This week in class we focused on a new poem entitled "Cross" by Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was a poet during the Harlem renaissance. He was half black. He literally had a white dad and a black mom. So when he says those things in the poem, it's hard for me to look elsewhere for a meaning. This kind of split me because I thought there could be other things to it before I found this out. However, with that discovery it was the only thing that made sense to me. We looked at the poem in a reflective way. Rhetorically, his language is very improper. I would even call it colloquial. I think that adds to maybe just the life he is living, and how it can be rough to not be completely white or black. He's not exactly used to having it easy, or at least that's how it appears to me. Especially back during the Harlem Renaissance. His main idea is that he feels confused and left out from a lot because he is "neither white nor black" (11-12). One thing I really thought was cool was that he ended with a rhetorical question. It added a whole new meaning from the rest of the lines. When I stop to think about his question, to me the answer is all up to him. He will die how he chooses to live his life, but maybe the racism in those days could have prevented that. It is most certainly good material to ponder.
I also think he played the stern, and pretty much stuck-up nature of some of the white people in that time when he says " If I ever cursed my white old man, I take my curses back" (3-4). I don't think his dad was having any of that. His dad would punish him and be angry at him for cursing. And when he says "I'm sorry for that evil wish" (7) in regards to cursing his mom, he is referring to the poor treatment the black people received in that era.
I think the structure of this poem is easily overlooked, but still means something. He spends twice as many lines talking about his mom than his dad. This leads me to believe he was closer to his mom than his dad. He also mentions his dad first, perhaps that is due to his dad's higher social status.
Overall, it is a very short, yet thought loaded poem. I really do enjoy the analysis portion. The fact that we can all see it a different way and make it our own is awesome. I think this poem is great and I hope we read more like it in the future.
This week in class, we read a poem by the name of "The Eagle". The poem is very short and old. It has lots of vague language and imagery. Supposedly it has one meaning to it, but the average reader would not be able to tell. The descriptive language can be deciphered many different ways. This is a part of the nature of poetry. What we focused on was trying to draw a conclusion from it and back it up. Any conclusion can be valid as long as you come up with some supporting evidence. The main idea is to be aware of all of the ideas you could come up with and weigh each option. Give each one a chance before you decide your favorite. The main idea is that you should look into things that seem short and sweet and maybe you can find something you didn't see originally. What could normally be perceived as imagery, could be code for some completely different meaning. You could completely change someone else's perspective by just throwing a couple new ideas at them. You can open up a completely new door that has never been opened before.
This week in this class, a lot of things have been brought to my attention. I realize that not many people meet their ceiling in writing at the high school level, but I feel that I still have many improvements that can and hopefully will be made throughout this school year. I may not be able to reach my peak, but I want to take what I can get in terms of writing improvement. Being able to write a solid essay is vital for success at the collegiate level. I also figured out that approaching everything with an "I am going to learn and master this" mindset can get me almost anywhere. This applies to all of my classes. The purpose of school is to learn, and I certainly intend to fulfill that purpose.
On the first hour of my first day back to school, my AP lit teacher brought a very cogent point to the table. The gist of what he said was that approach makes a big difference. Approaching a class as a blow off will certainly turn it into one. If you ignore any prior opinions about a class and just dive in, you will get the best result possible. Go into any class and try to learn whatever you possibly can. Ask questions. The knowledge you pick up will be extremely valuable to you. This is also a great way to sort of "condition" yourself for the next level. A more avid and aggressive approach will certainly be rewarded with better grades by your professors in college.
The same as above applies to learning how to write. You obviously need to do the things stated in the previous paragraph, but also need to take a lot of criticism and help. Unless you are a professor at an Ivy League school who teaches one of the toughest writing classes in the country, you probably have room for improvement. Be able to take people's suggestions and consider them without getting your feelings hurt: especially your teacher's. This my advice to anyone reading this and to myself. Of course, it's all easier said than done.