Experimental Poem

A few
      Childhoods were great:
There aren't any kiddies
      that are screwed up.
They are calm and quiet,
      Will take advice.
But -- leave --
      Most turn out naughty --
If not worse
      Than us, no better.
Happy non-begetter,
      That is the verse.

Prose Poem - Unknown Houses

     I get in my truck and go. I study the address, one I don't know. Will they be nice? or not? What was the address again? I forgot. I'm mad I can't see their address. I'm more mad I can't see their neighbors' addresses!
     I find the house and walk to the door. I work for tips and nothing more. They give me some money, I reach for their change. I want to keep it I don't want to exchange! Don't they know it's cold? I'm not wearing a coat! It's live 5 degrees out here, I'll get a sore throat.
     I give them their change and walk to my truck, thinking in my head they should go and get... a job.

John the Baptist Reference

In line 82 Eliot says "Though I have sen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter," This is a reference to John the Baptist, who was a prophet and the man who Jesus followed. This is why Prufrock said "I am no prophet" on line 83. John was also said to be the man to baptize Jesus. As for the reference of the head on a platter, a woman named Salome was granted a gift by Herod for her dancing. She could choose anything she wanted, so she chose John's head on a platter.

Does Poetry Matter?

I agree with Dana. Poetry is an after thought in our society, a way-after thought if you ask me. The only personal exposure I have had to poetry was in a literature class I took at my junior college and in this class. When you ask me who the great authors are I don't know if I would have listed a poet before this class. I also had no idea that poets hardly get any attention. It really stood out to me when Dana talked about how it took Henry Taylor receiving a Pulitzer Prize to get his poem reviewed. It was also surprising to me to read that Congress and 25 states have put the position of poet laureate in place. I believe that poetry deserves a spot in our society, if not a big one, at least a bigger one than it has already. Thinking about the many people going to college to get degrees in creative writing who are probably not expecting to do much with their work is sad to me.

Iambic Conversation

In listening to everyday conversation, I definitely notice a great deal of iambic conversation. Obviously, it is not all pentameter as some people do not have as much to say as others, but mostly iambic nonetheless. Thinking back, I actually cannot remember a conversation that did not at least have iambic lines in it. However, I was not able to remember any word for word conversations when I got home. So, I decided to write down some lines on a documentary series I was watching called "The Blue Planet."
 /     u    / u     / u   / u   /    u /
 Arctic foxes also rely on polar
    /      u    /     u     /    u   /
 bears to hunt on their behalf                                   Trochee

      /       u     /   u     /   u     /       u
 They're the jackals of the north and
   /     u       / u /          u      /
 scavenge whenever they can.                                 Trochee

 u    / u      /     / u       /
In winter and early spring,
    u / u / u / u /
hey're wholly dependent on bears.                          Iambic

   / u   /   u     /    u      /       u    /    u      /
 Only in the summer when the sea ice melts,
   /     u     / u / u      /        u     /     u       /
 will they regularly catch prey for themselves.           Trochee

       /       u      /      u   /      u    / u      / u      /
 They're not strong enough to tackle adult seals,
   /    u     /  u    /   u       /    u       /      u     /
 but can certainly take newborn pups or birds.         Trochee

   u     /   u    / u / u /   u   / u    u   / u    /      u
 This canny individual is going to bury it's prize,
 /    u      /     u   /  u     /   u  /     u      /      u  /
 it may need it during the uncertain times ahead        Iambic and Trochee

In this documentary, at least in this section about arctic foxes, the narrator uses mostly trochee pentameter. However, this may be because he is british. I don't remember hearing anything in class, though, that english speakers from other countries use something other than iambic pentameter.

The First Date

My palms sweat with nervousness, But she has enough confidence for both of us.

