Writing Zone Piece

   Sometimes, our human lives are full of events that we only can see best in poetry. The properties of poetry act as a portal to understanding daily experiences and once-in-a-lifetime phenomenons. Poetry's anatomy consists of of the cherished lives of people-- those who see the figure not only get a glimpse of something so beautiful, but also something to remember the effect the poems give on the reader, namely "Firework"and "Hot and Cold" by Katy Perry.
   A poem can nurture one's brain with ideas of experiences all people want to see, like Katy Perry's "Firework". The poem sends readers on an adventure through literary devices. The most profound kind in "Firework" is is simile. When Perry says, "Do you ever feel like a plastic bag," the reader subconsciously grasps the sensation of a light, flowing object so powerless. They experience the instance Perry wanted everyone to feel. Poems like "Firework" are the kinds that lure the reader with figurative language.
   Another poem by Katy Perry, "Hot and Cold", discusses the indecision and bipolarity of a friend through juxtaposition. The reader will see "You're hot and you're cold...yes and no..." and many others just to sample the confusion and anxiety sparked in the song. It gives the reader a roller coaster ride, so to speak. The reader will also find in "Hot and Cold", a paradox when Perry says, "...You don't really want to stay, no... But you don't really want to go-o". The two statements contradict each other, just like the whole song is all about.
   Literary elements are the key ingredient to making a meaningful poem, especially stemming off a personal experience. They enhance the poem so much; it is never a plain story. The creativity always mesmerizes the readers, and poems will continue to do just the thing by the unique language they possess.

Commentary on "If"

   I read a very nice, interesting poem. It felt as though Kipling was speaking to someone, rather than it being just a poem with rhymes and a heartfelt message. While it sent a message, the delivery was a bit like a lecture. The elements of the poem "If" were so secular-sounding and the speech was so modern; I never would have guessed that the poem was written over a century ago. At first, I really thought a slam poet wrote this. The rhythm at which I read it seemed so hexagonal --I don't know-- and topsy-turvy, making it so hard to believe that "If" was written such a long time ago. I find it real interesting how each stanza presents a different issue: the first stanza with chaos around, the second stanza with maintaining patience and dignity, the third on self-control, and the fourth promoting balance in every situation. The thing which tickled my fancy was the allusion in line 24 of "If": "Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'" It reminded me of the Holy Spirit, the One who sends jolts to my spirit to lead me where I go, much like the depiction in this poem! This poem encouraged me to think of how I would raise my children. I felt challenged to figure out how I would approach these kinds of issues and how to cope with them. The nice thing about "If" is how correct it is-- the message sent was respectable; nothing disturbed or offended the right things to do. In this day and age, millions are forgetting how to, in this case, be a good man-- or person in general. It seems as though back then, parents raised their children in ways that would make them successful and smart. Nowadays, parents are isolated from their children, and kids learn all by themselves and make their own decisions that aren't always smart. "If" has a great message for today's society, but the pity is that the message is put into less action than it ever has been. Apparently, nobody cares that their children are faced with self-doubt, and that they have no support system. Nobody takes into consideration that their children have goals for themselves, but they know no limits and give their hopes up only to fail and have no faith to get back up and try to achieve those dreams again. Nobody encourages perseverance for their kids; there is no concern for dignity. Nobody factors in that they have a son to raise, and that he is at risk of becoming a slouch due to lack of exhortation. This generation needs more of "If", because of all the value it has to give, especially is a day and age that struggles with want over morality. The thing about "If" which made it so inspiring was its truth throughout a whole century, and longer. After reading the poem, I saw influence for many people. If I saw the influence, others saw it, too!

Commentary for "Ain't I a Woman"

