Ode to Nobody...

I'M NOBODY! WHO ARE YOU?

by Emily Dickinson.

 I'm nobody! Who are you?

Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us - don't tell!
They'd advertise - you know!

How dreary to be somebody!
How public like a frog
To tell one's name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

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     Emily Dickinson's poems almost always make me laugh or ponder something new, and more often than not they contain true-to-life lessons. This is one such poem. This piece explores how boring it would be to 'tell one's name the livelong day' to what at first appears to be a group of good listeners. In my mind this creates the image of any and all 'famous' people -  people who work in the movies, for example. Even outside of the theater, it seems as if the whole world welcomes them with open arms. This helps me draw the conclusion, then, that it would be so incredibly 'deary' to be anyone but who God has made me. Woe to the girl who wishes she were famous! 

Learn to love learning

"     A good book is worth trying to track down, and if your local library doesn't have a particular book, by all means explore the use of special requests and inter-library loans."
                        ~From Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson. Page xxii
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     I know, it's a short piece, but as we get into summer I think it's important for students, from Kindergarten to Seniors in College, to get involved in reading. I'm sure all of us have a book we've heard of or a topic we know of that's crying out for you to explore. I personally have one of each - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered a classic and I've never read it!! As long as there are still good books out there that I haven't read, I want to 'track down' those masterpieces.
     Also, I greatly enjoy being able to read about something - whether it's a Historical event or a fact of Science - and fully understand it. For example, this year in Biology we learned about open and closed circulatory systems. If you were to ask me about them today, I would take great pleasure in being able to explain these interesting blood systems to you! So one of my goals for this summer is to find a topic and learn about it so well that I could write an essay about it in my sleep.
     This summer, I challenge you to learn to love learning, and to expand your knowledge. Don't let all those great books sit at the library all summer - get out and read!
 

The Aeneid, chapter 9

     " Euryalus countered: 'You're spinning empty arguments, they won't work. No, my mind won't change, won't budge an inch. Let's be gone!'"
                               From The Aeneid by Virgil
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     Empty arguments. Everyone hates them, yet they are so common. This passage, although one of the shortest in the book, is one that stands out to me more than others. It's interesting - an empty argument is one that is usually chock-full of words, feelings, and emotion. Yet they can be so meaningless to some. They most often don't work to accomplish much, yet we throw ourselves into them. I am the second-oldest of five children, and I can definitely relate to this.I know that, for me, when I've set my mind on something that I believe with my whole heart is right, true, or 'fair', no amount of yelling, pleading, or whining will change my mind. {Unless it's my parents, that is}. This is often called bullheadedness, but it's helped me - when I find out on my own that I was wrong - to put myself in others' shoes and remember that sometimes we need to just let people think what they think. Who cares if my seven-year-old  brother thinks the sky is purple!? He'll figure out the truth someday, but does it really matter now? Who am I to try and change what he has set his heart on?

Taking the time...

A Time to Talk

When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don't stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven't hoed,
And shout from where I am, What is it?
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit. 

Robert Frost

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This poem by Robert Frost is a great reminder to simply take the time. The character in his piece is in the middle of hoeing his fields when, unannounced, his neighbor rides by and slows to a 'meaning walk'. Instead of staying planted in his position and shouted ' Hey, neighbor, what's up?' he sets the tool down and takes the time to talk. Some would find this a waste of time, but really, it is much more meaningful than field work. To do what the character did shows true interest in a fellow's day, and - when the world comes to an end - it will be much more important that he took the time to listen, instead of talk or work. For everything there is a season, and a purpose for everything under the heavens. 

A document by Frontinus

" All the aqueducts reach the city at different elevations. Six of these streams flow into covered containers, where they lose their sediment....(goes on to describe the grandeur of the aqueducts)
    Compare such numerous and indispensable structures carrying so much water with the idle pyramids, or the useless but famous works of the Greeks."
                                                   ~Frontinus

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The first analysis I made of this document is the fact that, according to the last sentence, the author believes the aqueducts to be works of art. I can't help but agree with him, according to the definition of art. Art is anything that requires traits such as skill, patience, thought... and the list goes on. The last sentence may seem a little out there - but think about it: after you've defined the aqueducts as works of art, you must realize that such art is useful. With aqueducts came water - endless water - to the Romans. It didn't have to be pumped, and one didn't have to travel far to find it. So, when compared to the art of the Greeks, or the Egyptian pyramids, these things really do seem like useless things, that really aren't good for much at all.

