My last Post

Both of these stories reminded me how lucky I am to be an American. I don't drive down the road worried that this will be the end of my life and don't have to be worried about be screwed over by every person I meet. Then again I have been blessed to live a pretty privileged life. I strongly believe that African countries would be some of the toughest places to live, all of the different militias that try to take control and all of the killings. I honestly would be as nervous as the father was in the story baptizing the gun if my dad started off with a female having her earrings ripped out then the guy that did it burned.. that is a pretty intimidating start to a day. Both stories portrayed my idea of how hard it would be to live in a African country. All the beggars and the militias. At the end of Baptizing the gun, "My embarrassment is boundless as I watch the mechanic soak the "gun" and wrap it around the coil." Again I wouldn't be embarrassed that I was nervous with the reputation that this city has. But it is rare to find trust in strangers like at the end of the story when he shows him his rolex. The end of the Megacity "There is an even darker possibility: that the world won't feel the weight of it much at all. The really disturbing thing about Lagos's pickers and venders is that their lives have essentially nothing to do with ours. They scavenge an existence beyond the margins of macroeconomics. They are, in the harsh terms of globalization, superfluous." I mean in all honesty i feel that way sometimes when i look into space, like we are all meaningless on this little rock in the middle of a huge galaxy, universe. But yet we pretend that we have meaning and that our actions play a roll, but if we wipe each other out the galaxy will keep on spinning and nothing will change, only a few people in this world will ever make an impact that affects all man kind and others that may be out there. And very few of them will be around to see it.

I really enjoyed reading most of these stories and books this semester, a little bit different from what i typically read for enjoyment but it allowed me to see what else is out there, Offutts book was by far my favorite. but I enjoyed most of the others. Thanks a lot for teaching a great class and Thanks for everything else you do. I can't wait till this fall, i'll make sure to pick up a copy of your book and give it a shot. 5 jobs in 1 day seems a little much but i'm excited to see how it turns out.

The Lazarus Project

Well, the first thing I thought was about the bible, and really the only thing I know about the story is that Lazarus was raised from the dead, but looking into it there is another Lazarus story about a un named rich man and a beggar named Lazarus, which I think is what this is going to turn into, but we shall see which one it actually relates too. After reading this first section I have yet to decide if I enjoy reading this story, which means usually I wouldn't even finish it. If I don't get into a story right off the bat I typically just throw it away. I mean I really want something to catch my eye right away. The way Hemon writes is very descriptive and takes away from my visual creativity of a story which might be the reason why I'm not that into it. Also it seems like he is writing this for a movie, or play... This Chief is this story is a very paranoid sole, I feel that he feel threaten by anyone around, not just this poor immigrant that he killed when he knocked on the door.. I understand that this is a pretty short blog today, but i don't really have much to say on this yet, I just didn't find it that interesting

Movie 3/9/2010

I have enjoyed this movie so far, the fact that a man is so passionate about a book that he feels he has connected in a way that makes him obsessed with finding a writer is a normal activity for me too, maybe not in the sense of a book but definitely with my hobbies. I mean when i decide to buy something, I do hours upon hours of researching a product, and reviews, blogs, modifications that can be made, add ons.. I look into every area of that item in an attempt to decide on what I want most, Jessica always says I'm obsessed with my hobbies and decision making habits, but in reality I just want to know everything I can about that subject, always have and that is how I am. When I started brewing beer, I must of bought 10 books on it, and have read through them multiple times, not to mention the amount of forums i look at almost on a daily basis, this has happened when i started looking at my back packing gear, took me months to find a pack that I wanted and to find the right stove, and so on and so on. That knowledge of knowing is a very powerful addiction, and I feel that the narrator wants to hold that knowledge, it is a very interesting documentary about a man that he feels wrote such an amazing novel just vanished. I am amazed with how many books he has read and the fact he remember so much about each one, there are many books I have read that I can't remember anything from them, at least not in the detail that he can go into. This movie has interested me enough that I now would like to read this book to see if I would feel the same about it, and want to know how the writer was to write such amazing words... I really want to finish this movie so I can find out what happened to this man, and if this lemon was worth the squeeze for this guy... good thing I plan on coming to class on friday

