Analysis of The Hurricane Ride by Bernard Cooper

I thoroughly enjoyed Bernard Cooper’s “The Hurricane Ride”. The essay is a personal account about a family’s struggle to survive during a hurricane. Cooper is observing his aunt, paralyzed in fear, as she deals with the horrors of the events during a natural disaster. The piece describes the internal battle of the perception that one has of someone instantly changing due to an event that occurred.

Cooper describes his aunt as a woman of “bulk [with] constant chatter”. Usually, extroverted people of significant size or stature tend to be perceived as being strong individuals. To experience someone that you have known to be strong and fearless “scream as the floor dropped slowly away, lipstick staining her teeth” can drastically change your perception of them.

Cooper takes this a step further in the metaphorical sense by comparing his feelings to that of a hurricane. “Numbers and theories barrel beyond me. It’s clear that people disappear, and things, and thoughts. Earth. Aunt. Hurricane… they travel toward you at the speed of light. They are on the verge of vanishing.” I interpret this to mean that our feelings and perceptions of people are ever changing, even if we aren’t ready for it. These revelations bombard us “at the speed of light” and how we the way we once understood someone is now “on the verge of vanishing”.

Young men face this reality when they see their father cry for the first time. You once viewed this man as invulnerable, perhaps invincible. So many day-to-day events seemed to have no effects on him. Until one day, it all unravels and you see a human being that is no different than anyone else. It is an experience that I personally dealt with and one I will never forget.

Critique of Sunday Essay by Henry Louis Gates

I am very familiar with the work of Henry Louis Gates. He is heralded as one of the best contemporary African-American writers and scholars today. He is also one of the most controversial. Two things come to mind when I think of Gates: the incendiary, race baiting rhetoric that he so eloquently proclaims and his well known Cambridge arrest for breaking into his own home in 2009. My reading of his essay “Sunday” did not change my perception of him nor of his work.

“Sunday” reads as a literary discussion of the savory works of African-American cuisine. It is very hard to truly understand the angle in which Gates is coming from. Much of the dialogue comes off as condescending. The essay starts off with the lines “White people couldn’t cook. Everybody knew that.” and then proceeds to give vivid detail of the culinary lifestyle of the Coleman family, which is riddled with foods high in fat, cholesterol, and sugar. Is this Gates’ way of saying that blacks CAN cook or he is patronizing the audience in a tongue-in-cheek manner to show that African-American cuisine isn’t superior?

I would have to believe that Gates’ intentions truly depend on the reader. Gates (as he has delicately tried to balance for decades) is trying to appeal to the sensibilities of both blacks and whites. Gates is writing in such a way that a white audience can scoff at the proclamations made by Gates’ with lines like “‘Eating good’ with plenty of fat and cholesterol” while delivering dialogue about family bonds that is a staple in African-American culture. The line “There’s enough niggers in your mother’s family, my daddy would remark, to cast a Tarzan movie” is another perfect example of a calculated attempt to relate to the sensibilities of the audience. Depending on the reader, one can be utterly offended or highly amused by the comment. Stating that his African-American “daddy” said it only removes the personal accountability of your reaction.

Overall, I found the essay interesting but I am all too familiar with the social subtleties of Gates’ work. The layered meanings can be a testament to the genius of Gates or of his literary destructive tactics. Which one is he? Just like in “Sunday” the answer all depends on your sensibilities.

A1 Critique

I was very intrigued by this long, “short” story due to the great sense of metaphors and descriptive wordplay. Though many in the class seemingly had their own interpretation of the piece, I interpreted the story to be about two lovers at a crossroads in their relationship, with one trying to constructively talk about it while the other is dismissive and distant. The story takes place in the girlfriend’s home, where the boyfriend visits to discuss the state of their relationship. The story unfolds through the boyfriend’s (the narrator) consciousness with occasional direct quotes from the girlfriend that breaks up his flow of consciousness.

