Final

1)“We Real Cool”
This poem has a powerful message behind it. Gwendolyn Brooks illustrates the essence of troubled teenagers who will eventually suffer the ill-fated of others in their surrounding possibly if they continue their bad lifestyle. The theme influences me because the boys mention in the poem think their cool by skipping school, drinking, and playing pool but their really not. If they keep continuing this pattern then they cannot get nowhere in life and just end up being homeless with no job and with no education. As for the moment they are feeling good but at the end of the road they’re going to end up dead.

2)“Harlem”
The theme of Harlem by Langston Hughes is frustration. The poem signifies that Hughes undergoes the deep frustrations he suffered and warns of the future, with a threat of violence. With that final line of the poem, he was issuing a threat. After reading the poem over and over again, this helped me understand the images conjured by that one word "explode" contain the promise of chaos. The noise, smells and sights of dreadful destruction are in there. To actually get the meaning of this poem Hughes uses the metaphors, with sensory images to get a message at all. No doubt at all, this poem is also very powerful to me.

Is Music Poetry?

1. Select 2 musical selections – one you consider to be poetry and one you do not.
Poetry
Jay-Z: Song Cry
http://www.metrolyrics.com/song-cry-lyrics-jayz.html

Not Poetry
Soulja Boy: Crank That Soulja Boy
http://www.metrolyrics.com/crank-that-soulja-boy-lyrics-soulja-boy.html


2. Convince your audience that your opinion is valid. Why is one song a poem and the other is not?
I believe that Jay-Z’s song “Song Cry” is a poem and Soulja Boy’s song “Crank That Soulja Boy” isn’t because “Song Cry” has a personal meaning. It also contains many literary elements while the other contains two. Jay-Z's song shows men that it is ok to say that it’s their fault but at the same time the girl was responsible for not being straight out with him. It’s just a piece of art. On the other hand, Soulja Boy’s song “Crank That Soulja Boy” has no meaning. It’s just a hype/dancing song, to get the crowd pumped.

3. IS RAP/HIP-HOP POETRY?
a. Is Rap/Hip-Hop music poetic expression? Why or Why not?
In my opinion, Rap/Hip-Hop music is a poetic expression. The reason I think Rap/Hip-Hop music is a poetic expression because many lyrics from rap/hip-hop artists contain what most poems have such as, a theme, metaphor, simile, enjambment and many more. Also, these artists’ shows how he/she feels and it’s giving a message to the people.

b. What literary characteristics or poetic terms does this music express?
Rap/Hip-Hop expresses all of the literary characteristics. For example, Jay-Z’s song “Song Cry” within the first stanza it contains alliteration, assonance, consonance, and enjambment.
The most incredible baby
Uhh - mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm
Yeah, yeah.. uhh

c. What type of critic are you? Explain why.
I think I am more of a context critic because I think that the power of words really helps me understand how an artist feels. I believe that an artist can use any kind to words to get a message across. It also, helps me have knowledge of the artist tone better.

Poetry – Image Writing Exercise

1 – Dylan Thomas – "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"
1) What emotions/feelings do you have after reading the poem?
After reading this poem, I have empathy for the poet. It seems as if he doesn’t know how to deal with death. He shows a grieving personality over his father’s death. Also, I believe that death takes a new personal meaning for Thomas. http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15377mMID/15377

2)How does your chosen image reflect the emotions conjured by the poem?
My image illustrates various ways to approach death in old age. To me this image is the definition of dying light. Thomas father is dying gently into the night and he doesn’t want his father to go away. It shows affirming life up until the last break of dawn, rather than learning to accept death quietly.


2 – Gwendolyn Brooks – "We Real Cool"
1) What emotions/feelings do you have after reading the poem?
My feelings towards this poem is that I don’t have no remorse if these young teenagers keep doing the bad things there doing. If they keep following that lifestyle they will eventually die.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15433

2) How does your chosen image reflect the emotions conjured by the poem? This image shows there are no direction, and the group of boys “We” don't really care about anything, not even their wellbeing for the future. All they want to do is hangout in the streets and live a bad lifestyle. They have no sense of themselves and are not aware of the importance of education, which will sooner or later become their downfall.


