To Be American

I chose this work of creative non-fiction simply because of the title.  I consider myself very patriotic and I wanted to see what this story had to offer on what it means to be American. As I read the story, some of the lines, whether they were supposed to or not, made me laugh.

 "To be American you must prove you can laugh at yourself, in ironic self-deprecation if you are young, or wish to be hip and preternaturally young. Irony has nothing to do with laughter, of course, just as self-deprecation does not, but then to be young and American is all about taking yourself deathly seriously while pretending not to."

"To be American, you will be perpetually exhausted and feel bad about it, because no one in the world works as hard as Americans, especially in corporate America, where to desire time off  is almost criminal, or mortally
sinful—but who insisted it had to be so?"

Both of these parts brought a smile to my face. These lines just have so much truth in them.

Little Things - Raymond Carver

When I got to the end of this story, I was just shocked. As a child of divorced parents, I have felt the strain of being fought over, parents can pull you back and forth until there is nothing left. I thought this was an extremely accurate representation of how bad relationships can end and how the kids get caught in the middle.

I liked the imagery at the beginning. When Carver described the snow melting into dirty water, I could see it happening. I also thought that the imagery could be describing what was going on in the house as well. The snow (the beginning of the relationship) at first pure, white, and beautiful has melted into this dirty slush (the fighting/angry ending of the relationship) that no one wants.

Rhinoceros vs. Berenger

There are times when everyone has been a rhinoceros, myself included. Peer pressure can be a mighty thing and it is hard to withstand. While I have had many opportunities to fall into the rhinoceros category, overall I have found myself to be more of a Berenger.

There have been many times that I have said no to whatever my friends were offering. I am a singer. I am not going to ruin my lungs by smoking anything. Alcohol in high school was a HUGE problem, but I always said no. Nowadays that isn't as much of an issue. I am of legal age to drink and I know when to stop. I don't continue to drink even though my friends try to get me to "have more fun."

These are just small things on the scale of life, but if I have enough sense to stand up against the small things, the bigger things in life hopefully won't be much harder.

Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright

I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe I've been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dark was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there's a god above
And all I ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Why this song is poetic:

There are many allusions to the Bible:

·         David playing the harp

o   “I heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord”

·          David and Bathsheba

o    “Your faith was strong but you needed proof, you saw her bathing on the roof”

·          The story of Samson and Delilah in the mention of “she cut your hair”

o    After taking a nazirite vow not to cut his hair, Samson does and loses his powers bestowed by God

·         Both of these Bible stories end with the two men losing their power because of their actions

o   “She broke your throne”

Irony:

Hallelujah is usually a word used in joy and happiness, but in this song it is referred to as cold and broken. The Hallelujah has been taken away and been given a new meaning.

Imagery:

·         Auditory

o   “It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift”

§  This represents different notes in a musical scale

·         Visual

o   “You saw her bathing on the roof”

o   “She tied you to a kitchen chair”

Ambiguity:

·         The word “Hallelujah” is left to the listener to decide what it means to them

o   “It’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah”

o   “And every breath we drew was hallelujah”

In the Memphis Airport - Timothy Steele

Above the concourse, from a beam,
A little warbler pours forth song.
Beneath him, hurried humans stream:
Some draw wheeled suitcases along
Or from a beeping belt or purse
Apply a cell phone to an ear;
Some pause at banks of monitors
Where times and gates for flights appear.

Although by nature flight-endowed,
He seems too gentle to reproach
These souls who soon will climb through cloud
In first class, business class, and coach.
He may feel that it's his mistake
He’s here, but someone ought to bring
A net to catch and help him make
His own connections north to spring.

He cheeps and trills on, swift and sweet,
Though no one outside hears his strains.
There, telescopic tunnels greet
The cheeks of their arriving planes;
A ground crew welcomes and assists
Luggage that skycaps, treating bags
Like careful ornithologists,
Banded with destination tags.

I really liked the imagery in this poem. I have been at the airport and seen little birds lost inside. They just chirp and chirp with no means of an escape. People rush by with their luggage trying to make it to their destination, busy with their own lives.

I also liked how they said that skycaps were like careful ornithologists when getting the bags off of an arriving plane. I thought it was kind of ironic. Skycaps and ground crew just toss our luggage around once it is tagged and we can't see it anymore and it usually comes back beat up, so for them to be compared to someone gently studying birds made me laugh a little bit. 

Ode to things - Pablo Neruda

I enjoyed this whole poem, but this particular part of the poem, is what I liked the most. To me, it just made me think of how everyone is connected. Almost everything we have ever touched has been touched by another human hand, but their trace is long gone. 


I love
all
things,
not because they are
passionate
or sweet-smelling
but because,
I don’t know,
because
this ocean is yours,
and mine:
these buttons
and wheels
and little
forgotten
treasures,
fans upon
whose feathers
love has scattered
its blossoms,
glasses, knives and
scissors –
all bear
the trace
of someone’s fingers
on their handle or surface,
the trace of a distant hand
lost
in the depths of forgetfulness.

The Vantage Point - Robert Frost

 IF tired of trees I seek again mankind,

Well I know where to hie me—in the dawn,

To a slope where the cattle keep the lawn.

There amid lolling juniper reclined,

Myself unseen, I see in white defined

Far off the homes of men, and farther still,

The graves of men on an opposing hill,

Living or dead, whichever are to mind.

And if by moon I have too much of these,

I have but to turn on my arm, and lo,

The sun-burned hillside sets my face aglow,

My breathing shakes the bluet like a breeze,

I smell the earth, I smell the bruisèd plant,

I look into the crater of the ant.

I really enjoyed this poem. I could imagine what was being described to me. My favorite part is "Far off the homes of men, and farther still, the graves of men on an opposing hill..." The part about the graves for some reason reminds me of when I traveled to Gettysburg. So many men died there and were buried, far off from their families. It is just a haunting feeling. 

There are many literary devices used, but the one that draws to me the most is the imagery. "To a slope where the cattle keep the lawn" is something that I can completely see. There are cows along the hill eating the grass, keeping it short. The person speaks of being reclined among the flowers, taking everything in. 

The pictures painted in my head create something beautiful. A chance to be alone in the world for a little bit, in my own space, but still able to see some of what is going on; my very own vantage point.