The Same River Twice Pt. 4

The last section of the book is more serious then the rest of it, but it should be he is slowing coming to the realization that life isn't worth living if you can't share it and that he is no longer in his youth, he escaped to Florida to get clean and it be his monastery and this is where I feel he discovers his life. "We were de-evolved humans who'd chosen proximity to the foundations of our existence, living on neither land nor water, but in a foreign world of both. The transient existence prevented anyone from getting too close. No one asked question. The choice to live in a swamp implied a past that was somehow worse, therefore worth leaving." This quote Offutt is being to see that in his search for himself he has actually become lost from society and is no longer a member of it. On page 169, the second paragraph starting with "Years ago,....I had entered the world to become a man and wound up truly caring about very little......Jacob was coming for me and I would meet him freely. Hoka hey." this portion is the beginning of his rebirth into a world which he kept running from, "A tremendous gust lifted my feet. My body tipped over the bay, held by wind to the railing, while my legs lifted behind me. for several seconds I hung in the air, waiting for the blast that would crush me like the pelican. I creamed at the hurricane, daring it to come, cursing it for its refusal." In my opinion this is the true point when he changes from a loaner to the man he becomes later in the book. " The wind shifted and my legs dropped, knees striking the concrete. Another gust pinned me to the rail. I shrieked, unable to hear myself..... In the sudden rain I realized I was crying, utterly frustrated by my failure to be defeated." In that moment is where he was born again, just as his baby crowned went back in the did it again, he was realizing it was time for him to grow up, to finally accept that he was 30 and his youth was fading and he didn't want to be 60 and still chasing his youth. Later on he is married and moves to start school and I feel this is the point where you see his rehabilitation from his visit to Florida and he says "The fist year was hard and I considered leaving, an old pattern. Rita convinced me otherwise." might of been the first time he didn't leave something that was pressuring him. when his son was born Offutt says "his birth was my rebirth." but I believe that it was the hurricane that was his rebirth and this was his first steps at being a man. Finally I believe Offutt at the end of his book is at piece with himself and life. He is still surrounded by nature but he now feels as if he has a purpose and a reason of existence, and that is shown with the love he has for his son and his closing words of "Daddy loves you."


"The alligator began walking parallel to the boat, head high as if proud. I felt both envy and awe." I think this experience is really a universal feeling when people that enjoy nature see this, the envy that the alligator is so "free" and the awe that a creature has been around for so long. This quote doesn't have much depth in the point of him turning his life around but more the visualization and beauty that nature has.

The Same River Twice, Pt. 2

I am really enjoying this book much lighter than the other writings that we have read this semester. Also I enjoy that almost each chapter is like a day in a normal life, not everything is connected and does always flow perfectly together. The statement "Two hundred years back, someone asked Boone if he had ever been lost. He answered no, but that he'd once been bewildered for three days. I knew exactly how he felt." I agree with that statement, especially in the world we live in today it is almost impossible to not know where you came from, but not know where your going is possible... Sometimes I do wish i could live this guys life, seems kinda exciting just doing things and experience the world. "The billboard always tells you where you are." I've never despised politesse, but to each there own, that is one reason i always try to be polite because i feel it makes a big difference in the world when people offer a lighter with a pack of smokes, and other things. The second paragraph on 72 killed me, it reminds me of my sister and her husband when they found out she was pregnant, he was reading everything he could, and very very stressed over it more than my sister was. I feel like I will also be this type of person when it is time for me to have children but we will see. "Our wives are grumpy, sleepy, dopey, happy, bashful and sneezy.... his wife's doc." I thought was a really witty statement that someone would come up with but yet does seem pretty perfect for that moment, and not sure if that is just made up or actually happened, seem liked a pretty perfect moment.
On page 78, he meets the missionary, and listening to him talk about his mission to help save people because of Armageddon, to me that is ridiculous, so many radical faith goers use this to get followers, and this is how strange cults are made.. haha... but it does remind me of one time i was surfing in Myrtle beach and some missionaries approached me and wanted to talk about their mission in life.... I am just not that interested, but if it was going to lead to a meal and maybe save my life I guess I could listen for a bit.
I could write about almost every page during this section all the hitchhiking is enjoyable to read. but my laptop is about to die and i think I have rambled already to much.

