The Kite Runner (Blog 1)

By: Khaled Hosseini

Escaping the war-torn country of Afghanistan and the Russians, Baba and Amir move to Fremont, California.  Baba has not easily transitioned to life in America, and he struggles to adjust to living away from the only country he has ever known.  Life in America was a very different experience for Amir.  He no longer viewed Kabul as his home after it was invaded.  However, he did not like to see his father so worn out and miserable.  Amir suggests that they move back to Pakistan.  Baba is completely against this and says that they came to America for Amir to finish high school and hopefully college.  In the summer of 1983, Amir graduated high school, and he was trying to decide whether he wanted to attend a junior college or not.  Baba strongly encouraged his son to go to college because he didn't want him to have to work a tiring job at a gas station like him.  For Amir's graduation, Baba buys his son a used Ford Grand Torino.  After realizing the bright future he can achieve in America, Amir decides that he will attend junior college and get a degree in creative writing.  In this part of the novel, Amir presents an extended metaphor.  "America was different.  America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past.  I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far.  Somewhere with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins" (Hosseini, 136).  This metaphor compares Amir's past in Kabul to his future in America.  His life is like a flowing river, which allows him to move on from past memories.  A river is always flowing, just as Amir's life will continue to move along, regardless of his painful past.  This obviously refers to his friendship with Hassan.  Amir feels that his life in America is a fresh start.  He can move on from these dark memories and try to begin anew.

Sorting Laundry
By: Elisavietta Ritche

In this poem, the narrator is simply folding laundry.  She describes how each piece of laundry carries a different meaning to her.  "Folding clothes, I think of folding you into my life" (Ritche).  Her husband or boyfriend is so important to her that a simple act of folding laundry reminds her of him.  She says that pillowcases remind her of their dreams.  Putting pairs of socks together reminds her of the pairs of animals that were on Noah's Ark.  Each piece of laundry carries a random and unique meaning to this woman.  She seems to view them as a part of her.  She says that if this man ever left her, she wouldn't have enough clothes/laundry to fill the empty side of the bed.  I liked this poem because it is simple, and the narrator had a positive tone.  I like her way of showing her appreciation for someone.  She realizes this appreciation in an everyday task, so I think this man definitely is important to her.

Batter my heart, three-personed God
By: John Donne

This sonnet is an apostrophe between a man and God.  He is directly addressing God, asking Him to purify his heart.  The first 8 lines include the narrator admitting and confessing his wrongs.  However, he is telling God that he cannot purify himself.  He wants God to do it all for him.  The last 6 lines see a shift.  The narrator begins to surrender to God.  He tells God that he is currently rejecting Him, but he wants to be saved.  "Yet dearly I love you and would be loved fain, but am betrothed to your enemy" (Donne).  Here, he tells God that the devil has taken prominence in his life.  He asks God to be saved, and he claims that he cannot do anything to save himself.  Only God can purify him.  Another thing I took note of in this poem is when the narrator used three consecutive words; I took them as references to the Holy Trinity.  He uses "knock, breathe, shine" and "break, blow, burn" (Donne).  I think that "knock" and "break" refer to God.  He is the one that can remove evil from our lives.  "Breathe" and "blow" refer to Jesus Christ, the Son.  He is the living form of God, and these words are actions that would have to be done by a person.  "Shine" and "burn" refer to the Holy Spirit because it is often depicted as a fire, which can shine and burn.

I taste a liquor never brewed
By: Emily Dickinson

When I first read this poem, I honestly had no idea what Dickinson was talking about.  The best I could come up with was that the poem was and extended metaphor that compares being drunk to a summer day.  However, I didn't realize the narrator wasn't literally referring to being drunk.  It turns out that she is talking about being drunk on nature.  She compares this feeling to drunkenness because she feels like she is in a different state of mind.  The poem first presents the metaphor by talking about how this "liquor" is unique.  The narrator starts the second stanza by saying that she was "inebriate of air" (Dickinson).  I think she was saying that the beauty of nature was breathtaking.  The metaphor continues throughout the poem, and the end talks about how others wanted to watch the narrator indulge in the enjoyment of nature.  "And the saints-to windows run-to see the little Tippler leaning against the-Sun-" (Dickinson).  After I finally understood the meaning of this poem, I really liked it.  I can relate to how the narrator felt.  I went on Summer Field Studies this past year, and I had never experienced nature in that way before.  I still can't explain how I felt when I first saw the Grand Canyon and stared in shock at how huge it was.  I enjoyed reading this poem because of the extended metaphor that attempts to explain this feeling in such a unique way.

