Amanda+Hua


 * 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, 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. **


 * HIS PLANE LEAVES (modeled after THE CORN GROWS UP) **

His plane leaves in the sky. The waters of the cloud drop, drop. Her face falls. The waters in the wind drop, drop. Her face falls. The waters from the sky drop, drop. His plane leaves in the sky. The waters from her eyes drop, drop.

// from a Dreamer //

Both poems relate to nature—we can gather from the contents that the Indians highly respected nature and were very thankful to whatever they were given. The difference though, is that The Song of the Sky Loom merely praises Mother Earth and Father Sky, while I Have Killed the Deer focuses on the circle of life and our personal contributions to nature. This proves that although we take form nature, we give something in return: we maintain the ecological system by being part of it.
 * 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. **


 * THE SONG OF THE SKY LOOM, **// from the Tewa Indians //
 * I Have Killed the Deer, **// from the Taos Pueblo Indians //

Food- Bountiful harvests, given by the gods. Nature-We must live in one with nature, peacefully. In the story, it says we must respect nature, etc. Animals-Sacrifices? The animals are laid on the ground and the gods somehow turn them into humans.
 * 3. Read the short story called **** "The Navajo Origin Legend **** ". Answer the following questions: **
 * a. What did you like about the story? **
 * I liked how the story gave a different interpretation of how the first people walked upon Earth. The different colored feathers and the Indian culture in the story seemed very interesting. **
 * b. What did you dislike about the story? **
 * Although the story is an interesting way of showing how people were created and the basis of Indian culture, but I thought it was quite confusing. The first paragraph said the ‘people washed themselves well’. However, the story ends at the creation of the First Man and First Woman. The story was fine, but the structure was odd. **
 * c. What was the image that was most powerful or interesting for you? **
 * ‘ **The white ear of corn had been changed into a man, the yellow ear into a woman. It was the wind that gave them life. It is the wind that comes out of our mouths now that gives us life. When this ceases to blow we die. In the skin at the tips of our fingers we see the trail of the wind; it shows us where the wind blew when our ancestors were created.’ This part was most powerful to me, as I could visualize the corns coming to life, and the marks of the ‘wind’ that is on our fingers.
 * 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. **

Native Americans like to live as one with nature, as everyone comes from and is created in nature, animals alike. They also believe that as we take a lot from nature, we must be thankful. Nature is shown by having relationships with nature, depicting the life cycle and describing bountiful harvests that they have attained—‘Mother Earth, Father Sky’ have bestowed land and light to the people, and people themselves are created from ears of corn and buckskin. This can simultaneously show the close relations the Native Americans believed they shared with animals and the environment.
 * 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? **


 * 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 talks of death and killing as a necessity—people need death to live, and when he dies he will give life to another. He doesn’t feel sorry about killing, as he knew that he would be able to reciprocate when he died. Therefore, he believes that it is simply part of the life cycle and the balance of the ecological system to kill/die.