ENGLISH 112L JOURNAL ENTRIES

I hear America singing Walt Whitman

According to Walt Whitman in I hear America singing, each person has their own song.
Something that makes their day go joyfully by. In other words I think this poem states that
everyone has their own life and story to tell. Whitman is referring to the carpenter, mason,
shoemaker, boatman, mother and young wife as America. The poem has an upbeat and joyful
read to it. This a little ironic to me because I think some of these jobs are labor intense. The
line from the poem stands out to me the most is “each singing what belongs to him or her and
to none else, the day what belongs to the day- at night the party of young fellows, robust,
friendly, singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs". It allows me to think that
everyone takes what they have and make the best of it. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t fit another person life style, all
that matters is that at the end of the day everyone is able to find joy in what the day brought them. That is what
being a part of America is, being able to enjoy your life as you make it.

I, too Langston Hughes

According to Langston Hughes in I, too, he wants to let everyone know that he is included in
America. I believe that he is referring to slavery. During that time I think it was custom for
slaves to be helpers, and not so self-efficient. So they were dismissed after serving or not
being needed. Sadly tossed to the side after they have been used. He says, “but I laugh eat
well and grow strong”. I love that he states those things, in a way he is saying you may count
me out but not for long because I will have the last laugh in this matter. He is saying that they
are viewing him as the underdog. I think he was able to find joy in that because he will come
back and triumph over his oppressor and while doing so he will be graceful and beautiful which
I don’t believe he is seen as right now. He is seen as not a part of America, so he is reminding
all that he is.

Huckleberry Finn Chapters One and Two

Mark Twain does a good job with painting the picture in these first two chapters. He starts off
pretty intense with threats and explains that Tom and Huck found some gold and are set for
life. He tells us about Huckleberry and who he resides with and how Widow Douglas wants to
raise him. Twain describes Huck as a free spirit. He seems to be interested in what he wants to
be interested when he wants to be interested. He talks about the story Widow Douglas tries to
tell him about Moses and at first he is intrigued, then learns that Moses is dead and it’s a story
of the past and quickly becomes uninterested. Huck is in-tuned with the notion that Widow
Douglas is religious but seems to be a believer of other superstitions, which most religious
don’t really believe in. I am trying to understand the relationship with Huck’s guardians and
him along with Huck’s relationship with Tom. I haven’t figured out what the race of each of the
people are either. I am under the impression the Huck maybe a black boy because of how the
narration is written with poor spelling and grammar, but the only clear indication of someone of
color is Jim. Tom seems to be a deeply disturbed. He speaks about pirates, robbers, and
murder as if it was just something as simple and breathing. I would like to see where or why he
is so into those things or where that interest came from. It’s like he doesn’t have any morals
about those bad things he’s okay with doing to others. Overall these first two chapters truly
have me intrigued, I’ve never read this story. I have only heard about it, and would like to
actually continue reading it.
Huckleberry Finn Chapters Seven and Twenty-four

In chapter seven and twenty-four of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn he paints the
scene of his relationship of his father, fakes his own death, and an interaction with the king,
duke, and Jim. He explains in the text that his father locks him in the house, that stood out to
me out of all of the other things. His father’s actions almost justifies Huckleberry faking his
own death and running away. He already had to be taken in by another family, tried to forge a
makeshift family with his friends, then to finally be with his father and be locked away like a
caged animal is just cruel. That leads me to think about Jim in chapter twenty-four, at that
moment he was a runaway slave. Even though he was on the run he wasn’t free. He still had to
tied or in disguised as someone else, I think it’s just as bad as a father locking his son in the
house all day.

The Story of an Hour Kate Choppin

In Kate Choppin’s The Story of an Hour, she opens up by stating the Mrs. Mallard has a heart
condition. She states that her family has to delicately break the news to her that her husband
has died in an accident. Instantly I feel sorry for the character, I fear that she will have a heart
attack from such bad news. Mrs. Mallard doesn’t have a heart attack, she allows herself time
to process the information then seems to find relief in it. It makes me think that maybe her
marriage wasn’t the greatest or that her husband was mean to her or something. Choppin
explains that Mrs. Mallard was exploring the thought of living for herself and that she seemed
happy that the days would be long instead of how she felt prior to her news dreading that they
would be long. I think that the overwhelming joy gave her a heart attack as she was walking
down the stairs, that or realizing that no one else had a key to where they were besides her
husband and she quickly realizing that he was not dead.

