the subtitle is longer, which Brooks utilizes to encompass the setting. Her careful use of short words keeps the beat and describes what the boys are doing, like leaving school, or staying out late. These simple
enable us to understand the moral of the poem. Which is work hard and you will receive you goals and never give up.
Poems are forms of communication that give an applicable view of the past, present and future events. Reading the poem titled “America”, written by Richard Blanco brought me memories from my childhood in my parent’s house and also what is happening now in my house as a parent. The poem explains how one person doesn’t have all the knowledge about something. It also, describes the daily life struggles I experienced during my childhood, when my parent 's and I moved from our hometown to live in another town becuase of their work and it brings to light the conflict of cultures I and my children are going through since we moved to United State of America .
The speakers and audience in poem are crucial elements of the poem and is also the case in these poems. In the poem Untitled, it can be argued that the poem is being written by Peter based on what his father might say to him...
In the final stanza, the poet claims that young men whom are of the same mind will look to the criminal for guidance. These young minds will relate to the social-stance of the criminal, and maybe follow in the same footsteps, treating the criminal as their role model.
The point of view and tone for this story helps relate to the theme. The narrative is in third person point of view with limited omniscient. This means that the reader is able to go inside the mind of the grandmother and know what she is thinking and feeling. The only ot...
The author uses imagery, contrasting diction, tones, and symbols in the poem to show two very different sides of the parent-child relationship. The poem’s theme is that even though parents and teenagers may have their disagreements, there is still an underlying love that binds the family together and helps them bridge their gap that is between them.
“The Little Black Boy” is a seven stanza poem with an ABABCDCD rhyme scheme. It is about a ...