Poetry Assignment #1

1.                 1. The poem in this commercial is “The Laughing Heart” by Charles Bukowski

2. The use of the poem is inappropriate for a corporation to use because corporations only offer you what they want you to see. They keep you ignorant and in the dark about their corporation secrets and how they run things. For all they care is that the you (the consumer) buys their products. We are unaware of the wages and conditions the employees are under. We must find that light and not so much be influenced my society, but be the influence and find some light.

3. Bukowski’s had his fair share of difficult times in his life. His difficulties/obstacles lead him to be known as a “hard-drinking, womanizing, tough-talking man.” Bukowski’s character and reputation are well present in the poem, because he talks about being in the dark and accepting his dull life. Throughout the poem he constantly encourages others to not give up hope because there is light out there for everyone. He is putting this advice forth from his past experiences.

4. I found the answer to #1 by typing in the first two lines of the poem on  Google. (http://thebestamericanpoetry.typepad.com/the_best_american_poetry/2008/11/the-laughing-he.html)

To answer #3 I searched up “Charles Bukowski” on Google and found a timeline on his life. I also searched his name up on eNotes which gave me more information on the kind of author he was.

( http://bukowski.net/timeline/ )  ( http://www.enotes.com/charles-bukowski-essays/bukowski-charles )

            

Essay Assignment #1

“A place to call home”           

            It does not surprise me that the word home and house are synonyms, some might even say there is no difference between the two words. Indeed there is a difference; a home is a place in which you feel comfortable, happy, protected, and safe enough to be yourself. A house is simply a place in which a family resides. In the novel “The Poisonwood Bible” Orleanna Price considered her home to be in Georgia where her family was safe of certain diseases, educated, and comfortable. Moving to the Belgian Congo was an unhealable rift Orleanna Price had to endure.

            To begin with, Orleanna Price was first taken away from her home when she married Nathan Price. She was said to be a very loving, free spirited, and strong until marriage with Nathan came along. The new chapter of marriage really allowed her to experience a life away from what she knew. She no longer had a warm home, but a cold house. Her behavior changed from being young and confident to obedient and fearful. Her home was fumigated by Nathan’s stubborn opinions.

            The home of Orleanna Price did not only consist of the person she was when she was in it, but of its location as well. Being taken away from her home in which she had been raised and was raising her children was no easy task. Moving from Georgia to the Congo was just what Orleanna needed to break into pieces. It almost seemed like she had no home at all for she never felt comfort or safety in the Congo. The home that always stayed with her was her four daughters. This home is what enriched her life and allowed her to keep moving each day. The alienation that she felt every day was nothing, but a secret to the reader; a dark, dark secret.            

            There is only so much that can be taken before all is gone. The “home” of Orleanna Price was constantly being taken from and quickly disappeared from her life.  After Ruth May’s death her home is completely vanished from her sight. All of these experiences allowed the character to enrich herself with self-confidence and bravery. The solemn and secret way in which she dealt with her loss was what   made her experience illuminate the novel. It made the reader feel a certain degree of pity for the family and an unlikable feeling towards Nathan Price.

            The exile of the Price family really stripped Orleanna from her belongings and most of all a place she called home. Fortunately she was able to recover some of that warm home she once owned by returning to her hometown Georgia. The rift she went through brought heart ache, but also renewed a part of her home.