My Antonia Willa Cather

In My Antonia by Willa Cather she is speaking of a character names Samson. Her description of him states that he is
blind and ugly. The description of him and the way that his mother talked about him was really disturbing to me. It
took on a dehumanizing manner the way they spoke of his physical features. His mother even goes on to explain
that she was ashamed in allowing master to see her child. It is quite strange for a mother to feel that way about her
own child. Cather goes on to speak about how well he is with playing the piano and how keen his ear is to a perfect
pitch to place just a little bit of “human” in him but in the same breath to compare him in a way that is still
considered rude and to continue to remind the reader that he is less than. The way she speaks about how he enjoys
himself playing piano is saddening like she is comparing him to a damn animal. . “To hear him, to watch him, to see a
negro enjoying himself as only a negro can.” She goes on to say that some girls are dancing and man named
Kirkpatrick comes in the room and catches them and the little girls run. That sentence seemed normal to me at first
but then quickly upset me. “What’s the matter with you girls? Dancing out here by yourselves, when there’s a room
full of lonesome men on the other side of the partition! Introduce me to your friends, Tiny.” (216) This is pretty
upsetting because I interpret that quote as that man feeling entitled not only to those little girls fun, happiness, and
innocence but to the physical presence as like it’s okay for him to feel that way because he more superior to them.

Still I Rise Maya Angelou

In Still I Rise by Maya Angelou she is making her presence and voice heard. She speaks with a confidence of
achievement, determination and pride. Throughout her poem she illustrates each saying allowing the audience to
imagine a vivid picture of what she is talking about. She speaks about a horrid past and is saying even though it was
a bad time she will have a beautiful outcome and rise above all of the negativity and the haters. It does not matter
what anyone has to say about her she will continue to unapologetically be herself. While she is doing that she is
also being a role model for others like her.
Color Struck Nora Neale Hurston

In Nora Neale Hurston’s Color Struck she opens up the scene by telling the audience that the characters are on the
train headed to St. Augustine from Jacksonville for a cake walk. I am not sure what a cake was is but they are all
pretty excited to start their adventure together. I instantly notice that she illustrates that John and Emma’s
relationship starts off with jealousy because she feels John is constantly showing lighter females attention. This is
interesting to me because of the title for one but also because it relates to the time period when african americans
were and still are divided by this light skinned and dark skinned war or issue.

Langston Hughes Harlem

In Harlem by Langston Hughes I think that he is speaking on the thought of what if. He
illustrates all of the different possibilities of what happens to a dream deferred. There are
many possibilities of where your dreams can take you, whether it’s just in thought or actual
motion from you setting your goals and acting on them. I think if you just sit and day dream or
think about about all of you dreams and not put a plan in motion that there will always be a
what if moment. There can also be that moment if things don’t go as planned but I don’t think
it would be as bad if you just never started working on your dreams. So in this poem it ignites
the question Are you actively pursuing your dreams?

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

In The Negro Speaks of Rivers Langston Hughes I interpret him speaking about sorrows. That’s
what I receive from this poem when I first start reading it. He’s relating the rivers to people,
knowledge, and experiences. A river forges its path they may come easy or may be hard to
make put in the end it does no matter how hard. So in a way I think he is stating that
throughout the history of African American people they have had to fight to get to that place
they were then and also now. So just like a river is present, strong, beautiful, and powerful so
are African Americans as a people.

Claude McKay America

In America by Claude Mckay he is expressing his love and hate for America. He writes about the
pain or experience from America but also about the love there comes from that very pain. I
think it illustrates that America is a part of him now regardless of the trials that were endured in
order for him to be there. That what’s previously happened good or bad has made him strong
and able to with stand anything he will ever encounter and a part of that has to do with the way
he is viewed in America. So it’s a love/ hate relationship because maybe without it he wouldn’t
be who he needs to be without it.

James Baldwin Going to Meet the Man

In Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin he introduces a character named Jesse. Jesse tells
us a story about a lynching from his childhood and present story from when he is an adult.
While Jesse is an adult he encounters a man that is leading a rebellion for African Americans.
They jail this man, prod him, and beat him as if he is an animal. He later goes home and has
thoughts and feelings that make him return to a thought of when he was a child, his first
lynching with his father. They burn, hang, and tear this man apart. He then later returns from
this thought and wakes his wife and has sex with her. This story is terribly disturbing and
frightening. I don’t quite understand how these people can get turned on or have a satisfying
feeling from such harm and disgrace. In the story they relate degrading the African American
people and harming them with pleasure and erotica.

