Preview

Sample Response To Literature Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
547 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sample Response To Literature Essay
Response to Literature Essay

In the poem “Street Corner Flight,” Norma Landa Flores explores the nature of hopefulness in the lives of two young boys living in an impoverished neighborhood. The poem begins with a sad ton, focusing on the hardships the young boys face. They are trapped by the difficulties that accompany poverty. By the end of the poem, however, Flores’ tone becomes hopeful that the boys might have a different future, a freer future. Flores’ hopeful tone reveals her message that like the young boys in the poem, hopefulness can exist despite the difficulties of living in poverty At the beginning of the poem, Flores introduces two young boys who live in a barrio, or a poor neighborhood. The boys have caught two fat pigeons and hold them in their trembling hands. As the poem continues, the boys eventually release the pigeons and watch as the birds fly far above their poverty-stricken community. Flores creates a hopeful tone to communicate that even in the midst of poverty, one can still hope for a different future freed from the strains of poverty.
Throughout the poem, the reader is able to see how the boys’ lives are difficult and lonely due to poverty. However, as they watch the pigeons fly away, the tone becomes hopeful. Flores uses specific words, such as “glide” on line 13, “fly” on line 19, and “soar” on line 15, to cultivate a sense of hope, particularly for the young boys watching the birds fly off. One often associates words such as “glide” and “soar” with freedom and happiness. Flores’ positive words are a reflection of what the boys are thinking as they watch the pigeons fly away. The reader can assume that the boys hope to do the same someday – fly beyond their concrete barrio. Additionally, Flores notes on lines 16 through 17 that the pigeons glide and soar beyond the “labyrinths of / foodstamps...loneliness...and want.” The birds not only escape the neighborhood, but also the difficulties the boys face due to their poverty…
In addition

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The protagonists in the book are the Greasers and the antagonists are the Socs. The main characters are Darry, Soda, Dally, Bob, Ponyboy, and Johnny. Darry is tall, muscular, smart and very strict towards Ponyboy. Darry yells at Ponyboy and always seems to expect better from Ponyboy. For example, Darry yells at Ponyboy on page 49, “Where the heck have you been? Do you know what time it is? He was madder than I had seen him in along time. I shook my head wordlessly.” Soda is always optimistic and lighthearted. One of the only things that bring Soda down is the fact that he is a school dropout who works at a gas station. Soda tries to support Pony when Darry is mad at him but tries not to take sides. Soda explains how he doesn’t like when Darry and Pony fight when he says, “It’s just…I can’t stand to hear y’all fight. Sometimes I have to get out or…it’s like I’m the middleman in a tug o’ war and I’m being split in half (page 175).” Dally’s actions, like robbing a store, makes him seem like he is mean and tough but actually he is a very caring person on the inside. An example is when Dally enters the burning church to save Pony and says, “For Pete’s sake, get outa there! That roof is going to cave in any minute.” Bob is rich and undisciplined by his parents who make him feel like he has the power to do anything he pleases. Bob is intimidating to the Greasers like Johnny and Pony because he has the ability to do almost anything he wants. An example of Bob picking on Pony and Johnny is when he orders a Soc to give Ponyboy a bath in the park fountain by drowning him as a sort of cruel joke (page 55). Ponyboy is more emotional than all of the Greasers and takes feelings in to deeper consideration. Pony is not as violent as other Greasers and is very friendly. An example is when Pony went to the drive-in movie; he easily became friends with the popular Soc cheerleader, Cherry. This shows a lot about his personality…

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1.By reading the title “Caged bird” by “Maya Angelou” a few thoughts come to mind. Like what…

    • 611 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The sanderlings simile represents a time of disguise. As humans, we hide, run, and shield ourselves from pain, sorrow, truth, and sometimes, ourselves. The birds symbolize our desperation to not be found in our times of struggle; we blend in with the crowd making ourselves, as Carson said, of no color. Carson does a phenomenal job of illustrating emotion through her connections, imagery, and symbolism. This use of rhetorical devices makes her message understandable to, people of all ages who go through the roller-coaster of life, her audience. The essay flows beautifully as the author successfully makes her point, or purpose, clear to her audience members. Using strategies such as symbolism, comparisons, and imagery to set a serene mood makes…

    • 126 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In both the novel, The House on Mango Street, and the poem “Mother to Son”, the narrators are faced with struggle and hardship. A mother trying to block out the negativity in her sons head, to allow him to persevere, and a young adult trying to understand that even though times can be rough, she can…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A loss of identity is evident from the first stanza, where a sense of uncertainty, expressed in the line “Sudden departures…who would be coming next”, permeates the poem. These lines highlight the loss of control and certainty in the migrant’s life, and the fear of the unknown as no warning was given before the departure of fellow migrants. The emotional instability of the migrants is also expressed through the alliterative ‘h’ in “Memories of hunger and hate”, which suggests a heaviness of people’s spirits and hearts, engendered by their memories of the past.…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author uses imagery to illustrate and give the reader a clear understanding of his thoughts about injustice. Dunbar uses imagery by stating, “ Till it’s blood is red on the cruel bars” (line 9). This shows the bird’s relentless efforts to escape. The author includes this to relate the bird’s struggles and hardships to his own dealing with injustice. Another way Dunbar uses imagery to relate to injustice is by stating, “ When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer he sends from his heart’s deep core”( lines 16-19). Here the author uses imagery to show the reader that even when the bird is in pain he still fights for freedom and justice. The author uses this piece of imagery to relate himself to the bird in the sense of that like the bird, the author fights for his freedom, but along the way is…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    4 O'Clock Birds Singing