Stop, Yield, Go

Well, I have to admit that I have not taken an English class in about 4 years, also since this is my last semester at Clemson I have a huge work load with senior design. So senior design and trying to blog all the time is pretty ruff, and even when i read the passages that are required, sometimes i just don't have time to turn around and blog on them.
STOP: Well I understand why we read some of the stories/poems that we have read, the writing styles are very good, hence why these people are considered some of the greatest writers of our time, but the fact that you chose to make us read material that covers the same subject of child molestation is a little off to me, since i feel there would be other writings by the same authors that show case their talents. lolita was one of my favorite books I've read in a long time. The content was a little gut wrenching at times, but the writing was amazing. Also I think that finding the humor is very difficult at times(when it comes to children material), my g/f is a masters student in physcology and is working with kids that have all sorts of issues, and so many of these kids have been molested or beat as young children and will never be able to live a normal life because of this, so it is kinda what i think about while reading those.
Yield: I feel that the amount of work is fine for this class, I feel as a freshman/sophomore you should be grinding through mass work loads anyways, because that is what being an underclassman is all about. I also am glad that you expect us to participate in class, and all though some days i really want to, other times I'm thinking about other things, like fluids and pipe flow..... But i do enjoy my break in my everyday life to sit down and read. I also feel that sometime we look too deep into meanings and that writers just write it how it is(the fish and beer thing, comes to mind)... but I guess that is because i'm a hard science major and I see things how they go together and work, just the way i was trained.
GO: I really enjoy this class being more interactive, so many classes are just sit there and listen to your professor talk... I think that you can connect to most of these students and help coach/encourage a thought that most would not have expressed if you didn't help... As a senior most of my classes are very interactive and involve more "hands" on work rather then just note taking and this class kinda meets that flow, which i enjoy. I don't know how to stay so in the know... I mean sometimes i'm lost with the verbiage that younger students use just because I'm 23 and some of these kids are only 18. I guess because I don't have social networks like facebook, I don't learn the new slange. it just kinda goes with the way that you can stay connected. I really do enjoy this class, sometimes I just have more work than i can handle but that isn't because of your class. keep your format though i think that is a great set up with the blogging and then the open class discussion. I hope this helps and see ya on monday

River of Names & Cathedral

River of Names, is again a story about abuse, incest and poverty. The narrator (Allison) is drawing on her own life experiences to describe her times growing up at home. I am not to sure why we keep reading books like this, although the writing is very sensual, and flows very nicely. It is still hard to understand why as a professor you'd keep making students read about child abuse. To me there are so many other stories from writers and poets that don't cover this topic, and I'd prefer to read something a little lighter every now and then. There have been times that I have also said it "How wonderful to be part of such a large family." and although my family isn't huge I was being just as sarcastic... well probably not, it really makes me think that any family issues I had are nothing. The other quote that really stood out to me was "You've got such a fashion with violence. You've got so many terrible stories." After reading wiki about Dorthy Allison it seems that these stories are true, and I can really only relate her experiences with violence to what soldiers see at war, and how some have trouble letting go. it is hard that she was able to actually let go, and live a life. it is more of a survival story, of her growing up and living her life.

Finally I am able to read something and actually not cringe at the though of child molestation, pain and suffering. This was a really great story about developing a close personal relationship with someone that you first prejudged. I think everyone wants to be able to experiences life experiences and fit in to society, very few won't to be outside of society. and I feel that Robert does a good job being able to experience it. and who doesn't look good with a beard... The narrator was able to finally connect with Robert by stepping out of his shell and helps Robert see the cathedral by drawing it with his hand. Many people need someone to help them step out of their shell with their insecurities and be able to do things.

