EllenMin


 * 1. Original Poem: THE SONG OF THE SKY LOOM **

 O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky, . . . weave for us a garment of brightness;  May the warp be the white light of morning,  May the weft be the red light of evening,  May the fringes be the falling rain,  May the border be the standing rainbow.  Thus weave for us a garment of brightness  That we may walk fittingly where birds sing,  That we may walk fittingly where grass is green,  O our Mother the Earth, O our father the Sky!  from the Tewa Indians

The dance of the rational function stage O our Mother the Music, O Our Father the rhythm, . . . Graph for us a line of elegance; <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">May the asymptote be the flashlight of stage, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">May the hole be the spotlight of platform, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">May the axis be the dance floor, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">May the intercepts be the speakers. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thus graph for us a line of elegance <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That we may dance fittingly where song plays, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That we may dance fittingly where the light is on, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">O our Mother the Music, O Our Father the rhythm.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Mine: **


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Compare and Contrast two poems. **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The poem “The Corn Grows Up” and “Hunting Song” are very similar. They have both used repetition technique a lot. The first sentences in both poems are repeated many times in the poems to reinforce to main message. Besides repeating sentences, some special words are repeated as well. In the first poem, the word “drop, drop” and in the second poem “coming, coming now” appeared several times in the poems. Also, both poems have used imagery that’s related to nature. They have both used subjects like plants and animals, which creates a similar tone.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The difference between the two poems is that the first poem is shorter and it only describes about the process of the corn growing up. The second poem is longer, and it shows interactions between me and others. There are emotions in the second poem but not in the first one, for example there’s “frightened” or “beloved”.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Read the short story called "The Navajo Origin Legend". Answer the following questions: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I like the happy ending of the story when the God says “Live together now as husband and wife.” This is a good conclusion and ending for the story. It leaves a nice impression to the readers.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a. What did you like about the story? **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first paragraph was unclear about the washing and drying part. The descriptions about the four gods were boring as well. I couldn’t tell what they were exactly talking about until I got to the second paragraph.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> b. What did you dislike about the story? **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When the white ear of corn changed into a man and the yellow ear changed into a woman. I thought that was interesting, because it’s creative. How can the wind change them, I was imagining the scene as I read through the story.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> c. What was the image that was most powerful or interesting for you? **


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 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="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Food (corn and grain): Corn and grain are very important for the people. They cannot live without those foods. In the story, corn is the origin of human; therefore, corn is essential in life.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nature (Wind): The wind in the story helps to change the corn into men. It turns things alive. It represents the nature and shows how human are tightly connected to the nature.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Animals (Eagle feather and buckskins): These are very important and so they are used in ceremonies. They relate to God.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The lives of Native American are definitely closely related to nature. They believe that people have come from corns, feathers, and the wind. These are all very powerful and can turn things alive. In the story, there are so many objects related to nature. Each object will have some connections with human. I can also tell that God is very important to them. Their gods are unique and also related to nature.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 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="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. "I Have Killed the Deer" **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In his perspective, death is not a serious thing. Death and killing seems normal. I don’t think he feels sorry for killing living things, because everyone will eventually be dead. This is how the food web works in nature. The turning point of the poem is “In my life I have needed death, so that my life can be.” The speaker stated the point that death is necessary, so people shouldn’t be afraid or sorry about it. Everyone is going to go through it once and forms the life cycle.