Turtle Soup by Marilyn Chin

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?

Sources : http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120223144136AAE3yGy


 Exploration of the Text

1. Notice the author's choice of the word "cauldron" in line 4. What images or connections does this word evoke? Why might the author have chosen " cauldron" rather than "pot"?

            Cauldron is a large metal pot with a lid and handle, used for cooking over an open fire. The adult   who talks says what else is in that cauldron which i would say it's a pan. The images that the persona tried to show os cauldron of turtle soup reflects the ancient Chinese tradition of eating turtles as interpreted by a first generation Chinese-American. In line four at first stanza:

(who knows what else is in that cauldron).

            Not only that, there a connection when mother had to kill the turtle for the sake of the children, she believe the turtle can make her children strong.  Its has been prove in stanza 3 line 4 and 5.

 2. Chin refers to "the Wei," "the Yellow",  "the Yangtze." Why does she reference these rivers in China? Why not include the Nile, the Amazon,  or the Mississippi?

           Chin was refering those thing in her poem because of she tried to expose the readers that its is a culture of chinese heritage but not about the cultural heritage of the other country. the river that she mention in this poem was actually the huge river in chinese and there is where the turtle live for four thousand years. what related to this poem is the turtle is special in chinese tradition because it had an experience through the  river that she mention above.

3. What is the tone of the poem?

              The tone that suggested in this poem is angry. There a conflict between mother and children when the mother had cooked the turtle soup after the son back to home from work. The persona had make the mother cries show there an argument between them.
             You go home one evening tired from work,
              and your mother boils you turtle soup.




Ideas of Writing


1. "Sometimes you're the life, sometimes the sacrifice." Write about this quote within the context of an immigrant family. What might a family gain or lose by moving to  a new land?

This poem about turtle soup reflects the ancient Chinese tradition of eating turtles as interpreted by a first generation Chinese poet who tries to remind her mother of what should still be sacred from the old country. In the context of an immigrant, we actually not leaving all the thing that we have. When we move to the other country they automatically bring up your culture along and surely they would practice their culture in a new place, but they might considered the other culture too. In this  poem, the persona and the mother are the Chinese family who migrate to somewhere out of China. When the persona back home in one evening feel so tiring, the persona got a situation regarding his/her belief in culture. The mother is boiling turtle soup, in line 2 “and your mother boils you turtle soup.”, something that against and forbidden to do in their belief. Turtle is believed to be sacred because it is the symbol of symbol of longevity, patience, grandeur, and antiquity as stated in line 6 but the irony is that it ends up in a swirling soup far from its ancestral home, poached by her mother, who has no interest in the turtle as a cultural symbol, “that turtle lived four thousand years, swam.” By this situation, the mother had lose her ancient Chinese culture when the moving to the other places.

This poem in a way also  talks about tradition and long life  and  there is conflict happened between the persona and the mother. The persona was angry to his/her mother for cooking the turtle soup which is against in their culture while the mother was cooking the turtle soup for the sake of her child as stated in line 14 and 15 “Eat, child, its liver will make you strong.” The son was complaining about the mother killing the four thousand year old turtle for a turlte soup, but the mother just tells him to eat it. What I got out of the quote above is that the son should just eat the turtle and be grateful because it was sacrificed to help him live and stay strong.

It also talks about the circle of life when it mentions "Sometimes you're the life, sometimes the sacrifice." Furthermore, the mother has sacrificed for him too. She has moved away from her home country to a foreign one, she has lost some of her culture, her history, her relatives and even her son makes her feel like an outsider.The persona wants his/her mother to preserve their cultural heritage because both of them now are far from China, the persona still want to keep their culture and shall not forget those of it.

Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note by Amiri Baraka

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

Explorations of the Text

1.      What is the mood of the speaker in the opening lines? What images suggest his feelings?

The mood of the speaker in the opening lines is despair, alienation, and self-depression.  “Preface to a Twenty-Volume Suicide Note” was filled with images of the stultifying life of convention and respectability. From the first stanza, the line “Lately, I’ve become accustomed to the way”, and “Or the broad edged silly music the wind” show the speaker’s feeling of depression. Then, the images of American popular culture like allusions to jazz and popular music and references to characters  present in a good number of the works.