   The way Sojourner Truth wrote her poem made so much sense. In the time she was in, she struggled so much with rights alone. She hardly even existed as a black person, let alone a black woman. Because of who she was, she never experienced the life she deserved. All she did was work hard and hard, with no breaks. Giving birth to children, seeing them go, working in fields like crazy for hardly anything at all, and serving white people who gave no clue what it felt like to be treated as an animal. Sojourner Truth persevered as a black woman, because she had hope even in the midst of her troubles. She believed in God even when He seemed distant. She had faith in the fact that she would have peace one way or another. Although life brought her down time and time again, through every high and low, up and down, pro or con, good or bad, Sojourner Truth held true to the fact that she was a woman, and that she could do all things through Christ who gave her the strength to "turn the world right side up". She made inroads in society; she made a name for herself. Sojourner Truth stood as a beacon of light and hope for all African Americans during that time, and even today. She proved that black woman were not the worst, and that they were just as inspirational as anyone else. Sojourner Truth never let anyone look down on her, even while she was a slave. She had so much confidence, despite the surrounding struggles. During her time in purgatory, when all said "no", God in her said, "Yes!" She could care less that some white man told her to get down-- as far as Sojourner Truth was concerned, she was not ashamed, for the Lord was on her side through every thick and thin, whatever the weather, no matter what. Sojourner Truth carried all the fruits of the spirit every day, just by looking at the lines of the poem. Without them, she would not have been able to take all the horrid things of her life. Sojourner Truth worked very hard for the dreams she wanted, inside her bounds and out. She wanted to work for her kids' well being. She wanted to work for the good that was in her future. But above all, she wanted to work for all the Lord did for her. Sojourner was grateful for her life, because as merciless and dark as circumstances were for her, she was dedicated not to give up to the pressuring tease that she was a useless black woman. She was determined to defeat the lie which set her, and many other women, back many miles. Sojourner Truth ran back all her miles not just to finish the race this time, but to win it. She did not want to hear she could not do it, because in her heart, mind, soul and spirit, she could do whatever the heck she wanted to do.

TP-CASTT for "Ain't I a Woman" by Sojourner Truth and "If" by Rudyard Kipling

TP-CASTT~~ Ain't I a Woman

T-- Title~~ A woman talking about her gender

P-- Paraphrase~~ Sojourner Truth is fed up with all the misery in her everyday life; the racism, slavery and sexism irritate her so. She talks about all the hard work she did, and all that happened to her during that time-- working in fields, being mistreated by white people and having 13 kids, seeing most of them go into slavery. She remembers men telling her what she could or couldn't do, and all she had to say to those words were that she was a woman, and she could fix trouble if she wanted to.

C-- Connotation~~ Throughout the whole poem, Truth sounds very upset and passionate.

A-- Assonance~~ Line 6 contains "mud puddles".

S-- Shifts~~ Lines 5-7 sounded sad compared to the rest of the lines. i.e. "Nobody ever helped me into carriages..." in line 5.

T-- Title (in-depth)~~ "Ain't I a Woman" means Sojourner Truth, as a woman, has seen and done many things most think women are incapable of doing.

T-- Theme~~ "If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down, all alone, together women can ought to be able to turn it right side up again."

TP-CASTT~~ If

T-- Title~~ "If" sounds like a wistful thought.
P-- Paraphrase~~ "If" is a whole poem about a man lecturing his son about what it means to be a real man. It takes patience and dignity from all the world to be a man. It takes self control not to let things get the best of him to be a man. It takes perseverance to finish what he starts to be a man. It takes balance to be a man, too.
C-- Connotation~~ "If" sounds very serious and stern for the most part.
A-- Assonance~~ In line 8, there is "look too good...".
S-- Shifts~~ The last stanza of the poem is rather happy and hopeful. i.e. "And-- which is more-- you'll be a Man, my son!" in line 32.
T-- Title (in-depth)~~ "If" is about the capability of being a man.
T-- Theme~~ Manhood starts with balance.

