Explication of The Health-Food Diner by Maya Angelou

     The poem, The Health-Food Diner, by Maya Angelou, is a satire aimed at the people who take eating healthily much too seriously. Maya Angelou was raised in a time where you ate whatever was put on the table and you would never complain. The health food trend is a finicky and scrupulous way of living that Angelou criticizes. She gives the examples of the typical foods that make up a diet, "sprouted wheat and soya shoots/And brussels in a cake/Carrot straw and spinach raw" (1-3), and quickly puts in her two cents, "Today, I need a steak" (4). Maya Angelou's repetition of different types of meat truly enforce her carnivorous nature. She convinces the reader that the healthy diet and lifestyle are not for her. She describes the people invested in the healthy eating movement as "thinned by anxious zeal" (10), believing there is no way they could be happy while being so cautious about the daily amount of calories they are consuming. There is an unusual rhyme scheme in The Health-Food Diner but the rhyme gives the poem a playfully mocking tone and lets the reader know that Maya Angelou does not take herself so seriously all the time.

Explication of To A Daughter Leaving Home by Linda Pastan

     In this poem, there is an interesting use of rhythm and meter. The lines are so short and enjambed but that is what truly embodies the message of the story. The speaker is a parent, imagining their child growing up and leaving home. This thought is provoked as they are teaching the eight year old daughter to ride a bicycle. To the parent, the daughter leaving home seems to happen in the blink of an eye
     There is a rhythm that is encountered by formatting the poem into such short lines. If this poem was turned into a prose piece of writing, the rhythm would be lost. Another literary device used is imagery, the parent describes the daughter's hair flapping behind her as she is riding the bike and compares it to a handkerchief waving goodbye. There is also an example of imagery when the speaker describes the awe she experiences when the daughters rides the two wheeler for the first time, "as you wobbled away/ on two round wheels/ my own mouth rounding/ in surprise". Although there is excitement for the little girl to learn a new skill, it is bittersweet for the parent as they realize this is just one step closer for their child leaving the home.

Explication of "Woman Work" by Maya Angelou

     "Woman Work" by Maya Angelou is a poem that speaks from the point of view of mothers everywhere. The first stanza is a meticulous list of all the things the speaker must do during the day. The nearly flawless rhyme scheme here almost makes this monotonous list seem endless. Maya Angelou has long represented strong feminist values  and this poem takes on the purpose of criticizing the people who believe women are subordinate to men. Not only does the woman of the household in this story have to raise a family, they must cook meals, clean the house (or as she refers to it, a "hut"), and keep a steady job, "Then see about the sick/And the cotton to pick" (13-14). With the seemingly never ending amount of tasks, the tone of the poem is immediately overwhelming and hectic for the reader. The consistent rhyme shows how this daily routine is dreadfully consistent in this woman's life.
     In the last four stanzas, she refers to vastly different forms of nature and weather. This could be the speaker, gazing out of a window, dreaming of the possibility of escaping one day instead of being confined to performing menial tasks. The speaker wants to feel the sunshine on her skin, representative of relaxation. She wants to feel raindrops upon her brow, a sense of relief after what is a hard day of work. She wants to be lifted up by the wind and float across the sky "'Til I can rest again". She then mentions  the gentle snowflakes, the mountains, and simple leaves and stones. As a woman practically trapped in the household she is expected to maintain, she finds solace in nature.

"Feathers From A Thousand Li Away" by Amy Tan

     The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan tells the intertwining story of four Chinese women who have immigrated to the United States, specifically San Francisco, CA, and how their lives have an effect on their American-born daughters. The Joy Luck Club is broken up into a series of short stories, the first one being "Feathers From A Thousand Li Away. The first narrator is Jing-mei Woo, who goes by the American name June. Her mother Suyuan Woo has recently passed and it is up to June to figure out how the weekly Mah Jong game will continue. Mah Jong is a game almost like dominos with a set of complicated rules and it is meant to be played by four people.
     June mentions her mother's struggles in China while the Communist party was rising up in the 40's. Yet, there was always a glimmer of hope, which was the Mah Jong game that served as a distraction from the destruction in China. June includes the moments when her mother is traveling to the United States and how all they could bring was a trunk filled with the most precious silk dresses. When Suyuan and three other woman decide to form a Mah Jong game in San Francisco, it is an event. They feast on traditional Chinese delicacies and they gossip but they also just celebrate being together and sharing their similar experiences. June notes how they never truly mention the negatives of the stories, but they choose to focus on the positive aspects.
     Soon, June is asked to replace her mother's spot at the Mah Jong table but she is apprehensive. Regardless, she attends the weekly Mah Jong game and learns a secret that her mother was unable to share with her before she died. She actually has two sisters that her mother was desperately searching for, and she actually succeeded in finding their address. Unfortunately, she was not able to meet them again before she passed. Therefore, June takes on this responsibility to fulfill her mother's wishes.

"Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan

     Amy Tan is known as one of the most famous American short story authors. She has written numerous stories about the trials and tribulations of Asians immigrating to the United States. "Fish Cheeks" is an anecdote from Tan's teenage years about how difficult she found it to blend both Chinese and American culture. As a fourteen year old girl, she mentions the crush she has on the minister's son. I know from my mom's own personal experiences that when immigrants arrive in the United States, they are often times welcomed by different churches and ministries to ease the transition of living in a foreign country. Although Amy Tan was born in Oakland, CA, she is the daughter of two Chinese immigrants, so Asian culture had a heavy influence on her upbringing.
     The minister and his family are invited to Tan's house on Christmas for a traditional Chinese dinner, just not the typical Christmas dinner. Amy Tan remembers the absolute embarrassment she feels as she watches her mother preparing the squid, tofu, and fried fish that must seem completely foreign to the American family coming to visit them. As if she was not embarrassed enough, when the dinner begins, Amy is horrified. This is when the true differences of these cultures are revealed. When the minister's family is used to using forks and knives, Amy's family uses chopsticks. When it is considered polite to hold in a burp in America, it is etiquette and a sign of respect to the cook in Chinese culture by belching very loudly at the end of a meal.
     While the duration of the short story is to focus on the pure humiliation Amy feels, the moral lies at the end of the story. As Amy is given the gift of a classic American-style tweed skirt, her mother mentions an important message. Her mother says, "You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame". Then, Amy sums up this story at the very end, saying that it was not until many years later after the crush on the minister's son was long gone that she realized that her mother had prepared all of her favorite foods.

Explication of One dignity delays for all by Emily Dickinson

     Overall from this poem, I sense a very regal and profound tone. By the end of the poem, you can tell that the description of the elaborate procession ends up being for a funeral, "And claim the rank to die!" (15). The message that Emily Dickinson is trying to bring across is that there is only one kind of dignity, whether you are a part of the royal family or whether you are a member of the lower class. She begins by mentioning "None can avoid this purple--/ None can evade this Crown!" (3-4). Purple first and foremost is known as the most regal colors and has come to represent all things royal. She also capitalizes the word "Crown" which reminded me of how people capitalize the letter G in "God". This seems like a criticism on behalf of Dickinson on how people glorify and idolize the royal family as if they were a religious figure.
     Then, Dickinson describes just how extravagant the funerals of the royal people are. She says in an excited but almost sarcastic and biting tone how it is such an important time that everyone in the village stops what they are doing to watch the service pass by and how everyone tips their hats for that one person who just seems so special. I think that Dickinson is truly perplexed by how the people in town will just halt everything they are doing to give their respects to this member of royalty, when people die every single day. There is a hint of irony in this poem in that the message of Dickinson's poem is that people spend too much time focusing on the deaths of others, while she devotes this entire poem to that very topic.

Future Themes of The Dubliners based on The Sisters

     In The Sisters, a boy's relationship with his priest, Father Flynn comes to an end as Father Flynn passes away. This specific relationship of the boy and the priest is questioned by the boy's uncle and another character, Old Cotter. Old Cotter and the uncle seem to be very critical, saying that it seems quite peculiar for such a young boy to have so much to say to such an old man. When Father Flynn dies and the boy attends his funeral service, he reminisces over the fond memories that he once had with Father Flynn. For example, how he would bring him "High Toast" to smoke in his pipe, and in return the Father would educate the young boy and teach him about Napoleon Bonaparte and how to speak Latin properly. While the aunt and the boy are visiting Father Flynn at his final resting place, they speak to a woman named Eliza who discusses some of his last moments. Eliza describes Father Flynn as a very scrupulous man-- someone who cares a lot about paying attention to details. Suddenly, he watched his physical and mental health decline and this attention to detail faltered. He was dropping chalices and he began to isolate himself from others while he would just mope around. Lastly, Eliza describes how she arrived at the chapel searching for Father Flynn only to find him seemingly insane, laughing to himself in the confessional.
     From this short story, I expect The Dubliners to be a series of novellas that are small anecdotes and looks into people's varying lives. These short stories were written in the mid-1900's so I also could see how some investigation and curiosity about psychology could be a common theme because that was a big part of The Sisters. How the characters end up acting both socially and by themselves in their everyday lives could be another possible theme.

