Category Archives: Posts on Readings

“I Explain Some Things” is written by Neruda during the time of Spanish Civil War. In this poem, he paints two pictures. One is full of peace, harmony, and prosperity, which only existed in the memory before the war; the other one, standing in stark contrast, is filled with violence, cruelty and bloodiness, which shows the reality of the war.

In the first half of the poem, Neruda uses a descriptive language to recount the details of the peaceful and thriving life in a neighborhood of Madrid before the war broke out. We can feel how great it was through various images he describes, such as church bells, trees, house of flowers, dogs, little kids, “the light of June”, and fishes and vegetables in markets. Through those images, he portrays a picture with rich colors and delightful smell. However, this harmony picture was broken when the city was attacked. All of those images are destroyed and replaced by the chaos of the war. There is nothing but the fire of riots, the noise of guns, and the vision of blood.

In the second half, the image of “blood” is repeated. It creates the feeling of unease because it represents the brutality of killings and the end of life. When Neruda states, “through the streets the blood of the children / ran simply, like children’s blood,” (65) he repeats “blood of the children” to emphasizes whose blood it actually is. He chooses to use “blood of the children” instead of using “blood of adults” or “blood of animals”. By doing so he makes the passage stronger and more meaningful. People generally tend to feel more sympathy to children when they are injured, especially when it is unjust. Children are innocent and have no control over the policies of their country, but they are most likely to become victims in war. Neruda is stating through this line that war does not only affect the people that are fighting it, but also innocent people, especially children. Moreover, by using the phrase “ran simply”, he is stating that their blood runs down in silence with very little objection. When faced with the brutalities of war, the victims even have no chance to object.

When Neruda repeats the image of blood in the last passage, it is extremely moving. “Come and see the blood in the streets, / come and see / the blood in the streets, / come and see the blood / in the streets!” (67) This sentence is repeated emotionally, with the energy of his anger. And the tone is conversational and straightforward. He is strongly appealing to all the readers to pay attention to the consequences of war and stating his attitude against war.

Questions:

1) Neruda writes, “Raul, do you remember? / Do you remember, Rafael? / Federico, you remember…” (63) What emotion do you think he is expressing in such a tone?

2) Neruda uses “Moors”, “duchesses”, and “friars” to describe “bandits” who kill children. (65) What does he imply through these words?

Pablo Neruda’s  Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair showed us someone’s love story. In his compilation of poems, the first nineteen were full of love and passion; however the last of the twenty love poems was about loss. And Neruda ends the book with “A Song of Despair,” the break up.

Pablo Neruda was a romantic; one of my favorite poems from the book was “I Like for You to Be Still.” I feel as if this poem best portrays the deepness of his love for this unidentified woman. He says, “Let me come to be still in your silence// And let me talk to you with your silence,” The speaker is saying that they have a profound love for each other, where they can sit in each other’s silence, without the need to talk and that would be enough. To him, he felt that their love had that the type of unspeakable understanding . However, he loses this love and writes, “Tonight I can Write” to end his twenty love poem series and finishes the book with “A Song of Despair.” In these last two poems, it is evident he has not lost sight of his love for this mystery woman, if anything- these two poems reinforces the readers that the speaker’s love for this woman was true. In these poems, Neruda uses repetition to emphasize the speaker’s grief. In “Tonight I can Write” it is said three times, “Tonight I can write the saddest lines.” The speaker talks about the love he had for her, the love she had for him, and the love that is now lost. And in “A Song of Despair,” the phrase, “In you everything sank!” is repeated many times. This line is powerful because he compares to his ex-lover to the sea and time; he uses this line to reiterate that he has lost everything to her and is now alone, referring himself as “the abandoned one” and “the deserted one.”

Questions:
1) Not much is said about who these poems are directed towards; however, from what is said about this woman, what kind of person do you think she was? (For example: In the poem, “I Like for You to Be Still,” the speaker says, “you are like the word Melancholy,” what do you think Neruda is inferring?)

2) In what other poems does Pablo Neruda use repetition, and how is it important in that poem?

Patagonia Traverse

Chile to Argentina via Andes Mountains

Poetry stems from the poet’s ability to transcribe on paper what has happened to him. Poetry is formed out of the significance of events that carry the same meaning across mankind. The experience may be ephemeral or solemn as Neruda states, however its meaning is never forgotten. The feelings and thought evoked in the individual, although known or not, is the same experienced by many others. Neruda emphasizes the need for this universal understanding of the poet’s transcriptions.  This poetic proximity to mankind, “nearness to oneself and nearness to mankind and to the secret manifestations of nature” is tied to the elements of human nature: love, conflict, accomplishment, betrayal (para 15). This is what Neruda’s idea of being ‘active in the community’ means. A poet must be active in the community by being one within the community. Poetry is about sparking resonance with the reader. Resonance is the extent to which a reader can connect with and relate to the experiences of the piece.  Resonance creates understanding. This is why different poems elevate vastly within different individuals. The greatest poems, strike universal resonance, allowing any reader to instantaneously connect with the poem. Neruda explains this in saying that the best poet is”he who prepares our daily bread” (para. 18). The bakers of our bread understand us: they are equals, neither above nor below. The baker and poet are those who face and understand the same problems, issues, experiences that all humans face regardless of religion or race. A great poet encapsulates the nuances of everyday life, fostering universal connection and creating a true great poem.