The Aeneid, week 24

"     So all his shipmates gathered round his body and raised a loud lament, devoted Aeneas in the lead. Then still in tears, they rushed to perform the Sibyl's orders, no delay, they strive to pile up trees, to build an altar-pyre rising to the skies. Then into an ancient wood and the hidden dens of beasts they make their way, and down crash the pines, the ilex rings to the axe, the trunks of ash and oak are split by the driving wedge, and they roll huge rowans down the hilly slopes."
                                                 ~from The Aeneid by Virgil, book six
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     This particular passage of book six is one of my favorites from The Aeneid so far. This is because it displays a dramatic, yet applicable happening. The men who are with Aeneid on his journey are forced to say goodbye to a comrade, a companion - a friend. Plenty of people today have to do this, but fewer have to go right back into laboring, minutes after a funerary farewell. These particular men, though, do so with dignity, courage, and silent sorrow - 'still in tears'. Even Aeneid weeps as he carries out his instructions. but through the tears, they carry on.
     I love the emotion in this piece, and how it's not an unheard of emotion - but a circumstance that can be very real.

Purity beneath the veil

A charm invests a face

a poem by Emily Dickinson

A charm invests a face

Imperfectly beheld.

The lady dare not lift her veil

For fear it be dispelled.

But peers beyond her mesh,

And wishes, and denies,

Lest interview annul a want

That image satisfies.

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       This poem about purity took a while to find, but was worth being found. It's about the purity of the veiled woman - whether the veil be metaphorical or physical. Metaphorical veils are much more popular today than are physical ones, but - sadly - any type of veil is either unheard of or rare in most places. Girls today just don't care as much about saving purity for the man God has planned for her. They want satisfaction now, the satisfaction being found in small, temporary things such as 'the first kiss' (often at age 10) or the prom later on. And as I strive to be a pure young woman in an impure world, watching some of my friends slowly lose their purity has become a lesson to me. Every week they break up with someone, and every week their heart is broken. So I'm waiting on what the Lord has in store for me - avoiding trauma, heartbreak, and wave-like relationships. Sure - it's hard - but it will be so, so worth it. 

The Aeneid - book 4

" But the queen -- too long she has suffered the pain of love,
  hour by hour nursing the wound with her life blood,
  consumed by the fire buried in her heart.
  The man's courage, the sheer pride of his line,
  they all come pressing home to her, over and over.
  His looks, his words, they pierce her heart and cling --
  no peace, no rest for her body, love will give her none."
                               ~from book 4 of The Aeneid by Virgil

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    This paragraph is the first of the quite lengthy poem in book four of The Aeneid, called 'The Tragic Queen'. This paragraph fits the description held in the title very well for we do indeed see that the queen is tragic. I like in this piece how well Virgil commands the use of imagery. The first segment of this tool is found in the very first line - 'the pain of love'. Love is considered an abstract noun - something that is definitely tangible, but not visible to others around you. So this creates an image of something hidden - which seems to be an oxymoron, but adds to the mystery and awesomeness of what Virgil is trying to say.
    Another great form of imagery Virgil uses is found in the last line when he says - 'no peace, no rest for her body, love will give her none.' The way the words in this line have been put together makes love seem like a demanding, resentful, un-compassionate authority - which is true, in many ways. Overall, the final line of the first paragraph of book four's poem gives love the character of a person in a truthful, colorful manner.
   

A Poem for your pleasure:

Going for Water

by Robert Frost

The well was dry beside the door,  

  And so we went with pail and can  

Across the fields behind the house  

  To seek the brook if still it ran;  

  

Not loth to have excuse to go,

  Because the autumn eve was fair  

(Though chill), because the fields were ours,  

  And by the brook our woods were there.  

  

We ran as if to meet the moon  

  That slowly dawned behind the trees,

The barren boughs without the leaves,  

  Without the birds, without the breeze.  

  

But once within the wood, we paused  

  Like gnomes that hid us from the moon,  

Ready to run to hiding new

  With laughter when she found us soon.  

  

Each laid on other a staying hand  

  To listen ere we dared to look,  

And in the hush we joined to make  

  We heard, we knew we heard the brook. 

  

A note as from a single place,  

  A slender tinkling fall that made  

Now drops that floated on the pool  

  Like pearls, and now a silver blade.

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    I was planning on using a poem by Shel Silverstein for this exercise but - unfortunately - almost all of our books are packed up for moving. So I searched instead for a majestic and intriguing poem by Robert Frost or similar author on the internet, and came up with this. 

