Li-Young Lee is a poet who shows his own personal background experiences in his writings. Some of the poems we discussed in class, such as Eating Together, Persimmons, and Eating Alone, have prominent images of his father in them. I believe it can be said that his father was a special person in his life.
After reading about Lee’s childhood, it’s easy to see why most of his poems have the same theme of searching for identity. He was born in Indonesia where they were ridiculed for being Chinese and began a 5 year journey through different countries, eventually settling in the United States. Any child who lives through that is going to have emotional scars, which it is easy to see that Li-Young Lee emptied his emotions into his writings.
Another author that we discussed whose writings relate is Jhumpa Lahiri. She is an Indian American writer who was born in London. Her parents are Bengali, and they later moved to Rhode Island. She has said the she feels a sense of “homelessness” because she is feel ties to all three countries. She even says that "No country is my motherland. I always find myself in exile in whichever country I travel to, that's why I was tempted to write something about those living their lives in exile"
Even though she feels like she is an outsider and doesn’t belong, there are obviously a lot of people who can relate to her and her writings. She has won the Pulitzer Prize for her book, Interpreter of Maladies, as well as many other awards.
Sherman Alexie is a Native American poet who is known for his writings about Reservation life. His poems are self-expression of his personal experiences. One of the required readings of Alexie was the poem "Crow Testament." In summary, it tells the life of the Indians from when the settlers came to America to modern day. It is explained in more detail here. There were other poems that we read of his but what I found even more interesting is watching the interviews with him from the discussion board.
Sherman says that he doesn't allow his books to be available in any eBook form on the Colbert Report. I can sort of understand what he is saying, I like to hold an actual book in my hand, but with today's technology it's hard to compete with that. There are lots of eReaders and people that only read these type books. As far as Alexie is concerned about piracy, I know from experience that an Amazon Kindle will allow you to purchase the book and you may read it as many times as you want (just as a real book). Then you are allowed to share the book with another Kindle user, but the book may only be lent out once, and after 4 days, it goes back to the person who purchased it. In my opinion, the author would be making more money this way because only 2 people are allowed to read the book before it has to be purchased again. A print book can be lent out over and over and over again without having to purchase it or having a certain number of days to read it.
It's no secret. I am a thrift shopper. I buy lots of things from Goodwill and our local thrift store, God's Storehouse. There are always tons and tons of books in these thrift stores for as little as $0.10. Even though these books are cheap, the same ones are always there it seems. For me, a printed book is producing a lot of waste. Not only the waste of the materials to actually print the book, but also the waste of space. With an eReader, you can literally carry hundreds of books with you in your purse. Before the eReader we had to grab a book, some of them heavy, and carry it around with us to read. If we finished the book, we had to wait to start another one until we got another one from home, or even went to the book store and purchased one. Now, we can buy a new book or magazine on the go.
Interesting enough, I found his twitter account, which strikes me as odd since he was so "anti-technology" in the interview. He tweeted on 4/15/13, "E-readers aren't biodegradable & use the same electrical grid as
everything else. Stop calling them more environmental than actual books."
Reading the author Gloria Anzaldua caused quite a controversy during our class time discussion. I think this is the perfect opportunity to give my opinion on the matter.
The reading told us of how she was a "chicana" who was trying to express herself and her heritage by speaking all these different variations of Spanish to her friends, family and other people of Mexican decent, but that it was not accepted in society and so she had to speak English in public.
My opinion: Yes, it would be easier if we all spoke the same language, BUT our ancestors did not all come here speaking English. America is known as the "melting pot." What makes America what everyone desires is that ability to be yourself and it be okay. I realize that apparently our ancestors who spoke Italian, French, Spanish, etc. eventually began to speak English so that they could participate in public events and voice their opinion.
This is where I believe that the Chicana/Chicanos should embrace where they come from, yet adapt to the American culture of speaking English so that they can have a say-so in society. This isn't to say they should forget their culture entirely, I just believe that if you want to live here you should adapt.
But then, I get to the most important part. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DOES NOT HAVE AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. I repeat, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DOES NOT HAVE AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. Which means to this Chicana, why should she speak English when it isn't the official language? I think that many people are mistaken and believe that the United States does have an official language of English, however, it does not even though the majority of the people speak English (even though spanish is on the rise).
If there is one thing that drives me absolutely insane, it is that you can take a driver's license test in Spanish. Hey, I understand, Spanish is their language and they aren't familiar with English. But how in the WORLD are you going to read the street signs that are written in English if you had to take your driver's license test in Spanish because you couldn't understand English. And how ridiculous would it be if we had to list every language on a street sign. The STOP signs would be the height of light poles and the width of interstate information signs.
For this reason, we should adopt an official language. This doesn't mean that someone who speaks a language other than the official language should be offended, it means that we are setting a common ground for the well being of all Americans.
