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Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note

 

Amiri Baraka

 

Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note

 

 

Exploration of the Text

 

 

1- Speaker's mode

 

    Pessimistic due to the line 4 " Things have come to that"  shows how speaker cynically mocking the whole events. Besides, depressed mode have been injected to this poem, line 11 "Nobody sing anymore." Here you can get the essence of mundane and lost the meaning  of speaker's life.

 

2- " Her own clasped hands"

 

       For me, its the contrasts action with the father action in poem. Father's cynical persona or action contrasted with the daughter's gesture of peeking into her own clasped hand. Here's,the daughter gesture almost like praying to God showed how she still believe in hope and faith. When you about to commit suicide, there no hope and faith or meaning in life anymore. So the fathers who is feeling mundane and depressed in life action and reaction contrasted by his daughter's clasped hand.

 

3- Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note

 

       For me the title is quite straight-forward. Why would I say that,during my first glancing at the title of the poem by Amiri Baraka its more like suicide note or diary. "Preface" who are always at the beginning of the book usually, showed the continuing notes regarding suicide. Maybe this just only the beginning to the many, many more to suicide action and confession.

 

4-  Three short lines

 

      For me, why Baraka have three short line separated as stanzas is to act as conclusion to each preceding four and five lines stanza. So, that they convey the message of the poem.

 

5- "Lately, "And now" and "And then"

 

       The first 2 words shows how the speaker felt recently and what he does in the period of time where he had lost hope. the last word shows showed different feeling where the speaker just did something which eventually changed his feeling of losing hope to having hope again.

 

6-   Speaker and the daughter

 

      The contrast between his action and perspective or point of view especially with daughter action really makes him really absurd. This due to his mundane  perspective on life comparing his daughter who stills have hope and faith in life. Speaker look at his daughter who is in pride and a sense of comfort absent from the outside world and he himself.

 

 

 



Turtle Soup, Ideas For Writing

 

 

" Sometimes you're the life, sometimes the sacrifices "

 

 

        When we talk about the immigrant context or point of view, it is really about maintaining your true self, belief, culture, tradition and others. Sometimes in life it is all about making the decision even though not all will take it optimistically. People migrated to get better life or job. Some people just want to ran away from memories or maybe just want to start a new life.

 

       I was intrigued with Turtle Soup's poem by Marilyn Chin due to her experienced as immigrate Chinese girl. In the poem, she wrote " nothing left but the shell" that really making the statement whether you losing your identity due to new surroundings. In other words, assimilating with the rest and leave the culture, tradition or maybe belief to certain things. For me, the immigrant family supposed to be strong when it comes to relationship between family members. I would say that because when you not at you own hometown or country, there is no one to share or care about you than family.

 

      Yes it is true that you will get more opportunity in jobs or maybe prosperity in making money but on the other hand you lose your tradition in order to survive in such new society that maybe have different culture or tradition and against with what you stand for before. Relating back to the quote, you are life because your culture and personal beliefs have made you the person you are today. To scrape that part of oneself off is hard, even impossible. However, there are some ways in oneself that could either make things complicated or have failed to work out in life and therefore that part should be discarded in order to make way for better possibilities. 

    

         Losing identity or culture may due to your own self. Maybe you are embarrassed or start questioning something tradition in your family when you realize you so different to the norm of the new society you live in. This always happen maybe because we are not fully embrace and feel comfortable even though it is in your blood. That's why, a lot of people who are migrated outside from their country usually assimilate with the new places and that's for me the sacrifices that they need to accept and in order to make a living.

