The Garden

En robe de parade.
Samain

Like a skien of loose silk blown against a wall
She walks by the railing of a path in Kensington Gardens,
And she is dying piece-meal
of a sort of emotional anaemia.

And round about there is a rabble
Of the filthy, sturdy, unkillable infants of the very poor.
They shall inherit the earth.

In her is the end of breeding.
Her boredom is exquisite and excessive.
She would like some one to speak to her,
And is almost afraid that I
will commit that indiscretion.


For the first time this semester I analyzed our reading before being asked to, on my own, to see what I could pull out of The Garden before given any direction. I’d say it was a success. Although at first I was having trouble fully understanding the poem but using imagination and making the attempt to “dig deeper” I got something. The first line that caught my attention as “And she is dying…” This seems to be the overall message of the poem, that “she” is dying and a description of the time, feelings, and surroundings is, in a way, given. “She would like someone to speak to her,” following the previous line tells me that she is alone.


I feel that she really does want someone to speak to her. What if she was of the clergy, being isolated from the rest of society in order to keep her high expectation of a noble woman. In many similar stories most of us have heard throughout our lives, the young girl that is born of nobility seems to grow up alone, meeting depression and a lack a social life at a young age.


Where did I get the noble part from? “She walks by the railing of a path…” could that be a private garden?


“In her is the end of breeding,” only shows that all hope may be gone soon. She is alone and needs someone there for her.


Professor Corrigan had a very insightful reflection on this poem as well, applying similarities to events and situations that have happened in his own life. This is something that I did not think of doing. Actually comparing what we read to our own lives to try to make a “better” or “different” kind of connection. I really enjoyed reading Corrigan’s essay because I was introduced to yet another way of looking at, analyzing, and reading literature

Enemy of the People

I actually enjoyed this play, it was very interesting and grabbed my attention from the start. I was impressed with the acting and the stage setup.

I would like to start out talking about my least favorite character in the play, Peter Stockman. I know, surprise surprise, he is probably everyone's least favorite character, but he annoyed me. I'm aware that this play takes place in a different time period but think about it. If that SAME EXACT character lived among people in today’s society how long would he last? He aggravated me, he really did. Peter Stockman was extremely selfish and his main focus seemed to make people continue their visits. He was the one to turn the whole town against Dr. Stockman. The truth is that the springs had a bacteria in them but Peter would not let this get out to the public.

In reality, this could’ve possibly helped the town. If more people were seeing that they were going to fix the problem and actually did, I believe people would still visit the town.

Dr. Stockman was awesome. He never took anything less than what he thought was right no matter how many people were against him. He is, in fact, the character of the play that I definitely relate to. I stand behind what I think is right until it’s proven otherwise no matter what, however, I have not yet had an entire town come against me. In that case, even more respect to Dr. Stockman. He did not “give in” to what the rest of the town had to say because he had proof in the palm of his hand and no one’s word was going to change that.

What really caught my eye is that Dr. Stockman taught his children to stand firm in what they believe and never let other people influence you when you have the facts. That is what real men do.

It was 8:50am, everyone was ready for the start of the a long ride on that Saturday, kickstands go up at 9. There were twelve motorcyclists that had their gear packed, helmets strapped, keys turned, lined up ready to go. During a group pre-ride discussion everyone agreed to using the buddy system. They would ride in groups of three and be sure to check every 10 to 15 minutes and make sure their buddies were all together. The final destination for the day would be Universal/Orlando CityWalk.

The clock struck 9am and off the went. It was a beautiful day with clear skies, light wind, and a high of 85 degrees for the day. There were twelve different motorcycles present on the ride. This goes to show that everyone had an original interest in a particular bike. The buddy system was working very well and were well on their way to Clearwater Beach until late in the afternoon. After they had stopped for lunch at Chick-fil-A, they had arrived at the beach ready to spend a nice part of the day enjoying the water and soaking up the sun. It was 5pm and the guys were back on their motorcycles headed back to get a quick shower before they started off to CityWalk. It was 7:30pm and all of them were going east on I-4.

They were all having a great time on that Saturday. Everyone was enjoying the weather and the fun at the beach and CityWalk. Around 10:30pm all the guys were ready to head back home for the conclusion of the day. They got on their motorcycles, turned the keys, hit the ignition and off they went. Everyone was extremely tired from the long day and had their minds on getting home, nothing else mattered. I-4 west was the next turn. They would all get on I-4 at Exit 72.

Everyone would get home safe except for one rider. Riding on the overpass going about 80mph, Tyler hit a pothole and lost control of his motorcycle. He went down and slid close to two hundred fifty feet with his motorcycle before it hit a light pole. He was thirty feet from his motorcycle and Tyler's helmet had came off at impact with the road. It was forty yards from where he laid on the ground, unconscious. Luckily, Tyler was second from the back of the pack and Manny had seen the entire accident happen. He stopped on the side of the exit ramp near Tyler and immediately called 911. The ambulance came and saw the bike in a thousand pieces after rolling over and over during the crash. They found Tyler face in the dirt, totally knocked out, not responding to anyone or anything.

Manny told the police everything that had happened and did everything that he could to help his friend. Tyler was breathing. He was quickly rushed to the hospital where he was put in the ER. He looked just about dead because for the first time since Tyler started riding, he decided to set out without his usual protection. He left his gloves and jacket at home. Tyler had gravel dug so far into his hands that doctors had to perform surgery in order to get it all out. He suffered a broken shoulder, two broken ankles, and the road rash took his skin completely off.


