The Cuban Swimmer

I didn't really think that the play would actually be about someone swimming. I guess I was thinking that it was not going to be literal but figurative. I did like it though. Any story where the underdog wins is a great story to me. Margarita was a Cuban girl swimming in the Wrigley Invitational Women's Race to Catalina. It is a long duration of swimming that takes lots of determination. Luckily, she had her family behind her. Her dad was her coach, and although he may have been trying to vicariously live through Margo, Margo was proud to pull through and show that she could do it. Especially after it was mentioned by the press that the chance of her winning was a long shot, Margo realized that although she was at the verge of total exhaustion, it meant everything for her to "dig in" to find an inner energy that would pull her through to the finish line. It made me mad when the announcers were just denouncing her chances and it also made me mad when the family made it seem like Margo was lost forever. Maybe its because I have to have a happy ending. Although I know in reality happy is not always the outcome, in a story, when I become apart of some new adventure, then it has to be happy. If it isn't happy, then whose to say that truly exists. (I know that's a little far) I like how the author mixes in some Spanish dialogue. It allows one to imagine the setting of actually being in Cuba, make it more culturally real.

Lonely Hearts

Without actually reading the explanation after the poem... I thought that this poem sounded like different people in desperation of finding love. Like different people describing why society has outcast them as lonely or the breaker that makes it hard for them to find somebody that would deal or be compatible. With the repetition of the two lines "Can someone make my simple wish come true?" "Do you live in North London? Is it you?" The author is just emphasizing the fact that all these people want is someone who will love them exactly the way they are. They want someone who will see their good points along with accepting their flaws. Someone who will not change the way they are. They don't want to sacrifice who they are in order to get what they want. This last point should never be reached because the moment that it is means the optimal outcome means change and that it has lost its initial intent. Its just that all people simply need someone who will love them for who they are. I tend to be a bit of an idealist but I believe that there is someone out there for everyone. Stand up for who you are, never back down! Always be true to yourself!!!

The Cold Stillness

"Driving to Town Late to Mail A Letter" is another very short poem. To me it is kind of unusual that the title is rather long for such a short poem. The title tells you the purpose of the visit to town though, so it will not be required to actually state it in the poem. When the author mentions something about a mailbox, the reader is not in the blue because they know that the purpose of going to town is to mail the letter. The poem sets up a scene that anyone could imagine, "cold and snowy", "the main street is deserted." You find yourself imagining the scene and feeling the emotion that the poem conveys which is alone-ness. But not loneliness, alone-ness, feeling like you can do whatever you want, you can be your true self, holding nothing back. It is a liberating feeling. A time when you are free to contemplate and gather your thoughts. A chance to escape the perils of life and get lost in your own nature of reality. I think that the author alludes this feeling without stating it so the reader can interpret and relate their meaning of it. The reason I think this message is positive, is because of the use of the words "love" and the statement " I will waste more time." If the other would have replaced these words with "fear" and " I will not waste more time." than the poem would take on a whole new meaning that would venture the human fear of loneliness. But it doesn't so one should not get depressed for nothing!!!!!

White Lies

When I first read the title, my intial impression was that the poem would be about telling lies. My impression was half right but the poem took on a whole new meaning. It deals with racial labels in our society. A black child who had extremely light skin, "light-bright, near-white.....in a black place." It tells of how she could pretend that she was apart of the white society "[living] uptown." Basically, she had to tell lies in order for people to accept her into their groups in society. This classic tale explains a social tendency that prompts that image is everything. Especially, when it comes to the color of your skin, society feels compelled to place you in a certain group or class just based on that, without getting to know the actual person who inhabits that skin. Specifically, it points out society's troubles with allowing blacks equal treatment but it can also be read at a larger level that deals with all society members... if we don't dress a certain way, or own a certain material item, or go to certain places. We are a soceity that preaches individuality but practices conformity. Its just someting that makes me cringe. I wish it could all be stopped but the only way to beat it is to realize that it doesn't matter. All you have to do is realize that you are who you are and the only way you change is if you let people change you. I am not saying that change is always a bad thing, there are concrete, dire instances when it is neccessary but when you are ostrasized just because the color of your skin or because your family doesn't make as much money as the next.... that's when it is too far. This lesson is one that the mother is trying to teach at the end of the poem with the soap. Noone should have to lie about themselves. In the end, it is the best route to accept who you are and be proud of it. The people that truly care about you will always remain.