 

 

 

 

      

The significant of Marilyn Chin's Poem, "Turtle Soup"

 

 "Turtle Soup"

 

by : Mohd Aizuddin

 

 

Explorations of the Text

 

 1- "Cauldron" instead of "pot "

    

       I assumed that the poet of the Turtle Soup's poem using "cauldron" (line 4) instead of other cook appliances such as stove, pan or pot to show the authenticity or the originality in her family background. Why I assume that due to her background experiences as Chinese's immigrant at United States. Nobody would use cauldron to cook something these days right? Furthermore, cauldron as far as I know is related to a witch to make potions or something unique or witchcraft. So the turtle soup and the use of cauldron must be in her Chinese heritage that show one of her tradition. So why cauldron instead of pot? It easy for me to put that as the differences between tradition or old thing (cauldron) to modernism or maybe assimilation from cauldron to pot. Shows how she the speaker struggle to maintain her heritage identity toward the world or society. In her case, Pasadena, California.

 

 

2-  "the Wei"," the Yellow" and " the Yangtze"

 

               Wei...Yellow.. Yangtze is the rivers in China. So why rivers in China and not other places like India, Egypt or Africa? As for me, I think its about her own heritage and culture that are influenced by China country and history instead of others.  Marilyn Chin (Chinese American ) are author of distinct origins whose identities have impacted on the style and themes of their literary works.  As for me, I assume that the "turtle" in the poem must be related to Chinese tales or maybe heritage because I do know "turtle" in Chinese culture symbolize the longevity or the "ancient wisdom" related to their Chinese history or stories. Did you know that turtle shell and bones are use in the oracles ceremony back then. So the river that been mentioned in the poem shows the long journey since century and the path or the place that the turtle use. Turtle in this must be related to Chinese history, heritage or identity for the speaker. 

        

3- Tone of mockery, cynical, pessimist and clueless toward heritage identity

 

              In my opinion, I assumed that the speaker intelligently mocking or cynically questioning her own culture, heritage or some absurd believes such as in line 3 and line 15. To me, she already assimilating with the culture of the Pasadena. Part of me says that she is quite clueless or less knowledgeable when it comes to her on Chinese cultures and history. Maybe she just want to get along with the society just because she is the only Chinese immigrant there. Even though she looked Chinese physically but her mentally is already assimilating with the rest. She lost her identity as Chinese features and refused to embrace her own heritage uniqueness.

 

 

 

 

         

Turtle Soup?? Interesting...

 Turtle Soup

You go home one evening tired from work,
and your mother boils you turtle soup.
Twelve hours hunched over the hearth
(who knows what else is in that cauldron).

You say, "Ma, you've poached the symbol of long life;
that turtle lived four thousand years, swam
the Wet, up the Yellow, over the Yangtze.
Witnessed the Bronze Age, the High Tang,
grazed on splendid sericulture."
(So, she boils the life out of him.)

"All our ancestors have been fools.
Remember Uncle Wu who rode ten thousand miles
to kill a famous Manchu and ended up
with his head on a pole? Eat, child,
its liver will make you strong."

"Sometimes you're the life, sometimes the sacrifice."
Her sobbing is inconsolable.
So, you spread that gentle napkin
over your lap in decorous Pasadena.

Baby, some high priestess has got it wrong.
The golden decal on the green underbelly
says "Made in Hong Kong."

Is there nothing left but the shell
and humanity's strange inscriptions,
the songs, the rites, the oracles?

 

by: Marilyn Chin

Suicide Note ??

Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note
By:Amiri Baraka

Lately, I've become accustomed to the way
The ground opens up and envelopes me
Each time I go out to walk the dog.
Or the broad edged silly music the wind
Makes when I run for a bus...

Things have come to that.

And now, each night I count the stars.
And each night I get the same number.
And when they will not come to be counted,
I count the holes they leave.

Nobody sings anymore.

And then last night I tiptoed up
To my daughter's room and heard her
Talking to someone, and when I opened
The door, there was no one there...
Only she on her knees, peeking into

Her own clasped hands.

Countee Cullen (1903-1946) - Incident,1925

How I see the poem, "Incident". Is it about racism??

 

 

                                                                Exploration of the Text

 

 

        Poem's "Incident" by Countee Cullen is very deep and meaningful to me because its bring the theme of racism. As we all know, racism is a disease that occurred in our society. The facts that people talks about it lightly and heartlessly is really disturbing and serious. It degrading other human beings by skin color or something uncommon to society. Why we always being judgemental and stereotypical when describing people that are tiny slightly different than the rest. I really don't get that at all. I must admitted that I sometimes can be quite stereotypical but not at the stages that can be considered as racist.

