A Threat to a Slave-Owner

4/20/2012

 A Threat to a Slave-Owner

In English class we have been reading the book, Kindred, by Octavia Butler, which was published in 1979.  The story is about a black woman, Dana, who is married to a white man, Kevin, in the modern day.  Somehow Dana keeps traveling back and forth through a time when slavery on blacks existed.  Dana become friends with a slave-owner’s son, Rufus, and becomes a threat to the slave-owner, Tom Weylin.   Tom believes that Dana is trouble for many reasons.  Dana told Tom that she is from New York, which is a free state.  He was unhappy to hear this because that meant she was an independent woman.  The way Dana speaks is a problem for him because he sees she is very educated.  When Tom discovered that Dana could read and write he began to fear that she would teach his slaves and one day they would learn to free themselves.  Tom also has a problem with Dana because his son Rufus has taken a liking to her.  Tom is afraid that this will affect his son in the future when he himself owns the slaves.  He believes that Rufus will feel some kind of compassion for blacks because he is friends with a black woman.

04/18/2012       

Slaves and Education

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-civilwar/4439

                Today I read an interesting article about the education of slaves in the 18^th Century.  Or should I say the NON-education of slaves?  In the southern states of America the white people had a great concern about slaves learning and it becoming a problem for the slave system.  They believed if the slaves had become intelligent, then they would be able to somehow free themselves.  In order to keep this from happening, no black children could attend any free schools.  There was a law passed that stated that slaves were forbidden to read or write.

            Another way that the whites prevented slaves from learning was to punish others who would try teaching them.  Teaching the slaves was considered a crime.  Even though this law existed there were still some courageous teachers that took the chance and tried educating the slaves secretly.  One brave teacher, Margaret Douglass, was even convicted and imprisoned when she was caught teaching black children in Norfolk Virginia.  This is how serious it really was.

            In the northern states of America the slavery situation was not as bad.  The first African Free School was opened in NYC in 1787.  It started with 40 students in a single room and continued to expand.  In 1824 this school and 6 others began receiving public funding.  Other schools began opening up for the slaves’ children.  Some schools would get threatened by the white people to be burned down.  They even went as far as to pass laws that stated that the children would receive 10 lashes of the whip if they attended the schools. 

            There were many strong advocates for black education who fought for these laws to be put to rest.  They believed that everyone had an equal right to be educated.  Without knowledge there is no future! 

           

March 31, 2012

Self-Reflection and Evaluation

     Today I will be reflecting on my experience of writing blogs.  I have written three so far and the one that I can say I am most proud of is, "Summary of Poem: Bitch."  Writing this blog gave me a chance to analyze the poem, "Bitch."  Analyzing is something I do in general, especially with people, so writing the blog entry was sort of exciting.  I really took my time with it and I think I did a pretty good job.  The poem itself, I can relate to because I myslef have been in a similar situation. (But who hasn't?)

     What I have learned so far about writing about poetry in my English class is that it is extremely overwhelming.  It's easy to read something and talk about it, but when you have to write your thoughts about something on paper it is not a simple task. We have done a few activities in class to teach us the steps on how to write about or summarize a poem.  Writing blogs 1-3 was not easy at first, and is still not easy, but i am getting more comfortable with it.  Dr. X's brief lectures on symbolism, allusions, images and metaphors was a big help because, learning the meanings of these terms gave me a better understanding of a poem when I would read it.  That made it easier for me to summarize poems.

     One of my favorite activities that we did in class was working with my House members on helping another class with their work for Emily Dickinson's "I felt a Funeral..."  I enjoy doing group activities because I love to hear others ideas and opinions.  This activity was similar to the others we do in class because we had to summarize the poem and give our opinions on what we thought the speaker was talking about.  It was different in the sense that we were doing this to help another class.  I felt pretty good about turning in our group response because I believe our House did a great job analyzing this poem. I would do this group project again because we all worked really well together. There were no disagreements and it went so well that the time in class that day went by pretty fast. 

     I enjoyed reading my classmates blogs because everyone has their own opinions and in writing these blogs we are kind of forced to express our opinions.  I don't know everyone in my class but reading their blogs gave me an impression of who they are. 

    



Summary of Poem: BITCH

March 21, 2012

Summary of Poem: “Bitch”

 

Carolyn Kizer www.poetryfoundation.org

This week we had to pick a poem from the list given to us by Dr. X and basically summarize it.  I decided to stick with the poem I chose for my previous entry, Carolyn Kizers’ “Bitch,” which was published in 1984.  This was the only poem that really stuck out to me. 

Here is my paraphrase of the poem:

         

   “Bitch” is describing the persons feelings towards an ex-partner from years ago, that they have just ran into.  This person was very hurt by their ex and has a lot of anger deep inside towards this person but does not want to show it.  The main image is the speaker and the ex running into one another and catching up.  Now, when him and I meet,  after all these years, (line 1) I say to the bitch inside me, dont start growling.(line 2) He isnt a trespasser anymore, (line3) Just an old acquaintance tipping his hat. (line 4) "Give my regards to yout wife," I say. You gag (line 32) As I drag you off by the scruff, (line 33) Saying, "Goodbye! Goodbye! Nice to have seen you again." (line 34)

"Bitch" is the speaker of the poem.   It is actually her thoughts and feelings that are the "Bitch", but it is still her.  If i had to compare this poem to anything, I would have to say it definitely reminds me of the lyrics in the song "Like We Never Loved At All" by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, which was made famous in 2005.

