Below you'll find instructions for what I'd like your poetry reading response to consist of.
Thank you!
Raquel
Pick ONE of the poems below & answer the prompt below:
Linda Pastan, “Marks,” Sylvia Plath, “Daddy,” Etheridge Knight, “Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane,” Pat Mora, “Elena”, Audre Lorde, “Hanging Fire,” Judith Ortiz-Cofer, “The Changeling"
Answer all the questions listed in this prompt for ONE poem:
How did you respond to this poem emotionally? Which words caused your emotional response and pull to this poem to be so strong? Discuss the general premise of the poem: what is happening? why did this particular experience speak to you as a reader?
How did you respond to this poem emotionally? Which words caused your emotional response and pull to this poem to be so strong? Discuss the general premise of the poem: what is happening? why did this particular experience speak to you as a reader?
The emotions I felt after reading the poem "Elena" by Pat Mora was loneliness. the words that make me feel the loneliness in this poem are the words "I remember how". Remembering memories or reminiscing about something usually happens in a private moment. Elena feels she is not good enough to have a conversation with her children since they are so fluent in English and she just knows the basics. Elena also mentions that she feels so "dumb, alone". I think Elena felt disconnected and isolated from her children because of the language barrier they have. Even though she is trying to get better at English by buying a book to learn the language, she still thinks that she might not be able to catch up with her children's level in the language. I empathize with Elena because I have friends who were born and raise in America, whereas I was born in the west indies and although my friends and I have Trinidadian influences in us, and although we understand each other culturally, I sometimes don't understand their American ways. For example they are trendy and although I try to keep up with them it seems like I could never be to there level of trendy. I think that is how Elena is feeling. Although she is trying very hard to keep up with her children's English, she think she still can't reach there level. Elena also mention in the last two lines of the poem that if she stops trying she will be deaf when her children needs her. My interpretation of those lines are that she is afraid that the language barrier between her children and her may cause her to miss out something in their lives. If they need advise on anything and she cant communicate with them or understand what they are saying to her, she feels that she will fail being a good mother to them.
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