Explication of My Number and I Had Heard It's a Fight

     In the poem My Number, by Billy Collins, the nature and timing of death is described as one of the most mysterious and unavoidable phenomenons in the world. In the first stanza of the poem, he questions whether "Death", which is capitalized like a proper noun almost as if it was a person, is going to appear for a widow living in Cincinatti, or whether it will find the soul of a lost hiker all the way in British Columbia, Canada. This poem begins to give life and personify this term of death by giving it tasks, but they are not all the tasks of an everyday person. The speaker questions all different methods that could potentially cause death. For example, "tampering the air brakes" which would imply a tragic car accident, and "scattering cancer cells like seeds" which refers to the dismal disease are all different scenarios the speaker offers. I think that the poet describes death as such a nonchalant sensation that will pass over every single person that walks this earth. Although the last paragraph implies that he is not ready for death himself, "Did you have any trouble with the directions?/ I will ask, as I start talking my way out of this", it all seems so casual to him.
    In the poem, I had heard it's a fight, by Edwin Derby, the speaker describes the concept of death in a much different fashion. For Billy Collins, death was more of an inevitable given. But in Edwin Derby's poem, death is rumored to be more like a brutal and exhausting fight, "At the first clammy touch/ You yell, you wrestle with it, it kicks you/ In the stomach". However, when death is upon him, he realizes that it is a much "sweeter" experience that was it was told to have been. The tone of this poem is definitely lighter than the tone of My Number with the rhyme scheme and the present imagery.

Comparing Apocalypse Now to Heart Of Darkness

     The back of the DVD cover of Apocalypse Now, states that the movie is a stunning reveal of the heart of darkness in all of us, alluding to the Joseph Conrad novel, Heart of Darkness. The movie takes place during the Vietnam War, while the book takes place in the late 1800's during the era of the Belgian Congo. Both Marlow and Martin Sheen's character face the heavy and dreadful tasks of being on an oppressive mission. Both these characters find themselves estranged from their loved ones and find themselves getting weaker and weaker as time drags on.
     Martin Sheen's character is shown in the beginning of the film as a soldier, quickly losing his mind in Saigon from the incredibly taxing nature of war, before being put up to the mission of finding Marlon Brando's character (whose name is Kurtz in the movie!). This is comparable to Marlow's internal quest to find the elusive Kurtz. Both Marlow and Lieutenant Willard hold a great amount of responsibility whether it be leading a steamship down a river or for the latter finding Kurtz who went rogue (accused of murder).
     Apocalypse Now Kurtz was described as one of the most brilliant officers that the Special Forces had ever seen. He was glorified by many and this is extremely similar to the legend of Heart of Darkness Kurtz, being one of the most renowned chiefs of the various Stations in Africa. Both Kurtz's have been described as elevating themselves to the standard of a god and having amazing careers. Kurtz had many talents and "gifts" that he could list as Apocalypse Now was known as a brilliant warrior. In the movie, there are talks over how Kurtz has most likely gone insane. The conditions and incredible illnesses they were exposed to in Vietnam are comparable to the dreadful diseases many men succumbed to in Africa. There is a crucial difference however, in how Lieutenant Willard was ordered to kill Kurtz, and Marlow made it his mission to try to save Kurtz.
   

Siren Song by Margaret Atwood

     Siren Song, by Margaret Atwood tells the story of the boring and predictable lust of a siren. The entire poem is an allusion to the period of Greek mythology and how it was dangerous for sailors and men to be lured in by the seductiveness of the sirens along with the beautiful and enchanting songs they would sing. The narrator in the poem happens to be a siren along with two others, and she confesses that although she may find entertainment in the way "the song that is irresistible... that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons", she does not enjoy the vanity of her lifestyle. With the author's birth date being in 1939, it can be assumed that this poem was written during the time of sexual revolution and women's rights becoming more of an important topic. Therefore, the mindset of the beautiful siren that is just plain tired of the job is taking on the mindset of what a modern woman's would have been during that time.
     The siren is speaking to a person, assumed to be a man, thinking that she can confide in him without him becoming completely entranced by the ever-present beauty and illusion of the sirens. While she begins to sing a song as a cry for help to the man, it starts to lure him in. The last stanza, "Alas/ it is a boring song/ but it works every time" makes the reader believe that all this time, it was not the true purpose of the siren to confide in the man, but to trick him under the circumstances and have him succumb to whatever they want. However, this still goes along with the theme of a woman using the powers of sex and beauty to accomplish whatever they choose. The enjambment in this poem works to the advantage of the siren because just when the reader thinks one thing is going to happen, the next line arrives and the plot differs.