“This is What it Means to Say Phoenix”- Sherman Alexie

In “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix” Sheman Alexie talks about a character named
Victor that has lost is father. He explains that Victor needs help from the BIA- a job that
he just lost- but they are only able to give him 100 dollars. The council explains that they
are having financial issues just like everyone else around is. This was particularly
strange to mean since I think that an organization would have their financial affairs in
order. He introduces a character named Thomas Builds-the- fires, he used to be a friend
of Victors, that offers to help him get to Phoenix. He builds Thomas’s character as a
story teller which has me think of a stereotype of Indians, that sit around a fire and tell
stories. Thomas is kind to Victor, even though they had a past of friendship that was
interrupted and a fist fight.

This is what is means to say Phoenix 2

In the second half of “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix” Alexie continues the story of
Thomas and Victor. She goes into depth about why Thomas decided to go with Victor on this
trip. It is all about taking care of one another in the end. That is all really sweet. They all live in
this close knit community and they aren’t really close. Thomas sheds light on what it is they
should have been doing from the beginning, but they weren’t. It is a shame that Victor still
didn’t see himself being friends with Thomas because of how he was or something close to
reputation was at stake. I think he should be closer with him because he seems to be
consistent in his life.

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

In A Streetcar named Desire by Tennessee Williams Blanche and Stella are the main focus in the first scene. Their
characters are starting to be unfolded by the author sharing the background of where Stella and Blanche are
from. Stella is married to Stanley who is in a service, he seems to come from a different background than Stella.
Blanche comes off as uneasy, shaky, and a bit all over the place. She tries to make Stella feel bad from leaving home
and leaving her there to deal with all of the deaths that happens. She has an snooty attitude towards where her
sister has decided to build her life along with a short attitude with dismissing the colored woman.

The Paring Knife Michael Oppenheimer

In The Paring Knife by Michael Oppenheimer he speaks about a couple that is cleaning their
place. The couple lost a paring knife but one person ended up finding the knife under the
refrigerator. They lost paring knife after a fight they had one night four years ago. When one of
the people find the find they remember what it was they were fighting about. When that person
was going to ask their significant other if she remembers what happened that night she walks
into the kitchen and places the knife back under the refrigerator. I believe that signifies that she
would like the past or what happened that night to stay in the past.

Too Much Tyler Ford

In too much by Tyler ford. I think that he is speaking of the first time you are embarrassed by
someone saying that you are too much. He describes the way that your face blushes and also
the way that you constantly think about how you felt that first time. He tells you that you are
never too much and that you are just enough. There is nothing wrong with talking or with being
yourself. People have a strange way of making you feel like you shouldn’t be yourself. When
you start talking about something for too long you get self conscience just because someone
said you are too much.

Gone to the Unseen Rumi

In Gone to the Unseen by Rumi I interpret that, at first, they are referring to someone they loved. They refer to this
person as a bird that was able to be free and live a wonderful l life. Rumi compares the world to a cage that has
been broken free from and the person was able to rise into the sky. I read this as a soul ascending into the Heavens.
Then after I read the line O hear, what a wonderful bird you are it made me think that rum was referring to
themselves. So
interpreted the poem as a suicide letter about themselves filled with pleasant metaphors
referring to themselves as a bird and a rose. Pouring down like the rain of heaven line made me
think of chaos, a chaotic period in life then finding a little slither of hope or a way ‘out’ because it is followed with
now the words are over and the pain they bring.

“For years my heart inquired of me,” Hafez

In Hafez’s poem “For years my heart inquired of me,” it exposes me to the Asian culture he
speaks of Jamshid and Magian which I had to look up for their meanings. The person seems to
be seeking answers to questions about what is to come. I think Magian shows him these
answers in a drinking cup and he is curious to know when were the answers made, like he is
doubting I or something. Lastly, it is said that his “distracted, lovelorn heart” asks these
questions constantly. That makes me think about his in conscious and how even though we all
have a mind that thinks and we normally follow, that his conscious is trying to lead him instead.