In this manner, poetry becomes solidified and permanent within the reader, not as Neruda states it as being ephemeral. In Baldwin’s “Note to a Native Son” the lines that generated a connection within myself were when the father refused to eat because he believed the family was poisoning him, thus laying the foundation for their “unwilling suspicion”. (590). I could not help feeling this inescapable connection to Baldwin and the ‘accuracy’ of that line as I had experienced the same situation in which my grandmother would refuse to eat anything we had made out of fear that we were trying to poison her. It was in this moment, identical to Baldwin’s experience, that our suppressed suspicions came to light. Our grandmother had succumbed to the hold of Alzheimer’s and the onset of rampant dementia. Forming such a relatable bond has ingrained Baldwin’s essay within me and will remain with me equally as long as my memories of my grandmother’s life.

In a similar connection with Neruda’s expedition, while in their journey across the Andes they pay tribute to the fallen who perished on the same trail as they now traveled, by way of laying tree branches on burial mounds and goods within an Ox’s skull, I understood them. It was as if I had accompanied their journey. In 2013 I had the fortune to travel to Jackson, Wyoming a ski resort high in the inhospitable Teton Mountain range. On a particular hiking trail to the summit, each passer gives two slight whacks to a rock formation where only a few years ago a group of skiers perished in a deadly avalanche. And although those who partake in the tribute may not be from this country or speak our language, just as the indigenous people Neruda encountered on the mountainside were, in our homage “there were hidden things that were understood” (para. 13 ). In such a realm, where mountains give way and life ceases to exist, these slight marks defy nature by the continual homage paid by others who follow in their path.

In this homage, both Neruda and I are acknowledging the vast and overwhelming power mother nature posses over us. This mutual understanding can only be achieved by the common experience and without it, his story fades into the background: forgotten as obscure and unimportant. Our experiences is what Neruda describes as being the “links between the unknown people” (para. 11).  Those links are what propel the work to greatness within our own minds, and in those pieces that relate to mankind’s struggles, to undoubted greatness.  Poetry creates common ground, easily traversing the highest mountains and most unforgiving passages through its words.

1.) How important is the idea of resonance within a poem to you? That is, in order for the poem/work to be ‘great’ for you, do you need to feel some familiar, understandable topic — something you have personally experienced?

2.) Is having that ‘connection’ to a work highly dependent on the success of the poet’s transcription?

Andes Mountain Range

The short story “A Minor Incident” by Lu Xun is one of the shortest stories from the Outcry compilation, but I feel it has one of the strongest messages. The story starts with the narrator lamenting the fact that 6 years of his life has gone by and in that time, even with him being witness to what some might refer to as matters of national importance, nothing has made a positive impact on him. In fact, Lu Xun writes that if forced, he would declare their influence on him as something that “succeeded only in further blackening [his] already black mood- increasing [his] contempt for the people around [him]”. Right after that he speaks of a tiny incident that occurred one winter morning that stayed with him years later- of when he flagged down a rickshaw (kind of a mix between a carriage and a wheelbarrow) and after riding for a bit, the runner accidentally hit an old woman. The narrator felt certain that the old woman was fine and that no one had witnessed the event so he told the runner to leave her and carry on since he felt staying was just asking for unnecessary trouble. Instead the runner ignored him, asked the woman how she felt and then helped her off the ground towards a police station that was nearby. At that moment, the narrator saw the runner in a new light- he seemed to have gotten taller and his back broader, the runner’s presence bearing down on the narrator and  “pressing out the petty selfishness” he had. This part is important because in the beginning the narrator seems to have lost faith in humanity and while he states that this is a minor incident, what occurs is much more than that because it is something that restores his faith just a little bit. This small act of kindness that he witnesses causes him to make one of his own- he gives the policeman a handful of coins to give to the runner and goes on his way.

The narrator never forgets that moment; though it shames him to remember his own actions,  the memory of that morning also forces him to look hard at himself and urges him to change. This story brings to light the truth of how most people don’t often do the right thing, simply because it inconveniences them; they do them if they witness someone else doing it and that causes them to reflect on their actions. The narrator was ready to leave the old woman because he felt helping her was a waste of his time. After he saw the runner help the old woman however, he felt shamed and decided he wanted to change himself for the better which is how most people act- they are selfish until someone else does something that brings to light just how selfish they are and it causes them to want to change.

Questions:

1) Being completely honest, who would you have been in this story- the narrator who wants to leave the old woman, or the runner who stops to help her?