The Convergence of the Twain
By: Thomas Hardy

This poem discusses the tragic sinking of the Titanic with excellent use of imagery.  However, it lacks a tone of sympathy, rather it is a bit harsh and rude.  I would have thought that the author would feel bad for all of the people that died in this historic event, but he seems to ignore the people altogether.  Instead, he focuses on the material things aboard the ship.  For example, instead of mentioning the bodies that went to ocean floor along with the ship, Hardy talks about the jewels.  Titanic was extremely extravagant and elegant, and there were many wealthy people on the ship.  In Stanza IV, Hardy mentions how the jewels "lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind" (Hardy).  Hardy using this imagery to allow readers to picture the many riches just laying at the bottom of the ocean.  I found it odd that he was so concentrated on these material things.  Other images included in this poem include sea-worms and cold, alienated waters.  Based on all of the negative images, I think that Hardy was comparing the sinking of the Titanic to the sinking of human dignity.  With this theme, he focused on the items that the people all took pride in.  Hardy seems to think the ship's sinking was bound to happen.  If they had been more concerned with the people, more lives could have likely been saved.

My Mistress' Eyes
By: William Shakespeare

In this poem, the narrator has an odd way of describing his love's beauty.  While most would assume that the woman would be receiving positive compliments, the narrator actually does the complete opposite.  "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (Shakespeare) is the opening line of the poem.  How sweet...  In addition to this, the narrator continues on with these "compliments."  He says that her breath stinks, music is more pleasing to listen to than her voice, she treads when she walks, etc.  If I were the woman he were talking about, I would be completely insulted!  Any time he starts to say a compliment, he compares her to something else and says she is less perfect than that.  In the couplet, though, the narrator brings up an interesting point.  "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any she belied with false compare" (Shakespeare).  Here, the narrator is claiming that his love for this woman is unique.  He says that it is so unique that it can't be compared to anyone else's love.  I find this to be very interesting, considering he basically wrote a poem of insults about her.

Barbie Doll
By: Marge Piercy

This poem was actually very depressing, in my opinion.  The girl that the poem is about was a normal, happy little girl as a child.  However, when puberty hit, a classmate told her that she had a big nose and fat legs.  Regardless of what she did and accomplished, this is all anyone would notice.  No one could see past her fat legs and big nose.  Eventually, the girl could not handle the stress of everyone's harsh judgments.  "Her good nature wore out like a fan belt" (Piercy).  This simile bears a great significance to the poem.  I had to look up what a fan belt was to understand the simile to realize this, though.  A fan belt keeps a car's engine from overheating.  If it runs out, then the engine would no longer work.  Similarly, the young girl grew tired of people judging her.  Her good nature refers to her self-confidence and motivation to ignore people's rude opinions.  She grew angry towards everyone and did not want to have to deal with the situation any longer.  As a result, she cut off her nose and legs.  The narrator describes that in her casket, she had a "turned-up putty nose, dressed in a pink and white nightie" (Piercy).  When everyone viewed her casket, they commented on how pretty she looked.  This was sad to me.  No one would recognize the girl's true and natural beauty.  They only saw her to be beautiful when she had a fake nose and no legs in her casket.  The final lines say "consummation at last.  To every woman a happy ending" (Piercy).  I thought that this quote was a shame.  It is basically saying that no woman ever feels happy until she is told that she is pretty.  Since no one said this about the girl until she was dead, I found this quote to be especially upsetting.