Lolita Part One Chapters 1-16

The first line of the book is very interesting to me... "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta." those open remarks really set a good tone for this book, and how interesting it was going to be. Not only did I really enjoy the way he wrote it but it is amazing how much he feels he loves it, no matter the girls name in his arms they are always Lolita. He also talks about how we the readers are "his jury" as if he is making his case to us and the memories are his defense. The next chapter is his history of him growing up, and I really have to look at this in his favor here, his mother dying is a very traumatic incident in his life and probably really caused a lot of pain, and he missed out on some very important mother to child bonding that he obviously didn't receive from of his step mother. and not to mention the lack of guidance from his absent father. The next couple of chapters are describing his introduction and obsession with Lolita, and a particular type at that a "nymphet," which according to Humbert is a girl between 9-14, describes them as having "mysterious characteristics, the fey grace, the elusive, shifty, soul-shattering, insidious charm that separates the nymphet from such coevals of hers as an incomparably more dependent on the spatial world of synchronous phenomena than on that intangible island entranced time where Lolita plays with her likes."
The next couple chapters are how Humbert tries to control his illicit behavior, he gets married to a Polish doctor's daughter, but finds the case to be boring. He also realizes that he is hopeless when it comes to sex "All of which goes to show how dreadfully stupid poor Humbert always was in matters of sex." Chapter 8 was very fun to read this thoughts of killings his wife and her lover, the insult of leaving the urine in the toilet and the cigarette butt. I can relate with this feeling of anger, I had a girl cheat on me before, although thoughts of killing her didn't come through my head, beating the shit out of, my at that point, ex best friend did... Chapter 8 was also an enjoyable chapter even though he was institutionalized twice he seemed as if he had fun with doctors, "there was an endless source of robust enjoyment in trifling with psychiatrists: cunningly leading them on; never letting them see that you know all the tricks of the trade; inventing for them elaborate dreams, pure classics in style(which make them, the dream-extortionists, dream and wake up shrieking); teasing them with fake "primal scenes"; and never allowing them the slightest glimpse of one's real sexual predicament." at the same time though if he would of gotten help for his mental disease he may not be on trial for what he had done. Again the next few chapters describe "exhibit number two" which he describes his efforts at getting her alone and pretty much only describes her as Lolita. In chapter 13 he describes the encounter of rubbing against her till she climax. I found this to be a little disturbing, and a little graphic. 14-16 is about how upset Humbert is that Lolita is leaving for camp and she may loose her purity. Lolita kisses him in 15 and in 16 she confesses his love for him and wants him to marry him.... which is where i stop on my blog for the day, although this book is terribly vulgar and and some points I did find my self questioning why I was reading it. the way that Vladimir Nabokov words things is very seductive and charming in a way, his persuasive writing almost makes you pity this man and actually side with him and his ideas. I've really enjoyed his style of writing..

America?

So, This so called poet which i still strong believe was the first emo song righter in america and the only thing he wants to do is talk negative about everyone and everything.... is in my opinion and idiot. I mean first of all there are so many people trying to get into this country for the freedom that it can bring and offers, and so many people would never want to leave this country... I mean really my grandfather served in WW2 and my other served in Vietnam, and my Uncle went to Iraq three times now, once for Desert Storm and twice for operation Iraqy Freedom, and now my cousin is in afganistan and my best friend just shipped out to hunt for IEDs in Afganistan, so why doesn't he grow some fucking balls and go spit in their faces in person.... I mean really that is what this "poem" is doing.. just spitting in the faces of all americas who fought so hard to keep this country beautiful. Yes their are flaws to it, but you know what if he really wanted to "Go fuck yourself with your atom bomb" then he should go to north korea and shoved a bamboo stick up his ass.. because so many people have giving their lives for this idiot to have his precious freedom of speach and in any other country in the world they would of hung his ass... I mean i know has died. but that still doesn't mean they should dig him up and do this... IMO