 

          When you read, you can tell the nature of interaction between the boys is likes there's boundaries amongst them due to the tiny differences  like their skin colors. The boy is happy at the beginning  of the poem in the most childish and innocent kind of way.  This showed in the poem by using the word like in the line 2 in the first stanza (Heart-filled, head-filled with glee). However, as you read the poem to the next stanza, you can sensed the different toned in the most condescending speeches. This showed in the use of word "Nigger", which can be such insulting nickname to certain people and can be related to racism. "Nigger" was such strong and sensitive word because it can be defined as "black slave".

 

              But, why does the speaker remember nothing more than the incident, even though he stayed in Baltimore from " May until December "? I assumed that the power and pain of his memories overshadowed the boy's other memories. In my perspective, maybe due to his past experiences. Although you can't sensed any emotion throughout this poem but you can tell it about racism and been looked through innocent child's point of view. Maybe because the treatment that the boy get can be related to racism abused due to skin color. I assumed the other American boy that had called the other boy "Nigger" is the good example of what Baltimore community is all about. I heard that the Baltimore areas full with "white American" communities.

            I don't really have any experience due to the topic of racism, but I do know how it feel when people put you in different categories when God created us the same and equally. I do know how it's feel when people looked at you like you some kind of freak or something and called you with terrible, offensive and sensitive nicknames. It is really hurtful but trust me sticks and stones may break your bones but words makes you stronger. Keep that in mind.

          In term of form of this poem, the structure of piece of writing rather than the ideas it expresses event its described and vice versa. Rhyme in this poem is easy and almost like the story telling kind of feeling. The sound at the every lines at the ends of lines is in irregular patterns but still kept the simplicity of proses.

          In term of using the word "nigger" for me especially is very inappropriate and sensitive because we don't know what kind a life the person we called this horrible name been through. So, why make his or her life much miserable than it used to and who are we to judge. Mind our own business and in the name of humanity stop making any racism statement because its very insulting to any human kinds.

      

 

          

           

"Incident", Racism??

Incident

Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.

Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, 'Nigger.'

I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.

Countee Cullen

Poem In Response To Naomi Shihab Nye, " All Things Not Considered " ^^

 

nobody

 

we are nobody,

why act like somebody?

This land is almighty,

Yet has no power

 with the Holy.

 

If God is exist,

Why there's no one happy?

 

nobody,

That's defined ourselves,

nobody,

why act like somebody?

 

Religion and God,

Almighty,

Hope and Faith

Makes nobody Somebody,

Cause it teach us Humanity.

 

-Aizuddin



The Darker Sides of Resume's Poem

On To and In To the Surface of the Poem's Resume by Dorothy Parker.

 

 

                         

          What can I say about this poem is actually is about the real event that occurred surround the poet herself. If you investigate her personal background, Dorothy Parker's first suicide attempt, which was cutting her wrists, took place in January 1923. Later, she made others, overdosing on the sedative Veronal , consuming a bottle of shoe polish, and taking sleeping powder, in 1932. After 1932, Parker apparently gave up on trying to take her life and settled into a long existence of unhappiness and alcoholism.

      

          There's a reason that we call this poem a dark comedy because it's horrible and awful and strangely funny all at the same time. Let's face it. A whole lot of people (including Dorothy) have thought about suicide at some point – or at least options in death. (We bet that in middle school you were asked the age-old question "Would you rather burn to death or freeze to death?") And death is a scary, scary thing to ponder. Parker, however, manages to do so with a dry wit. She makes death mundane – even boring. And, in a strange way, she manages to make suicide even less appealing than other forms of meditation might.

 

            The poem is fairly obvious in being a laundry list of suicide attempts or more precise, how these various means of ending one's life are annoying. They are such a pain in the ass to achieve, you may as well go on living. The title can refer to a resume of suicide attempts or to resume life because suicide is such a hassle. "Resume" is a classic epigram example from a wit of considerable repute. It is brief and makes it point with a final stinger.

