'My papa's Waltz' by Theodore Roethke

2-18-11
I loved the poem 'My Papa's Waltz' by Theodore Roethke. It was hard for me not to bring my own feeling in to my interpretation of the poem, but their was one line that truly made me feel that it was a positive story; 'With a palm caked hard by dirt'The only way I could interpret this line was positive. The boy was well aware that his father worked hard. For a young child to be aware of the cause of his fathers cracked hands and drunkenness takes compassion.
When I read the poem and bring in my personal feelings, I am torn two ways. My father drank and was verbally abusive when he drank, but he worked from 6 am until long after dark, and their was never a doubt in my mind that he loved me and would do anything for me. Because of my history, my interpretation is influenced by my love for my father.
160 words

idea for for critical analysis

     I think it will be interesting to write about Cloyds relationship to the story. Through out the book we are viewing Cloyd from Sonny’s point of view, but the reality is that Cloyd has never really done anything to harm or degrade Sonny or his mother. Cloyd has been supportive to both of them and has not been given respect in return. Because of his bigotry he has offended both of them unconsciously, however he did try to rectify the situation by rephrasing or changing the conversation. We never hear from his son but that relationship seems to be a respectable one. Cloyd has a decent landlord tenant relationship with most of his tenants, they even say that he has always kept the place up, but he is not tolerant of anything Pink does. For the most part he appears to be a fairly solitary man, only interacting with a few of his tenant/neighbors. He is very tight with money, which is the base for many of the arguments between Sil and him, furthermore it is the catalyst that causes distance between Sonny and him, when he does not pay for the sign to be painted.  It seems that Cloyds character is as important to the story as Sonny's, yet we never are given the view of events through Cloyds eyes.
220 words

english 1b my relationship with reading

Feb 4, 2011
     I have struggled with reading and spelling all my life. When I was a sophomore in high school I had only read one novel and that was in 6th grade. I had been in every special reading class they had all the way through school and still had not made progress. It was not that I did not like reading, it just was painful for me to do. My family are all avid readers, and I felt embarrassed that I was not. My mother read to us on a regular basis up through my sixth year of school, so I was not missing out on the pleasures of a good book.
     Midway through my sophomore year, the school offered a reading class. I had myself tested to see if I qualified for it. I was told that I was reading words at a college level and I did not qualify. I was persistent, and insisted that even though I could decode, I could not follow a written page. After allowing me to take the class, they had my vision tested and between getting glasses and being able to see how I was turning my words around in my typing class, I was able to run through the door that opened for me that year.
     I read a countless number of books that year and I have continued to enjoy reading. My biggest handicap with reading now is that I that when I find a novel, I like I do not want to put it down until it is finished. Being that I do not read quickly, my family becomes  because I spend days at a time not taking care of my domestic duties and sitting with a book instead. I now make a point to read less novels and stick with articles, and online information so that I can keep up on other my families needs. I love my family but I am thankful that my children are old enough that they do not need me quite as much. I am looking forward to being able to enjoy novels again.
Kelly F
360 words

2. more on problem 2 Is Sonny's education is making a difference?

     In the Flowers by Dagoberto Gilb, Sonny appears to be making progress in school even though he makes negative comments like ‘I wanted to fucking moan!’ (pg 122), when the subject is brought up.  In the beginning of the book Sonny’s grammar and slang are difficult to understand.  On page 4 is an example of the composition of his typical sentences: ‘That judge, she wouldn’t have laughed, and then I don’t think my mom would’ve laughed no more, and she never laughed as much as me.’  But by page130 his thoughts are coming across more like poetry:

I saw it.

Or it’s what I didn’t.

The darkness was not light.

The darkness was what might be a wall

And might be a bottomless hole.

It was not light.

No sun and no moon.

Death was not light

And the light,

The light was what could be seen.

Light was what shined

and sparkled

and was happiness,

And death was like sleeping alone—

-it was not light.

Light could be still

and be watched

Or could pass under

 like a freeway was under you

And you sat there.

It was a spray

and flow in the face

When you couldn’t not notice it

And you didn’t always

unless it came at you

so hard.

Maybe he was just in love and the poetry reflects that.

