“The Storm,” “The Rope,” and “Epilogue”

Kevin and Dana

 Kindred. Published in 1979.



In “Kindred” Octavia Butler states that Kevin was longer than Dana because Kevin wanted to live more real situations than Dana’s ancestors lived. It prolonged stay affects Kevin in many ways like he could't see the situations lived at that time, same as Dana saw, Kevin saw more natural when whites treated black people as slavers. Kevin acted as Dana master, Kevin sometimes was forced to treat Dana in ways he would not normally treat her because Dana's and Kevin's races was that it was illegal for them to be married in the slavery times. They usually had to hide this from whites for keeping Dana in safe.

When Kevin came back together with Dana from their travel, Dana unfortunately discovered that his lovely husband Kevin had similarities between her cruelty ancestors, Rufus.  Both of them were whites, which it was a big advantage at that time.  White’s males had power in slavery times.  Also, Kevin and Rufus spoke with strong southern accents. Both Kevin and Rufus cared for Dana in different way, Rufus’s love for Dana was expressed more after Alice’s death, but his love was only for satisfy his desires by force. Rufus always considered Dana lower class than him.  In contrast, Kevin, Dana’s husband would never attempt to force Dana into anything. According to Butler, Dana said “He was so careful, so fearful of hurting me” (190).  Dana offered, but Kevin at the beginning refused because he was scared Dana will be hurt more than she already was. Also, Kevin always considered Dana an equal of him. This alteration isn't symbol of changes because today's human being always are trying to hurt between them.  So, only people who grown up with values know how to treat and have compassion for others.

Tom Weylin and Rufus Weylin

Tom Weylin was a cruel man who punished his slaves for insignificant things, but at the same time he took care of them because slaves were a big investment for him. Tom was plenty of fairness, he was uneducated and he didn’t know what was happened outside of his plantation, so he always kept only in his world. Tom was a man who didn’t have feeling for his slaves; he beat them violently, and rape women as it was a right. He never showed love for his own son Rufus. 

whip used to punish slaves

Rufus Weylin while older he got, he was worse.  He was crueler than his father because he knows that rape a black woman was not right and he did as many times as he wanted.  He also was unhappy and drunk man who couldn’t see happy people like Alice who was married with Isaac. They were captured when they runaway.  He brought Alice, and he  paid twice that other buyers offered for her, only because he wanted her for only one purpose rape, beat, give children, and see her unhappy. Isaac was sold and was cut his ears from his own hands.

Dana’s influence on the young Rufus never was useful because Dana also was abused physically, mentally and morally. Rufus used other people to punish other slaves as he did with Dana. Dana was whipped, smacked, and insulted as other slaves were.  She was other slave more; Rufus never thanked her when she saved his life many times.       

Oppression

<><><><>

oppression

 In "Kindred," Octavia E. Butler tells that slavers' experience are full of terror and pain. As a example, Sarah the cook, apparently looked strong, but unfortunately she was humiliated. She was  a lonely black woman in a household. She had to confront the rest of her life with people who sold her three lovely children and she had to remember everyday that she lost her part of her life forever. She couldn't make any claim for fair to loose her unique lovely daughter left, Carrie.  So, she had to be a good slave with her white masters. Instead of masters thank her for  her service, they paid back with pain, punishments, and hard work.

I also find that Dana was involved in a moral trap in the sexual exploitation, which she had to convince Alice to go to bed with Rufus. Unfortunately, Dana couldn't reject Rufus order because Alice could be hurt twice. She could have been beat, and also rape by Rufus. So, white always did wherever they want, it didn't matter how many people could be hurt. Masters were unemotional, isolated, pathetic, and alien. Despite the severe stresses under which slaves live, the slaves constitute a rich human society.

Unfortunately, in every country in the world, there is  oppression for any group that does not fit in with the majority, or it has caused to be look down on by our own race.   In some places, if you appearance is good people treat you with courtesy and the people are very friendly. If you are not just the opposite occurs.  I think we can teach our children to not be prejudiced based on a person’s skin color.  It hurts to know that it comes from previous generation is being slowly poisoned.

SLAVERY IN AMERICA

HOUSE SLAVES

April 16, 2012

House slaves were better than field slaves.  House slaves had better food, garments.  However, it depended how good their master were.  Usually, masters were miserable and without feeling forward slaves.  Slaves used to live like animals.  Their bodies smell bad because they didn’t take shower or dressing every day.  Sometimes, slaves didn’t have anything to eat, or maybe something that their masters gave them.  Some masters preferred throw food or spit in all the rest of food to make sure that slaves could not take it.  Slaves always were exposed to listen between them whims and desires; house slaves were inhabited between various families. Slaves sleep on the ground, or with old rugs.  When it was summer their odor were stronger than winter.The environment was stinking, but slaves were accustomed. When slaves were working for many years and were good workers, master always used to say them than they will be free before their master died.  It never happened.  Slaves who were hard workers also lived close to their masters, and were treated better than others slaves.    Slaves usually lived in deplorable conditions, but slaves couldn’t do anything for improving because only masters have decisions the way that slaves have to live.

