Final Blog Assignment

The first literary work that influenced me is "Harlem" by Langston Hughes. All that he described in this poem is true. I can completely relate to his perception of when you put off a dream. He basically included all that can happen from rotting, to being heavy, to shrivel, and just reaching its demise. When you think of it we all have dreams. Some of us pay more mind to them then others. Personally, I know that most of the time when I have a dream and wait to tell somebody about it I can just remember bits and pieces of it. After that day I may not remember at all. Hughes made me ponder my dreams in this poem. He made me realize that I need share those dreams if I want to keep them. He makes me relive them and just think what a shame it is what has happened to them through time.

The second literary work that influenced me is "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin. I can relate to Sonny in the matter that I've always been the odd ball in the family. My mom and sister were two peas in a pod and I didn't fit. They were always cheery and great to be around. I was a pessimist and angry all the time. Sonny wasn't like me in the sense of character but he was like me in the fact that he was one of a kind. He was unique and was interested in unique. During my whole life whatever I was interested in my family looked down upon or it was just not good enough. Sonny had a passion for music and it was his way of escape besides the drugs. I was angry because I was shuned and put down. All my interests like my drawings or my writing was MY form of escape. At the end of the story, Sonny's brother finally realized that music was Sonny's calling and just finally understood where his brother was coming from. He had opened his eyes to what Sonny was really about. For once he accepted things instead of judging them. Unfortunately, I am still the odd ball and although I haven't gained acceptance from my family they have tried to understand.

Is Music Poetry?

1) Immortal Technique - Dancing With The Devil Lyrics
I consider Immortal Technique's song poetry. -Marly
[Verse 1]
I once knew a nigga whose real name was William
his primary concern, was making a million
being the illest hustler, that the world ever seen
he used to fuck movie stars and sniff coke in his dreams
a corrupted young mind, at the age of thirteen
nigga never had a father and his mom was a feen
she put the pipe down, but forever year she was sober
her sons heart simultaneously grew colder
he started hanging out selling bags in the projects
checking the young chicks, looking for hit and run prospects
he was fascinated by material objects
but he understood money never bought respect
he build a reputation cause he could hustle and steal
but got locked once and didn't hesitate to squeal
so criminals he chilled with didn't think he was real
you see me and niggas like this have never been equal
I don't project my insecurity's at other people
he feenin for props like addicts with pipes and needles
so he felt he had to prove to everyone he was evil
a fever minded young man with infinite potential
the product of a ghetto breed capitalistic mental
coincidentally dropped out of school to sell weed
dancing with the devil, smoked until his eyes would bleed
but he was sick of selling trees and gave in to his greed

[Hook]
Everyone trying to be trife never face the consequences
you probably only did a month for minor offences
ask a nigga doing life if he had another chance
but then again there's always the wicked that new and advanced
dance forever with the devil on a code cell block
but that's what happens when you rape, murder and sell rock
devils used to be gods, angels that fell from the top
there's no diversity because we're burning in the melting pot

[Verse 2]
So Billy started robbing niggaa, anything he could do
he'd get his respect back, in the eyes of his crew
starting fights over little shit, up on the block
stepped up to selling mothers and brothers the crack rock
working overtime for making money for the crack spot
hit the jackpot and wanted to move up to cocaine
for filling the Scarface fantasy stuck in his brain
tired of the block niggas treating him the same
he wanted to be major like the cut throats and the thugs
but when he tried to step to 'em, niggas showed him no love
they told him any motherfucking coward can sell drugs
any bitch nigga with a gun, can bust slugs
any nigga with a red shirt can front like a blood
even Puffy smoked the motherfucker up in a club
but only a real thug can stab someone till they die
standing in front of them, starring straight into their eyes
Billy realized that these men were well guarded
and they wanted to test him, before business started
suggested raping a bitch to prove he was cold hearted
so now he had a choice between going back to his life
or making money with made men, up in the cife
his dreams about cars and ice, made him agree
a hardcore nigga is all he ever wanted to be
and so he met them Friday night at a quarter to three

