Everyday Use- Theme

There are many themes throughout the course of the short story Everyday Use by Alice Walker. One of the major themes throughout the course of the novel involved African-American culture. The theme talks about the good parts of the African-American culture, as well as the conflicts and struggles that come along with being an African-American. For example, Walker states, "like good looks and money, quickness passed her by" (Walker, 71). The text talks about the difficulties concerning the opportunities that African American have in society. Specifically, it talks about how it is difficult to proceed with life concerning money. Not only does it talk about them individually, it talks about how they have work well together. In the story, Walker gives a story about how the culture of working for African-Americans has enabled them to achieve greatness in life. It talks about how their culture takes the bad aspects, but turn them into something they can work with. For example, Walker inserts a story about a woman who embraces her working ability to provide for herself and those around her. It said that she could work outside all day breaking ice to get water for washing. The theme of the good and the bad of African-American culture is present through the course of the short story allowing the reader to learn how they live their lives.

Toads- external conflict

In "Toads" by Phillip Larkin, Larkin talks about external conflict. The first toad discussed in the poem talks about an external conflict. "Why should I let the toad work squat on my life?" (Larkin, 1-2). It is an external conflict because it talks about how he should not let the toad squat on his life. The "on his life" part implies that it is an external conflict because it is happening outside of him, versus inside of him. He is having trouble fighting this external conflict because he cannot find a way to use his brains to make the conflict go away. In lines 3 and 4, Larkin states "Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork and drive the brute off" (Larkin, 3-4). Not only is Larkin having issues dealing with the external conflict, he also is struggling from an internal conflict. The external conflict is harder for him to overcome because of the internal conflict that he is facing as well. The combination of the two will not allow him to achieve happiness and his desires in life which is the fame, the girl, and the money all at the same time.

Toads- internal conflict

In the poem "Toads" by Phillip Larkin, an internal conflict is discussed. We can infer that the second toad discussed in the novel is an internal conflict because of the way it is worded in the sentence. "For something sufficiently toad-like squats in me" (Larkin, 25-26). We can infer that it is an internal conflict  because its says that it "squats in me". We know from the text that whatever this internal conflict is that it is keeping him from getting what he truly desires. "And will never allow me to blarney my way to getting the fame and the girl and the money" (Larkin, 29-31). Now that we know that it is an internal conflict, we have to try and figure out what the internal conflict is. I believe that the internal conflict could be his desire to overcome his shyness. The text led me to believe this because it talks about how he cannot blarney. Because he is shy, we can believe that it is keeping him from being able to "brown nose" his way into the fame and the money that he truly desires.

Mr. Z's Irony

M. Carl Holman uses irony throughout the poem "Mr. Z". Throughout the course of the poem, Mr. Z tries to deny his heritage. In the first line of the poem, Holman mentions Mr. Z's heritage by stating, "his mother's skin was a sign of error" (Holman, 1).  Line 1 is the only line throughout the course of the poem that refers to his heritage. Throughout the rest of the poem, it talks about his Mr. Z spends his life acting as a non-African American person. In lines 9 through 13, it talks about Mr. Z's manners and his unbiased views of life. I think that he dedicated his life to having unbiased views because his entire life he has been judged by others. I also believe that acting as a non-African American is his way of denying his heritage. The main source of irony comes in at the end of the poem. In lines 25 and 26, Holman states "ringing crude changes on a clumsy phrase: 'One of the most distinguished members of his race'" (Holman, 25-26). It is ironic because he spent his entire life denying his heritage, but in the end, his race and his heritage ended up distinguishing him in the end.

My Thoughts On The Interpretation Of Poetry

After studying Perrine's "The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry", I was left with parts of the article that I disagreed with, as well as parts that I agreed with. I disagree with the idea that poetry only has one meaning that is correct. I agree with Perrine's idea that when the poetry was written that the author had a particular idea in mind. But, I do not think that it is the only correct interpretation. I believe that someone's interpretation of a poem could be affected by their life. Everyone has different events in their lives that could spark an idea for them when interpreting  the poem, which leads to a different analysis. I also believe that everyone is entitled to their own personal opinions. I don't think that a teacher can state whether a persons opinion is right or wrong! The only way, in my opinion, that an interpretation could be wrong would be if, as Perrine stated, it contradicted itself. 

Reading the Perrine article actually further  proved my thoughts before reading it. In reading the different interpretations discussed in the article, I discovered that multiple interpretations are possible. As long as the reader finds a way to support his opinion in a non-contradictory way, it is correct. Although all of the interpretations were different, they were all correct in my opinion. I also learned how easy it is in some ways to interpret poetry. Many of the things discussed in the different interpretations were very simple and to the point. For example, Perrine talks about the bright and twinkling in the poem immediately referencing stars. Sometimes when reading poetry we look too deep and miss what is right in front of us! 

A Pictures Worth A Thousand Words

I figured it was only fitting to take my summer reading picture where I spent most of my summer: Christmas Lake in Santa Claus, Indiana across the street from Holiday World! 

Final Thoughts

I greatly enjoyed reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I found myself not wanting to put the novel down once I began reading it. I found that you never knew what was going to happen next in the novel. It was also a very relatable novel to what point we are at in our lives. The Catcher in the Rye was a coming of age novel and its perfect for us to be reading right now. The fact that Holden is fighting to stay in his childhood even though he is quickly becoming an adult. At this point in our lives, we are breaking away from our childhood. We are "starting up the steps" (Salinger, 268) to a new part into our lives. We are making decisions now that are going to influence the rest of our lives. For example, we are figuring out where to go to college and what we are going to do for the rest of our lives. Just as Holden must embrace his life as an adult, so must we.