3 – Emily Dickinson – "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"
1) What emotions/feelings do you have after reading the poem?
I feel as if the author is having a pain attack or mental breakdown of some sort. I find this poem to be weird and very confusing to understand I think the title of the poem is a metaphor for the author having a mental breakdown.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15391

2) How does your chosen image reflect the emotions conjured by the poem? This image shows that when the human mind under stress it goes into a mental breakdown through the overall metaphor of a funeral.

"A Clean, Well-lighted Place" Assignment

1 – Describe the setting. Why is the idea of a well-lighted place so significant to this short story? The story takes place in a café which is well-lighted and clean. The reason why it’s so significant of a well-lighted place because the old man who comes to the bar every night, comes to escape the darkness, and to have a drink. Also to mention that the old man is deaf and when it’s late at night the café is quiet and the old man can notice the difference.

2 – Why are the characters nameless?
The characters are nameless because many of doesn’t have any importance in the story. There are three main characters, the two waiters and the old deaf man. The author illustrates each of the waiters for having different views on the old man. The younger waiter assumes that since the old man has money then he has nothing to despair. On the other hand, the older waiter seems to understand the old man because he is old himself.

3 – What is the connection between the old man and the older waiter? What is the purpose of the younger waiter in the story?
The connection between the older waiter and the old man is that the older waiter understands the loneliness that the old man feels. In the story he says: "We are two different kinds." "It is not only a question of youth and confidence although those things are very beautiful. Each night, I am reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the cafe." The older waiter is lonely and he lives alone with no wife. He is also an insomniac. This shows that the older waiter fully understands the old man; they both resemble each other. The purpose for the younger waiter in the story is to display the difference between the two. The younger waiter doesn’t see the difference from their café from the other bar and bodegas. All he wants to do is go home to his bed with his wife.

4 – What is the plot? Be specific and briefly outline the 5 plot elements.
The story begins at a cafe very late at night. Two waiters are watching their last, lingering customer, an old man who is by now very drunk. These are the story’s three major characters.
• Conflict- the younger waiter wants to go home but he can’t because the old man is still in the café.
• Rising action- When the old man indicates that he wants another drink served, the young waiter ignores him.
• Complications- The old man realizes that the younger waiter is being offensive, but ignores him and asks out loud for the drink. When the waiter brings it, he makes it spill purposely. Moreover, knowing that the old man is deaf, as he walks away he says, “You should have killed yourself last week.”
• Climax- The younger waiter finally asks the old man to leave which he does.

5 – What is the theme (in one sentence)?
Whenever you go from for troubles will lead to a clean well-lighted place.

PART 2
Research the life of Ernest Hemingway. Compose a one paragraph biographical summary. Highlight facts about Hemingway's life experiences that are evident in "A Clean Well-Lighted Place".
Ernest Hemingway was born in Illinois in 1899, Hemingway's life was influenced early on with literature as he became a reporter directly after high-school. He served in WWI, in which he became seriously injured and then lived in Paris for a time. His passions were writing and hunting. In many of his other works, his characters typically displayed courage and integrity. Suffering from a mental condition that caused memory loss, Hemingway took his life with his favorite shotgun in 1961, an act very much unlike most of his literary characters, but surprisingly foretelling. In A Clean Well-Lighted Place Hemingway unwittingly relates the main character to himself.
http://www.booksellerworld.com/ernesthemingway-bibliography.htm

"Sonny's Blues" Research Assignment

#1. 1. "Sonny's Blues" takes place in Harlem, NY. during the during the 1950's. The story occurs during the Civil Rights Movement, during segregation and supposedly "separate but equal" accommodations in public institutions. As you can see the narrator and Sonny have grown up in poor neighborhood of Harlem. You'll also notice the way how the characters talk and the type of music likes to listen to gave you an idea of the time period.
http://cai.ucdavis.edu/uccp/sblecture.html#setting
2. The setting affects Sonny’s character when both of his parents died and his brother has no choice but to leave Sonny with Isabel and her family while he was at war. Sonny didn't have anyone to talk but his musician friends. And the only way he fit in was by doing drugs. The heroin affected Sonny on so many levels and later on in the story is when more conflict between him and his brother arises.