    

    In order to receive the full effect of this poem, I read it many times - each time enjoying and understanding it a little more. The perspective of the poem is that of a group of younger children, sent to fetch water from the brook in the woods. It is a great adventure for them, and they run 'as if to meet the moon' - meaning they ran hard and fast as if they had a very long distance to go. I love this poem mostly because of how big Frost has made this simple little task seem, as it was to the group of children. For them it went beyond the normal household chores such as sweeping out the rooms or bringing in firewood to heat the house. It was a task specially given to them - a task that took them beyond the home, and into the magical, open, and free space of the forest. His title makes the job seem minimal and simple to an older mind, but in his poem he makes it clear that fetching the water is much more than that. Overall, I think Robert Frost's presentation of point of view on this subject was outstanding, and accurate. 

The Annoying, Un-decisive Older Sister

"LIV {Clodia to her brother.}


         Don't come here, Brainless. I don't wish to see anyone. I am completely happy as I am"...(insert her various lame reasons for happiness in life)
   
  Later on in the document:
        " Come to Nettuno, Publius. I cannot endure this any longer, but I am not yet ready to come to town.
           For the sake of heaven, come and don't bring anybody with you."
Still later in the document:
        " I hope this letter fails to reach you and that you are already on your way. If not, start at once"
                                                           ~taken from, The Ides of March, by Thornton Wilder
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                     When I fist read this passage, I laughed hysterically! It is important to know that Clodia is thought to have been the older sibling in this scenario. I didn't include all the text - the document is pretty long. But it seems that after relaying to her brother why he needn't come as she is 'completely happy' she convinces herself that she really does need her little brother, and things are not okay.
                     As an older sibling myself, I often find that talking things through with someone often makes you do a double-take on your motive. For example, I corresponded with a classmate this afternoon on the phone about what our strategy is for an upcoming assignment we are doing. Talking with him for a length of time definitely helped me understand what my own point of view was on the matter.
                    Overall, I think this passage is proof that sometimes we may think we've convinced ourselves of something, when really it's best for us to talk it out. In doing this, we often find out more about ourselves. 

Falling in Love - With a Country {wk. 17}

        " Moving to the other side of the world and having a large family was never my dream or even my idea. But as I look back, I can see that God spent my whole life preparing me for the life He had planned for me - the people He placed in just the right places at the right times, and circumstances I could never fathom would eventually be for His glory. For years before I went to Uganda, I had fantasized about doing something incredible for God and others; what I have learned is that I can do nothing incredible, but as I follow God into impossible situations , He can work miracles in and through me. "
                                                ~from, Kisses from Katie, by Katie Davis
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        The tone of this piece is one of realization - something everyone faces at some time in his or her life. For Katie, this realization comes in the fact that God has always had a plan for her, so why not lean on Him and fully trust Him with your future? This is something that I also am beginning to learn. The book goes on to tell of her life story - how God used her and still uses her to reach hundreds of Ugandans. She shares about her struggles through it all - one of which was teasing and misunderstanding from friends. I, too, have experienced misunderstanding about my heart for India. Some people just don't get it. One thing she experienced that I never will, though, is doubt from her parents. They didn't want to allow their daughter to go overseas, but over time God softened their hearts. In this passage, too, is a sense of no regret. She doesn't regret the decisions that were made to bring her to being a full-time, single mother of 14 girls in Uganda. Her realization has brought her closer to God, as I hope mine will in the future.

Pride and Prejudice ~ wk. 15

     " Miss Bingley made no answer, and soon afterwards for up and walked about the room. her figure was elegant, and she walked well; - but Darcy, at whom it was all aimed, was still inflexibly studious. In the desperation of her feelings, she resolved on one effort more, and, turning to Elizabeth, said - 'Miss Eliza Bennet,  let me persuade to take a turn about he room. - I assure you it is very refreshing after sitting so long in one attitude.'
       Elizabeth was surprised, but agreed to it immediately. Miss Bingley succeeded no less in in the real object of her civility; Mr. Darcy looked up."
                                                   ~from, Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, pg. 38 and 39
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  I love the content of this passage - it brings about such an understanding of these characters! {preposition} It correctly presents Mr. Darcy as a book-wormy, seemingly boring sort of man. {preposition} Miss Bingley seems to be a divisive, snobby sort of girl -  who considers every person on the planet to have been created to do her bidding. In the end, though, she seems to always proverbially run off, hurt and disappointed. {adjective} Miss Bennet, on the other hand, is very rightly presented in this passage as a woman who's actions could be thought of as shy, yet precise and thoughtful. {adverb} Overall, this has been my favorite part of the book so far because of how well all the characters are displayed so truly. {adverb}

Poetry, week 14

AN ECHO

by Robert Pack

VOICE:                                                               ECHO:

How from emptiness can I make a start?                   START

And starting must I master joy or grief?                     GRIEF

But is there consolation in the heart?                          ART

Or cold reprieve, where’s natural relief?                    LEAF

Leaf blooms, burns red before delighted eyes.           DIES

Her beauty makes of dying, ecstasy.                         SEE.

