Song of Becoming is a poem that mostly tackles about how the war that occurs in a certain place changes the cycle of things. Personally, I think of it as a simple yet substantial piece that raises awareness among the people involved. It makes them outgrow the comfortable and blissful life for they must surrender and accustom themselves to the pressures of life brought about by the situation they are in.
Here, the boys who were enjoying their childhood days under the heat of the sun. Flying their colorful kites in the sky, laughing all the way and at times, making fun of themselves as they pretend they are the great heroes defending those who are demoralized by their condition.
But suddenly, unexpectedly, their role playing became a preview of what was going to happen. Disagreement arose between Israel and Palestine making the once young boys to assume a responsibility to soon for their age. They’ve grown so much that they were already like the adults, so devoted already to the task they ought to do. They became so strong, so different from the scenario of the boys playing under the sun.
In the end, after all the things they have done – all the fighting, defending, just to have to possess those they deserve to have. The possibility for them to die has been considered a feather on their cap. To do the things for their fellow men seems a pride for them. They succeed in their goal to serve the people in need.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Guests on the Sea
A short visit. The journey of the guests on the sea was supposed to take place only in a short period of time. But they want something from the sea or shall I say they are expecting something from it. Some kind of approval or agreement is what they are waiting for. And they are eager to get it for they know they deserve to have it for themselves.
As written by Mahmoud Darwish, a Palestinian poet, I can visualize the guests as the Palestinians traveling in search of a home that they could finally call their own. They had put a great emphasis to the fact that they were a group of people, surely, a nation but they came to this country not from a country. With a sarcastic manner, they just put to it that they came from pomegranates. They sprung out from the seeds of that certain fruit which is not possible for they were humans and not plants. They were unsure of their visit for they were confronted by the big issue of having a home to return to. They didn’t love the idea of being guests, for more than that they wanted to be called home owners. They wanted to live for something, to fight for something that is theirs. If they get it, they are more than willing to leave. That’s why they were wondering how the gifts from their ancestors went undetectable. And sadly, now they are perishing from this problem.
They said, our visit has an objective – a solid one. They realized that they were precious creatures like the shells and stars in the sea. They’re not just anything or something. That’s why they believed that they could really get through. And finally, at the end of every day, their only wish was to go home to a country that they may call their own.
More mind-boggling than that of all the short stories we have taken up in class that was how I could describe the Guests on the Sea. And it was not easy for me to state every reaction I had, for I had those ideas that were just too complicated to be put into words. Like the straightforwardness of their aim, it’s just too difficult to elaborate further more.
As written by Mahmoud Darwish, a Palestinian poet, I can visualize the guests as the Palestinians traveling in search of a home that they could finally call their own. They had put a great emphasis to the fact that they were a group of people, surely, a nation but they came to this country not from a country. With a sarcastic manner, they just put to it that they came from pomegranates. They sprung out from the seeds of that certain fruit which is not possible for they were humans and not plants. They were unsure of their visit for they were confronted by the big issue of having a home to return to. They didn’t love the idea of being guests, for more than that they wanted to be called home owners. They wanted to live for something, to fight for something that is theirs. If they get it, they are more than willing to leave. That’s why they were wondering how the gifts from their ancestors went undetectable. And sadly, now they are perishing from this problem.
They said, our visit has an objective – a solid one. They realized that they were precious creatures like the shells and stars in the sea. They’re not just anything or something. That’s why they believed that they could really get through. And finally, at the end of every day, their only wish was to go home to a country that they may call their own.