Twilight in Delhi Mirza Ghalib

Reading Twilight in Delhi by Mirza Ghalib was really awkward. I honestly feel as if didn’t
understand a thing he was speaking about. He says that the pleasures of the world are nothing
but dust in his eyes. To me that makes me think about how certain things like social media,
reality tv shows and other meaningless things are just that meaningless. He says that about
everything except for blood. So I am not sure if he actually means blood or is referring to blood
as in a family member. He first says that the pleasures of the world are dust and now refers to
wings as dust I interpret that as maybe like a bird the wings are able to carry them where they
would like to go where the pleasurable things in life are. But the wings are turned into dust also
and blow away. I think about the someone that is coming toward “us” as a heavenly figure
because they were not covered with dust. I take the poem in whole as time being wasted or time being used wisely.
Are things being done for meaningless pleasures or are things but done with a purpose.

Goodfellowship by Li Po

Li Po speaks of the yellow river which flows from heaven in Goodfellowship which i think he is referring to the Yellow
River in China. That can also be a metaphor for maybe blessing since the river is known to be long and grand. I
think the mirror in the hall can be like a self reflection or a reality check. The black silk can maybe be rawness or
impurities and the snow could be the “pureness” we try to use to cover or reality. So i think the mood of joy is
maybe like a denial, like saying why not go ahead and be happy and fake the funk, so let’s not waste the night.

Lonely by Wang Wei

Wang Wei paints an image for the reader in lonely by the way he describes each character of the night. The moon
shows us that it maybe nightfall or can give us the image of darkness and the dews to fall makes me think of barron
trees. He says that his silken jacket is thin but he doesn't change which makes me think of either being content or
not caring to change. So he plays the lute long and deep into the night which makes me think of distraction or trying
to bury the thought of being lonely because he states that his heart is shy of the empty chamber, which i think
means that he is aware of the loneliness and is afraid of it all.

Mine Okubo

Li Po speaks of the yellow river which flows from heaven in Goodfellowship which i think he is referring to the Yellow
River in China. That can also be a metaphor for maybe blessing since the river is known to be long and grand. I
think the mirror in the hall can be like a self reflection or a reality check. The black silk can maybe be rawness or
impurities and the snow could be the “pureness” we try to use to cover or reality. So i think the mood of joy is
maybe like a denial, like saying why not go ahead and be happy and fake the funk, so let’s not waste the night.

Pablo Neruda

Ode to the Artichoke

In Ode to the Artichoke Pablo talks about fruits and vegetables. He uses words and scenarios to describe them and
bring them to life. He describes the artichoke as strong and covered in armor and apart of an army, which is quite
ironic because that particular vegetable is soft on the inside. In the end of his poem he takes the artichoke and
breaks it down from the prior picture painted of it being strong. He uses similar fruits and vegetables like the
pomegranate and cabbage which both have layers that have to be peeled away to get to the center.

Some beasts
In Some beasts Pablo does pretty much the same thing that he did in Ode to the Artichoke. He takes the animals
and give them human like characteristics. He takes a lot of jungle animals and describes them in a light of what is
natural for each animal that would be in its natural habitat. He somehow take all of those descriptions and ideas and
tries to tie them into with a religion affect. I think he may do that because some cultures believe that we can be
reincarnated as an animal after death. I think he uses the animals to show a life and death cycle within the jungle
and in humanity.

Borges and I Jorge Luis

In Borges and I by Jorge Luis Borges I think the character I and Borges are the same person. That they may have
multiple personalities and that I was the dominant at one point but recently has been figuring out that he may not
be as dominant anymore Because he’s finding little signs that Borges is in the primary more. I think that he may be
feeling like he doesn’t exist or that he isn’t sure because it’s already hard to distinguish the difference between him
and Borges. I think that because he states that he doesn’t know which one of them wrote this. I think either Borges
is overthrowing him or they are merging into one identity.

The Moth by Helena Maria Viramontes

In the Moth by Helena Maria Viramontes she talks about feeling indebted to her grandmother because she was
there through so many milestones in her life as a teenager. She also expresses herself as not being the favorite or
even the prettiest she did not identify as feminine she says that she was a bit bigger than her sisters and if they
bullied her for it she would hit them with a brick. Ironically she would get a beating afterwards but she seemed to
not care because in a way i think she was felt like standing up for herself was the right thing to do.

Portfolio Keeping

For portfolio keeping I’ve learned many technics about keeping a portfolio. Reynolds and Rice speak about
something similar to prezi’s site about the growth of a tree. I originally thought that was interesting, but have now
learned about weebly. I intend on utilizing this website to to make my portfolio. I have a few ideas on how to put
my site together. Overall I plan to show how reading this courses literature has changed me and helped me grow
towards being a better informed student and help me to grow into a better business woman.