Howl

Jesus, I mean howl to me sounds like my mom making drugs seem like the worst thing in the world, and how it will make you eat "fire in paint hotels or drank turpentine" and the talking all the time, "a lost battalion of platonic conversationalists jumping down the stoops off fire escapes off windowsills off Empire State out of the moon"
"yacketayakking screaming vomiting whispering facts and memories and anecdotes and eyeball kicks and shocks of hospitals and jails and wars". anyways i should stop this poem because it really just aggravates me. To be honest, I drink and I used to smoke, hell I would even say I had an addiction, but damn... this makes anything that a normal person might go through as light and not an issue. I mean it really pisses me off reading this for multiple reasons. Yes, it can be this bad, I went to an AA meeting for a class at Clemson and that was on of the more heavy things I've done in my life. to listen to real people with real problems describe their issues. Reading this it is like taking every persons stories from AA and putting them together. I just don't see the heart. I feel more or less insulted by this. I mean yes people can go off the deep end and end up having some amazing, and scary times in their life. and yes drinking and doing drugs can put you in a bad situation. but this poem, well like i said just pisses me off... I wish I would be in class tomorrow to discuss it... I mean argue all you want that you shouldn't do this to your body, and that you can't see clearly when you are high and then tell that to some of the musicians that wrote this amazing music while on drugs and their imagination that allowed that sort of exploration of their thoughts. I mean yes everything has a dark side but a lot of things have a light side too.... ok some of the harder drugs i don't get. but this poem is also about the lighter drugs and alcohol abuse that happens.... again this poem just really gets me pissed off, just takes the worst of everything and write a poem about it... yeah good idea

A dog can be a terrible creature,
who shits on your carpet and howls till morning,
who always wants your attention even when you're sick,
who can't even feed itself,
who never will let itself out,
who bite the neighbor and then ran when you called
.....

see you write something like that and now all dogs are killers and disobedient. everything has negative associated with them, but come on I didn't know how if you just cried in your room and could be terribly negative towards something that you'd come up with a piece of "art" that was "classic." Yes he had an issue with drugs, but where did he write about the good things he did on them, that is the one we should of read contrary to Howl, I mean obviously Supermarket In California, is about a hallucinogenic episode he was having, and he loved Whitman's work,
He is referring to America as becoming a supermarket, too commercialized, to much into material items. You know America is moving more towards that everyday, the commercialism, and losing touch with nature and I think that this is what the poem is trying to get at... but their is no way he was sober righting this... not that I have a problem with that I just see him kinda dreaming this up in a state (if i'm not mistaken Whitman wrote about a lot of nature right).. But anyways I enjoyed this poem a lot more then Howl, I mean i'm into a more upbeat poem and I felt that he wrote this when he was trying to fight conformity being a member of the Beat Generation and not "bashing it" like i feel he was doing in Howl

Scene 7 Glass Menagerie

Well the last scene mostly takes place in the around and after dinner in the house with Jim and Laura, at first you get a sense that Laura will finally be able to find someone and become "normal." the kiss was the first time that she let her guard down to someone and she got a taste of the real world, but almost immediately after that her heart was broken. I didn't really see that coming with the whole Betty thing, I think that he either made or up, or it was an arranged thing that he isn't to sure about. Even though he talks about how she has made him a better man, I just don't see how you forget to bring that up before going over and taking a date at someones house. obviously the unicorn breaking was a big symbol of Laura starting to become normal instead of a fantasy and extinct creature.
"Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be" this quote is referring to how even though tom left his family in search of his dreams, his sister is still with him and anytime he sees a piece of glass and quality lights it makes him think of her. I feel everyone can relate to this quote, not saying that a piece of glass reminds us of someone, but there is something that does.... a song, a smell, a food. I mean certain things remind me of my grandfather, like christmas time, and Clemson sports. a little different since he is dead and tom left amanda and laura. but you know what i mean.

