My Reflection of the Course

This semester turned out to be one of my most challenging. This semester also helped me discover things about myself that I never thought existed. I think what allowed for this to happen was the relaxed and understanding environment that Professor Brady and all of the classmates provided for me. Firm day number one I felt as if I knew everyone with in the class my entire life.
One main point that helped me evolve not only as a better writer but as a better individual was the class fish bowls. Usually in classes you write a paper and hand it to the professor and that’s it. However the professor feels about it, that’s how it is graded. I know I always question myself and get nervous whether or not I am wrong on certain topics. With the class fish bowls, it allowed me to get a understanding of how other people feel on certain issues or topics which in time made me feel more confident about my own personal beliefs. It helped me develop a voice for myself which is a new experience in which I will never forget. The confidence I have received in this class will remain with me for the rest of my life.
Looking at all of the work I have done for this class I can see the difference in my improvement from paper one to the final paper. This class along with the people involved in it really helped shine a new light on myself and helped me accomplish thing I never thought to be possible.

The Human Condition

Another class lecture that I felt I learned the most from was the discussion relating to the human condition. The fact that the people who we are today were not created by ones own free will but by the environment in which we were raised in. Things such as culture and higher authority are what shape our behaviors, thoughts and ideas. I see this first hand at every family event mainly because I am apart of a family who are mostly made up of city firefighters and City Police officers. There always telling me to live the life that was practical for them rather than go off and take on life with my own personal goals. It feels like a never ending competition between each other to see who’s the ideal member of the family that listened to the older generations guiding directions the best. At first as it was happening I didn’t understand why people would tell others to live an almost duplicated life of that individual, but after the lecture I realized that these people just want you to live an already planned out lifestyle to help them feel better about their life choices. To share with them what their idea of a successful lifestyle in order to give them relief of there past struggles and hard work to get them to where they are today. I respect the guidance, but people should be able to choose for themselves what in life will make them successful. If a person just follows what majority of people are doing and obtain the same lifestyle in the long run that’s not living life. But to stray off this worn guided path given to us by others, to later be successful by making your own path to success is how life should be lived.

The Language may be explicit to some veiwers but sometimes poetry has to be in order to make a point

Poetry Vs. Rap
My most favorite lecture we discussed about in the class involved the comparing of Rap to poetry. After many years of listening to Rap music I never drew the connection to the Art of poetry. What interested me was how rap music uses the same type of format as poetry, except in rap, the sentences are broken up into what is known as meters or bars, while poetry is broken up into stanzas. After the discussion I later researched more information on this topic and discovered rappers such as Common, Kanye West, and DMX all have taken part in actually poetry slams. Discovering the connection of rap to poetry has now helped me gain more respect for certain rap artists as well as rap music as a genre.

The Real Breakfast of Champions...

My Style/Technique of my poems for paper 3

                In my first poem titled “My Structure”, I used a mostly the rhyme scheme known as eye rhyme. This is when the words rhyming do not sound the same but end in similar letters. The tone I was trying to use is that of excitement at first, then that of worry toward the 4^th Stanza, later sadness, but finally motivated and ambitious. I compared my first experience with love to the creation and the destruction of a building or structure. The foundation of the building was me before the relationship. I tried to point out that toward the beginning of the relationship it was simple, much like laying the first bricks on a foundation, almost exciting due to the fact the workers or the creator cannot wait until it is finished. As the bricks kept stacking, the structure grew taller, and the structure just began too hard to maintain. The height of the building represented the length of the relationship. Each brick that was laid symbolized a memory or experience we each both shared. Toward the top of the structure, weaker bricks were being laid making the structure to begin to crumble. Each one of the bricks toward the top signified a bad experience or fight between the two of us.
                  The collapse of the structure signified the collapse of the relationship. The workers symbolized my ex girlfriend and myself. When one of the workers quit(the ex girlfriend) the lone worker (me), was left with the hurtful broken memories. Instead of succumbing to this upsetting misfortune I tried using this happy/ painful experience to warn myself of future relationships. To not just let feelings take control of my judgment. What inspired me to write this was because we learned that poetry can be about all types of love such to the of pain as well as happiness.
                For my second poem I used a traditional piece of the Irish culture. On the Irish Claddagh it usually says “Friendship, Loyalty, and Love.” I felt that these three words could be explained in more depth to help people understand them more clearly but also show how they are three of the most important morals a person should live by. I only used two lines in each stanza mostly to show how simple these three words are in my everyday life. I explain my friendships as short and simple due to the fact that’s how they are. The people whom I’m friends with look past all of the unimportant stuff. Majority of people judge people on unimportant things rather than see a person for who they really are. The only way you can have a successful family is if you are loyal to one another. This goes for friendship as well. Majority of Irish people are roan catholic and usually remain devoted to their creed in order to properly marry in a Catholic church. Finally I felt that Love is the main emotions that allow friendship and loyalty to be possible. It may be possible to live without friendship, or loyalty, but without love a person could not live. My tone for this poem is upbeat and positive much like the true Irish attitude.
           I enjoyed writing these two works of poetry for this paper. I believe I could have done better if I continue writing poetry. I never realized how writing how you feel can help you feel more positive toward a certain topic.