Almost 14 hours after the crash he regained consciousness. He had no idea what had happened. The last thing Tyler saw was his body about to hit the ground. He was in excruciating pain. It's a miracle that he lived to talk about it. The other ten riders that were with Tyler and Manny, didn't even know about the crash til they were back in Lakeland. None of them checked, the entire time while riding, to see if everyone was still together. The buddy system, the only rule of the day, was ignored because everyone just wanted to get home. The "what ifs" started to come up in everyone's head. What if Tyler was the last person on the ride and no one had noticed? What if?

Since the accident Tyler has scares and recurring pains that will remind him of what happened for the rest of his life. He has gotten back on his repaired motorcycle and is riding again. This time wearing all of his protective gear and is much more cautious than before.

Expression

This past Thursday, while on another fun trip planned by Professor Corrigan, we went to the Polk Museum of Art. This had been my first time to an actual art museum. There were so many paintings that definitely surprised me. The creativity of the paintings were so original and meaningful in their own way. Not only was a painting well put together and creative but there was also a sense of passion by the artist. I could feel that their was so much meaning and time put into each piece of art. Being able to really appreciate what these artists have put together was definitely, in a way, overwhelming. Walking through each exhibit changed me not only in how to react to each painting but also altered my overall view of art. Prior to this trip I had to interest in art but after past activities in the class I have learned to appreciate it more. Going to the Polk Museum of Art was the "icing on the cake" for me. It is such a outgoing and straight-forward way of expression for those who have a particular passion for art. The physical paint is only half of the art. There is so much meaning when one looks through the canvas.
Bono said, "There's no retirement for an artist, it's your way of living so there's no end to it." Ain't it the truth. It's a gift. It's a special talent.
The more and more one views it, studies it, and connects with art, he or she can really feel for what the artist is expressing in the work.
There is a need for more unity among people today and I feel that it can be found in art. There are many ways of doing this and art seems to be, by far, one of the most effective. I believe that art has the ability to express reality and communicate it to people and make people realize reality. This can allow people to really look into themselves and see who they really are and to make an impact in the life of another.

How?

He walks out of the tunnel. Then starts a steady jog as his adrenaline begins to pump from the noise the fans are making. He is confident yet worried. The team captain has more than just the duty of playing his position. He plays both sides of the ball and special teams. He leads his team with more experience and talent that they all look to in a time like this. Kickoff, he returns it to his own 42 yard line. He looks to the stands and sees a wild crowd, chanting 22!, wearing 22 on their face. He's ready for what could be the best game of his high school career. First play, the quarterback hands him the ball to the left, it's a run! He refuses to take minimal yards. He fights his way through 3 defenders and breaks lose down the sideline for a 58 yard touchdown! He is going crazy, his team is going crazy, the fans are going crazy. He scores 3 touchdowns in the game before it happened. His third touchdown would lead to the most devastating time of his life. 11 Spartan players came out for the extra point. The kick went up, it was good. Only 10 players returned to the sideline. Number 40, laying on the field, was holding his ankle. He immedeatly ran to see what was wrong with his best friend. 40 had a broken ankle in a few places, not a big deal. "I'll win this for you Mark, we WILL win this for you," Adam said. After the ambulance had left the game resumed. 22 would then go crazy as he collected 9 consecutive tackles on defense to lead the team with 16 for the game. 252 total yards and 4 touchdowns was the best game of his high school career. He called Mark's brother on the way home. Brother said everything was alright and Mark would be out of hospital in the morning. He had a bad gut feeling but he did not know what it was. He couldn't sleep that night, tossing and turning, he knew something was wrong. He woke up the next day and a meeting was called at the high school, on a Sunday, for the entire football team. Mark had died in the hospital of an overdose to pain medication by the doctors. He was furious, sad, confused, depressed. How?

Chapter 2

Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!
I wish I could wash you
away in the sink.
If only a bomb
would explode you to bits.
Homework! Oh, homework!
You're giving me fits.
I'd rather take baths
with a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework
my teacher assigns.
Homework! Oh, homework!
You're last on my list.
I simply can't see
why you even exist.
If you just disappeared
it would tickle me pink.
Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!

taking today's off

Sacred Reading or Lectio Divina

The exercise the class did together on Tuesday, Lectio Divina, yet again changed my view of how one can approach and participate in literature. Not only does this require in-depth attention and quality time but also deep meditation of the mind and heart. I think that majority of those not "into" literature only think about the amount he/she has read. Instead, take a little more time to really "tune in" to what message literature is trying to relay to its readers.

Lectio Divina can be a repeating reading of the same work 4 times and each time looking at it from a different perspective. 1st, capturing any word or phrase that stands out to you, reflect on the reading, think of a prayer you are familiar with that you can connect to the reading, and lastly, simply rest in the spirit.
One could ask, because I certainly did at first, "why in the world are we doing this?" But you realize that the physical words on the paper are only half of the meaning in literature. If we as readers will see with our eyes, hear with our ears, focus with our minds, and reflect with our hearts we will truly be able to see how there is a deep meaning behind literature that is only revealed through an open mind set and devotion to the work.
This exercise was another addition to a great activity that opens up readers to really experience more than just simple words on paper