224 words

2. writing problem2 (more) Sonny's progression with friends / french

 2-22-11
As the book 'The Flowers' by Dagoberto Gilb, progresses Sonny's relationship with the twins progresses. After he has a physical relationship with Cindy he realizes that 'by now they were guys I'd stand up for.’ and "They were the only friends I had ... They made it seem like my life was a joy ride ... their envy mad me stronger.) (pg134) He all so came to the conclusion that they listened to him and did not forget what he said. This is important because his mother and Cloyd did not listen or even pay attention to what he was doing.
The more Sonny gets use to the idea of going to France the more he likes it and he begins to share the idea with other people. He is becoming more focused on learning French and trades the twins a porn magazine for a French book Learning French was something that he had made a decision about and it must have felt good to him, to have a goal in his life. Prior to the decision he did not have a goal and was just in a survival mode. We do not know if Sonny truly wants to go to France until his mother asked him why he is learning French. He reminds her of Cloyd’s promise and she tells him to not pursue it. Sonny's lack of response seems to tell us he is disappointed.
240 words

2. Writing Problem 2 on the topic of Education first impression of twins and french

2-19-11
It seems that school is more of a formality than a necessity for Sonny. He does not seem to be excited about any part of it. Even the twins are more of a convenience than true friends, but they are a stepping stone in to the social world for Sonny. Sonny views the twins as inexperienced and some what nerdy. That makes it safe and easy for him to have a relationship with them because he is more street wise than they are.
I feel that the reason Sonny wants to learn French is because Cloyd saw through him, and now he has to try and prove that Cloyds intuition was wrong. As a coping strategy, Sonny does not want most people to get to know him., so after Cloyd saw through Sonny’s bluff about wanting to go to college, Sonny had to cover by learning French.
　 149 words

free write (my father always)

 free write (my father always) My father was always in his own world. He was an engineer and designer, so it seemed like he was constantly far away in thought, about some machine he was designing or building. It was as if he never stopped working. He was extremely intelligent, and I think he needed his mind occupied with something just to keep from being annoyed with the world of less intelligent people around him. Occasionally there was loving interaction with the family, but most of the time we were on guard. He had undiagnosed Terets Syndrome that caused him to have sudden outbursts of profanity of banging his fist on to the table. If one of us would ask him what was the mater he would look at us blankly and innocently respond “nothing”. He had no idea what had happened just seconds before. When he was 59 he was diagnosed with brain cancer and under went radiation to his brain. On the drive to get a treatment my parents stopped to get gas. My father went in to the station and followed a small framed gas attendant out, as he mumbled “stupid stupid little man” all the way to the pump. My mother was in the car watching my intimidating father belittle this pore man, and not even know he was doing it. That was the last time my father suffered from Terrets. After the radiation treatment the Terets stopped. With in the following year my fathers mind determinate to the point that he was afraid that he would soon become a burden. A family reunion was held at my parents home, where we all had a chance to spend some quality time with Dad and say our good by’s, knowing this would be our last chance. I was the last of the guests to leave, shortly after which my father told my mother to go see her mother. She drove down the quarter mile driveway and waited. With in a few minutes she heard the gun shot..
341 words

1. Writing Problem 1 on the topic of Family

2-16-11
Sonny's dog Goofy was the closest family member he had in the beginning of the book. He was antisocial most of the time and preferred not to respond to the kayos around him, but he always kept a relationship with Goofy. They shared more bonding than he did with his mother or sister. When they moved in with Cloyd, his mother allowed the dog to be sent away, and even though Goofy was gone, he still played a large roll in Sonny’s life. Sonny held his mother solely responsible for Goofy being sent away, consequently that changed and damaged what their was of a relationship between Sonny and his mother.
111 words

english 1b I am

Feb 3, 2011
     I have worked with handicapped children for 24 years. After being injured on the job I am now a return college student. It has been 16 years, but I am back. When I am not at school or doing homework, I enjoy my family, gardening, kayaking, camping, and being away from the towns and cities. I was raised on the out skirts of small town in Oregon with less than 2000 people. Even though I never want to live there again, I do miss living close to nature. I am very involved in my church but my holy place in any quiet place that is surrounded by the wilderness.
     There is something to be said for being raised in the country. I was able to leave my house for the day with nothing in my hands and hike as far as I wanted. I would stop at the streams and drink and eat lunch from the wild berries and plants along the path. My mother was a wonderful teacher and we grew up knowing most of the plants and animals around us. She also taught us to make most of our school clothing, and gave us a hunger for trying new foods.
My Father served in the Navy when he was young. It gave him the education to go with his genius. He was able to take that education in to the world and designed and built many pieces of equipment that are still in use in our world. As a child I loved to study his drawings and watch him work. He was quite patient with me and would always explain things when I asked, probably because no one else in our family had the aptitude for engineering.
     It was not until I was in my forties that I realized that my father had given me a gift that I loved. While I was working for the schools I found that our budget did not cover some of the very expensive equipment we needed. I began designing a building equipment for the schools handicapped children. But not until I was injured did I take is serious and return to school.
Kelly F
360 words