I read the book and I also read the two other things you recommended. I was touched mainly by Elsie’s business and the article by Andrea Smith. I am a Cherokee and have always lived in the white world. I only have 1/16 Cherokee blood. I have seen documentaries about life on the reservation , but have never experienced it. I also have watched a series called Longmire set in town in Wyoming near an Indian reservation. They also talk about sex crimes against Indian women. I was so saddened reading Elsie’s story and the article by Andrea Smith. I understand how stupid people were in the way past , not saying it was right but they were ignorant. What I do not understand is how even in modern times the 1950’s, 1960’s and so on the way…
In the novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino is the protagonist who was raped and traumatized in a summer party. She was unable to speak as she became emotionally distressed. She struggled in school as she was not focused and her relationship with other people changed negatively ."When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time." p122. The essence of the story is about secrets and what it can do to a person. Moreover how keeping the wrong secrets can destroy a persons self well being. In addition the truth will set you free and that the longer you hide it the harder it can be exposed.…
Gwen Harwood’s coherent use of form and language to produce an integrated whole in terms of meaning and value affirm the textual integrity of her work “Father and Child”. The poem delicately integrates a host of re-iterated universal motifs to produce the poem as a collective whole and confirms Gwen Harwood’s ability to transcend time in her poetry so that it can be accepted in a great deal of contexts.…
The `Box Room’ by Liz Lochhead is a poem which describes a girl’s stay at her boyfriend’s childhood home, and her encounter with the boyfriend’s mother. As the poem title suggests the girl is to spend the weekend in the Box Room, which was her boyfriend’s room as he lived and grew up in the family home. This essay will look at the theme of relationships by examining the conflict between the boyfriend’s mother and the girlfriend by using word choice and minor sentences.…
Gwen Harwood’s poetry focuses on the concepts of loss and consolation, which, through her exploration of universal themes and deft use of poetic and literary techniques, has continued to engage readers over the ages. My understanding of her poems resonates with these ideas about them, as does it the notion that Harwood’s poetry examines ideas of the growth towards maturity, understanding and wisdom, and the connection this shares with the conventional images of youth and age. The poems “Father and Child” and “Mother Who Gave Me Life” are prime examples of these core ideas being conveyed explicitly through Harwood’s language, context and construction of poems.…
The role of family in Steven Herrick’s narrative verse poem ‘By the River’ incontestably shows its impact and importance towards a child's upbringing. The book talks about themes that develop through each poem showing the influence of a maternal figure's death, the family dynamic under the care of a father who has to play both the maternal and paternal role and how parents form the platform on which their child acts and behaves. In Steven Herrick's verse narrative, the impact of a parental figure's death, particularly the mother, is vividly portrayed against the backdrop of the 1960s where the ideal family dynamic often revolved around the presence of a mother figure, and families without such a figure were not merely pitied but often ostracised…
Imagine being abused, hit, yelled at, and left alone without the most important feeling of love. Growing up without a shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold. How would these actions sculpt you as an individual? Would they compel you to do the same actions to your own loved ones, or show them love and compassion, which your life had lacked? Poets tend to write pieces of literature as reflections back on their personal lives, describing situations that stay afloat in their heads. Sharon Olds’ happened to be one of these poets, who expressed her upsetting past relationship with her father and current relationships with her children through these works of art. In Olds’ first poems, she…
Self expression is how people express their inner feelings, emotions, thoughts, and ideas. It is an important factor for both others and the person to understand themselves better. The results of self expression, both physically and mentally, can reveal a lot about the person who created it. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character expresses herself through drawing and appearances to show how she truly is feeling inside throughout the novel.…
The books Martin’s Big Words was written by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier and I Have a Dream was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Both of the authors and illustrators addressed the issue by explaining how Native American’s people were treated and how Martin and his words peace and love really meant. In these two children’s books having nonviolence and keeping the words love and peace in your head and acting upon what you are saying really shows people how far they can get in life.…
In this poem Chrystal Meeker does an exceptional job of showing what this family is going through. We understand that they are far from rich but that there is true love and loyalty from this mother toward her children. The reader also understands what the mother sacrifices, but more importantly her daughters come to appreciate what she has done for…
As she grew older she began to resent Nanny for showing her a way of life where what matters is not the emotional but only the economic stability of the person whom she would be spending her life with. A person such as Janie who viewed the world as the blossoming pear tree where she once sat under and questioned her own nature was able to learn not to mourn but to live “To my thinkin’ mourning oughtn’t tuh last no longer’n grief.”(Page 114). Years ago Janie had told herself to wait for her in the looking glass. “The young girl was gone, but a handsome woman had taken her place”(Page 108) the moment where she was able to separate herself from the “weak” animals and children that could not think for themselves. However it was when Nanny had died along with her dream of love that she became…
Many people might consider high school as a place to learn and make friends, but according to a recent survey, about one in ten people do not enjoy school. Like these teens, Holden Caulfield, who is the main character in the novel, Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger, experiences a struggle between his close friends. These struggles were caused as part of him tries to be at an adult level and the other part tries to keep away from “phonies”. Holden uses slang words, catch phrases, and seeks for a person to discuss with throughout the novel which may seem to create a negative images and ideas, however, these ideas and images make it possible to reinforce one of the main themes shown in the novel that people can feel alienated even if…
The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick is a novel told in verse form from varied perspectives of three individuals who are separated by contrasting experiences however are connected by similar needs and desires. Their respective experiences are skillfully and credibly interwoven, highlighting their individuality and inter-relationship in which we see dramatic change and development in each of the characters through the use of poetic techniques.…
Most try to find acceptance within their relationships with people. No father and daughter relationship is the same, as depicted in this poem. The poem describes a very strained and dysfunctional relationship. However, a special connection lies underneath between the father and daughter that cannot be put aside. The speaker describes a sense of not feeling accepted by her father and never “fitting in” his life. This causes her to never feel that she belongs and instead “always reaching” (30) or looking for something. Searching for a place where she will be accepted, a place where she will “fit into the arms of anyone” (29). Society has put an expectation on her to find a place where she is just another person with no special identify, with no…
The poem “For Our Grandmothers” by Nickole Brown, explains how Brown's grandmother shows her affection towards her granddaughter like most grandmothers. She makes us realize how our grandmothers are always there for us and how they help us grow. Grandmothers show their love in many different ways that we may not realize. Grandmothers have a way of easing our lives to put less pressure on ourselves and also making their children's lives easier for their children. She describes poetically all the loving things they do for us.…