Past, Present, Future = Truth

   How does the past, present and future lead us to the truth? Well, it simply depends on the truth. The truth hits us in many ways and forms, and people find it in multiple different situations. As a matter of fact, I would quite honestly venture to say that the truth leads to the past, present or future, because even though the truth lies in any of those three domains, we have to find it. The truth will not come to us, unless we seek it out from the past, in the present, or to the future. On that note, the past, present or future does not lead us to anything; they only influence the truth, kind of like an environment. All three bearers of the truth act as a home for the truth to live. They all carry potential for anything, and those happenings could always impact the truth in several ways, depending on whether or not good or bad gets a grip on it.
   When in the past, the truth will change our lives at small or large-- it relies on the type of truth. Since the person could not find it in time, the truth sat back and stopped following its owner, so to speak. When the person reunites with the truth, the result cannot be changed. The present either affects the person internally or externally. A truth affects someone internally by portraying a secret, or one's state of mind. Externally, the uncontrollable situations like weather or society could affect people. I would also like to point out that society doesn't always tell the truth-- its presence and effects do, though. The future truth confuses everyone, because nobody experienced it, yet. However, I have observed the future reflects the past, and oftentimes, we find the truth in the future based on our prior knowledge. If someone sports a fiery demeanor whenever provoked, we can infer the someone will express the fiery demeanor we know and love the next time they get agitated.
   As I said before, we do not find the truth in one piece, nor does it just miraculously look the same for us every time. In other words, the truth conducts a lot of reactions. What ridiculousness if we reacted to all news the same way. In Oedipus Rex, King Laius heard the prophecy about Oedipus, his son, killing him and marrying his wife, and he became furious and wanted his son killed. Would he want  Oedipus killed if he found out about a simple lie about him stealing candy, or about him agreeing with his choice to go take a walk in the town? Probably not. The truth does not always cook up the same outcome-- its recipes vary in flavor, and we may or may not like the taste of the truth.
   So, the truth in a way leads us to our past, present and future, based on the outcome of the news. Because the truth may live in three different environments, the probability of reactions, life, or even finding the truth itself proves unpredictable and inevitable. I find it awkward how confrontational the truth looks in this suit, though. On a lighter note, the truth should not represent a monster. It only aids, prevents and confronts all tenses. It deep down inside wants to protect you, and set you free of any deception or bondage you end up in.

Oedipus Rex Commentary

Oedipus Rex, a man who killed his father and married his mother. How peculiar. The story in-depth bore such an ironic twist-- it confused me for a bit. How did he not know how far into his trouble he went? From the very beginning, there Oedipus stands, oblivious to people's problems. A suffering Thebes brings Oedipus to suddenly want to save his kingdom. I noticed that Oedipus does not notice much of things-- Thebes' devastation, apparently, just sparks to his attention when a priest tells him, and later on, he finds out about the prophecy that everyone knows about but him. Why would a king be so oblivious to his kingdom’s agony? Why would he be blinded to the prophecy that he would marry his mother after he killed his father?

   Nothing gets more annoying than a king who is prideful. Oedipus appears very pompous compared to his subjects. He treats Creon and Tieresias so inferior. I felt bad for Tieresias when Oedipus threatened to kill him; he should not have done that to the poor man. Oedipus’ pride blinded him from Creon’s advice, and he butchered it to where Creon attacked him for power. Oedipus really let the prophecy and message get the best of him. It obviously did not take much for the crazy state to rob him of his peace of mind. But even still, though— why?

   I find it so pulsating and suspenseful that Oedipus, throughout the story, inches his way towards finding out what the prophecy really means. One thing after another, someone lets out a clue to finding out that he killed Laius and when he finds that out, he goes into disbelief. The way the story was arranged made it too unbearable, and the fact that he had children with his mother was horrific! I wonder how Jocasta felt about the whole issue when it was all played out. What did she feel when she realized she married her own son?

   I wonder, though—what did the Sphinx do, exactly, to terrorize them? If Oedipus saved Thebes, then how come it ran into calamity again? Pollution, disease and all sorts of trouble fell into the land of Thebes, but what caused it? And even as king, what else, other than the intent of stopping the treason over Thebes, made Oedipus so keen on putting a stop to all of this? He carried such dignity and haste to everything. 

I wonder, Connections, Social Satire

   I wonder if "The West" has anything to do with "West Egg" in Great Gatsby. I also wonder if  the story was a work of magical realism, or if it was just exaggeration. For the turn of the century, the kind of phenomena that Percy showed John was uncanny. Even now a lot of those things were hard to believe. There's never been enough diamond to make a mountain.
   Fitzgerald teases youth by how fantastical their ideology is. Percy made everything seem so amazing for John, but treated John's comments as overstatements. Fitzgerald makes fun of wealth by placing a setting in this huge "behemoth" of astounding things. This alludes to rich people always living in private manors and having just about everything. Percy lived in this almost-fantasy land, with technology to hide the property from even the government, and a huge diamond mountain. Percy had everything in that kingdom of his, and he didn't take it so seriously. Fitzgerald uses religion to allude how rich people are never satisfied, with the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. The setting in the story was called Fish --one of the foods Jesus used to feed the people--, and there were twelve men, just as there were twelve disciples of Jesus. This relates to the story by the situation that the crowd of 5,000 had enough food to eat, despite just five loaves of bread and two fish. Rich people have that kind of opportunity every day, except they never have enough of anything-- they only want more and more. Percy made everything "seem like nothing", because he saw them everyday. He took it for-granted.