Glass Menagerie Scenes 1-6

The production notes had two really interesting quotes to me, the first being "Reality is an organic thing," meaning that this play is about how reality is can evolve and change, how reality is only how one perseves it and how it changes from person to person. This can be seen through out this play, even in the title The Glass Menagerie, which is Laura's collection of animals. this animals are her reality. I feel that the way Laura acts towards strangers is very plain and boring, much like just a single piece of class, but when you get her to open up she seems very intriguing and an interesting person. Amanda on the other hand has a different look on how reality should be for her, although she has a better grip on societies values and wants to have financial success, she feels that she deserves to be pampered, and she doesn't want to see how strange Laura is and how top isn't going to become a great business man. I really think that Amanda is the cause of these problems, and like most parents, may see the flaws in their children but do not want to accept that. Because that means in their eyes they have failed as parents to raise their children. When really if they would help fix the flaws it would be the exact opposite.
A very important part of this play, is stage show that tom went and saw in scene 4. "You know it don't take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin, laura. But who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail?" this is referring to his life, and how he would life to just escape. also in this scene tom finally apologizes to amanda, which is a very tear filled scene, and amanda is worried that tom is going to become a drunkard. In this scene i feel like Amanda actually admits to the fact that her daughter is a little different and how she needs tom to help. that her attempts to help integrate laura into the real world hasn't worked. she is also trying to help find a suitor for laura and ask if tom will help, he agrees. I really enjoyed reading this part, although i don't have any younger sisters, I have a few friends that do. and this is about how it goes when their parents ask them to help out, the oh, my go-osh, and the reluctent YES! as the parents ask over and over. Even on the simple things you still see this even just picking them up from a sports practice or movie, must be a sibling thing huh.

Blog for 1/13/09

Flowers by Alice Walker, wasn't exactly what I was thinking it was going to be, very interesting how the story at first is so descriptive of a beautiful area, and of a time that is supposed to be nice, and then the ending of the story being very descriptive of a gentleman that had been hung, it really surprised me while reading this short story because it did come out of no where. I guess the setting would be easy 20th century and this is related to a hate crime. Also I liked how at the end she picked up a strange pink rose, but then after a moment laid down her flowers, to symbolize how she was no longer innocent and then the summer was over...

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid, to me was about a mother teaching her daughter how to be a lady, she is showing her daughter things that she either was shown growing up or had to learn by experiences. she wants her daughter to be both brains and beauty but doesn't want her daughter to become a "slut." I believe more parents these days should teach their daughters this kind of thing, not because I'm sexiest but because I am a guy and see what girls do... my favorite line was the after asking what she should do if the baker won't let her feel the bread and the mother replies with "you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread?" to me that was hilarious, because so many times my parents talk and talk and talk then i would have a response and i guess they would feel like i wasn't listening to everything and that was the last thing i heard. So i just found that response pretty amusing.

Blog for 1/11

The Robert Frost "birches" poem reminds me of driving down the road and seeing a site that reminds you of your child hood, as with him he saw trees that had been damaged from years of snow storms and they reminded him of climbing and playing in trees as a young child and how how he would love to go back to those times where he was a "birch swinger." I'm sure there are plenty of symbolisms that you could look into but I'd prefer to think that this poem is very simple because it reminds me of a time of my childhood that I spent playing in the woods and a very relaxing and simple time. Now I looked at other reviews to see how others read into this poem and it seems like I am pretty close with the reflection of life before you start having responsibilities and the hard ship of later down the road. The other interesting thing that I read was this poem, some feels is about masturbation and very sexual. Although I can see some lines and how people would feel that way I don't agree, but I am also not very good at looking at the symbolism of poems.

Well the more I read poems the more I have decided that I'm not going to look into the meaning/symbolism of a poem, to me, it is what it is and the great thing about a great poem is that you can relate it to either your own life or other around you, or the world in itself. Well on with what I'm thinking, "mending walls" to me is about respecting boundaries, and when fixing them takes the effort of both parties, this could relate to a relationship with a significant other or with friends, and relatives. and even if you don't need to have any "walls" between people we still do. You may put up a "barrier" of emotions or "not let someone in" but why is that really necessary why do we act so "tuff" in life.

"Acquainted With the Night" I can see two different meanings, the first relates more to the outdoors enthusiast, like myself i see this being a not walking the beaten path type of poem and enjoying nature and the solitude that you get when you are outside on a dark, night rather it be rainy or not it is a tranquil and humbling experience in my opinion. but you can also look at this poem in the sense that it is relating to someone trying run away from there wrongs or coming back, you know anytime someone cheats in the movie they always come home and it is dark and rainy... but personally i like to think about back packing an enjoying the out doors and that time of being relaxation....