Self-evaluation and Reflecion

<> March 31, 2012

Memories from Yesterday

I choose the poem written by Edna St. Vincent Millay’s "What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why." because it is sonnet with a rhyme scheme of abbaabba cdecde. I am also proud myself to learn more about this poem because human being are identified in some way with this subject matter.  The speaker’s reminiscences of the numerous love affairs of her younger days and her regret that such lovers were moments of days past that will not be repeated.

I learned many literary terms such as:

• Speaker. The speaker is the personality who "says" the words from which the poem is delivered, it is not the author.
• Form.  A poem can be structured by the number of stanzas, the lines per stanza, the beats per line, and the rhyme scheme.
• Theme. It is the most important part of a poem, because this is the thesis, so we can understand the main idea of the poem.
• Metaphor.  It is a statement that one thing is something else. 

It is also very clear to know about plagiarism that is stole ideas, assignments, or reports from other people. 

In addition, I have learned about acknowledging sources: Is important to know how to start an essay.  A essay have three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion.

Types of introductory:

1. Millay explains,
2. As Millay explains, (in both cases the comma goes after the verb)
3. Millay explains that...
4. In her poem "What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why," Millay points out...
5. According to Millay, lovers were very important in her life...

In the text: when summarizing, paraphrasing, and/or quoting the source, put the author's name or the title of the piece in an introductory phrase and the page number in the parenthesis at the end of the summary/paraphrase/quote. It is the easy way to use.

In the Works Cited: we have to use the Modern Language Association (MLA), and we refer to the source, we have to use the first item on the works cited entry.

My experience working with my house members was very interesting because all of us have different opinions about the poem written by Emily Dickinson's "I felt a Funeral..." but when we are talking each other, we understood the meaning of this poem.  So, working as a team is good, because we can build many ideas and at the end everyone agree. However, I like to work independent because I can concentrate myself and have the responsibility to get my work done on time.

What  I learned from reading my House mates' blogs is that not everyone has done.  I evaluated at 10:45 am, and I couldn't find all house mate's blogs finished. However, some blogs of my house's mates are very nice, they followed instructions,and  some  blogs are not.  I am sorry if I am wrong because I am not perfect either, but I think that I followed instructions of my professor Dr. Ximena.

[What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why] (1923)

Monday, March 19, 2012

[What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why] (1923)

http://www.fashion-writings.com/spring-fall-edna-vincent-millay/

In this blog, I choose the poem [What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why] written by Edna St. Vicent Millay, which was published  in 1923, because when we are young we have many lovers, but when we are old no one is around us.  This poem has 14 lines. It speaks about memories.

This poem:

[What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why] describes memories that people come and gone from our lives. When people are young enjoy everything, especially love. However, the time flies and our lives fly too.  So, the life brings happiness at the beginning, but the life brings sadness at the end.

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why, I have forgotten, and what arms have lain Under my head till morning; (line 1-3).  but the rain,  Is full of ghosts tonigh, that tap and sigh Upon the glass and listen for reply, And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain, for unremembered lads that not again  Will turn to me at midnight with a cry (line4- 8).  Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree,  Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one, Yet knows it boughs more silent than before:  I cannot say what loves have come and gone,  I only know that summer sang in me  A little while, that in me sings no more. (line 9-14).

    The form of [What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why], is sonnet, however, sonnet poem speak about love.  I am sure that she enjoyed her life during her young. However, she feels alone and sad, due changes in her life.

This poem can be represented as:  

• Rain, winter, birds have gone/ sad life
• Summer/ good times, enjoy, hapiness, in love,  warmth
• Lonely/ past lovers, herself
• heart in quiet pain/ memories
• unremembered/ what lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why

  

since feeling is first

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

since feeling is first

since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
- the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says

we are for each other; then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

e. e. Cummings

     This poem is made simple structure and easy to read.  Each paragraph has different meaning, but it has his transition with each other paragraph. E. E. Cummings' poem "since feeling is first" is a poem which shows how emotions dictate people's actions.

     The poem implies that to follow one's heart is better than following one's mind. The poem states that it is better to be a fool, or to live by emotions while one is young. Emotion comes before thought. Cummings is creating a link between both words. Spring is a season in the year where everything starts to blossom and has always been related to youth.  The last line of the poem is showing that death is something that should not be ignored in life, and that thought is important even with the domination of feeling.

     Cummings enhances these themes by using the literary elements of romantic tone,and the same time ironic.  Life is short, death is final, take chances in life, love.

     Here a video where Cummings says "the best gesture of my brain is less than your eyelids' flutter" (line 11-2). He means that the small gesture is so much more important than any thought ever produced in his mind.

If someone feel love for us, then we are very fortunate.

I want to send this blog to my cousin because she is in love, However, she doesn't think that when someone is in love, we can enjoy this wonderful time. It doesn't matter what could happen in the future.