BrianLi

** 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 CORN GROWS UP **   The corn grows up.  The waters of the dark clouds drop, drop.  The rain descends.  The waters from the corn leaves drop, drop.  The rain descends.  The waters from the plants drop, drop.  The corn grows up.  The waters of the dark mists drop, drop.   The Ninja Kills.   The ninja kills.  The blade in the dark night slice, slice. <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> The ninja descends. <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> The shurikens in the dark night whiz, whiz. <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> The ninja descends. <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> The shadows in the night are still, still. <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> The ninja kills. <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> The screams in the night stop, stop. <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">** 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: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> Hunting Song vs. I Have Killed the Deer

<span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> The most significant similarity these two poems share is the references to nature. It is very obvious because the two poems both include animals, plants, and sounds that are very natural. Other similarities include killing an animal or animals. Repetition is shown in both poems, with Hunting Song repeating “Comes” and “Singing” and I Have Killed the Deer repeating “I have”. <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> The tone of Hunting song and the theme of I have killed the deer is very different. The Hunting Song, even though containing the word hunting, is very bright and happy. However, I Have Killed the Deer has many pessimistic words, such as killed, crushed, cut, and death. Some small differences include the imagery in each poem. In the poem I Have Killed the Deer, the images are much more vivid than Hunting song. In the Hunting Song there is an obvious subject, the deer. I Have Killed the Deer is less focused on the deer, even though it’s title talks about a deer.

<span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">** 3. Read the short story called "The Navajo Origin Legend". Answer the following questions: ** <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">** a. What did you like about the story? ** <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> I liked how this legend was different and more interesting than the other legends about the origin of people.

<span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">** b. What did you dislike about the story? ** <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> I didn’t like the ending because it was abruptly stopped, because I wanted to know more about what the importance of husband and wife would be. <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">** c. What was the image that was most powerful or interesting for you? ** <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> The image that was most powerful to me was when the legend says that the two ears of corn disappeared and a man and woman were there. <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; 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: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> Cornmeal - The women and men dried themselves using this, with different colors such as white and yellow. <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> Buck - The skin of this animal was brought by the Blue and Black Body gods. They used this skin to create man and woman. <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> Corn - This was the most significant in the story, as this corn was used to create man and woman. There were two colors, also yellow and white. This is what changed into the man and woman. <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> Eagle - The feather of this bird was used in the creating of man and woman. <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> Wind - This is also the more significant things in the story. This is changed the corn into man and woman. Also, in the legend it says, "It was the wind that gave them life. When this ceases to blow we die."I 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." Wind was probably very significant in this legend because the Native Americans probably relied on wind for more than one thing. <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> White and Yellow - In the legend, nearly everything mentioned having color has white and yellow. For example, the grain, the gods, the wind, the eagle, and the corn. In the Native spirituality, White means peace and happiness while Yellow means up above.  <span style="line-height: 25.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">  <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; 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: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> I can tell that they use many natural resources, and it makes me think that they live in places like cast plains and grasslands. I can see that there are a lot of words that pertain to farmland as well. Also, these Native Americans believed in gods a lot. As the legend says, the first man and woman was created by these gods. <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; 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? ** <span style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> The way he talks about death and killing is not bloody, but in fact ties in a lot of nature related words. He talks about many animals, and he talks about death this way because his poem is not about murder, but the circle of life. He does not feel sorry for killing living things because the circle of life is the way of nature. The single line that is the turning point of this poem is “In my life I have needed death So that my life can be.” A single sentence to describe this poem can be: “Living beings die, it is the circle of life.