2.      What is the significance of the daughter’s gesture of peeking into “her own clasped hands”?

The daughter’s gesture of peeking into “her own clasped hands” is the daughter still have faith and hope in God and it shows that there's still hope for the  prayers to be answered by God. in the daughter's eyes which probably the reason why the speaker do not end up his life with suicide.

3.      What does the title mean? How does it explain the closing line?

The title “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note” means expresses dislocation and political stasis, implicitly questioning the role of the poet as a social voice of suicides. There also had its religious aspect. When the father had gone into his daughter’s room, he found her praying. He go to daughter's room and heard her. Talking to someone, and when he opened. Only she on her knees, peeking into. Her own clasped hands.” Just speaking into her own clasp hands, as it seems from his point of view. It shows that the father does not have a strong relationship with God as we can see from the last stanza The closing line shows that there is still hope when the daughter pray to God.

4.      Why does Baraka have three short lines, separated as stanzas? How do they convey the message of the poem?

Baraka separated the short lines as stanzas because he have an important message in each stanza. Futhermore, he make readers easy to understand what he tried to say and the readers could follow their messages better.

5.      Why does Baraka begin stanzas with “Lately”, “And now” and “And then”? What do these transition words accomplish?

Baraka used the words in the beginning of the stanzas to show the  order of events in his poem. These  words make the readers understand the reason why he wanted to commit suicide, his expression and the incident that make him back to the reality  which make him responsible to his intention.

6.      How does the speaker feel about his daughter? What does she represent to him?

The speaker feels blame and responsinle when he saw her daughter on that night. Her daughter want a guider along the way she do in her life. She represents of loveness and hopeness that makes the speaker woke up from a world of selfish.

Sources:  http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/baraka/onlinepoems.htm

“A million tear”

“A million tear”

by Nurhidayah Yusop

Peaceful world hard to be

When come to a million tear out there,

See the days go by and still I wonder why
I wonder why it has to be this way

Destroying  dreams in a blink of an eye

Like drops of rain in the sun's light

A million tear  wishing you were here

Hoping  this day will be the last.

My hands are tied
My head is dizzy
My eyes have cried

Taking away everyone dear to my heart

One day we'll all be free
And we proud to be
Singing songs of freedom

Feeling peaceful till the end of the days.

Explanation:

 

I wrote this poem inspired from  Shihab Nye’s “All Things Not Considered”. After I read it, the poem was about  inhumanity of soldiers that killed innocent people especially the kids. So, I create this poem to express my wish to against this unhuminity problem and Im hoping this would be last and we live in peace.

Incident by Countee Cullen

Incident
by Countee Cullen

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.

 

Explorations of the text

 1) What is the nature of the interactions between the two boys?

• The  interactions between the two boys is about the different between black and white people during that time and its called racism in 1925.  There also a prejudice side in this poem

2)  Why does the speaker remember nothing more than the incident,even though he lived in Baltimore from 'May until December"?

• In my opinion, the speaker which were the kids  just  remember bad thing when people insult or hurt them whether mentally or physically. For example when someone called him as a "nigger"

The reading/ writing connection

1) In a paragraph,compare your experience of prejudice with the persona in the poem?

• My experience about prejudice when i was in secondary school. My friend told me that i'm the one who not supposed to be prefect because i'm not a good ones. As a friend we must be supporting each other rather than condemning a  friend that maybe you dont know well inside. They  look down of me but they don;t know me well.

Ideas for writing

1)what do its form and rhyme add to this poem?

• The rhyme in this poem is ABCB.  This poem contain 3 stanza and 4 line in each stanza.

2) What is the power of language? What are the effects of the use of the term nigger?

•   My point of view,the power of language is how  we use the language and the effects when the receiver is understand or not what we are trying to say. Whether the information is delivered well or not. The effects when using the term "nigger" that insulting people really make the kids down deep because the kids know what term is used for.