Point-by-Point Comparison

One difference between the boss in A & P and the boss in Bartleby is the fact that one boss is in control and another is out of control. The boss in A & P is in control of his store. He will not let the customers of his store dress in skimpy outfits. This is evidenced when he says “We want you decently dressed when you come in here.” The boss in Bartleby, on the other hand, has almost no control over Bartleby. Bartleby will not do anything the boss asks because he “would prefer not to,” but the boss lets this happen for days. Based on this evidence, I think these bosses are almost polar opposites in the way they run their business. In A & P, we are supposed to understand that the employees are young and not very mature from their interactions. We get this first when Sammy is thinking to himself about women: “Do you really think it’s a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?” The immaturity is also shown in the dialogue between Sammy and Stokesie when Stokesie says “Oh Daddy, I feel so faint.” When he is talking about the girls in the store, to which Sammy replies “Darling, hold me tight.” These two are judging customers by what they are wearing, which shows their immaturity. What we are supposed to gather from the interactions between the employees in Bartleby’s office is that none of the co-workers approve of Bartleby. When the boss asks the employees what they think of Bartleby preferring not to work, Nippers thinks they should kick him out of the office, and Ginger Nut thinks he is “luny.” However, in both of these stories, there is no effect. They still get their work done in A & P, and the boss is too passive to do anything about Bartleby in that story. I think that in both of these stories, the value of their job is quite different. The two boys in A & P hardly value their jobs at all. It seems like they are just in it for the money or because their parents made them get a job. When Sammy quits, he is more afraid of his parent’s wrath rather than the fact that he does not have a job anymore. In Bartleby, on the other hand, I believe that a job is of great value to Bartleby. Although he “prefers not to” do any work, this job is all that he has other than his savings that he keeps folded up in a cloth.

A & P

In "A & P" by John Updike, the female characters are presented as underlings in the narrator's eyes. Sammy watches these women walk around the store, judging every step that they are taking, judging every part of their bodies. Also, while these three girls walk by other women shopping, the narrator has something negative to say about them as well. The three girls are characterized as snobby rich girls, while the other women shopping in the store are characterized as flocks of sheep. At first, the reader is lead to believe that Queenie is a dominant woman. The narrator describes the way she walks so confidently and with her eyes straight ahead, like nothing is interesting to her. However, when the girls get to the register and the manager asks them not to dress the way they are in the store, they are submissive. In this story, women play a major role in the plot. If it weren't for these girls, Sammy would not have gotten mad at his boss, he would not have felt bad for the girls, and therefore wouldn't have quit. The narrator does not have anything nice to say about women in this story. He starts out describing the woman who he thinks watches the cashier intently every time she is being rung up. He also calls her a witch by saying she would be burned in Salem if she were born at the right time. He also calls all the women sheep that are shopping in the store. The one nice thing Sammy says about a woman in this story is when he calls Queenie "more than pretty." The only conversation between a male and female in this story is when the manager is talking with the girls. He keeps telling the girls "this isn't the beach," and the girls plead back to him "we ARE decent."

The Yellow Wallpaper

June 19 -
Hard to believe we could afford a house like this on John and my salary! This is going to be a good summer.
June 19 -
Looking around the house and found this room with awful yellow wall paper! I'm looking for a new style online, anyone want to help me pick one out? http://www.wallpaperstogo.com/.
June 21 -
My husband won't let me do anything fun like work or write, but I think writing will help me out a lot. I'm getting very bored here.
June 23 -
I can't stop thinking about this wallpaper. I asked John to redo it but he won't. I'll find a way
June 26 -
The previous owners of this house must have used this as the children's room. They were tearing up the wallpaper. I wish they would have gotten all of it.
July 5 -
I am so entertained by this wallpaper. I found myself following the pattern for hours today. July 7 - This woman in the wallpaper is creeping me out. I wish we could leave this place. 
July 10 -
This lady in the wall paper really wants to get out! she shakes the bars so hard.
July 15 -
I saw the lady from the wall paper creeping around outside. How embarrassing!!
July 22 -
I finally get the room to myself to get this wall paper off!!

Orientation

      This is the field and those are the dugouts. This one over here is ours and that one will be for the visitors. This is where we put our bags. It doesn't matter where you put your bag, but if you take someone's spot, you will be cut.
      This is the shed. This is where we keep the bats, this is where we keep the balls, and this is where we keep the helmets. We don't keep those things in here though, just a lawn mower.
      That's home plate, that's where we hit. If you don't know how to hit, that's okay, just talk to Greg and he will refer you to Brian. Brian doesn't know what he is talking about and will send you back to Greg, who will help you.
      That's Logan. He plays third base. He hurt his arm and can't throw. His dad is the coach so he still plays, but he moved to second base. Logan is good friends with Tony. Logan and Tony are really in to drugs and alcohol. Tony doesn't play anymore because he gets into trouble with the police for doing drugs. Ike took his spot. Ike also likes drugs, that's why you're here. You will take Ike's spot when he gets in trouble.
      That's Dave. Dave likes everyone and thinks everyone likes him. No one likes Dave. Dave is a pitcher, but he doesn't pitch, he is no good. Dave wants to be better, so he takes steroids that he bought in Mexico. Dave doesn't know that the steroids he bought don't work. However, he does know that they give him zits on his back the size of the baseball that he throws.
      That's Artie. He has a girlfriend in each town we have away games this year. He goes to groups that teach him how to cope with his addiction, but he lies to the leader and says he is better. Artie will always have a problem, but it doesn't effect his play on the field, so we don't help.
      That's Dan. He plays first base. If you make a bad throw, talk to him, he will help you out. Dan has no baggage, Dan is just a great man. Dan helps me too. I play over there.
      This is where we put our gloves. Bring me mine if I'm already on the field and I'll do the same. If you have any questions talk to Greg, when he sends you to Brian, don't go to Brian, find Bobby.