So what is the promise that he must keep? is it love, i mean really there are only so many promise that people "must" keep, pay taxes and die... so the sleep he is referring too is death and how he still has a long way in his life to go till that point. the rest is referring to stopping and sniffing the roses in life and enjoying what natures beauty offers to al

Even though i feel this may be the easier of all the poems it was my favorite, the heat of desire, and yet the coldness of hate, but really why would anyone want to experience the coldness of an empty heart, that to me doesn't make sense why would you want to die while being lonely. so how would destruction with ice suffice..... scratch that now that i keep thinking about this i'm not really sure why this death would suffice....

Blog for Friday 1/8/10

I guess I must be emotionless, because every readers response I have read about Carver's "Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-second Year" is that it is "one of the most touching poems I have ever felt," and another reader wrote "In this poem Carver provides us with a beautifully touching slice of life that is not only flawless in writing and technique, but that connects and emotionally evokes feelings that are universal in all readers." which I found on 123helpme.com and Americanpoems.com. Here are my thoughts about this poem, and since i don't know anything about Carver, I would say that he lost his father when he was a young child, this poem is reflecting on a picture of his father pretty soon before his death, which I would believe was cause by alcohol. Thus the comment on how he can't hold his liquor well either, but even though he didn't get to experience things with his dad, like going to the local watering holes to learn to fish, he forgives his dad and still "loves" him. Like I said I wasn't too moved by this poem but that is what I think about it, and I didn't want to research to see if I was right. But I may......

Ok, well now lets talk about this whole stanza thing was about.... well the first line talks about peoples faces appearing, but where do they go they never disappear back into the crowed, are all faces the same to him, or are the faces even able to be made out. The ";" in the stanza is supposed to mean that both lines are equal, thus the leaves on this black branch have some sort of importance. To me I would be like what the hell is a tree doing down in a metro station, it would be nice if this writer wasn't on acid when he wrote this (just a guess) but i think maybe he is referring to the contrast of an occurrence of many people and then in my mind the elegance of nature and the tranquility of a rain shower on pedals of a tree..
that paragraph might make as much sense as the actual poem but i defiantly ranted a little bit

I did try to read Daddy, by sylvia Plath's but i gave up at least 4 times trying to read... so I really don't have much to say on it, although i did read that it was about Nazis.... oh well guess we can talk more about that one tomorrow so i can understand it and maybe attempt to read it again

Letter of introduction

Hello,
My name is Robert King, my writing skills have never been that great and not very extensive. My freshmen year in high school I wrote a musical that was called a physco in the window, and I was the co star of it, It was a ten minute long play/musical that we preformed on the last day of school for some of the theater classes. I also wrote a fictional story freshmen year in college that was about a freshmen coming to college and facing alcoholism. Most of my papers in college have been either lab reports or research papers that have needed to be in MLA format.
Last semester was one of my busiest semesters in regards to reading, i was able to read four books, Abmler Warning by Robert Ludlum, The Broker by John Grisham, The Whole Truth by David Baldacci, and a book by the Dali Lama. My favorite book of all time has been Hour Game by David Baldacci, which is a book about a serial killer and an agent that is trying to stop him. Another book that I have really enjoyed was the Good Earth, I read this one in high school and still remember it very well.
This semester I plan on being able to blog a at least twice a week and getting an A in a literature class, which for me would be a miracle because I'm a hard science major. My major is biosystems engineering which I love. I love being able to apply engineering skills to biological systems and being able to quantitatively explain the results that will occur. I also feel that my major is going play a critical role in helping the world realize how we can engineer for sustainability and improve the well being of all man kind. But to be honest I really wouldn't mind just opening a micro brewery with a small restaurant connected to it and being a small business owner. This class is required for me to graduate in the spring but I choose it because i thought it would be interesting.

I woke up to smell the summer dew
Off i went to experience something new
When I arrived the circle was packed
With new students hauling stuff that's sacked
Classes were full with students absorbing
I awoke with my first hangover several morning
My sophomore year I spent at coastal
this is where i almost went postal
back I came to Clemson
and decided it was time for a reason
I met Jessica the best of gal
and now she is my favorite pal
At the end of this year my cap I will throw
but my life experiences will continue to grow