On a completely different subject, we also discussed Billy Collins and his witty writings. I am not one much for poetry, but Billy's writing style appeases me. He writes in such a sarcastic way that you relate with what he is saying and you want to read more. I love sarcasm. Which is probably why I couldn't help but laugh while watching Billy Collins read his poem "To my favourite 17 year old High School girl."
Even though I was a teenage girl at one point, I think that everyone can relate to that attitude of the modern day "17 year old High School girl." The one that thinks she doesn't have to do anything, and the fact that Billy Collins includes
"you’re fine just being yourself. You’re loved for just being you."
just adds to the hillarity of the whole poem. The point he's trying to make is that they think they don't have to do anything because they are just perfect being themselves.
I'm so glad that "Litany" was pointed out in class. I love that Billy is actually making fun of another person's work by pointing out that it makes absolutely no sense. Even better, the 3 year old that recites this poem! Once you read the poem you can see that Billy is using his sarcasm again to show how ridiculous it is for someone to say all those things to someone. "You are the bread and the knife." How can you be the bread AND the knife? His point is, it just doesn't make sense.
I just keep on looking for more and more of his poems because he has such a dry sense of humor that I can't get enough.
Flannery O'Connor was an American fiction writer, who wrote the short story, "Good Country People." A summary of the story:
A woman takes in a mother and daughter to live at her house. The daughter is disabled and wears a prosthetic leg. She is a very miserable person. She is coaxed into going out with a travel bible salesman, where she plans to seduce him. In a turn of events, he ends up stealing her wooden leg and leaves her stranded in the loft of a barn.
You can read more about her disabilities, which aren't viewed in a normal sense of pity, in a blog here.
I feel like I can relate to this story, not because of the disabilities, but because of the trust message that the story gives us. People are put into our lives daily that should be a "trusting" person when a lot of times they aren't. Just as in the story, a person automatically assumes that a Bible salesman is someone that they can trust. But the story proved that he wasn't when he stole Hulga's leg.
This isn't to say that every Bible salesman is going to steal from you, but the point is that not everyone is who they say they are. I've been saying this for years. I am sometimes called a skeptic because I trust no one until they prove to me they can be trusted. Sometimes I think that this skepticism is a matter of past experiences that have left an impression on me.
Another author that we read some of their work was Jack Kerouac. For me, I hated reading his story because of the way that he writes. His sentences go on and on and on without punctuation. Which for me, is very hard to read and it is something that I am just not accustomed to.
Jack is famous for starting the "Beat movement" during the 50's, which emphasized on drugs, sex and jazz. When he wrote his famous writing, On the Road, which he wrote in 3 weeks about his 7 years on the road, it became what the young people that were following the Beat movement lived by. He was featured on The Steve Allen show with his book.
The writers discussed for this blog post were William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Eudora Welty and John Cheever. We will start with William Faulkner.
Faulkner wrote most of his stories based on the emotions and trials in his own life. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949. From listening to his speech, you can get from him that he writes what he feels. In his speech he addresses the new and current writers, almost snarling his nose at their type writings. He says "the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat." Towards the end of the speech he says, "The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail."
What I gather that Faulkner is saying is that these writer's are scared to write about things that are bothersome. They are not willing to write about things that show the courage that we as man have to make.
I found it interesting after researching about Faulkner's past that his last name was actually spelled "Falkner." His name's spelling was first changed in the employer books at Winchester Repeating Arms Company. After employment with the company, he went to register for the Army, where he spelled his name on his application "Faulkner." It is said that he changed the spelling so that it sounded more British so that he may join.
After the Civil War, Faulkner purchased an antebellum mansion in Oxford, Mississippi, which he named "Rowan Oak." This house is open for tourist and is owned by the University of Mississippi. There were some photos and an article published on the Southern Living website that give detail to the home and surroundings in Oxford.
Ernest Hemingway is and was a well known writer. His writing style was often told to be very short and to the point. He was known to be a man of few words, but the words that were written were full of meaning and emotion. He was also a writer who included his previous experience in his writings.
This can be found in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." In the short story, he has flash backs of his life and of his wife, which were a reflection of his own life and the feelings for his own wife. Hemingway had cheated on his wife, Hadley and later married the woman he had an affair with, Priscilla, and had a son. They moved to Key West and his home is still there for touring today.
The history of the home in Key West is very interesting. The home was built in 1851 by Asa Tift. The house is made of limestone and it is believed that the limestone was excavated from where the house is now. They believe that they dug down approximately 14 feet retrieving the stone and back filled 5 feet upon construction for the basement. There were no power tools at this time so all of the construction was done by hand and by slaves.
Tift died in 1889. The house was left abandoned and Hemingway came through the Florida Keys and he and his wife fell in love with the house, purchasing it for $8,000 in back taxes. After Hemingway's death, Bernice Dixon bought the home where she later opened it up for touring to the public to pay tribute to Hemingway. Bernice's family is now owners of the property who continue to keep the property open to the public.