More mind-boggling than that of all the short stories we have taken up in class that was how I could describe the Guests on the Sea. And it was not easy for me to state every reaction I had, for I had those ideas that were just too complicated to be put into words. Like the straightforwardness of their aim, it’s just too difficult to elaborate further more.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
His Little Girl
Always come on time. Study your lessons well. Stop sleeping. Go home early. Stop those silly stuffs that you do with your friends. Accompany your mother to church. Don’t be lazy. Be good. But if she scolds you of not going, reason out. Don’t cry. You’re a baby no more. Better take opportunities seriously. If possible, be there one hour before any appointment. What happened to your grades? Avoid them. But no man’s an island and you know me. Have your monthly confession. Stop writing those letters that always promises. I don’t need those. But if anyway you failed again, accept it. Don’t cry. Try again. This is how you do the dishes. Don’t ever compare yourself with them. By 24, you should have your dream car. Be with her always. But she terribly misses you. Study very hard. You’ll benefit from them and not us. I know. Promise me this. Go to church every Sunday. You’re in-charge of the kitchen now. Don’t cry. Be strong. She is leaning on you. You’re not a child anymore. But you disobeyed our agreement, you left us. I must go now. You two can do it. But we need you. Trust Him. I trust you. It’s okay to cry. Anyway, you could still grow up and be my little girl.
The Lamb & The Tyger
Reading them separately, The Lamb and The Tyger from Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake succinctly defines two different creatures. They are two diverse creations by One Creator. And now, they co-exist in this world that thinks they couldn’t be a perfect pair.
A lamb which lives in a pasture as a tamed animal symbolizes purity or spotlessness because of its white covering. It is an innocent creature for it is young and new to the world. And when you see one, you can easily see the harmlessness in its appearance. While a tiger is an animal that conspicuously breathes in the forest and is classified as a wild one. It is fierce and at times, bruised for it engages in food wars with other predators. And it is a very great risk to have them as a pet.
As the title of the song by Blake, innocence and experience always go hand in hand. For in human nature, we are forever innocent and experienced. To know our limits or boundaries that the more I know of so many things, the more I know that I don’t know so many things. This statement in Philosophy about self-examination clearly justifies how innocence and experience co-exist in every human. For one can never be omniscient about everything. It is only the One Creator that is capable of doing that. Because of the diversity of His creations, there came the possibility of both, lamb and tiger, existing despite the terror in it. The tyger was for me, a necessary evil for the lamb’s existence. A necessary evil which one can’t take away because they were really meant to be there. The lamb and the tyger is truly a pair that can’t be put into asunder.
A lamb which lives in a pasture as a tamed animal symbolizes purity or spotlessness because of its white covering. It is an innocent creature for it is young and new to the world. And when you see one, you can easily see the harmlessness in its appearance. While a tiger is an animal that conspicuously breathes in the forest and is classified as a wild one. It is fierce and at times, bruised for it engages in food wars with other predators. And it is a very great risk to have them as a pet.
As the title of the song by Blake, innocence and experience always go hand in hand. For in human nature, we are forever innocent and experienced. To know our limits or boundaries that the more I know of so many things, the more I know that I don’t know so many things. This statement in Philosophy about self-examination clearly justifies how innocence and experience co-exist in every human. For one can never be omniscient about everything. It is only the One Creator that is capable of doing that. Because of the diversity of His creations, there came the possibility of both, lamb and tiger, existing despite the terror in it. The tyger was for me, a necessary evil for the lamb’s existence. A necessary evil which one can’t take away because they were really meant to be there. The lamb and the tyger is truly a pair that can’t be put into asunder.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Hanging Fire by Audre Lorde
In love with a boy, a fourteen years old she is the character of the story. She is an African American and he dislikes her because of that. And with that, the girl blames herself for everything. As she mentions about dying in the morning, it was maybe because of the boy. Momma’s in the bedroom with the door closed. Her mom doesn’t care and doesn’t know what is presently happening to her child.
A dance and a party were mentioned. It was tackling something about conformity because these two are both connected to social events. This issue of conformity is common to those of the teens because at these ages, everybody wants to fit in to everybody else. Again, she uttered about dying before graduation which might be she is avoiding something. At this moment, she was having self-pity and her procrastination and laziness were typically obvious in the lines, “..There is nothing I want to do and too much that has to be done..” But still, her mother is not aware of the things and she didn't even bother to let her know too. With this, their relationship with each other is not build on a strong foundation. Their communictaion with each other is not there.
