brandon600 – 20-1 Writers

Freedom vs. Captivity / Trickery

brandon600 20-1 A, Response to Literature December 23, 2021December 23, 2021 0 Comment

Response to Poetry Seminar: (I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou)

In I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, the author tells us the oppression and racism that other groups have experienced or are experiencing at the moment. Angelou does this by showing the juxtaposition between two different birds via their lifestyle. The tone and mood set for the free bird is one full of positivity and optimism which can be seen when the bird “dips his wing in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky.” The orange sun further shows the positivity and optimism of the free bird as when the sun is ‘orange’ it is usually this color at dawn and dawn represents new beginnings. However, the mood and tone set for the caged bird is one full of depression, hopelessness, and stifleness through words like ‘narrow cage’, ‘bars of rage’, and ‘fearful trill’.

Angelou utilizes the juxtaposition of the two birds to show the differences that black and white people in America have with one another with the free bird representing the white community and the caged bird representing the black community. I personally haven’t experienced any racism but I have seen people with the same ethnicity as me be called names and other slurs that are extremely offensive. Even though the words weren’t being directed towards me, I felt the pain and anger from my co-ethnics. Whatever pain that was being directed towards them, was also directed towards me.

2nd Response to Poetry Seminar: (Sirens Song by Margaret Atwood)

What is this calling that I hear?

It soothes my pain and puts me at ease

Its captivating melody

It makes the voracious man stop eating

The most heinous man to turn good

All pain and misery disappear.

I must go to its source

A woman calls

Her singing urges me to hop into the sea

A few inches towards this noise,

But later, a few meters deep below the surface

I have been deceived

As I descend into the abyss, I close my eyes and accept my fate

As I hear the cackling laughter of the sirens.

The short story, Siren Song by Margaret Atwood, shows the societal roles of men and women with men being seen as ignorant and gullible while women are seen to be captivating and cunning as seen with the sirens. Sirens are mythological creatures of Greek descent whose appearance consists of a woman’s head and the body of either a bird or the tail of a fish. They are evil creatures who use their voices to lure wandering sailors and drown them afterward. Thanks to the siren’s bewitching song, sailors jump down from their ships and swim towards the siren’s voice thinking that a lady requires assistance and wants to play the savior but only to meet their impending doom later. Furthermore, back in the day, women were seen as helpless and charming creatures and so sirens use this to their advantage in order to claim their victims.

References:

Ratikantasingh. 2021. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Available at: <https://www.ratikantasingh.com/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings-poem-by-maya-angelou/> [Accessed December 23, 2021]

Poetry’s Hidden Messages – Weebly. Unknown. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Available at: <http://poetryshiddenmeanings.weebly.com/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings.html> [Accessed December 23, 2021]

Pinterest. Unknown. The Art Of Animation. Available at: <https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/357191814166313775/> [Accessed December 23, 2021]

Finding the Light in the Darkness

brandon600 20-1 A, Response to Literature, Uncategorized, Writing November 28, 2021November 28, 2021 5 Comments

There are situations where we only analyze objects using our eyes without fully seeing the big picture. We rely on our senses to guide us without relying on our instincts. We refuse to understand and comprehend the truth and turn our backs on reality. The short story “Cathedral”, by Raymond Carver, has taught me that one’s vision restrains us from analyzing “the big picture,” stifling the usage of our mind’s creativity and imagination which can lead to the refusal of being enlightened and finding epiphany. It creates a sense of refusal to change one’s beliefs until actually experiencing it from someone else who has already been in the place of the other. However, when guided by others, is when individuals will truly see the bright light and become enlightened. In the short story, the narrator is introduced to Robert, a blind old man, who serves as an acquaintance to him but is a very good friend of the narrator’s wife. There is a juxtaposition seen between the two individuals as Robert, despite being blind, has developed and created a thrilling and successful life for himself. He had a wife, made friends, and is an optimistic individual who has experienced the best parts of life and is content whereas the narrator, is more pessimistic, displeased, and unsatisfied with the way how he is living his life. One filled with misgivings, misery, and disconcert. However, after drawing a cathedral, seen on TV with Robert, the narrator becomes a protege and is more clear and has a better envisionment of the cathedral in his mind. He reaches an epiphany and finds the light in the darkness as his creativity and imagination reach new heights.