Yet what’s the end of our long life’s disease?            EASE

If death is not, who is my enemy?                             ME

Then are you glad that I must end in sleep?               LEAP

I’d leap into the dark if dark were true.                    TRUE

And in that night would you rejoice or weep?           WEEP

What contradiction makes you take this view?          YOU

I feel your calling leads me where I go.                      GO

But whether happiness is there, you know.                NO    
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I love everything about this poem - how it has such a sense of mystery and anxiety. The mystery is in the answer to the questions; even though the author included them, they could be interpreted in so many different ways. The anxiety can be heard in the voice of the 'narrator'. He or she seems to be going through a lot of struggle in life, without their partner there to answer all these nagging questions. I believe the echo to be the quiet, almost unnoticeable answer from the friend to the troubled main character. Overall, I especially love the mystery of the poem...it kind of leaves you hanging - deep in thought.                

Poetry, due wk. 13

                                        As Life Goes Along
                                     By God, through Jacob
                                       As life goes along,
                                       It's filled with our wrong
                                       And in our reflection
                                       We see no perfection
                                        But through it all
                                        Jesus has stood tall
                                        And by His resurrection
                                        Has given us redemption.
                                               ~ From the pocket of my little bro, a 12 year old
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     I almost cried when I read this this morning! It touches me that my little brother is being led by God. He's off to a good future! The poem is totally in the perspective of a child of God, and the simplicity is awesome. Sometimes, words aren't enough - other times just a few are perfect.
     Jacob strikes a lot of people as a simplistic, quiet young man - and he can be, sometimes. But most of the time, he's jabbering endlessly about...nothing at all. He's one of the many comedians in the family. Jacob is shy, sometimes... he just walked by and asked if I was going to put 'Anonymous', but I told him I wasn't planning on it. =)
     Overall, the simplistic realization of God's grace and love vs. our imperfection displayed in this poem is inspiring to me. Especially knowing who the author is behind it.   

Mythology and adverbial clauses, wk. 11

 "     A few days after he bought the car,  he brought each of us children up to it, one at a time, raised the hood, and told us to look inside and see if we could find the birdie in the engine. While our backs where turned, he'd tiptoe back to the driver's seat - a jolly Santa Clause in mufti - and press down on the horn.

     'Kadookah, Kadookah.' The horn blaring right in your ear was frightening and you'd jump away in hurt amazement. Dad would laugh until the tears came to his eyes."
                                           ~from, Cheaper by the Dozen, by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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 My brother and I are currently reading this book together, and we laughed so long and hard over this part, I just had to share it! Not only is it absolutely hilarious, but it shows the tough love and humor that a lot of fathers have. Truthfully, this sounds kind of like something my Dad would do! He is full of surprises, especially if we have recently pulled a joke on him. Sure, he's a good sport when a joke gets pulled on him, but watch out! Overall, this passage is a perfect one for describing fathers, and my brother and I still laugh about it! 

Angel Levine w/adjectival clauses, wk. 10

 " But Bella's was bursting with strains of blues. Through the window Manischewitz recognized the dancing crowd and among them sought Levine. "..." Levine had shed his old clothes, wore a shiny new checkered suit, pearl gray derby, cigar, and big two-toned button shoes. To the tailor's dismay, a drunken gaze had settled upon Levine's formerly dignified face.
                                                                ~ from Angel Levine, by Bernard Malamud
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What!? The angel isn't an angel! I believe this piece to be the climax of the story. It is where the main character discovers that this man whom he thought was an angel sent from God isn't in fact and angel, which is absurd to him - how could he not be one? The tailor had prayed for... a deliverer of sorts, and he ended up with Levine, who was just beginning to warm up to the role of being this angel figure, sent to answer all of the tailor's prayers. Then he discovers Levine, possibly drunk, in a bar with a bunch of other men. (with a lady on his lap, and a cigar in his mouth) This just can't be! I like the emotion of this particular part of the story. 