The main image in this poem is the two ex lovers in conversation, while the speaker is keeping her cool as she thinks about their terrible past together.  The key words could be grouped as:

1. him and I meet, after all these years--means they havent kept in contact
2. bitch inside me, dont start growling--means even though she is still upset about the past she is goin to be nice
3. bark hysterically--means she is becoming more furious deep inside
4. He isnt an enemy now--means she should not be dwelling in the past. He can not hurt her anymore.
5. she slobbers and grovels--means that she is calming down

The tone of this poem is angry and sad.  Like in the song "Like we never loved ate all" in every relationship someone will always get hurt and miss the other person.

In the end I believe the them of this poem is closure. 

Link to YouTube Video on Faith Hill and Tim McGraws "Like We Never Love At All"  http://youtu.be/s7Qob5zr2Bk

Bitch

March 14, 2012

Bitch

                           http://www.get-back-your-ex-boyfriend.com                 http://www.prlog.org/10451840-signs-that-your-ex-boyfriend-still-likes-you-know-when-its-time-to-hold-on-or-to-let-go.html

     Today i read some poems for my english class and one of them stood out to me the most.  The name of the poem is "Bitch", written by Carolyn Kizer in 1984.  I would like to discuss why I chose to write about this poem.

     "Bitch" is about a woman that runs into an ex lover which mistreated her throughout their relationship.  I believe the man broke up with her and she was still in-love with him and he knew it but did not care.  Plenty of time has went by so she was able to eventually get over it.  Now she runs into him and all these memories come back to her and she cant help feeling a certain way.  She has a battle with herself because deep inside she is still mad at him and wants to tell him off but on the outside she does not want him to know how she really feels.  She is polite and kind so that he sees that she is mature and she is over what he did to her in the past.  So basically, the "bitch" inside of her wants to come out but shes fighting it.  We can all relate to this poem.  I'm sure we have all had our hearts broken at one point or another and also have been the heartbreaker.  Running into an ex is never easy either way.  The best thing to do is be the bigger person and smile.  This will tell your ex that you have moved on, and hopefully it will be a form of closure for you.

     I sent this poem to my best friend Miriam.  I have known her for 5 years and about 2 years ago she caught her boyfriend of 2 years cheating on her.  She was madly inlove with him and she was devastated and knew that she had to leave him.  He begged for a month for her to give her another chance, and she would not give in.  As much as she wanted to, she knew it wouldn't be right.  A few months later she ran into him at a bar and she walked past him like they were strangers. I tried to tell her to just say hi, to be the bigger person and hopefully she would get her closure. But she couldn't do it.  She said it would hurt too much.  So i sent her this poem because she was the first person that I thought of when i read it.  If she ever does feel comfortable to say hi when she sees him, I know she will want to yell at him but I hope she keeps this poem in mind.



Symbolism of a Rose

Friday, March 9, 2012                       

Symbolism of a Rose

“Beautiful Rose” submitted by Katrina. Tag: Katrina www.desicomments.com

The topic discussed in class today was “Symbol and Allusion”.  We went on to read about “Rose” in the “Dictionary of Literary Symbols”, by Michael Ferber, which was published in 1999.  There are many symbolisms of a rose, and I would like to discuss one of the passages written by Ferber in this dictionary:

     "Almost any flower can represent a girl, but the rose has always stood for the most beautiful, the most beloved -- in many languages ‘‘Rose’’ remains a popular given name -- and often for one who is notably young, vulnerable, and virginal. Shakespeare’s Laertes, when he sees his sister Ophelia in her madness, cries ‘‘O Rose of May!’’ (Hamlet 4.5.158), bringing out not only her uniqueness but the blighting of her brief life. Othello, on the verge of killing Desdemona, thinks of her as a rose which he is about to pluck (Othello 5.2.13--16); Orsino tells Viola, ‘‘women are as roses, whose fair flower / Being once display’d, doth fall that very hour’’ (12N 2.4.38--39). The French poet Baïf vows, ‘‘I will not force the Rose / Who hides in the bosom / Of a tightly closed bud / The beauty of her flower’’ (‘‘La Rose,’’ in Livre des Passetems II).”

I chose this passage because whenever i think of a rose, i first think of a flower and its beauty.  Women can be compared to a rose because women are generally viewed as delicate and beautiful in their own ways.  In the passage, when Othello thinks of Desemona as a flower he is about to pluck, it really stands out to me.   All women are beautiful in someones eyes.  Therefore we are all roses in a garden and as we reach the end of our lives it is as if we've been plucked from life as if a rose is plucked from a garden.

"Rose." Dictionary of Literary Symbols. Ed. Michael Ferber. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge, 1999. 172-177. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 7 Mar. 2012.