Southern Grotesque

In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," Flannery O'Connor makes use of the southern gothic or sothern grotesque style. One component of this particular style is that it points out some unpleasent aspects or truths of southern culture. These aspects include racism, poverty, violence, and corruption, among others. "A Good Man is Hard to Find" contains a small sampling of racism, when the family drives by the young black child who is not wearing any pants, which at the same time is an example of poverty. The grandmother goes on to say that the kid probably didn't have any, and that most black people in the country don't have things like they do. I left this part out of quotes because of the racist word the grandmother uses. Flannery also includes a couple of examples of moral corruption, the big one being the main story of the Misfit killing every member of this family. The other example that she uses is in the family's conversation with Red Sam, when he tells about the two young men who didn't pay for they gas that they got.
Another component of southern grotesque is that the plot relies on disturbing or ironic events, but at the same time, are realistic. This is the case in "A Good Man is Hard to Find." The disturbing events are the obvious ones of the killing of the family for no good reason. The ironic event in this story is the fact that the grandmother was trying to keep the family away from Florida because of the Misfit, but then finds a way to lead them right to the man. In reading the story for a second time, this event would be almost impossible to reenact, with the cat jumping on the driver, and the Misfit less than a mile away watching the event.
The last component of southern grotesque are the grotesque characters. There can be physical grotesques, or sectular grotesques. Physical grotesques are characters that have some sort of physical ailment or deformity. I could not find any physical grotesques in this story. Sectular grotesques, on the other hand, are characters who have rejected God's will and will do just about anything to save the body. I believe that the Misfit is an example of this. He does not follow God and is basically living for himself. He tells the grandmother that he doesn't want any help because he believes he is doing alright by himself. He also says that "If he didn't (raise the dead), then it's nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness."

The Lottery

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" concerns itself with the concept that it can be acceptable to require the individual to sacrifice for the greater good. The townspeople in "The Lottery" believe that they need to sacrifice one random person per year in order to grow good crops. This is evidenced when Old Man Warner reminds Mr. Adams of the saying "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon." Whether this sacrifice was necessary or not, I will never know. However, there is one sacrifice that people make almost daily that could be argued as very necessary, depending on who you are. A sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly are both necessary in the game of baseball. Obviously, the game is not as serious as a stoning, but a player still must sacrifice him or herself as an out in order to get a runner in scoring position.

Boy

Help your mom around the house; pick up after yourself; rinse your plate when you are done eating; do your chores without being asked; when your mom comes home from the grocery store, help her bring them in; when you are cooking dinner for a woman, always have at least a vegetable and one other side; don't curse around women; hold the door open for women; just be a gentleman; be the hardest worker on the field; sprint on and off the field; practice hitting and fielding on your own time; you want to go hit now?; don't go out and be stupid and ruin your career; find a job that you love doing and find a wife that you love to be around.

Introduction

1. My greatest asset is my sense of humor. 2. My teachers from last year will tell you that I am quiet. 3. I am an expert on doing well in classes, then forgetting everything I learned. 4. I want to know more about kids because I am going to be a school counselor and I want to do the best job that I can. 5. When I am 60, I will be retired, but still working. 6. Five years from now, I will be living in Las Vegas. 7. Some famous people that I admire are Justin Timberlake and Will Smith because they do everything and they do them well. 8. I appreciate it when teachers grade on a curve. 9. I like baseball because I grew up on it and it's all that i know now. 10. My favorite class is Advanced Research Seminar because we work as a team and I could be a published researcher when it is over. 11. My friends make me laugh when they quote movies. 12. My pet peeve is when someone passes me on the freeway, but does it too slow to where I have to take off my cruise control. 13. The most stressful thing in my life is homework. 14. If I had 100 dollars, I would either put it in savings, or put it on black (roulette). 15. I am named for the messenger angel Gabriel. 16. It was easy to learn math. 17. It is difficult to learn geography. 18. I like classic rock music, paricularly Against the Wind, Like a Rock, and Turn the Page by Bob Seger. 19. One dish I can cook well is fried egg sandwiches. 20. My favorite place on earth is the Pendleton Round Up.