Poetry Response - Still Memory

In the first stanza, Karr compares a dream to floating on a river but how it always returns to its notch. The poem is a reflection on his childhood and events that occurred when he woke up in the morning. It speaks of his father returning from work, his mother in the kitchen, the environment outside his house, and his sister walking on the cold tile floor of the bathroom. Karr also says her "parents are not yet born each into a small urn of ash" meaning they have not yet passed away. When she writes "My ten-year-old hand reaches for a pen to record it all as would become long habit." it makes me think of her as a ten year old writing memories down and how she continues to do that for many years following.

I Stand Here Ironing

I Stand Here Ironing is about a mother looking back at her daughter's past in terms of how she raised her and the outcome of that.

Level 1: What does Emily discover that she likes?
Level 2: What is the significance of the mother telling the story while ironing?
Level 3: How much do you think love, attention, and affection during childhood affects a person?

The theme is a lack of affection when a person is growing up has a large impact later and through out life.
It's significant that the mother tells Emily's story while ironing because she doesn't really have to pay attention to anything and can just think. Another thing that I thought about was what the purpose of her telling the story is. Is she trying to justify her actions as a mother? Or is she going through everything that happened trying to figure out what she could have done differently?
I think that the way parents interact with their kids has a large impact on how their kids grow up. Emily spent a lot of time away from home at daycare or the place she went when she was sick. Because of this, she didn't form a strong connection with her mother and when her mother tried to show affection to her, she didn't accept it. Emily's insecurities and problems can be partly attributed to her upbringing, but I think part of the way she feels is unrelated to that. Some people, even if they grow up in loving families, go through similar struggles as Emily.

The Lesson

The Lesson is a short story about inner city kids being exposed to class differences.

Level One: Where does Miss Moore take the kids?
Level Two: Why did Miss Moore take them to the toy store?
Level Three: What do you think Sylvia meant when she said "But ain't nobody gonna beat me at nuthin."

Miss Moore took them to the toy store to expose them to class differences. Before they leave she talks about how money is unfair. She values her college education and tries to teach the kids useful skills such as when she asks Sylvia to calculate a tip for the cab driver.
I think there are a few ways to interpret the last line of the story. She could have meant that she wasn't going to let the class differences bring her down or keep her poor. Another possibility is that she ignored the lesson and decided she wasn't going to let the other kids beat her, ignoring the rest of the world.

Realization

At the end of the book, Joe realizes he is the future, but he has no hope. His desire for human contact and for his loneliness to go away will never be fulfilled. He wants to be able to show people the horrors of war, but he is not allowed to leave the hospital because it is against regulations. If people see the horrors, they will not want to fight, and the people in charge of the war need them. They don't want people to see the future. He isn't even allowed to communicate in the hospital anymore because when he tries, they sedate him. Joe is pointing the gun at the "masters of men" who make people fight. They make other people do the fighting while they watch and are out of harms way. He feels that the only way to end the fighting is to fight back at the men who are planning the war, which is why he points the gun at them.

NO MORE BLOGS!!!

Joe's Desires

Joe wants human contact and to be able to communicate with other people. He doesn't want to be lonely. He also wants to get out of the hospital as an exhibit to show people what war can do. If I were him, I would want to get out too. I'm not sure I would want to make myself an exhibit. As much as I would want to show people the horrors of war, I wouldn't want people staring at me thinking and saying whatever they want. It would bother me that I would have no sense of how people were looking at me or what they were saying. The only thing I would be able to sense is if people were around, but nothing more than that. At the same time, the only other option would be to stay in the hospital and do nothing, which I would definitely not want. I think that getting out of the hospital would motivate me to get over my fears of people's reactions.

What does Joe want?

After many attempts to communicate with nurses, one nurse recognizes his morse code and a man comes who understands it. He asks Joe what he wants. What Joe really wants is to be put back together into a functioning human being so that he can live normally in the world, but he knows that is not possible. He decides that he wants to be used as a freak show and travel outside the hospital to show the horrors of war to people. The man leaves after Joe's request but then returns tell him that what he wants is against regulations. He realizes that they are keeping him a secret and that they want to forget about him. The army doesn't want to show people the horrors of the war because it would discourage them from enlisting. He feels hopeless because he realizes that he will be confined in the hospital and that his loneliness from a lack of contact with people and the outside world will never cease.

How Injured is Joe?

Joe was seriously injured in the war. He wakes up in the hospital to discover that he no longer has his arms, legs, and his face. All he can feel are the bandages covering his body. He is unable to communicate with doctors and nurses and feels as if he is an experiment to them. He thinks the doctors value their pride more than his well being. He is even unable to scream out loud when realizes that his arms are cut off, but he often cries out in his head. He goes in and out of consciousness, which he compares to drowning. Even though his body is in a poor condition, his mind is not. He has vivid memories of his past such as with Kareen, his father's death, his life before he went to war, and the war. Also, he has thoughts about his current state and at one point Trumbo writes, "He thought well kid you're deaf as a post but there isn't pain. You've got no arms but you don't hurt. You'll never burn your hand or cut your finger or smash a nail you lucky stiff." Shortly after he becomes bothered by his situation - "I can't. I can't stand it. Scream. Move. Shake something. Make a noise any noise. I can't stand it. Oh no no no...." Both these statements show that Joe is very much mentally alive. His physical state severely impacts his ability to communicate or do anything really, but his mind keeps him alive.