There is more information on Hemingway's home and life story here.
Hemingway also owned a house in Cuba where he lived after his wife and children died. You can find more information on that house here.
"From things that have happened and from things as they exist and from all things that you know and all those you cannot know, you make something through your invention that is not a representation but a whole new thing truer than anything true and alive, and you make it alive, and if you make it well enough, you give it immortality." -- Ernest Hemingway
As we read about F. Scott Fitzgerald in my Literature class, I can’t help but think about what a roller coaster of a life that must have been. He was a man who loved to write and fell in love with a woman, Zelda, who would only marry him once she knew he was successful. After writing his first novel and becoming a celebrity almost overnight, she decided he was worthy of such a woman as herself and decided she would marry him. F. Scott Fitzgerald is famously known for writing the novel “The Great Gatsby,” which is a fictional story that entails his autobiographical ways of revealing just the lifestyle that he lived.
They lived a frivolous life of partying and drinking. They sought after material things and spent enormous amounts on inanimate objects just to show their stature. Fitzgerald was known as an alcoholic and continued drinking until the day he died. He and his wife suffered through health issues that later caused their death including Zelda being in a sanitarium, with Fitzgerald dying of a heart attack at the age of 44.
His writing, especially “The Great Gatsby,” portrayed how life was in the 1920’s. This was a time known as the Jazz Age where everyone was living large and spending their money at a rapid pace, just to be on top in society. They were buying nice homes, expensive cars, flashy wardrobes and any new thing that came up for grabs. They were all in search of the “American Dream,” which to them meant status.
The American Dream can mean different things to each individual but it all comes down to one point: that by our own hard work and motivation we can become successful and live prosperous lives. Where we differ is each person's definition of successful. Even our founding fathers were in search of the American Dream when they wrote the Declaration of Independence. They were in search of becoming more than what they were: Becoming frontier men.They wanted to provide for their family and allow them to become prosperous people as well. Over the years The American Dream has changed and many have lost sight of what it even means.
To some people it means becoming an average person. Someone who marries, has children, lives in a nice home and provides for their family. Their goal is to stay out of poverty and to provide for their families and keep their head out of water. The extreme of this is those who want wealth. They want stature. They want everyone to see how much money they have and watch them spend it. They want extravagant homes, vehicles that are out of this world, to show off their expensive clothing and jewelry and the latest gadgets. The similarity between these two is that they both want more. They both have pride and expect enough out of themselves to become better people. They share the goal of self-reliance and standing on their own two feet. They have the drive of promotion, whether it is at home or work, they strive to push their selves a little bit further.
Then there are those who have lost sight of it all; those who don’t even know what The American Dream is or have lost all hope. These people are comfortable living in a state of reliance. Whether it be another family member, the government or a non-relative, they are willing to rely on someone else to achieve their goals and let some of it trickle down on them without any initiation to provide that sense of accomplishment for themselves. I have a sense of anger toward these people for not having any sort of ambition to become better people and strive to work for their own means of living. I guess this goes to show the blatant difference in people’s view of The American Dream.
A song that comes to mind is John Cougar Mellancamp’s “Pink Houses.”
The lyrics toward the end go:
"Well, there's people and more people
What do they know, know, know
Go to work in some high rise
And vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico
Ooh, yeah
And there's winners and there's losers
But they ain't no big deal
'Cause the simple man, baby
Pays for thrills
The bills the pills that kill Oh, but ain't that America"
Robert Frost is a well known author who wrote the poem "The Road Not Taken." It's a well-known poem that has been taken to mean extreme things rather than the context it was written in. He explains that he comes to a fork in the road and had to choose which one he would travel. He looked to see as far as he could to see where they led. He decided to take the other one, the "better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear." He goes on to explain that he thought maybe one day he could come back and take the other road but that he doubted that he would ever come back. He says that he "took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
When we think about the context of this poem, our daily lives can be thought of in these same terms. We are brought to many forks in the road throughout our lives, sometimes even daily, where we must choose which way to go. We look as far ahead as we can to see what the outcome will be, but we must choose which way to go.
There are many interpretations on Robert Frost's poem. Some say that we are strictly to take the path less traveled. In my opinion, it depends on the circumstance. Sometimes we take the path that our hearts desire. Sometimes we take the path that would please our family. Sometimes we take the path just because someone said not to. All of us make our decisions based on different things. Each decision leads us where we chose to go, whether it was a conscientious decision or a choice we made not knowing that there were consequences.
I believe that at the end when Frost says, "I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence," that he will be regretting his decision. I believe this is true of every decision we make. We look back and think about the "what if's" and how things might have been different and we regret the choices we made and wonder what it would have been like if we had taken the other road. I don't think that this is something that will ever go away because it is human nature to all ways be wanting more and wanting something better.
In conclusion from reading this poem, I learned that every decision is important, yet minute at the same time. We must live day to day and not over analyze each decision yet make them and go on with our lives.
