Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra Faculty of Education Department of Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies

Interpretation of literary texts

1XAJ9m 2012/2013

Bc.Gabriela Nterov

Gwendolyn Brooks The Mother

Although her children do not exist, and may have never existed, the speaker is a mother because she loves her children (New Criticism) The poem The Mother is a moving and powerful confession which features a woman who has undergone more than one abortion. She cannot stop thinking about her actions and their consequences and this leads to an emotional outpour of the sense of guilt. In the first part of the poem (lines 1-10), the mother makes a general statement about the memories and feelings of all women who went through similar suffering. In this part there are many paradoxes. For example the very first word abortions does not correspond with the title of the poem. How can the speaker call herself the mother when her children have been aborted? The second line is also contradictory when she claims that the mother who has aborted will remember the children that she conceived but did not get. This opposition leads towards conflicting views where on the one hand she bluntly describes the bodies of the aborted foetuses as damp small pulps with a little or no hair, but in the following line she makes the melancholic remark on their non-existent future experiences (line 4), which truly are vivid descriptions of life. The speaker then offers a rationalization of these actions that brings some comfort when she states you will never neglect or beat them, or silence or buy with a sweet which suggests that abortions are good in some respect. Nevertheless, she immediately refutes this claim by asserting that the mother will also never be able to comfort her babies, so the line which shows abortions as a positive action suddenly twists into a line full of tenderness and parental care. In the second part the speaker now moves to her own experience, shifting from universal you to I. She is talking about her pain and loss, and then she makes the transition from addressing the reader to explaining her children why she did what she did. There are many Ifs (lines 14,17,20) as if she is trying to find some comfort by this uncertainty and realizing that even though she denies them an ordinary existence if I seized your luckif I stole your births and your names (lines 15 and 17), she also denies them aches and deaths (line 19).

In these lines there is an opposition which leads into the line 21 in my deliberateness I was not deliberate where she points out the uncertainty of her decision to have abortions just as she is uncertain whether aborted children are real children or just the damp small pulps and whether she was aware of what she was deciding or not. And although the lines 22-26 show speakers utmost sorrow and realization that the crime is only hers, she quickly contradicts that claim as faulty and declares you were born, you had body, you died, thus declaring that the children did exist. Moreover, she finally finds her only way for deliverance by resolving this conflict in the final lines and declaring her love for all those dead babies. She begs them to believe her when she says I knew you, though faintly, and I loved, I loved you / All, although this declaration brings her even more pain and mourning. Thus, despite the fact that her children do not exist, they had some kind of existence and by declaring her love the speaker proved herself to be a mother.

Sandra Cisneros Love poem #1

She loves him for everything she is not (Reader-Response Criticism) The title of the poem suggests that the couple has been together for a longer period of time and this poem can be the first in a sequel. In the poem a woman is speaking to her man, expressing her love. In the first stanza she describes herself as a red flag woman, which can express her temper. She is probably passionate and energetic, somebody to watch out for; even somebody dangerous because another description of her personality is all copper chemical. Copper is a great conductor for electricity and heat so I think that she must be responsive and very emotional. On the contrary, she describes her partner as an ax and a bruised thumb. It seems to me that he might be aggressive and violent but at the same time clumsy and not careful. She sees their relationship as stormy and full of disharmony when she says that it is unlikely pas de deux, as this ballet dance requires grace and coordination. Despite these facts she does

not want to stir bad emotions and disharmony because she says but just let us wax which can mean she wants the smooth things down. She continues with an unexpected list of things such as nitro, egypt, snake, museum and zoo. I believe these are used to describe their relationship, having nitro as the symbol of explosiveness and Egypt as a representative of a hot and exotic place and at the same time the timeless pyramids which can express the long lasting relationship. As for the snake I see it as a symbol of temptation, the museum as something valuable, rare and eternal and the zoo can express that they are like animals on display and anybody can observe them. The third stanza again shows to what extent their personalities are opposite Connoisseurs and Commandoes one refined and one reckless, they fell in love with each other, not with themselves as Narcissus did, nor did their love come when they were too young (referring to a pale plum which is not ready for eating unless ripe). Here I can see the strong bond between the couple despite their different characters. Although the great deal of the poem is full of opposites and contradiction, in the final stanza the resolution is made when the woman expresses her deep love for the man. Even though the woman shows her worship of the man and compares it to a religious worship (which is usually strong and profound), I do not think that the couple is religious. The wicked nun can
express forbidden pleasurable ideas. I do believe that the poet purposely joined two different lives into one to demonstrate the bond the couple has, thus conveying the idea of how opposites attract.