Grass

This poem is short and sweet. At first glance, just by looking at the title, "Grass," I will be honest in saying I though that it might be about some illegal activity. After reading though, I discovered that it has a whole different meaning that is far from what I thought. Throughout the poem it mentions various places. These places are famous historical ones. By having knowledge of what took place at some, like Gettysburg and Waterloo, I inferred that what these places all have in common is a great loss of life. After each place is mentioned, the grass is mentioned as well, "I am grass; I cover all." Grass is a simple element of nature that is everywhere! The pattern in the poem leds to the belief that the poem's message suggests that the grass covers up the tragedies that happen in human nature. It literally does keep growing and overtime noone would know what horendous event took place on that land. Its almost as if nature is telling human nature to not worry "just let me do my work."

Harrison Bergeron

Wow, another sci-fi story. These are interesting to me sometimes. Although they seem on the surface to spout off shreds of ridiculousness or present reality in a version that is impossible to ever contemplate as real.... they can have some vital elements of truth in them. Harrison Bergeron is about a society that is equal to the extreme. Those that have advantages over others are required to wear something that inhibits them from displaying that advantage. For intstance, the very intelligent must wear the mental handicapp radio that transmits sounds in the ear of the person when their mental capacity is exceeding the standard of those around them. Performers, like dancers, must wear weights and masks, so no one can be deemed prettier or have more skill. This story is satirizing an element of our society that seems to be growing. We value equality in this country but how far should that go? Should we punish others for being better than us at something? In my opinion... no, we were all made as unique individuals with certain strengths and weaknesses that are special to that individual. Competition makes us stronger and taking that away would result in a stable society for sure but it would be a stable, stagnant society. No advancements in anything... technology, medicine, arts, ect. Our competition is what defines us. It helps us form the value of endurance. This story also pokes at the aspect that our society is slowly becoming devoid of thought. With all the new technoligies it seems that we are creating ways to decrease the use of are cognitive actions. Also, it could also mean that we are lazy and let others think for us, like our government or those that are superior to us. If this is the future of our society than it is just plain sad. I want to be able to think freely and I certainly would want to remember when and how my child died and so forth. Equality is an important aspect of our society that should be carried out. But the extent that the story drags it is way to far. Human beings need to be able to express themsevles. The society describe in the story would be extremely boring and sad to me in several aspects.

A Clean, Well Lighted Place

This story was short and sweet. I think it reminds us of what we take for granted. Most of us are surrounded by people that care for us and we forget that there are people that don't have that. Sometimes people just need another soul to converse with or just be in the presence of. That is what the cafe is. It is a place that is void of all the dirty corruption of the other late-night establishments. It is safe, clean and a place that one can feel comfortable and just feel wanted. The one waiter has grasped this concept and is appreciative that he is able to be that "soul" for others, but the other waiter can only worry about himself. He cannot see that sometimes it is good to give to others, especially when you come from a state of having plenty. This is demonstrated when the first waiter says that the old man in the cafe is "lonely." The second waiter says "he's lonely. I'm not lonely....." This is a total disregard for the old man and clearly shows that all he can think about is himself. The first waiter says " we are of two different kinds" He defines that it is not neccessarily what each other has and doesn't have, it is the fact that "Each night [the first waiter] is reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the cafe." I think we all could stand to be like the first waiter, at least for some of our time here. You never know when a smile or a simple salutation will give someone else the spirit to keep moving forward. We could all stand to relieve the focus off ourselves and be a little more selfless. This story was the first story we have read that did not deal with violence directly. Although it can be displayed as sad, it shows a classic example of how a simple action and multiply into whole multitude of kindness.

The Rich Brother

Donald and Pete are brothers... this fact is relayed in the first line of the story as if we must know this because we could never have guessed otherwise. Their relationship is very distant and they exist in worlds that are totally opposite, where they resemble men of totally different caricatures. Pete is a real estate man with a wife and kids. He has the home, the steady income and a stable hold in his future. Donald is the very definition of unstable. He roams from place to place trying to find acceptability in various religions. He is a man who starts but never finishes, a quitter and a weak individual that indulges in situations to focus on others in order to defer all focus off himself. The diversity among these two men is pondering. The fact that they share no likeness, makes it hard to believe they grew up in the same home and were raised by the same parents. Nonetheless, it is what it is. As with any human... one has what the other is longing to have, whether they realize it or not. Donald wishes he could attain some of the stability that his brother has. He longs not to be the one who always messes up. People like Donald do not strive to be the way they are.... they just don't know any different because that is the only way they can see themselves and the only way others can see them. Pete longs for some freedom and maybe a chance to not to be the big brother. I believe that people can change to a certain extent (they must be willing for this change) but at the same time they will remain the same. One should just realize this and try not to get in the business of changing other people. As unique individuals we should accept one another and learn how to make our relations work, especially if it is family.

My Reflections

A compilation of my thoughts of certain assigned pieces of literature