Congo Free State

     Before it was known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that area was known as the Congo Free State during the time period of 1885 to 1908. This piece of land in Central Africa was owned by Belgium and controlled by King Leopold II, who reigned for 44 years. King Leopold was awarded this territory during the Conference of Berlin in 1885. The Congo Free State became infamous across the globe for the cruel treatment of the local citizens and the pillaging of the natural resources available, such as Ivory and Rubber. Although King Leopold's objective for occupying this land was to raise it to a high standard in terms of it's people and abundance of resources, he ended up ruining them altogether. The Congo Free State even became an international scandal of sorts because of King Leopold's failed efforts and after a source reported that white Belgian officials were guilty of killing hundreds of Congolese people (They were later held responsible for their actions and were punished). 

     As Rubber was very abundant and one of the most important exports of the Congo Free State, it took lots of labor from many of the native Congolese people to make it a successful business. This brutal labor often went unrecognized despite it's importance, quotas were near impossible to make, and pay was painfully low. If the workers did not make the quotas, they could be put to death or even worse, being mutilated by having their arms or hands chopped off. Living as a rubber worker in the Congo Free State was almost an unfortunate given, but it was not an ideal lifestyle. Countries and nations everywhere were disgusted by the atrocities that occurred, therefore leading to worldwide disdain. 

AP Style Close Reading of The Metamorphosis

     In the final passage of the novella, the Samsa family leaves the place they built their life in on a small trolley into the countryside. A quite unusual aspect of this story is how it still continues even after the death of the protagonist, Gregor. It seems odd how the family does not grieve the loss of their son very intimately. Their way of moving on from his death is by leaving and making a new home somewhere else. Although he is their son, there is little sympathy for the end of his life.
     The whole story consists of a chaotic scene of constantly trying to fix something that is wrong. For example, Gregor turning into an enormous bug was a huge, unavoidable issue and the Samsa family must scramble to find a way to not only accommodate Gregor, but to also make end's meet. The final paragraph in Part III is a change of pace as the set atmosphere is peaceful with a seemingly bright future ahead for Grete, Mr. Samsa, and the mother. Grete is introduced as a sister who is anxious and overdramatic, "In the room on the left side a painful silence ensued, in the room on the right side the sister began to sob... it would be much more sensible to leave him in peace for now instead of disturbing him with tears and exhortations" (17). Grete undergoes dynamic characterization as she transforms from a girl to a woman, possibly from the experience of having to take care of Gregor. She is even ready to find a husband at the end of the novella.
     The very last sentence of the story is when Grete stands out and stretches out her arms under the bright, warm sun. It is almost like Gregor and Grete are undergoing opposite changes. As he is being suppressed more and more (he goes from being a free-willed human to a bug oppressed both physically by his armor and stature and emotionally by his unrelenting family), she is being given freedom like she never has before.

Why I chose "Candles" by Carl Dennis

    Of all the poems that could have been chosen for the Poetry Out Loud assignment, I had to find an easy way to sift through the many works. I looked alphabetically trying to find poems with titles that interested me. When I saw Candles, I clicked the link because I have always had an affinity for candles. But when I read the poem, the message was much more meaningful to me than the simple title. It touches upon grief, but not in a way that is sad or morbid. It touches on grief in a way that is bright and hopeful. The poem takes the reader on a journey that would otherwise go unnoticed.
     I have heard of the six degrees of separation before--the belief that you are no more than six people away from everyone in the world. This is such a fascinating but unbelievable concept. Candles uses an anecdote that intertwines the stories of two people who have passed. It asks the reader if instead of burning a candle for their grandmother if they could burn a candle for someone who was not lucky enough to meet her. I think this statement is really powerful and shows a real respect for all humanity and that is why I really liked it.  I would definitely consider myself a person who has a real love and respect for all humanity so the message of this poem spoke to me. I did not just want to choose a poem because it was easy to memorize, because Candles is definitely not a short one. I think the way all the different times of life are described are really beautiful as well. I think this poem was very well-written and heartfelt which is why I chose it.