 

First exploratory draft and notes  

               When I first read “All Things Not Considered”, one verse stood out from the rest. I find it addresses the issue of viewing conflicts from both sides very well and more to explores the flaws of religion. The poem starts out by asking “In what language is this holy?” after describing the death of innocent children when it presents the image of children playing and having their room blown up.. How each person interprets religion or the words of a holy script can lead to argument and conflict. Eventually, religions get so caught up in the conflict they forget what the point of their religion is. Death seems natural. A martyr, someone who dies in the name of God, is holy in many religions, but when is death ever holy? Naomi Shihab Nye is questioning when death ever became the norm, or the right thing to do. My favorite line is “if this is holy, can we have some new religions please?” I agree with this point. We, as humans, have found a way to turn our faith and religion into war and hatred. We must find a way to relate to each other in faithful and not violent ways. The religions indirectly teach and reference violence and why would this happen?.

 Thesis and a mini-outline of  the poem  

  The elements that found in the poem:

• Violence
• Death of innocent people and children
• Inhumanity 
• The religions
• Sacrifice

 

All Things Not Considered By Naomi Shihab Nye

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?

All Things Not Considered truthfully portrays the thoughts and emotions refers to violence and unholy conduct that occurs within the land of Israel with many citizens around the world today. There is terror– that is known. There is hate– it is obvious. But, do we ever verbalize the fact that maybe it’s the people, and their one sided view-points that cause all of this pain; maybe it is you, me, who set this ugly tone in our world? Naomi Shihab Nye describes the circumstances of many people, of their families, and how violence can turn the world from once loved, to now despised. Life is rough, and with it comes hardships beyond what one can imagine. This poem questions the actions of many, and in whole, wonders if we are the only holy land. Could we, as a human-race be holy as one people? I believe so. I know true that peace does not come from the commercials channel of a “perfect civilization” but rather, the education and change-of-practice of one individual at a time. I enjoy this poem, and find it compelling to discuss further.

Women In Poetry Maya Angelou

               American poet and autobiographer, Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. Angelou has had a varied career as a singer, dancer, actress, composer, and Hollywood's first female black director, but is most famous as a writer, editor, essayist, playwright, and poet.
In the mid-1950s, Angelou's career as a performer began to take off. She landed a role in a touring production of Porgy and Bess, later appearing in the off-Broadway production Calypso Heat Wave (1957) and releasing her first album, Miss Calypso (1957). A member of the Harlem Writers Guild and a civil rights activist, Angelou organized and starred in the musical revue Cabaret for Freedom as a benefit for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, also serving as the SCLC's northern coordinator.
In 1961, Angelou appeared in an off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Blacks with James Earl Jones, Lou Gossett Jr. and Cicely Tyson. While the play earned strong reviews, Angelou moved on to other pursuits, spending much of the 1960s abroad; she first lived in Egypt and then in Ghana, working as an editor and a freelance writer.

A poem by Maya Angelou
” Phenomenal Woman”
From the collection Poems
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing of my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
- See more at: http://mahmag.org/blog/2011/05/09/review-of-the-poemphenomenal-woman-by-m-badihian/#sthash.AHjrk9ry.dpuf

Here one of the poem that she wrote:

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
the swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
what they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
the need for my care.
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Maya Angelou’s poem, “Phenomenal Woman”, is a compelling form of art. Angelou tends to write about topics that are often disregarded and unexplored by others. Her poem illustrates the love a woman has for herself even though she isn’t considered beautiful. The language and tone indicate that the speaker was abused. Her pride has risen from the torture and neglect she experienced. Instead of being ashamed and blaming herself, she has gained hope.

A poem by Maya Angelou
” Phenomenal Woman”
From the collection Poems
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing of my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me
- See more at: http://mahmag.org/blog/2011/05/09/review-of-the-poemphenomenal-woman-by-m-badihian/#sthash.AHjrk9ry.dpuf