The author of the poem suggests through wordplay that the writing is about a therapist and a patient, but it is really about a failing romantic relationship. The suggestion is that the woman wants to discuss and analyze the man’s feelings so frequently and intimately that he feels like he is seeing a therapist. The keen clues that prove that this story is truly about a romantic relationship is the metaphor that revolves around a cat. The descriptions of the cat(s) align with the arc of a failed relationship. The metaphor starts off with “a cat wanders around your legs”. This is in line with the man first approaching the woman–the graceful art of seduction. Further, the line “Is the cat alive or dead?” symbolizes the point in the relationship where one party begins to question the state of the relationship. “A pair of cats rushes in –entangled– one live cat and a dead cat screeching and hissing…” is telling to the current state of the characters. The girlfriend is alive, and the boyfriend is dead, yet they are fighting (screeching and hissing) over something that occurred a long time ago (two cats can’t truly fight when one is isn’t alive). The lust for infidelity is also suggested with “A billboard rises across the dusty sunset, saying something about buying or driving a new cat”. This line is absolutely powerful. “Dusty sunset” means that the two characters have not made love in a very long time and this has led to the man considering another mate, even if he has to pay for it. This speaks volumes to the disconnect between the two characters.

I could go on and on about the many nuisances of this amazing piece of literature. I continuously read the piece over and over and find new metaphors and double entendres that eloquently describe the distant, cold, disconnected state of the narrator coinciding with the hurt they have bestowed on the other character. I plan to write more about this work in future blog posts. Stay tuned.

The List of Famous Hats by James Tate Critique

This story can be taken as a tongue-in-cheek tale about the hats Napolean wore during his life in the late 18th to 19th century. I believe Tate is using the hats to be a metaphor to the true power and destructive nature of Napoleon, instead.

The first hat that Tate speaks of is Napoleon’s private bathing cap. The word “private” is key hear as Tate is illustrating the demons that Napoleon death with outside of the public eye. The cap speaks as a metaphor to Napoleon’s personality. Tate describes the hat as “too small” which personifies the insecurities that Napolean internalized about his small stature that led him to do very menacing things to act out against this insecurity. Tate takes the metaphor even further with lines such as “[the cap] was very painful for him and gave him many headaches”. This symbolizes the hurt that Napoleon felt about his size. The “headaches” led to him acting as a “pinhead” as Tate describes him.

The second hat that Tate speaks of is Napoleon’s tricorn bathing cap. This, unlike the private bathing cap, is the hat that observers always saw Napoleon wear. Tate calls this the “public head”. This is the political leader and military force. This is the figure that Napoleon wanted people to know and not the insecure person that he really was privately.

Tate briefly alludes to a third hat that he calls “a pyramid or something”. This is a metaphor to Napoleon’s efforts that many did not know about, in particular colonialism. The phrase “a pyramid or something” alludes to Napoleon’s (and France as a whole) efforts to bring colonialism to foreign lands such as Africa, which is known for their pyramids. The pyramid also metaphorically describes the ironclad will of Napoleon to be at the top of the European pyramid of power over countries like Great Britain whom he battled viciously during the Napoleonic Wars in early 19th century.

What is it all FOUR?

 

Enter.

Cry ’til you can walk.
Cry ’til you can talk.
Play. Play. Play.
Go to school.
Go to school and not like girls.
Play sports.
Go to school and then like girls.
Go to prom, dance, have sex.
Go to college.
Meet girl.
Cheat on girl for cuter girl.
Meet girl.
Cheat on girl for less attractive but more compatible girl.
Meet girl.
Date girl.
Break up.
Meet girl.
Date girl.
Break up.
Repeat.
Graduate from college.
Find job.
Learn you can’t get a job with your degree.
Go to college.
Meet girl.
Date girl.
Marry girl.
Travel to island named after unknown saint.
Graduate from college.
Find job.
Buy house.
Travel to island named after unknown saint.
Have kid.
Learn the formula x+y=z•0
Where x=kids
y=her job
z=sex
Have 1.5 more kids.
See formula
Buy bigger house.
Root for sports team.
Team loses.
Repeat.
Kid grows up.
Moves out.
Repeat.
Spend thousands of dollars on frivolous things.
Repeat.
Travel to city full of dead saints.
Have a series of absurdly average grand kids.
Buy smaller house.
Drool ’til you can’t walk.
Drool ’til you can’t talk.