Not able to join the Math Club pushed her at the peak of her self-pity. It seemed nobody trusts her skills for it. For me, it was like the next thing she was got to experience was depression because she really feels that no one listens to her and no one wants to be on her side. She feels very alone because the people around her don’t like to be with her. And with everything that happened to her, she disliked herself more and more each day maybe because of her appearance. Now it was different, she didn’t spoke the word dying but she doubts if she can still grow up and outgrow everything that had happened. But still, the thought still means is to die. The same thing is still there, the door closed and still her mom doesn’t care to know.
*With the door closed and not locked meant that they just lack that communication with each other. Her momma is inside the room not constantly checking up on her daughter which must be the thing she must do for she is a mother. And the girl, she doesn't reach out to her mom. They could have a heart to heart talk so that her mom would know everything and could advise her. And because of her insecurities of being black, she taps the idea of dying. She thought that this would be a solution to her problem. But it isn't. As death is constantly running through her mind, it had an incremental effect because the issues she is facing are getting complicated too. Just pure acceptance and appreciation for herself will surely end her anxieties.
A dance and a party were mentioned. It was tackling something about conformity because these two are both connected to social events. This issue of conformity is common to those of the teens because at these ages, everybody wants to fit in to everybody else. Again, she uttered about dying before graduation which might be she is avoiding something. At this moment, she was having self-pity and her procrastination and laziness were typically obvious in the lines, “..There is nothing I want to do and too much that has to be done..” But still, her mother is not aware of the things and she didn't even bother to let her know too. With this, their relationship with each other is not build on a strong foundation. Their communictaion with each other is not there.
Not able to join the Math Club pushed her at the peak of her self-pity. It seemed nobody trusts her skills for it. For me, it was like the next thing she was got to experience was depression because she really feels that no one listens to her and no one wants to be on her side. She feels very alone because the people around her don’t like to be with her. And with everything that happened to her, she disliked herself more and more each day maybe because of her appearance. Now it was different, she didn’t spoke the word dying but she doubts if she can still grow up and outgrow everything that had happened. But still, the thought still means is to die. The same thing is still there, the door closed and still her mom doesn’t care to know.
*With the door closed and not locked meant that they just lack that communication with each other. Her momma is inside the room not constantly checking up on her daughter which must be the thing she must do for she is a mother. And the girl, she doesn't reach out to her mom. They could have a heart to heart talk so that her mom would know everything and could advise her. And because of her insecurities of being black, she taps the idea of dying. She thought that this would be a solution to her problem. But it isn't. As death is constantly running through her mind, it had an incremental effect because the issues she is facing are getting complicated too. Just pure acceptance and appreciation for herself will surely end her anxieties.
The Fury of Overshoes by Anne Sexton
The overshoes. This was the first thing that the speaker is describing in his poem. But with my initial reading, it wasn’t the title nor the idea of an overshoe that first brought me a thought about the poem but the word – kindergarten. Upon reading it, the only image that came to my mind was a child. A child who cannot buckle his own overshoe or tie his own shoe or cut his own meat and the river of tears that flows when he fell off his bike. And it's normal because it is the realities of being a child. Being a child means you are still starting to learn and do the normal things necessary for life which also implies that you couldn’t do it perfectly because you are a beginner. And the overshoe was something he had from the past. Here, the speaker isn’t a child but the speaker is talking to someone who was once a child.
Then about that wolf, I can picture out the ones in movies where the wolf can be seen outside your window. They are howling at night in the best way that they could scare the little children sleeping in their rooms. But I then realize after reading again that it is not the fright with this sight that made a child give up the nightlight, teddy and thumb because actually, the ones who could and are doing that are the parents. They do this is in the sense that they want the child to outgrow the fears. And be a brave person like how big people are.
I noticed that after the 31st line, the poem had changed its mood. The speaker then comes in the very scene where he is talking to his overshoes and thumb. It was like he was talking to the things that were greatly a part of his childhood days. After a while, he looks for the big people whom the world belonged to, according to him. I can tell that he was already in his journey to the big world because it seems he can’t wait. He keeps on looking for the big people and he can’t await his’ reaching there. But as he takes the giant steps leading there, it was only as if he was stepping for the sake of stepping. And now, without really minding if he is really going there.
