Literary Analysis - Assignment Example

Cornell s: Reading to Learn Reading to Learn is a guide to effective reading. Using the PQ4R method of reading, one is enticed to develop a reading plan when faced with the task of reading materials that is of no interest to them. The main focus of this packet is to remind students that it is quite possible to read material they are not interested in and actually learn from it provided they Preview, Question. Read, Recite, Review, and Review Again. By doing so, a student will be able to complete his task of understanding assigned reading material. The learning packet entices the student to find ways and means of making his assigned reading material entertaining for him to read by assigning himself reading tasks that are different from the tasks assigned by the professor. Cornell Notes Mother Tongue From the opening lines 1-8 Amy Tan makes it very clear that although she writes her novels in English and she can converse in English, she does not claim to be an expert in the language. Her expertise in the English language is limited to her ability to evoke an emotion or an imagination using the English language. She also opens our eyes to the fact that there is no singular English language in the United States. There are always several versions in play in the life of an immigrant child such as Amy. And not a single one version of the English language that is spoken in their family is ever wrong. Mainly because it allows them to speak to other English speakers and get their message across, even if in a difficult to comprehend manner. Discussion: Mother Tongue by Amy Tan is a biographical account of what it was like for Amy Tan to grow up in a household where English was not the main language, alongside a mother who did not seem to realize that her inability to speak English fluently was a negative reflection upon herself in a world where mastery of the English language was of vital importance to their survival. Ms. Tan makes sure to point out that her mother is not actually at fault in this situation. She hears her thoughts clearly in her head, it just does not come out properly when she speaks. Therefore, it is wrong to say that her mother speaks “broken” English. After all, her mother still managed to make herself understood when it mattered the most. Ms. Tan made one thing very clear in her essay, that her mothers lack of English skills and the fact that English was not spoken in her home affected her academic performance in an all-English school system. Cornell Notes: I Shall Not Be Moved Maya Angelou, in this collection of poems centers her writing on the theme of “I Shall Not Be Moved”. She explains that it all has to do with having a personal space from where a person cannot be moved. She explains it in terms of one finding a private place to go to meet his maker. Perhaps a place to die. Reflection: I believe that the poems in the book signify something more than just preparing to meet death. “I Shall Not Be Moved” is all about having the conviction to stand your ground. It means having the inner strength to fight for what you believe in. It is also about ensuring that people understand that in life there are times when your faith will waver but one should never give up hope because things will always get better. One way or another, sticking to your beliefs will pay off. However, it will only happen provided the person does his best to fight for his beliefs. Things will happen to change your outlook in life, as evidenced in some of the poems, but that does not mean that you must change who you are as a person. Hence, “I Shall Not Be Moved”. Cornell Notes: How It Feels To Be Colored Me The first thing that struck me as I read “How It Feels To Be Colored Me” was that its author Zora Neale Hurston had a strong conviction of being able to change her future. She knew that her skin color could never dictate her future and she did her best in order to lift herself up from the gutter that most “negroes” of her era were satisfied to wallow in. Unfortunately, her mindset and beliefs were quite ahead of its time, which is why she was shunned and not accepted by her kin. Reflection: Her tone in the essay is quite light and relaxed. It was almost as if she chose to ignore the negative point of view being heaped upon her. In this particular essay, she made it clear to all who wished to listen that she did not care what the other “negroes” thought of her because she refused to bring herself back to the gutter that she came from. It was quite unfortunate for her that circumstances forced her to return to where she came from. They disliked that she tried to be different from them and they made sure that she felt the wrath of those who shared her skin color by showing a lack of interest in her authored works. Cornell Notes: Rita Dove During the previous decades, it was not common to find African Americans who pursued academic excellence and put great effort into parlaying their literary interests into a career that would eventually win him or her a Noble Prize such as Rita Dove did. She is someone who benefited from the support of her parents who encouraged her to become the best that she could be. As I read about her life story, I learned that writers are not born but rather influenced into the craft. A successful writer has a love for the written word, a keen imagination, and the desire to share their thoughts with other people. All of these were traits that Ms. Dove embodied. Reflection: Coming to learn of the method by which she wrote her poetry showed me that she was quite a creative person. What with her insistence that poetry must be similar to music in order for it to be enjoyable, it showed that she was not a mere writer but a composer of words. That is why she employs sound devices such as alliteration, assonance, and consonance in order to make her poetic writing much more interesting than the ordinary poems. Cornell Notes: Mayda Del Valle Her White House poem reading titled “Grandmother” is a powerful look back at the heritage of a people and how it has evolved over time. Wondering how her grandmother did things during her era seems to be a throwback for Ms. Del Valle. The whole poem is, I believe, centered around the desire of a person to learn more about her roots and wondering if she should go back to it as well. Reflection: What interested me the most about her reading was the rhythm she used to read the poem. There were instances when she was practically rapping her lines, thus proving that poetry and music are strange but similar bedfellows. Her singsong delivery made the audience quite attentive to the message that she was trying to convey and, because of the showmanship she displayed, one could actually easily understand what her message was. She was asking people to reconnect to their heritage in order to learn about who they are and why they are the way they conduct themselves today. Without that connection to ones roots, it will be impossible to truly understand the history of a person and his family. Cornell Notes: Farming of the Bones In chapter 26, it becomes clear that there is a threat on the lives of the Haitians living in the Dominican Republic as they are being hunted down and killed in other towns. They are identified by the soldiers by making them say the word “perejill” which is a word that Haitians have a hard time pronouncing. As word of the threat spreads, the Haitians begin to prepare to return to Haiti. Discussion: The reason that Danticat believes that it is important to remember even the bad memories is because remembering becomes a part of the healing process of a survivor. Good or bad, the memories help fill gaps in their lives and reviewing the events, can perhaps bring closure to the unanswered questions that the survivor must have. By remembering the past and those who died, their memory is kept alive. As the citadel in the book says “You do not die of someone remembers your name”. Therefore remembering the events and the people involved means that one is bringing honor the memory of that persons short lived life. Read More