My second poem for our 3rd paper

My Irish Claddagh reads Friendship, Loyalty, and Love
Although Friendship is the first of three
I can only think of a few friends that are dearest to me

Who share the same morals and sense of humor,
And don’t contribute to drama, or childish rumors.

Loyalty is in second place
And means devotion, like such as keeping faith

Whether it be in family, friends, or even in creed
Loyalty is one of the most important morals you need.

On this Claddagh Love is final
And nothing to that of banal.

Love is the cohesive that holds together the three
And having Friendship, Loyalty and Love is what life truly means to me.

My first poem for paper #3

My Structure
My first experience with love is much like the creation of a building
When my eyes laid upon her, the first bricks were cemented to my foundation.

New sensations to which I was virgin to started immersing,
Acting as a cement holding this new potential forever together.
Each day, a new brick filled with tender love and care at the seams bursting.
Feeling lucky, I asked, “what person shouldn’t experience this?” I wish it lasts forever.

Many years went by, and many bricks have been laid,
But as the structure continued to take height the frame started to change.
Started as a solid symmetrical beauty, it towers an uneven, unbalanced, impure eyesore.
Soon to be destroyed.

The creaking and moans heard from the weak bricks toward the top
Are potential threats to the entire foundation.
Love the designer, is puzzled with no explanation.

The workers scream with sharp edged tongues blaming each other for evolving this once God like creation,
Into a man made abomination.

But it is too late. The intense storms over the years have taken their toll
As the bricks fall the workers try their all to keep the structure standing tall.
They watch each brick (experience) slip from the top and tumble,
And hit the ground with such force they crumble.
As if they meant nothing.

There is now this pile of rubble
And the two workers are standing in the dust befuddled.
One of them walk off and refuse to persist.
The one left with these broken bricks wish he didn’t exist.

My structure, now is just a bare foundation,
But these broken memories are the fuel to my inspiration.
To help me learn from my past relations,
And be careful for my future infatuations.

