SPUNK

SPUNK

If I were to analyze this novel I would first of all focus on the language that Hurston uses. She uses a heavy Southern vernacular when she writes the dialogue of the characters in the novel and normal standard english when she describes what is going on in the novel. This is similar to how Twain uses the way that the characters talk in order to describe the novel and give the characters more personality and life. The tone of this novel is didactic. It is a narrative short story that tries to express the complexity and dangers of communication itself. By creating the characters of Elijah and Walter, the two men who discuss what is occurring in the novel, the author shows how dangerous talk is because it can act as the spark which many times spurs human action. The novel also criticizes the social construct of criticism and gossip. Another topic which I would go into is the role which women play in spunk. For the men in the shop and for both Joe and Spunk, Lena is just an item. They treat her as if she were some type of prized bitch (dog) and dehumanize her. Also, the whole notion of weddings and marriages and commitment is played with in the story. The characters do not show that they believe in many of the laws that govern matrimonial relationships such as fidelity and they use weddings in order to cover up and fix the way that people look at them. An example of this would be how Spunk and Lena were going to get married because they were tired of people treating them in a weird way. I believe that through the plot and the use of dialogue, Hurston is able to create a story which teaches a lesson about morals.

DIS POEM

DIS POEM

For this poem I would first of all start by saying that the language used in the poem (the diction and spelling/grammatical choices) are very interesting because they give the poem a somber tone. The author uses repetition and enjambment to create a sense of fluidity within the poem. The poem also begins uncapitalized and ends in ellipsis. This further creates the sense that the poem does not have a beginning nor does it have an end. This poem is about the history of Africa and the author uses these literary techniques in order to create a patronizing, didactic, and somber expository poem. The last lines in the poem are very intriguing. The author repeats "in your mind..." three times. This creates a sense of unfinished thought which makes the reader really try to connect what he or she has just read with what the reader has in their head. The poet criticizes the poem itself many times saying that the poem needs to be written, that it has no poet, that it is irritating, and that it will not be amongst the great literary works to just name a few. By doing this, it is showing how the history of Africa itself has not been the most coveted.

COMING BACK OWER THE BORDER

COMIN BACK OWER THE BORDER

For this passage I would first do is focus on the language itself. The poem is written in either some type of old english jargon or it is the language that a slave or uneducated person would use. Then I would talk about how the poem starts off talking about "Coming back ower the Border" (line 1). I would go into detail talking about how this uneducated person perhaps has crossed some type of border and may have experienced liberty and wealth. The narrator shows excitement when he writes that "It isna jist the biggins" (line 3). In the second stanza, the author uses rhyme and consonance in order to highlight the emotions that the narrator is experiencing when talking about this new place that the narrator is describing. In the second and third stanzas, the narrator talks about what the "North" (line 9) is "nae" (lines 5 and 9). The last two stanzas have A-B-C-B end rhyme and start off with the words It's/The/The/The. The Author uses these similarities in structure to once again show the level of knowledge which the narrator has been exposed to. In the final stanza, there is a clear reference to phonetic differences that the narrator has experienced such as the "'O'" (line 14), the "'R'" (line 15),and the "'wee this' see thon' Och, gonnae'" (line 13). This poem is about how vocabulary and communication especially the phonetics are one of the things that are most impacting. This person that has clearly been freed from his or her normal life and has been exposed to a new way of seeing the world and the most impacting thing has been the manner of speaking.

Packet Work

For "A Very Short Story" written by Ernest Hemingway there was a clear cynical tone. I felt that the story itself is very sad and has an aspect of hopelessness. Hemingway uses careful diction and tone in his narrative in order to convey the short story's message.

"Fog," poem written by Carl Sandburg is very analytic yet nonchalant. Sandburg uses diction and enjambment in his poem to create a type of fog-like effect within the text when the reader reads the poem. Also, there is personification when Sandburg says that the "fog comes on little cat feet" (line 1).

Prestigious Black Women

First off, I wanted to say that I really enjoyed being able to listen and see Toni Morrison. Her majestic feel and power really captivated me. She gives this impression of being a very strong woman that sort of demands respect, you know what I mean?

Well, anyways, I really liked this interview. I thought that the whole analysis of laws and how they tend to "define the relations between people" (Morrison 7:13) was very interesting. Morrison goes into detail and talks about laws in early America that made white people in general feel superior than blacks. (Once again, I find myself going into this whole racial issue but to hell with your criticism about me being repetitive, right?)

So, slavery...

I find the whole interview almost ironic because there's this scrawny, clearly American white guy asking this powerful, strong and proud black lady about whether she feels like they are now in a "post racial time" (Rose 8:30). I don't know why, but I got the feeling that this guy is sort of telling this proud and almost resentful African American woman that has written a variety of books about racial constructs that the whole notion of racism is America nowadays is a fraud. I think that Morrison handled it very well in how she said that racial hierarchy is a "fantasy" (Morrison 10:30) but I think that what she might have really wanted to say is that OK, although there aren't anymore racially biased laws there are still unwritten laws in the social construct of America which keep alive the racial crudeness in this nation. To me, this is clear because I mean, how often in Song of Solomon has the whole motif of people trying to get away from their pasts and prove themselves in the present come up? All of the biblical references in the novel and the whole idea of people being freed from an oppressed past is clearly connected to the black people's history. The time period in which the story takes place is also very associated with black rights and the whole racial revolution topic.

All in all, I like Morrison. She clearly uses the past and the present when thinking about books and what to write about. She takes these things into consideration in absolutely all aspects of the novel and I think that this is what makes her such a great author.

Advance in Time

OK, so I guess it's time for an analytic blog. I feel as though in the last blogs I've been sort of talking about myself and how I've associated my life with the novels that we've been reading, so I guess that it is time for a nerdy blog.

Here it goes...

We see that in the Dead Family there is an obsession with the past. The past is what haunts the characters. Whether it's Macon Jr.'s father's death or Ruth's abuse when she was young, it is this fear or apprehension regarding the past that makes the characters cause suffering in their present lives. Macon Jr. told Milkman on page 73 about how there are reasons for the anger that he feels towards Ruth. Instead of moving forward with their lives, characters like Macon Jr. dwell on the past and fail to look into the future.

It is because of this that Morrison writes about how when Milkman was walking in the street to Guitar's house, Milkman "closed his eyes and then opened them"(78) and realized that everyone was going the opposite way that he was going. This happened after Milkman thinks about his past and what it means for him in the present. He says to himself, "And how did I forget that? And why?" (78) after he remembers how his mother breast-fed beyond infancy. The fact that Milkman opens his eyes and he is going against the flow of everyone on the street is clearly indicative that Morrison is making his situation be a metaphor for what he is actually doing internally. He is going against what his parents have done their whole lives and is actually looking forward into his future by analyzing his past. This is very different than Ruth or Macon Jr. who fail to discuss or analyze the past that has affected and ultimately scarred their lives.

Ok, that was dull, now I want to post this smart little quote I heard on some documentary about how "Humans were the first creatures that created the notion of a future." I don't remember who said it or what the exact words were but I remember that it talked about how the idea of future is unique to the human mind. Interesting, no? Ok. I'm going to shut up now. Ok, bye.