Ernest Hemingway A Very Short Story

Luz is right. It is only a boy and a girl affair (Reader-Response Criticism) As typical for Hemingways word economy the most of the information about setting, tone, plot and atmosphere can be found in the first two paragraphs. Both protagonists have a love

affair, the American being a patient in hospital and Luz taking care of him as his nurse. The basis of their relationship does not seem to be very deep (he thinks of her in his bed) and all the other patients know about it which refers to their attachment. Having an affair with one of her patients Luz seems to behave unprofessionally, which can point either to the fault of her character or the lack of maturity. When the soldier goes back to the front she writes him many letters telling him how much she loves him and how it is difficult to get along without him. Here I can see that she cares for him and wants them to marry. For this reason I do not understand why they do not do so after the armistice has been signed. They did not have enough time to marry before he went back to the front but the situation is different now. Instead they agree that he will go to the States to find a job and Luz will join him later. This seems to me as an excuse why not to marry after all. Why does she not go to the States with him? Does she have any doubts about him or even herself? What I notice are remarks in the fourth paragraph concerning drinking alcohol and seeing the soldiers friends. It was understood he would not drink, and he did not want to see his friends or any one in the States. This is a very strange way to express somebodys own decisions. Also at the beginning of the story there is a reference to drinking on the roof of the hospital. So does the soldier have a drinking problem? I doubt that the promise he makes is on his impulse and suspect Luz of making him do so. Another striking fact referring to the shallowness of their attachment is their quarrel before his departure and consequently his feeling of unhappiness. If he feels so miserable about the situation, why does he go away and leave Luz behind? Why does he not press her to leave with him? I do believe he has his own doubts too. Finally, when Luz writes him a letter telling him she is having an affair with an Italian officer, he without delay contracts gonorrhoea from a sales woman he shares a taxi with. This shows both the superficiality of their relationship and the soldiers immaturity. To conclude, I think that although Luz may seem thoughtless, even cruel at first, she is right. It is only a boy and a girl affair doomed to failure.

Hemingways Cap
(Deconstruction) The advertisement for Hemingways cap has numerous contradictory meanings inside. The binary opposition is created between the masculine strength and the lack of confidence. Although the cap represents manly qualities in a form of toughness, endurance and durability, the remark elastic at back to keep this treasure from blowing off your head and into the trees refers to the insecurity and weakness of the owner. The word treasure suggests that the man wearing such a cap should be aware of the possible danger of losing it. The comment blowing off your head makes almost allusion to Hemingways own life. He had a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961 by literary blowing his head off after having struggled with severe health problems including anorexia, severe weight loss, insomnia, deep sadness, total pessimism, and self-destructive trends. It seems as if Hemingway, being deprived of a full life, decided to end it instead of making compromises. Despite the fact that from the point of deconstruction this should not be taken into consideration, it is still worth mentioning. Also the material which the bill is made of (deerskin) refers to a case of an extremely soft and luxurious garment, not typical for tough men. Deerskin leather is different than other types of leather in several ways, and these aspects are factored in when somebody is purchasing such clothing in order to be sure that they get the best experience possible from their investment. Moreover, the size of the bill is rather unusual being longer than I, at least, ever saw before, which really suggests that the owner of such a cap would be exhibiting his high status in such a way that he can be seen as a bit of a show off. Another contradictory statement is the authors remark regarding the difficulties he had to go into in order to have this one made for you and me. This declaration is totally undermined at the end of the advertisement. The price $33 is rather high but as long as the seller had a lot of troubles had the cap done, it may be justified but what about the last sentence? He probably got a change from a five when he bough the original. This is totally inconsistent with what has just been said. So the question is to buy or not to buy? Is the cap really worth buying? By the way, the cap does not even cost $33 anymore; the price is now $59 at http://www.jpeterman.com/Hemingway-Cap