    

            Razors can pain you because cutting hurts. Rivers are damp is you get wet drowning. Acid stains you is leaving behind a messed up corpse. Drugs cause cramp is final moments experiencing a stomach ache. Guns aren't lawful makes no sense and seems a stretch to find a rhyme with awful. Perhaps the liberal minded Parker was experiencing some wishful thinking. Noose give is you can botch hanging yourself if you fail to correctly tie the rope. Gas smells awful is obvious.

          

            "Resume" is not a cry for help or expression of pain. It is not even an exclamation of frustration but a sardonic viewpoint. The poem says 'I may as well give up ending it all because that is harder to do than living so I may as well live.' The irony is Parker tried again after writing "Resume" and settled for the slow poison of alcohol.

 

 

         

       

Resumé?? What's the significant of this title in her poem?

Resumé, Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)

Women In Poetry

        Women in poetry? Some English Literature's student prefer to choose a poet that their likes most. However, not in my cases. I personally despise most of women literature work of art due to their feminism approach. Whereas men in their work are beast or bad persona. They pretty much condemned men like we are some kind of disease or something. I do get that women in their previous eras being oppressed by men. However, it is like an old issues. These days, men and women are being treated equally and respect each other despite the gender. Am I right? Just now, as I hit Enter button for Google search, I am intrigued by one of women poet who wrote Resume.

 

    Resume         

 

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

                                                                By : Dorothy Parker

         Did you know what this poem is all about?? As you read again and again, you can sense the painful memories as she wrote it. All the action that being described in this poem is all consists some kind of suicide behavior. Why wrote such hurtful and painful meanings of poem that can be considered as "suicide" notes? Me personally when I read any literature works whether it is a poem, drama, short story, novel or others, I tend to look at the author, poet, playwright, writer biography or their background. As I go through deeper and further, despite having her finger on the literary and social pulse of the 20th century, Dorothy Parker had a pretty tragic personal life. Actually, her marriages (all three) failed. Then she attempted suicide several times which is, rather unfortunately, probably helped to inform the subject matter of "Resume."

Poetry "Resume" by Dorothy Parker... Is it a suicide notes from the poet itself?

Résumé

by : Dorothy Parker

Razor pain you,

Rivers are damp,

Acids stain you,

And drugs cause cramp.

Gun aren't lawful,

Nooses give,

Gas smells awful,

You might as well live.

     

So what do you think about the poem "All Things Not Considered" by Naomi Shihab Nye? Share your thought with me...

Guys,

For those who are curious who is Asel Asleh and Muhammad Al- Durrah you can know a little bit about them and theirs story by reading through this links :

1-http://www.seedsofpeace.org/?page_id=3922
2-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_al-Durrah_incident
3-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzsCBFhCsyY

Enjoy....zzzzzz

Explatory draft of the poem, "All Things Not Considered" by Naomi Shihab Nye

My assumption and my interpretation of the poem "All Things Not Considered"

 

    As I read it again and again and really try to get what the essence of the whole poem is all about, one thing for sure is the potrayal of the humanity being dissolved in our self. There's no more sympathies and empathies amongst human that corroded the humanity values. I want to highlighted one of her quotes that she said, “Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth." As you read or go through her works and biography, you know what kind of life she been through. As for her, she felt really grateful considering others families and peoples that are very unlucky when it comes to the issues of humanity that hidden or trapped by what people so so called the issues of religion and war. In this poem, you started to process your memory in order to reminisce who is Asel Asleh and who is Muhammad Al- Durrah that Nye had mentioned in the poem. What the significant of the persona and the bitter incident behind the name.There you started to get what the poem is really about. As for me, I was drawn into the issues that been in this world like forever. Its about Palestinian-Israeli sentiment which makes the country into riot. The Jews and Muslims believer are known as enemies since forever. However, is it because of the religion that caused fueled and violent? Is it because differences of ideologies in faith? Is it worth it to fight in war, to die for it, is it only one sided positon that hurt, feel the pain,hatred and the other side feel happy, self fullfilled and please or vice versa? In the end, it just becomes the pain of conflict.For me it is not about religion or God that created all this mess and cruelty but instead is ourself that causes the conflicts and the pain. I do agree that there are distortions in religions in the modern world but however,I rather believe it is the culture of the people. No religion can be pinned for war, rather only a particular group of individuals.At the end, you know it about "humanity" that these modern people try to hide behind "it" when it is clearly there is something hidden agendas or sinister by self proclaimed "human" when the behaviour far from it.And that's how I interpret the poem by Naomi Shihab Nye, "All Things Not Considered".