*The overshoes was a protective gear. And for the speaker in the story, it is very important to him because it was once very beneficial for him to use when he was a child and he treasures it very much. Against the snow, the overshoes protected him. Here, the snow could symbolize problems, struggles and difficulty that he experienced. The overshoe could be someone who was a really big factor that made him surpass the trial. I think the speaker was talking of a not-so-normal-or-typical childhood. For childhood are always associated with happy days where children are problem-free and worry-free. But for him, it was different. He underwent problems, storms, snows and he needs the overshoe or someone that could push him up and help him make it through.
Then about that wolf, I can picture out the ones in movies where the wolf can be seen outside your window. They are howling at night in the best way that they could scare the little children sleeping in their rooms. But I then realize after reading again that it is not the fright with this sight that made a child give up the nightlight, teddy and thumb because actually, the ones who could and are doing that are the parents. They do this is in the sense that they want the child to outgrow the fears. And be a brave person like how big people are.
I noticed that after the 31st line, the poem had changed its mood. The speaker then comes in the very scene where he is talking to his overshoes and thumb. It was like he was talking to the things that were greatly a part of his childhood days. After a while, he looks for the big people whom the world belonged to, according to him. I can tell that he was already in his journey to the big world because it seems he can’t wait. He keeps on looking for the big people and he can’t await his’ reaching there. But as he takes the giant steps leading there, it was only as if he was stepping for the sake of stepping. And now, without really minding if he is really going there.
*The overshoes was a protective gear. And for the speaker in the story, it is very important to him because it was once very beneficial for him to use when he was a child and he treasures it very much. Against the snow, the overshoes protected him. Here, the snow could symbolize problems, struggles and difficulty that he experienced. The overshoe could be someone who was a really big factor that made him surpass the trial. I think the speaker was talking of a not-so-normal-or-typical childhood. For childhood are always associated with happy days where children are problem-free and worry-free. But for him, it was different. He underwent problems, storms, snows and he needs the overshoe or someone that could push him up and help him make it through.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Food for the Soul
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Beauty is relative. It is always a deciding factor on which eye you are seeing it through. And like beauty, an art or a craft which possesses it passes through the judgment of all eyes of society whether he likes it or not.
Among the short stories we have taken up in class, it was Franz Kafka’s A Hunger Artist that made me realize that I am pondering on lots of things which was unusual. It was meaty. Underlay its lengthy paragraphs was a deeper issue of critiquing or assessing an artist and his craft. And with the existentialist, Franz Kafka, I totally agree with his interpretation of everything about the artist and the craft. And this is because, if I were situated in his place, I would also see things that way.
Take the hunger artist’s fasting which was limited by the impresario or the manager for until forty days only. But because he was so passionate to it, he still wants to continue his craft even after that 40 days. So true for if it is a craft, an artist would not limit himself in doing it. He loves it and so, he will continue doing it as long as he likes and this without anyone reprimanding him to stop or continue.
Then, he was put in that cage in the zoo, the next thing he was about to face was the live audience that is going to watch him. Dealing with their full interest at first, after a while, he also had to face the lost of their desire to view him. Experiencing this, instead of stopping what he most wanted to do, it just made him more and more willing to continue to reach out to the public and have his craft appreciated and understood. Entering the battlefield of art, an artist should always be ready of anything. He must know the fact that he cannot please everyone. He knows that he belongs to a society that will scrutinize his art, and that somehow he has to conform to them. To conform which is not an easy thing to do for an artist means to offer them the things they want to see, view and witness.
And lastly which was the rudest was when he was moved to another place to stay in. Still in a cage but now, it is beside a menagerie. It's just so desperate on the part of the hunger artist to continue his craft without people minding it. But he still managed to continue because of his great love for his craft. Seeing those people approach towards him gives him a sense of excitement and hope that those people coming might understand his craft. But consciously, he also knew that this sea of people coming is merely passers-by. And so, he had himself prepared that they were not his audience but they are of those to the menagerie. To continue still even without the least sincere blessing from the public was the bravest thing he did. It was quite a disappointment but probably, it is never an end to an artist. Here, if no public wants to view or buy the work, then the art would be for full self-expression. The kind where he just have to do what he desires to convey. And that’s it.
