The reading that I’m going to speak about is the tattooer; this short reading was filled with passion, well, one can say that there isn’t passion but I feel that there was.  Some of this passion was seen in Seikichi’s insatiable desire to be put in situations where he can delve into his sadistic interest, more importantly his passion was seen in the art work that he did on his clients.

Seikichi enjoyed the work in the line of tattooing for  a specific reason, this reason is because he had the opportunity to watch others shrivel in pain;  Seikichi was passionate about this part of his work, so passionate, there was a scene he was seen putting more pressure or shading in the tattoo just to make sure he evoked the emotion out of his clients that got his clock ticking.  LOL, I did find this creepy but he is waking up every morning and doing what he loves to do; he is a true Sadistic bastard.

The passion that was immense was exemplified in his art work, I understand because I have a tattoo my self and before I got that tattoo I made sure that it was a piece of work that meant something to me; I made sure that it invigorated my soul and once I had something on my heart that did that I went to get my skin worked on.///   The reason why I’m focusing on this aspect is because in the last scene he tells the girl that he has put his soul into her and that made me re read and gain understanding.  I believe what he meant was this tattoo is something I’ve been thinking about and it truly means something to me, more importantly; he makes a statement about the tattoo (which is a black widow) “that now all men will be her victim.” this is important.  In the times that Seikichi was around there was nothing new about geishas, however, it is said that they hold disease etc.and the black widow was known to kill or cause harm to its victim after mating, basically that means that the geisha or whore can do the same thing to her mate through venereal disease.  So, besides the symbolism in the tattoo regarding the womens employment, there is also a metaphor to Seikichi’s statement, he said that he poured out his soul.  His soul is tainted due to the lifestyle he lived.  He lived in the middle of the city where the rich spent money, seeked geishas and enjoyed themselves, this lifestyle was said to leave to moral corruption, could Seikichi’s soul be corrupted due to his surrounding? Furthermore, he practices harming those who he gets in contact with for his own benefit, the same way a black widow would do its mate.  There is a parallel between all 3 and that parallel can be seen as sadism.

-Fabian Varcianna

I have read this poem over and over and found such a strong meaning and feeling in it every time. A lot of Emily Dickinson’s poem are in only so many words but say so much.

In the first line, Dickinson states that “The soul selects her own society”. To me this can mean so many things. From this I can interpret that Emily is stating that one can create their own world in so many ways. For example, there are people in our world who are as if they dont even live in this world but in a made up world of their own. Which to me is what she means by the following line when she states “then- shuts the door, to her divine majority”. I feel as though these few lines alone are very strong and meaningful.

At often times, people in general may feel trapped. However, we can choose too shut our doors and become inactive. Is that what we really want to do though? To live in our own worlds. I wonder what it would be like if everyone did that.

When I read this poem, it makes me feel a cold. Blue and grey is the basic color of the poem since the poem is about Emily Dickinson’s understanding of death and his life. The first line of the poem: “Because I could not stop for Death”. It seems that Dickinson considers death is a very common and regular issue for him. She is not afraid of it.  Emily Dickinson describes that she has to give up many things in her life for His Civility. It makes her not so happy about it because she has to give up her labor and leisure.  She also talks about the life and time, such as school life, that everyone is passing from.  It helps me to remember my school life when I was a child. “Or rather-He passed Us –“Dickinson is not moving and standing there. She is just looking at the changeable world.

In the later lines she talks about death again. “A Swelling of the Ground” I think she refers to a grave. However, Dickinson did not consider death is the end of the life. “I first surmised the Horses’ Heads Were toward Eternity.” Just like Emily Dickinson’s spiritual life, her poems are immortal. It seems like that Dickinson transcends her life and death.

     “I Am an Honest Man” becomes very popular when it is set to the tune of Guantanamera. Whole poetry expresses strong emotions to readers. From this poem, I see how the author shows he is an honest man and how he expresses his feeling to us. How to be an honest man? “And before I die wish. To fling my verses form my soul” exactly show the way. The author wants to use verses to express true feelings and shows to all readers. In fact, to be a honest man is difficult because there are so many things in the life affect you and disrupt you, such as family, money, situations and others.

   The most difficult things are to be honest to ourselves, because we can lie to everyone, but we cannot lie to ourselves. The author through verse expresses his feeling. Sometimes, you will afraid of something that you cannot show the truth to everyone. For example “I saw my soul, twice. When the poor old man died. When she said good-bye to me” From these three lines, I feels that the author thought this situations to show his honesty. In that kind of situation, people will afraid to say it, but the author shows that he saw his soul, so he does not want to lie to himself. Author shows it to all readers and wants to express his feelings about it with everyone.

    For me, it is also difficult to become an honest person because of so many reasons. Sometimes, I will make mistakes, such as break up grass. I am afraid that my parents will feel angry and criticized at me, so I will hide the truth. I admire author that he can express his feeling through poems and share it to everyone. To be honest to yourself is the most important things.

I feel pretty relaxed reading Walt Whitman’s poems, a feeling which never before did I feel when reading poems. I have admitted it and here I admit it again that poems always scare me because they are difficult to read, to understand. They seem too academically high and out of rich. In short, they are selective of readers, of which I am not one. Whitman’s poems show me another world. His poems are very absorbing and accepting of the mass.

First, the expressions are casual where sentences are said as we normally speak. There are usually not this “weird” switching between words to create rhymes so it is pretty easy to follow his thought. Personally, I do not need rhymes to read poems. They bother me a little as it rhymes too well, it slips through my head. I bet many people find it easy reading Whitman. Isn’t it great feeling that you are included in such a world usually preserved for those of high-leveled education?

Second, song of myself is a revolution about the focus and understanding of self, a revolution set forth by an individual. Song of Myself – the title sounds immodest and bragging. Certainly, Whitman matched the content with its title. Everything said in the poem is his view, his thoughts, his way of looking at the world, his way of leading his life, nothing else but him, himself, and his own. What takes the arrogance of the seemingly self-centeredness in this poem is that the view and thought are about others, care about others, and love for others, especially those ignored, belittled, and boycotted from “civil” society. For me, it is more of a voice of acceptance to those who need love the most. It means unconditional generosity rather than seemingly selfishness.

I love unconventional poetic styles.

1.The Declaration of indepence was an important document in America’s history. How did the enlightenment and writers like Kant and Voltaire influence the writers of the declation?

2. Throughout this semeseter we approached and read works of literarture containing satire. Explain how it plays a key role in the works we read and how it makes the pieces more interesting.

1) Who was Fredrick Douglas’s audience white or black folks? What was he trying to convey them? And how did he do it?

 2) Sor Juana DE La Cruz was a great poem writers. Her art was based on a strong criticism of men in a very serious tone. Why did she give up writing when her library was burnt down? Why not fight her opponents?

Why did Frederick Douglass feel as if Christmas was nothing but a mocker for a slave?

What type of literary style of writing did Jonathan Swift use in his piece A Modest Proposal, and how do you think thats significant in getting his message across?