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
They drove around the projects slow while it was raining
smoking blunts, drinking and joking for entertainment
until they saw a woman on the street walking alone
three in the morning, coming back from work, on her way home
and so they quietly got out the car and followed her
walking through the projects, the darkness swallowed her
they wrapped her shirt around her head and knocked her onto the floor
this is it kid now you got your chance to be raw
so Billy choked her up and grabbed the chick by the hair
and dragged her into a lobby that had nobody there
she struggled hard but they forced her to go up the stairs
they got to the roof and then held her down on the ground
screaming shut the fuck up and stop moving around
the shirt covered her face, but she screamed and clawed
so Billy stomped on the bitch, until he broken her jaw
the dirty bastards knew exactly what they were doing
they kicked her until they cracked her ribs and she stopped moving
blood leaking through the cloth, she cried silently
and then they all proceeded to rape her violently
Billy was meant to go first, but each of them took a turn
ripping her up, and choking her until her throat burned
a broken jaw mumbled for god but they weren't concerned
when they were done and she was lying bloody, broken and bruised
one of them niggaz pulled out a brand new twenty-two
they told him that she was a witness of what she'd gone through
and if he killed her he was guaranteed a spot in the crew
he thought about it for a minute, she was practically dead
and so he leaned over and put the gun right to her head

(Sample from "Survival of the Fittest" by Mobb Deep)
I'm falling and I can't turn back
I'm falling and I can't turn back

[Verse 4]
Right before he pulled the trigger, and ended her life
he thought about the cold pain with the platinum and ice
and he felt strong standing along with his new brothers
cocked the gat to her head, and pulled back the shirt cover
but what he saw made him start the cringe stutter
cuz he was starring into the eyes of his own mother
she looked back at him and cried, cause he had forsaken her
she cried more painfully, than when they were raping her
his whole world stopped, he couldn't even contemplate
his corruption had successfully changed his fate
and he remembered how his mom used to come home late
working hard for nothing, cause now what was he worth
he turned away from the woman that had once given him birth
and crying out to the sky cause he was lonely and scared
but only the devil responded, cause god wasn't there
and right then he knew what it was to be empty and cold
and so he jumped off the roof and died with no soul
they say death take you to a better place but I doubt it
after that they killed his mother, and never spoke about it
and listen cause the story that I'm telling is true
cuz I was there with Billy Jacobs and I raped his mom to
and now the devil follows me everywhere that I go
in fact I'm sure he's standing among one of you at my shows
and every street cypher listening to little thugs flow
he could be standing right next to you, and you wouldn't know
the devil grows inside the hearts of the selfish and wicked
white, brown, yellow and black colored is not restricted
you have a self destructive destiny when your inflicted
and you'll be one of gods children and fell from the top
there's no diversity because we're burning in the melting pot
so when the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never
because the dance with the devil might last you forever

As to the second set of lyrics I don't have one because like you said "even a line or even a word can be poetry." Everyone has what they think is poetry whether it's through rap, hip hop, r&b, house, etc. A song that we see as pointless and obnoxious can actually be what that artist sees or feels like. This song is THEIR poetry.

2) I chose Immortal Technique's song "Dancing with the Devil" because I believe this is poetry. This is one of the strongest songs I've ever heard. As soon as I heard this the moment stayed engraved in my head. It was that strong. I heard it my senior year of high school during lunch period. My friend Raymond was insistant that I hear this song and I obliged mostly so he could leave me alone. Once the words started sinking in I was thrown in this story, in HIS story. His story was unique, strong, and had rhythm. Being from New York you hear of all these gangs and its consequences but what he spoke about was something so real. He focused on one person's story that with his flaws, eventually met his demise. This song is a poem because the ideas flow, there's strong imagery and symbolism of this harsh, gangsta life, and above all it tells us a story that should never go untold.