Kafka had me mesmerize by his way of things in that part where an overseer had come to question the hunger artist on why he had been doing these somehow silly things. Then, he answered modestly, "..because I couldn't find the food I liked. If I had found it, believe me, I should have made no fuss and stuffed myself like you or anyone else." Upon reading the artist's answer, I was stunned and got my brain cells working. It made me realize that after all, it wasn't his craft. That it was just coincidence and that the fasting which was believed as his craft was, all the while, an excuse of not finding something. But knowing it was Kafka's, you’ll come to think that the food he liked wasn't literally a food. The food he was dying to find was the understanding of the public, his audience, that with it he would satisfy himself as well as his craft which will be worthwhile now. If this happens, at last, the public would now see the beauty of the craft and the artist would now get the food that he wants. And in this way, it goes similar with beauty, a food for the soul for everybody that could witness it.
Beauty is relative. It is always a deciding factor on which eye you are seeing it through. And like beauty, an art or a craft which possesses it passes through the judgment of all eyes of society whether he likes it or not.
Among the short stories we have taken up in class, it was Franz Kafka’s A Hunger Artist that made me realize that I am pondering on lots of things which was unusual. It was meaty. Underlay its lengthy paragraphs was a deeper issue of critiquing or assessing an artist and his craft. And with the existentialist, Franz Kafka, I totally agree with his interpretation of everything about the artist and the craft. And this is because, if I were situated in his place, I would also see things that way.
Take the hunger artist’s fasting which was limited by the impresario or the manager for until forty days only. But because he was so passionate to it, he still wants to continue his craft even after that 40 days. So true for if it is a craft, an artist would not limit himself in doing it. He loves it and so, he will continue doing it as long as he likes and this without anyone reprimanding him to stop or continue.
Then, he was put in that cage in the zoo, the next thing he was about to face was the live audience that is going to watch him. Dealing with their full interest at first, after a while, he also had to face the lost of their desire to view him. Experiencing this, instead of stopping what he most wanted to do, it just made him more and more willing to continue to reach out to the public and have his craft appreciated and understood. Entering the battlefield of art, an artist should always be ready of anything. He must know the fact that he cannot please everyone. He knows that he belongs to a society that will scrutinize his art, and that somehow he has to conform to them. To conform which is not an easy thing to do for an artist means to offer them the things they want to see, view and witness.
And lastly which was the rudest was when he was moved to another place to stay in. Still in a cage but now, it is beside a menagerie. It's just so desperate on the part of the hunger artist to continue his craft without people minding it. But he still managed to continue because of his great love for his craft. Seeing those people approach towards him gives him a sense of excitement and hope that those people coming might understand his craft. But consciously, he also knew that this sea of people coming is merely passers-by. And so, he had himself prepared that they were not his audience but they are of those to the menagerie. To continue still even without the least sincere blessing from the public was the bravest thing he did. It was quite a disappointment but probably, it is never an end to an artist. Here, if no public wants to view or buy the work, then the art would be for full self-expression. The kind where he just have to do what he desires to convey. And that’s it.
Kafka had me mesmerize by his way of things in that part where an overseer had come to question the hunger artist on why he had been doing these somehow silly things. Then, he answered modestly, "..because I couldn't find the food I liked. If I had found it, believe me, I should have made no fuss and stuffed myself like you or anyone else." Upon reading the artist's answer, I was stunned and got my brain cells working. It made me realize that after all, it wasn't his craft. That it was just coincidence and that the fasting which was believed as his craft was, all the while, an excuse of not finding something. But knowing it was Kafka's, you’ll come to think that the food he liked wasn't literally a food. The food he was dying to find was the understanding of the public, his audience, that with it he would satisfy himself as well as his craft which will be worthwhile now. If this happens, at last, the public would now see the beauty of the craft and the artist would now get the food that he wants. And in this way, it goes similar with beauty, a food for the soul for everybody that could witness it.
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