I’ve faced a situation like this before where I refused and fail to acknowledge and heed my parent’s advice. I’ve become oblivious and stubborn; and at times, I just completely disregard whatever they say. In a way, you could say that my ears are blind. And what I hate is that I’m slowly turning this into a habit and it’s something that I don’t want to occur. It’s going to be hard at first but I know that others including me have to embrace this truth. This is noticeable through the narrator. Initially, the narrator doesn’t welcome and acknowledge Robert in his home. he becomes but then slowly starts to become closer to the blind man. Finally, he becomes aware and there is a “moment of grace” when the narrator understands and places himself inside Robert’s shoes.

Additionally, there is a symbolic connection and irony to the short story. The symbolic connection can be seen between the narrator and the cathedral on the TV. Cathedrals are “houses” of God where you can find peace by worshipping and reflecting on one’s actions. When Robert asks the narrator if he is religious, he responds with “I guess I don’t believe it or anything.” This shows the significance of how disconnected the narrator is from others and God. Furthermore, the narrator’s struggle in describing the cathedral on TV extends the fact that the narrator truly is blind. It is ironic as the narrator thought he was superior in some ways to Robert. As mentioned before, since cathedrals are places to connect with God, by drawing the cathedral, the narrator is in some way making a connection with God as well. He becomes enlightened after drawing the cathedral and closing his eyes. Doing this, resulted in the narrator becoming enlightened and reaching an epiphany thus allowing him to finally be able to see.

References:

“Brown Cathedral During Daytime.” Unsplash, 2021, https://unsplash.com/photos/d0xjEv-WJQk

“Landscape Photography Of Person’s Hand In Front Of Sun.” Unsplash, 2021, https://unsplash.com/photos/TStNU7H4UEE

Family – Curse or Blessing?

brandon600 20-1 A, Response to Life, Writing September 18, 2021September 18, 2021Family - Curse or Blessing?, life response, writing 2 Comments

When a family displays affection to their children, they can cause an individual who feels conflicted from outside sources to be optimistic which then leads to the individual’s personality/mental state to change.

In our daily lives, we experience hardships and encounter obstacles that will hinder us and put an effort into making us lose our confidence in performing tasks/activities. As time progresses, individuals will eventually a point where they can no longer bear the weight of the burdens and will cause the individual to have a sudden change in mindset thus leading to action being taken to rid of those outside conflicts. Especially considering the fact on how heavy and significant the burden can be on the individual. But at the end of the day, we all can’t wait to head home and just lie in bed letting out every emotion that we experience and run into the open and loving embrace of our parents being there to comfort us in our time of need. Where we can be away from all the instability

Throughout my life, I have indeed come across these obstacles/restrictions and been told that I must work hard in order to overcome the obstacles that are set in front of me. Only when you overcome those obstacles will you feel at ease and be proud of what you achieved. But little did I know, that these obstacles will have various effects in different ways and the weight of those obstacles vary upon the significance of the obstacle. Like when I discovered that my mom’s cousin passed away, I wasn’t affected that much by it since I never got the chance to meet them but, I was also a little bit bummed and disheartened because I could’ve met them. And even if I couldn’t meet them, my mom could’ve at least told me about them. But then there was the time I got a very bad mark in ELA 10-1. I was so demoralized and mad because all the hard work that I put into trying to improve my grades and listening to advices and writing notes down on ways I can improve all worked out for naught and this made my perspective for my fture to change. What I mean by this is that the grade made me think and ponder many times whether the following years of ELA will be the same and that I won’t be able to get into university thus bringing shame to my family. However, all this distress vanished when I was reminded about how much my parents cherished me when they welcomed me with outstretched arms. At that moment, I realized that there was no need to worry about anything.

In my visual, I illustrated the concept behind my thesis by drawing a wall in the middle displaying and dividing two sides of the visual. One side depicting negativity through the colors of black surrounding the space, the red sun meaning chaos (as it can sometimes be seen in movies), and individuals whose faces are supplanted by a variety of words. These words are what represent the outside conflicts for certain individuals who might or currently are experiencing this. The same thing goes for the bag of cocaine and the pill. And on the opposite side of the wall, we have a family of four hugging one another surrounded by a normal and peaceful atmosphere. This of course represents the optimism and love that individuals experience when a family loves them and that love is what caused the wall to appear between them and outside sources.

I have felt like the middle individual on the positive side of the wall in the visual. Family is something that everyone should deserve to have in life. Having a family means having people who love and support you no matter what. People you can confide in. People you can trust. People who will guide you to the right path. People who will risk everything for you. All these factors are the main reasons why I reach a state of tranquility and if individuals do this as well, I’m sure that the weight of their conflicts will be reduced.