Poetry Blog

When I hear the word poetry the first thing that pops into my head is rhyming. I think this idea comes from multiple experiences with poetry and things I perceive to be poetry. For example, Shakespeare sonnets are one of the main things I think of when I think about poetry. The abab rhyme scheme is now the main thing I think of when I think about poetry. This rhyme scheme is the popular idea of poetry. When you ask most people to make a poem they will probably try to rhyme some words that usually make no sense. Another popular idea of poetry is haikus. These are also very popular mostly because everyone had to write a haiku sometime in their education. I think this leads to the next question about what us the state of poetry in contemporary culture. I think poetry is going is evolving at the moment in to more current day ideas. The main example of this is slam poetry. Walt Whitman would probably not walk on stage and dish out a mean slam, but today these events are becoming more an more frequent.  In this day and age I will most likely be able to find poetry on the internet. The internet has done wonders for poetry because it is now so readily accessible to the public.  Sights like poetry 180 introduce multiple kinds of poems and this would not be possible without the internet. In conclusion I think that poetry is still in mainstream culture, but just not in the way it was 100 years ago.

Why Voltaire's Writing Style Works for Candide

In the novel Candide the reader is introduced to a writing style that hops back and forth between settings constantly and seems to have no straight path. In one chapter the reader could be in Germany while the next one you are in the New World. While this style would prbabably be bashed by critics to day it was loved at the time. The reason this writing style works for Voltaire is the hopping around is part of his satire on optimism. With all these seemingly random things happening It is easy to see while Voltaire thought that the current thought about optimism was wrong. He is showing through all these terrible things that happen to people that they should not see it as the best state of the world but that they are legitemently having bad luck. If Voltaire just used  a linear constant narrative this story would not work because it would be to close to an actual lifestyle, but with Voltaire randomly hopping around he shows that even with the crazy events happening to Candide he still for some reason beleives in Pangloss' theory.

The Point of Resurrecting Dead Characters

Through the first 15 chapters of the book the reader has experienced Voltaire bring back multiple characters from the dead even when at the time of their death it seemed like there was no possible way the character survived. I think Voltaire does this to add another level of his satire in the novel. Since the novel Candide is making fun of optimism it would be hard for people to die and still be optimistic. Every time someone close to Candide dies he starts to question Pangloss' theory of optimism but when the characters come back to life Candide recognizes how this is always the best possible world. For example, once Candid learns of Cunegonde's death he is distraught and wonder show such a bad thing could happen in such a wonderful world. But after he finds Cunegonde in Portugal he realizes the error in his ways and that Pangloss will always be right. Another thing that Voltaire done that was interesting was keeping certain characters dead. The major example of this so far in the novel is killing the Anabaptist. The reason Voltaire did this is because he is killing all the actual kind people for good. In doing this Voltaire is again making fun of everyones theory on optimism.

What If Absalom Received Mercy

If Absalom actually received mercy I think this would change the last third of the book drastically.This is because I do not think James Jarvis would help rebuild the town and valley. James would not help not because he wanted Absalom to be dead but I think one of the main reasons he helped Kumalo was he could empathize with Kumalo losing a son. James then used this bond as an inspiration to help Kumalo rebuild the tribe in Ndotsheni. Also James Jarvis is already going out of his comfort zone to the help the father of his sons murderer and if Absalom was still around I do not think Jarvis help Kumalo. This is  because I do not think anyone can show that much forgiveness in so little time. Another thing that would change would be the overall message of the book because I think one of the major themes in this novel is forgiveness and without James Jarvis forgiving Kumalo this whole theme would disappear.

My Major Gripes With the Movie

After watching most of the movie I have come to form two major gripes with the movie. The first is that Gertrude is really never focused on to the extent of the book and that Absalom looks like a grown man. In the movie only a few things about Gertrude are done and even after Kumalo saves her from being a prostitute she just fades into the background never to be mentioned except that she disappeared. In the book Gertrude was a great example of what Johannesburg can do to a person from the country. Another thing that the book did was show her struggles at Ms. Lithbe's house and this explains her eventual decision to become a nun. But, in the movie when we learn Gertrude is gone the audience does not know where she went. So, for all they know she went back to being a prostitute instead of transforming her self and becoming a nun. Another thing that I did not like about the movie was the fact that Absalom's actor look like he was 40. One of the main things that help the reader side with Absalom on the murder case was that he was young and scared. If Absaloms actor was like 18-19 the viewers would be able to understand Absalom's argument.

Predictions for James Jarvis

When we first meet James Jarvis he is not very progressive with his thoughts to natives. He is not extremely racist but does not want them to become equal to whites. But, when he visits Johannesburg his opinion begins to change and after reading some of his sons writing pieces he understands what his son was trying to stay. My prediction is that James Jarvis is going to take the place of Arthur Jarvis for advocating for equal native rights. This is because James does not seem to be angry at father Kumalo and did not seem to pleased that Absolom got the death penalty. He would be a great model for equal native rights because he has shown a great amount of forgiveness and has not let one incident cloud his judgement on what is right for the natives. Also he is a respected white man and to win equal rights for black people there has to be a white man leading the charge because racist Europeans would still listen to James. In conclusion I think that James Jarvis will turn this tragedy into a great thing for the natives.

The Purpose of the Focus on James Jarvis

Throughout the novel so far we have seen a primary focus on father Kumalo's actions but in he beginning of part two we see a fresh new main character James Jarvis. Throughout the next few chapters we follow James actions instead of Kumalo's. I think the author did this to have the character feel more of an emotional attachment to the murder of Arthur Jarvis. Before we see James the murder of Arthur Jarvis did not deeply sadden me or move me in any way it was just a plot point. Also My view on the murder was strictly pro Absolom because I had not seen the other side of the story. But when I was introduced to James and his grief stricken wife I immediately cared more about the murder. Also the introduction of James  changed my opinion on what should happen to Absolom because I now had a view on the other side of the story. Another thing that james adds to the plot is that he is a rich white man and is basically the opposite of father Kumalo. Now with seeing both perspectives the reader can now form a better opinion of the situation in the novel.