Author: b.tung

How does the poet bear witness to tragedy or more difficult aspects of human life? 

Does the voice in either of the two poems seem to represent Hughes’s sincere voice? Or are they both rhetorical in some way? Which aspects of the poems seem more sincere and/or rhetorical? Which literary devices does he choose to use in each poem? How? Why?

The voice in the first poem “Mother to Son” seems to represent Hughe’s sincere voice. It’s as if Hughes is the one speaking to the audience and giving his honest advice. In this poem, a mother tells his son that life is not easy. There were times when she was lost and struggled to live, but she kept going. She encourages her son to do the same because if she can, he can do so too. Hughes uses African accent so we can tell it’s the story of an African family who do not live easy lives. Hughes also uses repetition of “And” and keeps the lines short to mimic a sincere voice, making it sound like the poem is speaking to you in real life and in that accent. Hughes also starts and ends with “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”, emphasizing that your life may not be easy but so many other people’s lives are also not easy but they are still thriving.

Although Hughes’ second poem “Motto” includes some sincere voice, it seems to be more rhetorical. In this poem, Hughes says that he stays alive for all the fun that he enjoys in life like singing and dancing to swing music. He uses informal language to express his thoughts, “I play it cool”. In addition, he says “dig” as a slang for “like”. Through his informal language and use of slang, he is able to communicate his feelings or his “motto” in a way that is memorable. In the end, he says “dig and be dug/in return”, meaning if you like others and treat others well, they will like you and treat you well too. Thus, he communicates his message through a poem, in a unique way.

How and why does Hurston use dialect in the story? Note that the characters’ speech and the narrator’s are in different dialects, with the former being Southern African-American speech and the latter being more traditionally grammatical American English, and so the story has two registers of diction.

It is very noticeable and clear that Hurston uses both South African-American dialect when the characters speak and traditionally grammatical American English during the narration. Hurston intentionally switched between two dialects for many reasons. First, adding a dialect brings liveliness to the story. It adds voice to the characters, making the story seem more realistic and bringing it to life. Because of this, “The Gilded Six-Bits” could easily be a true story. This helps readers relate to it more, as it makes the characters of the story become more human-like rather than just characters made up by Hurston. Another reason Hurston uses dialect is because dialect is often used to say phrases that do not mean the same in another dialect. For example, “making feet for shoes” is quoted with the South African-American dialect and it wouldn’t give the same feeling if it was directly translated in American English. Some phrases in a dialect are more meaningful when phrased with a dialect rather than translating it. The use of South African-American dialect also emphasizes that their culture was a little different, making the story more unique than if it was all written in American English. Hurston’s use of dialects added to the story and made it more lively and interesting.

​How and why does Hurston incorporate the process of giving great value to seemingly small things (e.g. gifts, personal foibles or tendencies, inside jokes, games) into the story?

The setting opens up to Missie May and Joe, being happy, newly wedded couples in their pretty home. However, later on, Missie May commits infidelity for Slemmons’ gold. To Missie May, money is of great value and gold was what that caused her to give up her marriage. However, Hurston incorporates small things such as Joe and Missie May’s inside jokes, their chasing around in the house, tickling each other, Saturday ritual of silver dollars, and small gifts in Joe’s pocket. These small things hold great value to Joe and Missie May, but May does not realize this until she encounters a marital conflict with Joe after her infidelity. These little things are what brings joy and happiness to both of them. Although they weren’t rich, they were still satisfied with sufficient food and living. They even had enough saved up for a child. Even the candy kisses that Joe buys for Missie May symbolizes his thoughtfulness and love for Missie May. Hurston’s message in incorporating these small gestures is that money is important and it’s easy to get distracted by it, but some things are of greater value and some people don’t learn to cherish it until it’s gone. Happiness does not stem from having lots of gold, but from enjoying the things that you do have, which is what Missie May failed to realize at first. And only through the lack of the small things, was she able to repent her mistake and see what’s truly important in life.

What do you make of the fact that we learn a great deal about Gretta’s youth at the end of the story? How does this change your view of Gretta and her relationship with Gabriel?

What is/are the role(s) of memory and/or nostalgia in Wordsworth?

As Woodsworth revisits Tintern Abbey and the banks of the Rye, he is nostalgic of his experience five years ago when he first visited the area. He remembers the description of the area so vividly. However, he sees the place differently now than in the past. For the past years, he had been living in lonely rooms and crowded towns and cities, but when he returned, he is apprehended by the beauty of nature. He describes feeling nature in “the blood” and “along the heart”; as it offered a “tranquil restoration” to his mind. He has become a “living soul” who is able to “see into the life of things”. It was like he was rediscovering himself after being lost. Being in nature after being secluded from it offered him a new form of spirituality and recovery. It allowed him to feel alive again. He was in a serene state of mind because of his memories from his childhood which allowed him to reconnect to nature as nature console him by ridding him of evil thoughts and providing him comfort.