My 2nd Paper for ENG102

Connor Hickey
Professor Brady
ENG 102 4:30pm TR
March 21, 2011

The Interpreter of Unrealistic Happiness

                An unrealistic hope for happiness is found many times in the “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway as well as the “Interpreter of Maladies” By Jhumpa Lahiri. These short stories reveal the fantasies and lies people will conjure in the false thought their life will happy. The film “Revolutionary Road” directed by Sam Mendes also shares this theme of unrealistic happiness through the character of April Wheeler. April Wheeler believes that leaving the suburbs will help solve all of the family and marital issues which she and her husband Frank have been dealing with. The man in “Hills Like White Elephants” tries to strongly persuade the girl into a situation where he feels is best in order to live a happy life. When Mr. Kapasi fantasizes about Mrs. Das, he believes it is she that is going to help him escape his unhappy life far a new and happier lifestyle. April, the man, and Mr. Kapasi all share the similar unrealistic fantasies that in some way they will achieve happiness.
               The “Revolutionary Road” takes place in a suburbs in Connecticut around the 1950’s. The main characters Frank(Leonardo Dicaprio) and April Wheeler(Kate Winslet) are married with children and are living in a house on Revolutionary Road. The couple seems to have the typical American dream of a nice and big house in a safe and friendly community. As time progresses this picture perfect lifestyle seems to decay into a nightmare. The Wheelers start to become stressed with work along with raising the children. The boring and repetitive life of the Wheelers is not the one in which they imagined in their younger years. Frank and April decide on leaving the empty life of the suburbs will solve all of the problems they have been facing. Frank says during a conversation with another member of the community, “Maybe We are running. We are running from the hopeless emptiness of the whole life here”(Mendes). The plan of moving to Paris is destroyed once April discovers she is pregnant with their third child. Frank does not think that raising a child in Europe is a good idea but April continues to push for their getaway to Paris. The fights between April and Frank escalate and April starts believing their only way to achieve happiness once again is to move to Paris. April thinks the only thing keeping them from moving is the unborn child she is carrying. So after Frank leaves to go to work she attempts to perform an abortion on herself. While attempting the abortion to achieve her unrealistic happiness she botches the procedure which later leads to her death. The problems in which they were trying to escape from would have eventually caught up with them. Aprils idea of happiness is completely unrealistic.
                In addition to the “revolutionary road”, “The Hills like White Elephants” is a short story that is deals with the same theme. The characters also in this short story also have the idea that a pregnancy is blocking the pursuit of happiness in which they can achieve. The short story takes place at a train station in Spain. The two individuals are traveling to Madrid in order for the girl to get an abortion. As they are waiting for the train the man is still trying to fully convince the girl that the procedure for the abortion is perfectly safe. The girl does not seem to be fully ready to partake in the procedure. The man reassures the girl that if she were to follow through with it, “We’ll be fine afterward. Just like we were before”(Hemmingway 115). The man is insisting that if the girl were to go through with this procedure that they will be happy once more as if nothing had ever happened. The man continues to try and sell this unrealistic idea of happiness when he says, “We can have everything… We can have the world… we can go everywhere”(Hemmingway 116). At this point the man is desperate and is trying anything he can to try and persuade the girl to go through with it. This short story doesn’t provide the reader with much detail of the characters backgrounds but gives the reader the feeling that the girls pregnancy was unplanned and unwanted especially by the man. It seems the man just wants to avoid responsibility as a father and the girl is too young to stand up for what she believes in. However even if this girl were to go through with the procedure, the man and the girl would still not be able to live their unrealistic fantasy of being happy.
                    The “Interpreter of Maladies” is a story that takes place during the middle of July in India. The story is about a family who is on a tour with a guide named Mr. Kapasi. Mr. Kapasi critiques the family through entire trip trying to get an understanding of who they are and how they act. When Mrs. Das says, “But so romantic” referring to Mr. Kapasi’s job, a spark of attraction toward Mrs. Das begins to grow.(Lahiri 50) After only meeting Mrs. Das for a couple of hours Mr. Kapasi starts to fantasize about a life with her. Mr. Kapasi starts to compare Mrs. Das to his own wife on page 58 when he says “he has never admired the backs of his wife’s legs the way he now admired those of Mrs. Das, walking as if for his benefit alone.”(Lahiri) Mr. Kapasi believes that if he were be with Mrs. Das rather than his wife he would be much happier because his wife never complimented him in such a way Mrs. Das did and he has only knew her for one day. Mrs. Das although unhappy with her life, is a married mother of three children. Mr. Kapasi is a forty six year old tour guide instructor whom is married as well. His unrealistic fantasy of one day being with Mrs. Das is crushed when one of her children is nearly beaten to death by a group of monkeys. Even if this occurrence with her child weren’t to happen there was a slim chance both Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das would have ever seen each other again.
               This theme of unrealistic happiness is found in the “Interpreter of Maladies”, the “Hills Like White Elephants”, and the Revolutionary Road. The Revolutionary Road and the “Hills Like White Elephants” are more realistic crises well as the “Interpreter of Maladies” relates more to an unrealistic crisis. In all these three characters share an unrealistic fantasy that in some way they will achieve happiness. These hopes for happiness are never achieved.

My first paper for ENG 102



Motifs and Symbols in “A Streetcar Named Desire”

               A Streetcar Named Desire was written by Tennessee William in 1947. This extremely remarkable playwright was presented with the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critics Award, and the Donaldson Award. A Streetcar Named Desire is a playwright that takes place at the house of Stanley and Stella Kowalski in New Orleans during the year of 1946. When Stella’s sister Blanche arrives to the Kowalski home looking for a place to stay, a difference in attitudes and morals are noticed between Blanche and Stanley. The power struggle between Blanche and Stanley becomes more extreme and violent through the course of the story eventually ending in Blanche’s demise. Although this power struggle seems to be the main theme in the story, Tennessee Williams used many sub themes which he explains through the usage of motifs and symbols.

