HelenYang

 1. **Select one poem of the four provided and write another poem mimicking the style and syntax of the first poem. You can change the topic and words, but the rhythm, number of syllables, sentence structure and poetic elements (such as repetition and figurative language) have to be mirrored in your poem. You may write on any topic you like.**   THE TEACHER DESCENDS (modeled after THE CORN GROWS UP)   The morning bell rings.  The students on the sidewalks weep, weep.  The teacher descends.  The students in the playgrounds weep, weep.  The teacher descends.  The students in the hallways weep, weep.  The morning bell rings.  The students into their textbook-filled backpacks weep, weep. // from a Weeping Student  //  ** 2. Select two poems (must be different than the one you picked for #1) and write two short paragraphs that compare and contrast the poems. Your paragraphs can focus on different elements of the poems, including subject, theme, tone, use of poetic devices such as repetition, imagery, and any progressions that you notice in the poems (for example, you might notice that the images get stronger in each line, or the detail gets more specific). Be sure that (a) you explain how the elements contribute to the message or feeling of the whole poem and (b) that you don’t just talk about one poem and then the other. You have to first talk about the comparisons (similarities) and then the contrasts (differences). So you have to think about the structure of your paragraphs before you write them. **  <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"> Compare and Contrast: __Hunting Song__ and __I Have Killed the Deer__

<span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"> The __Hunting Song__ and __I Have Killed the Deer__ share many similarities. Firstly, they are both centered on the deer as a central subject, which represents all prey. They both use the deer as a symbol to discuss the process of hunting and on a larger scale the cycle of life. Imagery is used in both to describe nature—flowers and the deer in the __Hunting Song__ and various plants and animals in __I Have Killed the Deer__. Additionally, both poems repeat sentence structure. In the Hunting Song, many sentences begin with “comes the deer” and in I Have Killed the Deer, “I have” is used to start many sentences. Lastly, even the titles of these two poems correlate—hunting and killing deer are clearly the same thing. <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"> Although sharing similarities, I believe these two poems are more different than alike. Both poems mention the deer, but in the __Hunting Song__ the deer is depicted as week and subordinate to the human while __I Have Killed the Deer__ emphasizes that humans depend on nature. __Hunting Song__ has a clear linear progression as the hunter gets closer and closer to his kill, while __I Have Killed the Deer__ simply raises various examples and is more circular by connecting what man has taken and what he must give to maintain a balance. Next, both poems use imagery, however, the imagery in __I Have Killed the Deer__ is much more violent and, in my opinion, more vivid. This difference in imagery contributes to the tone and message of each poem—the violent imagery in __I Have Killed the Deer__ highlights the shortcomings and wrongdoings of the human race while the calmer imagery in __Hunting Song__ furthers the poem’s alluring tone and message that humans are superior to animals. The main difference between these two poems is that although they discuss the same subject, the message and take on life is very contrasting. <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">** 3. Read the short story called "The Navajo Origin Legend". Answer the following questions: ** <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">** a. What did you like about the story? ** <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"> I really liked the specific details such as which direction certain things were pointing—this shows how precise these people are. I also liked the use of color, which contributed to the imagery.

<span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">** b. What did you dislike about the story? ** <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"> I disliked that the story didn’t have any obstacles or conflict, which lead to the lack of a climax. However, it was an extremely short story so this wasn’t too detrimental.

<span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">** c. What was the image that was most powerful or interesting for you? ** <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"> The most striking image for me was when the author described that “in the skin at the tips of our fingers we see the trail of wind; it shows us where the wind blew when our ancestors were created.” This is a very original description and also gave insight into the Navajo Indians’ culture and beliefs.

<span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">** d. The Native Americans who wrote this poem are similar to other pre-colonial societies in that they write about the materials of their everyday lives in their myths. Food, nature, and animals are some such materials. Identify all the specific materials that appear in the story that would be common in the everyday lives of the Native American culture. For each material that you identify, explain briefly what is happening to it in the story. ** <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"> Cornmeal is used to dry off after washing. Buckskins are seen as sacred and symbolic. Corn is also symbolic—the first humans come from corn. The eagle feather is used in ceremony. Wind is life giving and shows one’s ancestry.

<span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">** e. What can you tell about the culture of this people based on the materials that appear in this story and they way that these objects are used? Do you notice any patterns in how these materials are depicted? ** <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"> One can infer from this story that these people paid much attention to detail. Each object was placed precisely; the buckskin, the feather, and the corn—every object mattered, even the direction in which they were facing. Furthermore, these people believed in gods and spirits—they believed that gods had made the first humans and that inanimate things such as wind and corn actually carried life. One pattern in the depiction of these objects is their color is very significant. The color of the cornmeal, the gods, the corn, and the feathers all play a role in the placement of the objects, and even represent the two genders. <span style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"> ** 4. The speaker in "I Have Killed a Deer" talks about death and killing in an unusual way. How would you describe the way he talks about death and killing? Why does he talk about it this way? Do you think he feels sorry for killing living things? What single line is a turning point in the message of this poem? What is the overall message of this poem, in a single short sentence? **  The speaker seems to portray death and killing as unfortunate but necessary. He talks about death this way because he believes there is a circle of life—that he unfortunately must damage nature to stay alive but that he will give back to nature when his life ends. He doesn’t seem to feel very sorry about killing living things because he believes he is just sustaining himself. The sentence “When I died I must give life” is the turning point; it begins the section in which he talks about giving back to the earth. The overall message is that we must kill to survive, but we must give back to maintain the “circle of life” and that everyone should return to nature the nourishment they have received.