2) Do you feel that him calling this a ‘minor incident’ is a bit of an oxymoron or ironic, considering it had such an impact on him?

In Volume II, we are we are given the opportunity to listen to the monster, Frankenstein’s, story on his adaptation to survival on his own after being created. This part in the novel is significant because it truly affects our perspective on him. From Victor’s point of view, he was a cold hearted murderer and a demon. But, from the monster’s point of view, he was struggling like a young child trying to adapt to society. When Frankenstein was first created, he did not receive any paternal love, but instead, was faced with disgust and cruelty. He was abandoned by Victor and was forced to survive on his own in the wild. The new senses he was experiencing, sound, from music from birds, and adaptation to sight, from night and day, was all new to him. The feeling of hunger and experimenting with what is edible and what is not makes me as a reader pity him. While he may stand over eight feet tall, he acts like that of a young child. The example when he had first experienced pain and warmth from a fire was something a parent would teach their child at a young age. The struggles he faced was unimaginable and makes us as a reader question what we truly feel about him.

The turning point for Frankenstein’s behavior would be when he was accused several times for crimes he did not commit. When he was learning to act more humane like, his intentions were true and had really cared for the old man’s family. But, because of his appearance, he was misunderstood as a monster and as a demon. The kind actions he did was immediately thought of as a sign of harm because of his features. After his attempt at kindness had failed every single time, he had finally given up on attempting to receive love from mankind and threatens Victor for a companion of his own.

If we were put in Victor’s point of view, would we as readers want to create a companion for Frankenstein? If we did, would the monsters really leave mankind and live in isolation or would they go back on their words and harm even more people? The struggle Victor has on this decision can impact both his personal life and the world. This struggle is difficult because he could create the monster to satisfy the creature and live in peace with his family but at the same time create even more harm on society.

Questions:

1. What is your opinion on the monster Frankenstein? Do you abhor him as like Victor’s family for murdering William, and the victim Justine, or do you pity him after hearing his story on survival and adaptation?

2. If you were in Victor’s position, would you or would you not have created a female version of Frankenstein?

Upon first reading La Belle Dame sans Merci or The Beautiful Lady without Mercy, it is easy to interpret the story as simply that of a poor knight who falls gravely ill after falling in love with a beautiful, yet mystical woman. However, upon further examination, one might come to a vastly different conclusion: is this a story of a knight falling gravely in love with a femme fatale or is there double meaning to almost everything being said?

Much is discussed about the dualistic nature of life and existence. There is no hot without cold; there is no good without evil; there is no life without death. John Keats truly explores this idea, in both subtle ways and some not so subtle ways. In setting, the knight and the narrator are in a barren, cool autumn while the beautiful lady exists in a fertile summer haze. In health, with the narrator, the knight is ill and dying while with the la belle dame, the knight is lively and well. More abstractly, Keats uses lilies and roses, two beautiful flowers, to describe the physical appearance of the dying knight. The double entendres also, in a way, represent this duality. Is the “fragrant zone” referring simply to the flowers or rather is it a reference to la belle dame’s genital region? Is the pacing steed a horse or rather is it a crude reference to the knight’s erection?

Overall, the marriage of two opposites is necessary in order for both to exist. The knight would not know the pleasure of la belle dame without the pain he suffered through after.

Questions:
1. Does the repetition of the lines “ The sedge has withered from the lake, And no birds sing” at the start and end of the ballad further represent duality?
2. Is la belle dame a mystical woman or rather a metaphor for something else?

The theme of sexual desire is persistent throughout “The Barrelmaker Brimful of Love”. Manipulation is another theme present throughout the story. As talked about in class, modernity results in a rise of manipulators and the focus of individuals and their desires.

“The Barrelmaker Brimful of Love” touches on both those prevalent themes. When Osen, old Nanny, Kyushichi, and the cooper go on their journey the men’s sexual intrigues get the best of them. “Thereafter the four of them slept in the same inn each night. Kyushichi, watching carefully for any opportunity to satisfy his secret desires…” (Saikaku 598). Throughout the night Kyushichi tries his hardest to make a pass at Osen. Of course, the cooper prevents this from happening but, “Thus the two men stood in each other’s way the whole night through” (Saikaku 598), suggests that both men tried to fulfill their sexual desires. Osen herself gave into her sexual desires when she went upstairs to join the cooper, “Upstairs she found her lover, and together they drank the cup of betrothal, pledging themselves to each other forever” (Saikaku 599).

The Nanny is the greatest manipulator in this story. She manipulates the family into thinking Osen must get married because there is a man who is supposedly “… desperately in love, so tortured by his fatal passion… He swore that within a week after his death his ghost would come to kill every member of this household” (Saikaku 594). The story Nanny told Osen, Osen believed it in its entirety. “Without further persuasion and before she had even seen him, Osen was consumed with love for this man” (Saikaku 595).