3) 1. I believe that Rap/Hip Hop is certainly an artist's poetic expression. Music gives people artistic freedom to express themselves however they want. A poem can still be a poem without rhyming or real content just like a song. Whatever a person considers poetic is poetic. Through rap/hip hop artist tell their story of women, money, success, violence, illegality, and life. What someone may think as shallow, they consider as life, as what they enjoy or pursue.

2. The characteristics and/or poetic terms that this music express is simile, metaphor, imagery, symbolism, most of the terms if not all. The artists use rythm, symbols, and words to paint pictures and provide us with something catchy, something worth while. They give us music that is creative and means something to them.

3. I believe that I'm both a thematic and context critic. When I sit down and listen to certain songs I think of the main idea. I ask myself "What did this artist want to tell me in this song?" If the song affects me, I try to decipher what kind of story was told and why did it affect me if I have nothing to do with the artist. When I'm listening to a song I also like to focus on the words. Profanity is strong but I think it is a greater accomplishment when the song is powerful and affects people without having at least one curse word. I like when a song rhymes and compares 2 ideas or people giving it more context and an interesting factor. I like for a song to flow and be consistent.

A Clean Well-Lighted Place

PART ONE
1) The setting of the story is set in a well lighted cafe, where the old man who's drinking is in the sitting in the shadow of a tree. The idea of a well lighted place is significant to this short story because it symbolizes a refuge to the older waiter and the old man. What they don't find in darkness they find in light which is clarity aside from the nothingness that the darkness brings.

2)The characters are nameless because they aren't necessary. Hemingway wanted us to see the story through the characters thoughts and concerns without having the trouble of remembering names. In addition age played a big role so identifying the characters by their age kept reminding us the difference between the young waiter and the older gentlemen.

3) The connection between the older waiter and the old man is that they both have the same issue which is dealing with the nothingness that life brings. They are both dealing with being lonely regardless of all the good things they have like the job at the cafe or money. Both of them find comfort in the cafe because they embrace the light at night where as others embrace the darkness at night.
The purpose of the younger waiter in the story is so the reader can see the contrast in points of view.The younger waiter helps to point out that what he has is what the older waiter and the old man lacks. In the story he gets anxious to close the cafe because he wants to go home to his wife but we see that the older waiter doesn't have a wife and he doesn't mind closing late, and it is mentioned that the old man's wife had passed away.

4)Conflict: The conflict in this short story is the internal issue of loneliness that both the older waiter and the old man have but try to deal with by staying late at the well lighted cafe.

Rising Action: The rising action is when the younger waiter is pushing the old man to finish drinking, pay for the drink, and go home so that they close the cafe and he can go home to his wife, which in the end causes despair for both the older waiter and the old man because the older waiter sympathizes with the old man, and even drunk the old man tries to make his way home which is not what he wants to do.

Complications: The complication is when the old man has to finally go home when the whole time he was sitting in the cafe to avoid going home to face the loneliness, which we learn early in the story, causes him to try to commit suicide.

Climax: The turning point of the story is when the younger waiter tells the older waiter that he talks like an old man too. This is when the older waiter realizes that he is defending the old man because he may one day be just like that. He is suffering from loneliness and may be also suffering from despair like the old man and one day find comfort in drinking at a well lit cafe where everything is bright, clean, and clear.

Falling Action: At the end the older waiter tries to go to a bar but realizes why he doesn't like them and it's because they are not clean and he prefers a cafe where everything is clean, orderly, and well lit. He gives up beating around the bush, and finally heads home where he will sleep once the sun comes up (when there's light) and tries to convince himself that it is insomnia and not really the issue of being lonely and full of nothingness.

5) The theme of the story is that some people live their lives concerned about how life has no meaning and they are just a tiny factor in it and others like the young waiter live their lives in a flash and focused on the little things that life provides.

PART TWO

Ernest Hemingway was born in Illinois and grew up with his father's love of nature. He also had an interest in being a doctor. When World War I came around he wanted to enlist but his father forbade him to. So he decided to write for a newspaper in the U.S. and then joined the Red Cross in Italy. After, he went back and forth from the U.S. to Europe. For years later he wrote his own novels and short stories in which he received a Pulitzer and Nobel prize. Unfortunately, he dealt with issues like alcoholism, depression, and health throughtout his life. He attempted to get treatment but found his demise instead by shooting himself at the age of 61.