            During the story, Blanche Dubois slowly revealed important information to the audience through two motifs. The first motif used is that of Blanches age. Blanche is extremely insecure about her age as well as her slowly fading looks. She has a fantasy based image in her head of what she looks like and how old she really is. Williams illustrates Blanche’s avoidance of reality on numerous occasions in which Blanche purposely darkens lighted areas or just avoids them completely. There is evidence of this as soon she enters the Kowalski’s home. Blanche constantly has a paper lantern over the lamp to dim the light in the bedroom of the house to help shadow her looks. When Blanche arrives in New Orleans, she never leaves the apartment during the day. Blanche will only go out during the night whether with Stella or Harold Mitchell. Eventually Harold Mitchell, or also known as, Mitch catches on to her insecurity, which is noted when he says. “‘I never seen you in the afternoon’… ‘What I mean is I’ve never had a real good look at you, Blanche. Let’s turn the lights on here.’”(Williams 1223) Blanche responds, “[Fearfully.] ‘Light? Which light? What for?’”(Williams 1223).

            Another motif Williams uses represents Blanches need to isolate herself as well as to constantly cleanse herself. Blanche pampers herself through bathing in order to help her escape from reality. Bathing helps Blanche remain alone for a certain period of time, away from all the issues and insecurities she would have to face in reality. Bathing also creates the idea that Blanche is trying to cleanse herself of her dirty soul and past mistakes. Williams provides evidence of this when he writes “[STELLA goes out to the porch. BLANCHE comes out of the bathroom in a red satin robe] Blanche: [Airily.] Hello Stanley! Here I am, freshly bathed and scented, and feeling like a brand new human being!’”(1179). The bathing doesn’t rid her memories of the past completely but only for a fraction of time until she has to bathe once more.

              Meanwhile at the same time these motifs were being used, Williams creates symbols to help better explain general ideas in more detail. This music symbolizes Blanche’s remembrance of her deceased husband. The Polka music played is due to fact that the night Blanche’s ex husband committed suicide they both were attending an event at the Moon Lake Casino. Before attending the event Blanche walked in on her husband and another man fornicating. Later after this event when Blanch and her husband were dancing to Polka music at the casino, Blanche “suddenly said-‘I saw! I know! You disgust me…’”(William 1212) Soon after Blanche said this her husband ran out of the casino and shot himself in the head. The thought of her husbands death gives Blanche a small flashback of that tragic night.

             In addition to the Polka music another symbol Williams uses is in scene 9, when the Mexican Woman is selling flowers for the dead. This last chance at happiness is shot down once Stanley breaks the news of Blanches history to Mitch. During the same time that Mitch confronts Blanche of these allegations, “[a vendor comes around the corner. She is a blind MEXICAN WOMAN in a dark shawl, carrying bunches of those gaudy tin flowers that lower-class Mexicans display at funerals and other festive occasions…]”(Williams 1225) When the Mexican Woman offers Blanche flowers it seems that even though the woman is blind she can sense the death of something. What the Mexican Woman senses is the death or end of Blanches sanity. Soon after this incident, Stella and Eunice have Blanche taken to a mental institution.

             A final motif Williams creates is the loss of everything Blanche desires. Blanche’s life seems to have been slowly deteriorating ever since the death of her husband. Blanche is slowly but surely loosing her looks as time progresses. She lost her teaching job due to an affair with one of her students and lost the home in Belle Reve where her and Stella grew up due to lack of pay. What drove Blanche to New Orleans is her loss of her money and the loss of her view to the public. And finally once Blanche losses her chance of marriage with Mitch, Blanche losses her sanity.

             In conclusion, Williams creates these motifs and symbols to help keep the audience on edge and deeply focused on the story. Williams focuses on Blanche and how she fantasizes of how she wants to be rather than how she really is in reality. With Stanley’s help of destroying Blanches fantasy world , Blanche losses her last ties with reality. Stanley’s plan to ruin Blanches life is successful. Williams in deep and emotional style of writing is the sole reason why A Streetcar Named Desire is an extremely popular story and won so many prestigious awards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYaOuQJUI84

                                     This is a powerful poem by the young, Jay Davis of New York City.

The name of the poem is "Favorite Color".  This poem helps illustrate how powerful and moving poetry can be when spoken from the heart.  This poem also helped the New York City poetry team win in the Semi Finals on the HBO special "Brave NewVoices".