The Introduction to the New Telemachus

  (Pallas Athena)   " 'You must not cling to your boyhood any longer-- it's time you were a man... And you, my friend--how tall and handsome I see you now--be brave, you too, so men to come will sing your praises down the years.' "

 (Telemachus, the man) " ' Oh stranger,' heedful Telemachus replied, ' indeed I will. You've counseled me with so much kindness now, like a father to a son. I won't forget a word...' "

                                                      ~ from The Odyssey, by Homer, pg. 87

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  In this section from The Odyssey, Homer, as the author, is using Athena developing the character of Prince Telemachus - the young son of long-lost Odysseus. In the begging of the book, Telemachus is just a 'little' boy, who is still so because he has lacked a fatherly figure since he was an infant. He has grown up among gentle women and rough, unrespectable men. In consideration of this, the author introduces the goddess Athena as a man, a sort of fatherly one, to encourage Telemachus into becoming a man himself - ready to protect his father's household and wife. 

      At this point in the chapter, on page 87, we see that Athena has succeeded in her mission -  making Telemachus into a man. As we leave this page, the young Prince is strong in the new courage of his manhood. 

Blog entry from week 4

 "The informer, another girl in my class, whispered that it was Svetlana who envied me - not my 'fairy tale' past but, of all things, my braids, my less than shining-clean long braids... I kept the secret but I began my campaign to have my braids cut off. The direct approach didn't work... The next evening Mother told me curtly that she was going to cut my hair, but it was because there was no soap and for no other reason, certainly not because I wanted to look like everyone else... Now I had a best friend."
                                                ~From, "The Endless Steppe", by Esther Hautzig
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  I love in this passage how Esther, who's point of view the story is being told from, is willing to give up her prized possessions, her braids, in order to have a best friend. She was really anxious and desperate! Before this point, Svetlana has totally ignored her, yet she is nice to other children who are poorer than Esther. How she longed for Svetlana's friendship! So when an answer to her predicament arises, she carries out the act without hesitation, even though it means chopping her beautiful braids off from around her head. But in the end, she is finally blessed with a best friend! I'd like to point out, though, that Esther only cut her braids when she realized they were setting her apart from Svetlana and the others. She did it so the other girls wouldn't covet her - her heart was to not make the other girls feel inferior. 

Writing About Literature

 "Literature helps us grow, both personally and intellectually. It opens doors for us. It stretches our minds. It develops our imagination, increases our understanding, and enlarges our power of sympathy. It helps us see beauty in the world around us......It makes us human."
                                                                                  ~Edgar V. Roberts, Writing About Literature, pg.2
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  This partial paragraph, through the words and ideas the author used, points to all people who are old enough and civilized enough to read. It does open doors for us, doors that lead to survival. The kind of doors I'm talking about are literal doors that might open into a library, bookstore, school building, office or other work building, your Grandma's attic, and so much more. These places and others that hold literature make us who we are, an educated, well-informed, well-spoken generation.  And as time moves on and new generations are born,  more opportunities to read and write open. More books are being written, and more stories told.

'How to Read Literature Like a Professor'

" Like Carter, Garcia Marquez plays on our notions of wings and flight to explore the situation's ironic possibilities. In fact, he even goes further in some ways. His winged character is literally caged; moreover, he's dirty and unkempt and bug-ridden, not at all what we expect from potential angels. On one level, the story asks us if we would recognize the Second Coming if it occurred, and perhaps it reminds us that the Messiah was not generally acknowledged when he did come. The angel doesn't look like an angel, just as the King didn't look like a king, certainly not like the sort of military ruler the Hebrews had expected. Does the old man choose not to fly? Has he been reduced in power and appearance purposely? The story never says, and in its silence it poses many questions. "
                                                                                                                                 

  This chapter about the mystic wonders of flight got me to thinking more than any other chapter has so far. My comment for the whole chapter would be, " If humans could fly, whether we had wings or invisible super-powers, I'll bet we'd regret it for one reason or another." Later on in this chapter Foster says that flight is freedom, but for the character in the book, "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings", the author, Garcia Marquez, wrote that flight made his character to be "literally caged" on planet earth. This character, the old man mentioned in the title,  probably was choosing not to fly because of the dangers that being the only human-like thing on the whole planet that could fly would have posed for him. I like how Foster contrasts this character with Christ when he came to Earth as a baby. Not a whole lot of people recognized him as even a remotely possible candidate for King, as perfect as he was, until he was approx. 12 years old. That was when the first teaching of Jesus' ministry was recorded. Over all, I like the possible hidden meaning that Foster reveals in Marquez's book. I think that this paragraph in particular will help me to find hidden meaning in literature, as well.