By : Atan Brown Coffee

Naomi Shihab Nye, All Things Not Considered...What's this poem is all about?

I-Thesis of  Nye's Poem...

When you started digging this poetry, you can sensed the faith in humanity that she try to make it the centre piece of her themes.Most of her poetry is pretty much close to her heart. She been through a lots in her life reflecting her works as a piece of art to the literature student like me. The facts, with her family heritage that close to Middle East's life and tradition makes her feel that she need to voiced her concern and really soil the true meanings of peacefullness and happiness.There's bring us to her next intention as a voice of womens and innocent childs that being involved in what people so called war due to the believe of terrorisms.She “brings attention to the female as a humorous, wry creature with brisk, hard intelligence and a sense of personal freedom unheard of” in the history of pioneer women. Not only that, the sensitive topic like faith in religion, our believes whether you are Muslims, Jews, Cristian, Buddhist or other religions make us think whether all the morality and good deeds that been taught in all religions being practice in our daily life. If there's so, where the heck sympathy and empathy in ourselves? Why there's still war,oppression toward woman and children, misused of power and others displeasure behaviour.Is the more hope or love in this vicious world which what Nye try to say in most of her works?

The essence of her poem, "All Things Not Considered":

I-Faith in humanity

II- Meaning of happiness 

III- Woman and child oppression

IV- Faith in religion

V- Morality and good maral values

Naomi Shihab Nye

This is the second poem by Naomi Shihab Nye that I read.Guess what?I love it!!! Enjoy..

All Things Not Considered

By: Naomi Shihab Nye

You cannot stitch the breath

back into this boy.

A brother and sister were playing with toys

when their room exploded.

In what language

is this holy?

The Jewish boys killed in the cave

were skipping school, having an adventure.

Asel Asleh, Palestinian, age 17, believed in the field

beyond right and wrong where people came together

to talk. He kneeled to help someone else

stand up before he was shot.

If this is holy,

could we have some new religions please?

Mohammed al-Durra huddled against his father

in the street, terrified. The whole world saw him die.

An Arab father on crutches burying his 4 month girl weeps,

“I spit in the face of this ugly world.”

*

Most of us would take our children over land.

We would walk in the fields forever homeless

with our children,

huddle under cliffs, eat crumbs and berries,

to keep our children.

This is what we say from a distance

because we can say whatever we want.

*

No one was right.

Everyone was wrong.

What if they’d get together

and say that?

At a certain point

the flawed narrator wins.

People made mistakes for decades.

Everyone hurt in similar ways

at different times.

Some picked up guns because guns were given.

If they were holy it was okay to use guns.

Some picked up stones because they had them.

They had millions of them.

They might have picked up turnip roots

or olive pits.

Picking up things to throw and shoot:

at the same time people were studying history,

going to school.

*

The curl of a baby’s graceful ear.

The calm of a bucket

waiting for water.

Orchards of the old Arab men

who knew each tree.

Jewish and Arab women

standing silently together.

Generations of black.

Are people the only holy land?

Welcome To My Literature Life

Welcome to my first ever blog...Very excited about this...Maybe this will be my next big steps as prolific blogger..Who knows...this blog is all about you and literature works....You are free to share thoughts about any literature you like...Feel free to visit my blog....ciaoo..