#2. 1. In 1945, during the immediate postwar period, the U.S. Armed Forces began developing new racial policies. The need to make the most effective use of all available manpower, demands by civil rights groups, and higher black reenlistment rates were major factors affecting the new policies.
http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/integrate/intchron.htm
The Tuskegee Airmen were America's first black military airmen, at a time when there were many people who thought that black men lacked intelligence, skill, courage and patriotism. They all came from every section of the country. Those who possessed the physical and mental qualifications were accepted as aviation cadets to be trained initially as single-engine pilots and later to be either twin-engine pilots, navigators or bombardiers.
http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/Tuskegee_Airmen_History.html
2. Sonny wants to enlist in the army or navy because it would take him away from the killing streets of Harlem and by doing this it would give him the opportunity to get a college education on the GI Bill. That enlistment in the Army during a war might seem safer or saner than remaining at home is part of the cruel irony of this family's urban experience.

#3. 1. Billie Holiday : PLEASE, DON'T TALK ABOUT ME WHEN I'M GONE
Please don't talk about me when I'm goneHoney, though our friendship ceases from now onAnd if you can't say anything uptightIt's better not to talk at all, is my adviceWe're parting, you'll go your way, I'll go mineI have just this to doGive a little kiss and hope that it bringsLots of love to youMakes no difference how Jerry carries on (but I'll make it, baby!)Please don't talk about me when I'm gonePlease don't talk about me, honey, when I'm goneThough our friendship ceases from now onAnd if you can't say anything real niceYou better not talk at all, is Jerry's adviceWe're parting, you'll go your way, I'll go mineI have just this to doHere's a little kiss, I hope it bringsLots and lots of love to youMakes no difference how I carry onPlease don't talk about mePlease don't talk about mePlease don't talk about mePlease don't talk about mePlease don't talk about mePlease don't talk about me, honeyPlease don't talk about me when I'm gone
http://www.metrolyrics.com/please-dont-talk-about-me-when-im-gone-lyrics-billie-holiday.html
2. The reason why I chose this song because at a point in the story Sonny and his brother haven’t seen or talk each other in months. They both hated each other. The narrator didn’t want to have anything to do with Sonny and that’s why I chose this song.

#4. 1. After World War II bebop was formed. Bebop is characterized by fast tempos, complex harmonies, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that laid down a steady beat only on the bass and the drummer's ride cymbal. Bebop tunes were often labyrinthine, full of surprising twists and turns. With the focus on improvisation, bebop allowed for an explosion of innovation. Inspired by the more harmonically and rhythmically experimental players in swing era, such as Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Art Tatum, and Roy Eldridge, bebop musicians expanded the palette of musical devices from which to choose while improvising. Bebop musicians played tunes at much faster tempos. “The advent of bebop marked an expansion of the roles of the rhythm section players, who were no longer simply time-keepers, but who interacted with the soloist with their own embellishments”.
http://jazz.about.com/od/introductiontojazz/a/Bebop.htm
2. Bebop means a lot to Sonny. The music Sonny favors represents symbolically the personal gap between the narrator and Sonny. Hopeful that he will ultimately be accepted and respected by mainstream society, his brother plods along obediently, enduring, but not really questioning his goal in life. In the story, bebop has no meaning to the narrator because he doesn’t understand it but at the end he knows why Sonny loves doing music and he accepts him for what Sonny do.