Exit.

*Best case scenario

A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes (The poem that created my love for poetry)

The essence of the brilliance of the late, great, Langston Hughes.  The pinnacle of Harlem Renaissance poetry.

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Four by Jennifer Dick Critique

         I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about this poem at first glance.  I mean, it is formatted as one incredibly long paragraphical rant, followed by abstract, spacial lines all the way up to the (abrupt) conclusion.  After reading “Four” several times, I began to gain an appreciation for the aesthetic subtleties that Dick presents regarding life and purpose.

The poem is about one discovering how horrible the world is, reflecting on what can be done to change it, realizing nothing can be done and thus coming to the revelation of either living in the moment or succumbing to suicide.

“Four” begins as a manifestation of what is wrong in the world.  The thoughts are structured as random, unrelated thoughts and as we progress through the opening, the thoughts become more related.  For example, the narrator’s rant  goes from “a lack of ice, nightmares, [to] a depletion in the ozone layer”, all unrelated in nature.  Later in the rant, there is much more cohesion with lines like “because your nose is too long, hips too large, eyes the wrong color…” and “because it is Tuesday, Saturday, or Christmas”.  I believe Dick did this intentionally to show that the narrator is gathering their thoughts and coming to terms with some sort of clarity.

After the initial jumbled rant, Dick intentionally spaces out the remaining words in the poem, furthering the metaphor of the narrator gaining clarity.   That clarity comes with the line, “The body in flight, remains in flight.  There is a point of no return”.  This is the narrator realizing that as horrible as the world is, there is nothing that can be done about it.  The narrator is left with a choice.  Either settle for the way the world is or leave it all together.  The line “Caught mid-flight…What I can’t undo not my doing” personifies that.

The poem continues in the vein of contemplating suicide from a metaphorical standpoint.  The narrator realizes the importance of the present for two reasons: the world is too horrible to chance so one must enjoy the essence of existing and the time to decide to die is in this very moment.

The poem ends abruptly with the line, “in a spasmodic desire to” which leaves the ending open to interpretation.  The optimist in me feels that the line ends with “live” as in “a spasmodic desire to live”.  I believe Dick wants the narrator to live vicariously through the audience and let us decide the narrator’s fate.  I choose perseverance through the tough times as life has a tendency to improve, especially with a change of perspective.

“Dream Boogie” by Langston Hughes Critique

Going back to my elementary school years, I have always enjoyed Langston Hughes’ work.  “Dream Boogie” has always been one of my favorites.  I interpret the poem to be about two friends, one of which is expressing to the other the ills of society while the other is questioning if he truly is happy or is putting on a facade to hide his pain.

The poem is told in a scat format.  Scat music was a form of jazz that was popular during the Harlem Renaissance.  It is typically deemed as uplifting and fun.  The usage of the word “daddy” was a term of endearment to a friend.  For the narrator to be speaking in scat while talking about the societal ills of African-Americans (poverty, racism, deferred dreams, etc.) it personifies the inner battles that he (and many others like him) were going through.  His friend could not comprehend how he could be putting on a facade that he is happy when he cannot fathom that one could be when dealing with such oppression.  The narrator goes to great lengths to ignore him, which his friend points out in lines like “What did I say?”.

African-Americans throughout history have had to take oppression with a smile on there face since happy blacks were the only ones remotely accepted by mainstream American.  The narrator is using the forum of jazz (entertainment) since this is the only way that his voice is heard by the masses.  Since whites would only listen to African-American expression in whites-only venues like Harlem’s Cotton Club,it would be fitting for one to speak of their issues in this manner to speak out (while still being entertaining).  Hughes speaks to this conundrum with this piece with a sense of elegance only he could describe.