The main issues about Hemingway's life that pertained to this short story is alcoholism, and depression. The old man turned to alcohol to deal with his depression of having to deal with suffering and loss. The older waiter understood the use of alcohol but he had to deal with depression because as he knew it life had no meaning, it was full of nothing just like his prayers.

Sonny's Blues

• 1) Harlem went through a renaissance in the 1920s and 30s. During this time this is when legend writers and famous performers emerged. Unfortunately, there was also a down side to all the positives and that was the Depression. The Depression brought with it poverty, high unemployment rates and crime rates which in turn made Harlem a hard, and dangerous place to live. http://manhattan.about.com/od/neighborhoodguide/a/harlemnewyork.htm
• 2)The setting affects Sonny's character by showing how all the depression and indifference made him turn to drugs and music. Him and his family lived a hard life in Harlem which took a toll on his being. In order for him to gain anything from his suffering he had to make it his own. Which is where the heroin and the jazz came into play.http://www.answers.com/topic/sonny-s-blues-story-2
• 1)African American soldiers were forced to accept a segregated army and many discriminatory conditions they had already gone through. Northern black troops sent to the South for training often had violent encounters with white citizens there. Black-owned newspapers protested segregation, mistreatment, and discrimination. This brought up many threats of protests which made President Roosevelt enstill an executive order where it states that there should be full participation in the military no matter your race, color, origin, etc.http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart8.html
• 2)It is ironic that Sonny wants to enlist because of all the discrimination he already went through as a child, and after getting into the military he would have to go through even more grief due to discrimination and segragation. Also, Sonny's real passion is music and the military has no relationship or opportunity with it.

1)Darn That Dream Lyrics

Darn that dream, I dream each night

You say you love me and hold me tight

But when I awake, you're out of sight

Oh, darn that dream

Darn your lips and darn your eyes

They lift me high above the moonlit skies

Then I tumble out of paradise

Oh, darn that dream

Darn that one track mind of mine

It can't understand that you don't care

Just to change the mood I'm in

I'd welcome a nice old nightmare

Darn that dream and bless it too

Without that dream, I never would have you

But it haunts me and it won't come true

Oh, darn that dream

Darn that dream, I dream each night

You say you love me and hold me tight

But when I awake, you're out of sight

Oh, darn that dream

Darn your lips and darn your eyes

They lift me high above a moonlit sky

Then I tumble out of paradise

Oh, darn that dream

Darn that one track mind of mine

It can't understand that you don't care

But just to change the mood I'm in

I'd welcome a nice old nightmare

Darn that dream and bless it too

Without that dream, I never would have you

But it haunts me and it won't come true

Oh, darn that dream

Darn that dream, I dream each night

You say you love me and hold me tight

But when I awake, you're out of sight

• 2)I chose this song because I think it represents perfectly what he's going through with all the depression and hardships. This song relates to where he's torn between the drugs and the music. The dream is his dream of being a bebop musician and the way it helps him cope but when reality hits that's when he awakens and his dream is out of reach. And when she says "just to change the mood I'd welcome a nice old nightmare" I believe that this represents the heroin and how he knows its a bad habit but he welcomes it anyways to forget about the suffering that he believes every human being goes through.
• 1)Bebop was a new style of Jazz that emerged in the 40s. It consisted of smaller bands then that of regular Jazz bands. This smaller number welcomed new solo opportunites for the band members. The lyrics were unusual which made the style of music interesting to listen to but not good for dancing.http://www.hypermusic.ca/jazz/bop.html
• 2)The music to Sonny is like a door for communication. He communicates his misery and troubles through bebop. The music's irregularity allows him creative freedom. It's a form of escape other then drugs. To his brother the music is something insignificant, and mediocre. He doesn't see the positive power it has on Sonny until the end of the story.