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the poem, the author describes the scene of birds singing early in the morning and how quickly the sereneness ends. The author uses diction and metaphors to describe the birds’ song.…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Nesting Time”, a poem by Douglas Stewart combines an anecdote of his and his daughters experience in nature, with description of the appearance and behavior of the honey-eater, and his typical philosophical reflection in the relationship of nature and man. The poem is thus personal, objective and universal in its several dimensions. This is a charming poem that appears to comment on Stewart’s personal experience. He is pleasantly surprised by the behavior and appearance of this remarkable bird, which makes him forget the ‘hard world’, focus on its tiny beauty and cause him to reflect on humankind and nature. The opening is impassioned in its generalizing quality: ‘Oh never in this hard world’. It is apparent from this judgment that Stewart, in regarding our human life as a difficult and unconsoling affair, finds profound solace in nature and her creatures. The reader notices the contrast between his heartfelt “Oh” and absolute indictment of ‘never’, and the cluster of adjectives, with internal rhyme, which introduces the bird: ‘absurd/Charming utterly disarming little bird’. His love for it grows from an initial acknowledgment of its silliness and, then, praise of its captivating behavior to, finally, and adoring diminutive in ‘little’. It is Stewart’s descriptive language that brings the scene to visual life. The bird’s actions and purpose are highly visual through the often…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The poem opens up with an image of spring and mating. The dark swallows celebrate their mating, which points the starting point of spring. They hang their nests in sign of the attraction of the genders. The swallows – in Spain - are messengers of love; they rap playfully on the window celebrating the beginning of the love of a human couple.…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Birds: Birds are symbolic of the Victorian era women present in the story, just as the cages they are placed in mirror the societal restraints placed upon these women by the creole society. As the birds scream “Go away! Go away! For God’s sake" it is understood that this restriction of sorts is not always accepted, rather a select few instead reject them, enter our main character Edna.…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Response Essay

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In reading the three articles, “From Degrading to De-Grading” by Alfie Kohn, “And Now He is Nothing” by Michael Specter and “Dilma Rousseff” by Simon Romero my impressions of each article varies from one of unbelief to affirmation. As compelling as the ideology of not grading is, the practicality of implementation would be enormous. The assumption that Lance Armstrong is now nothing can it really be so easily dismissed? Finally, Dilma Rousseff rise to power as a right of previous wrongs remains to be seen; each writer conveying a very persuasive argument.…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Great Scarf of Birds

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Opening the last stanza with a freethinking bird that leads the flock, creates a metaphor relating to how he has prepared the reader for his ending statement of his lifted yet not restored heart.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    “It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip; can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.” (Speak. Pg. 9, Paragraph 4.) Everyone at some point in their lives have felt that terrifying feeling of dejection, sorrow, anger, frustration and pain. Whether it is an action done by one or an action done by others, there is always the fear of being judged, to which people decide it is best if they don’t talk their problems with others. Melinda used to be a serene, sweet loving girl that loved to play sports and had a good relationship with her parents and friends, but suddenly, as she started her first high school year, she skips days of school, drop her grades and feels completely empty. The tones of fear and relief in Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson reflect an inner growth presented by the main character when she overcomes the challenging and devastating condition of being sexually abused.…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This stanza immediately sets out an aural image to the reader of parrots shrieking. The simile “as if they were on fire” gives us a very vivid image of how loud and insistent the sound is. The parrots have to screech to invite attention to themselves and they specifically screech at the strollers with nuts. The parrots “strut like cheap tarts” which shows how desperate these birds are to have people stare and observe them.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Emily Dickenson’s poem, Hope, she uses poetic device’s to describe hope as being like a bird. Birds are usually symbolized as being courageous and having a free soul to roam the skies. Therefore to compare hope to being like a bird was a wise choice for Dickenson because those who choose to be hopeful will have a necessity to have courage deep within them. Dickenson begins her poem with this vague statement that “Hope is the thing with feathers” (line 1). She refers to feathers as being like the feathers of a bird. As she continues on the second line, she states that the bird “perches in the soul” (line 2). This could best be explained that just as a bird rests upon a perch, hope can as well rest or perch deep in the soul. Dickenson uses imagery of the bird to show how hope can be perceived by the naked eye. In lines three through four, the bird “sings the tune-without the words/ and never stops at all” (line 3-4). These lines explain that even though the human eye may not be able to see hope in a physical aspect, they can sure believe that it is there and that feeling hope is indeed possible. One can never stop hoping and never the less, living a life without hope would inevitably be difficult.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays