Exploration of the Text

1. Notice the author's choice of the word "cauldron" in line 4. What images or connections does this word evoke? Why might the author have chosen "cauldron" rather than "pot"?

~~> The Cauldron symbolize the inheritance of the Chinese culture. The author use a "cauldron rather than pot" because the cauldron is one of the way to cook in the Chinese Era and her mother is a typical ancient Chinese, she believe that the food will become healthier and long lasting.

2. Chin refers to "the Wei," "the Yellow", "the Yangtze." Why does she reference these rivers in China? Why not include the Nile, the Amazon, or the Mississippi?

~~~> The author use this 3 biggest rivers in the China because the poems is about the Chinese culture tradition and the turtle symbolize the longevity also the poems must be related to the geographical in China. Other than that, the turtle seems have been travelling in all the rivers in China.

3. What is the tone of the poem?

  ~~> The author use the angry tone because the persona feeling angry to his/her mother because she cooks the turtle that symbolize the longevity in the Chinese culture, for the persona what he/she understand by doing that he/she thinks that it is some kind of disrespectful to the culture but the persona never realize the sacrifice that his/her mother done for the sake of his health.

Ideas for Writing 

1. "Sometimes you're the life, sometimes the sacrifice." Write about this quote within the context of an immigrant family. What might a family gain or lose by moving to  a new land?

~~> Immigrating is the meaning of someone who immigrate to a new place or what we can say that someone who settle down in a country or a region which is not a native. The poem, this situation happened to the persona and his or her family. The poems is mainly about the Chinese culture heritage and also a mother sacrifice something precious in her culture for the sake of her daughter. As we can see in the poems, “sometimes you’re the life sometimes, you’re sacrifice this quotes from the poem this somehow when we immigrate we might gain or lose something in our self and others. From this immigration, we might face a new situation in life and also cultures in the place. The reason for those who always immigrate to a new place whether further study or got promoted in job.

The first thing that when we immigrate to a new place we can learn about their cultures, their lifestyle, see many new things and we can also sharing our culture with them. For example, we can know their kinds of food whether they eat spicy or western or something new for us so that we what they eat that can become a new knowledge for us. In addition, for example in the poem the persona and his mother are the one who immigrate to a new place, the mother is a very typical women and cared about her Chinese as we can see in the poem the mother the one who cooks the soup turtle for the persona sake of life but the persona never realize there is an effect for his mother future life if she cooks the turtle, the persona never feel grateful what the persona mother try to do. Other than that, we can also learned what their social life is, how they respect people, how they communicate with people, we learned a lot of new things in their life and also how they become friends to someone from other countries.

However moving to new place will sometimes cause a big problem or something that we can never imagine, for instance in the poem “You say, “Ma, you’ve poached the symbol of long life, that turtle lived four thousand years” its means here we can see that the persona is very angry with the mother because she cooks the turtle and this cause a disrespectful things to their culture but the mother’s action is for her child sake of life.

Turtle Soup

MARILYN CHIN

You go home one evening tired from work,

and your mother boils you turtle soup.

Twelve hours hunched over the hearth

(who knows what else is in that cauldron).

You say, “Ma, you’ve poached the symbol of long life;

that turtle lived four thousand years, swam

the Wei, up the Yellow, over the Yangtze.

Witnessed the Bronze Age, the High Tang,

grazed on splendid sericulture.”

(So, she boils the life out of him.)

”All our ancestors have been fools.

Remember Uncle Wu who rode ten thousand miles

to kill a famous Manchu and ended up

with his head on a pole? Eat, child,

its liver will make you strong.”

”Sometimes you’re the life, sometimes the sacrifice.”

Her sobbing is inconsolable.

So, you spread that gentle napkin

over your lap in decorous Pasadena.

Baby, some high priestess has got it wrong.

The golden decal on the green underbelly

says “Made in Hong Kong.”

Is there nothing left but the shell

and humanity’s strange inscriptions,

the songs, the rites, the oracles?

Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note

Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones)

Explorations of the text
1) What is the mood of the speaker in the opening lines? What images suggest his feelings?
~~The persona mood is soundly sad, from the poems the persona tells us that he does not have any intentions to continue his life. From my point of view and the evidence that I can find in the poems lines 1”Lately I have been accustomed”, the images that I can see there is no hope in his life as he do not think that life is meaningless.

2) What is the significance of the daughter's gesture of peeking into "her own clasped hands"?

~~ The gesture  from his daughter “her own clasped hand” I think and can feel that his daughter is the one who give hope in continue his life. From my point of view, he realizes that he should change the way he thinks and what he want in his life for himself and his daughter. Apart from that, this is the start that make him believe in god, the evidence that we can see from the poems is when his daughter praying that his father should change for better


3) What does the title mean? How does it explain the closing lines?

~~ “Preface” means an introduction in his suicides notes. In the closing lines, is about the choice that whether he want to continue life or not.

4) Why does Baraka have three short lines,separated as stanzas? How do they convey the message?

~~Baraka use 3 short lines, because he wants to show a depression in each meaning of the above lines. As evidence that I can find in the poem “Nobody sings anymore” suggest that there is no hope and nothing can make him continue his life


5) Why does the Baraka begins stanza with "Lately,"And now" and  And then"? What do this transition words accomplish?
 ~~Baraka starts the stanza with "lately" as Baraka want us to know that the fatheer does not have any enthusiasm in continue his life.Apart from that, "And now",he realizes that his life getting better from before. The poets end his poems with lines " And then" tells us that the reason why he feels the emptiness.


6) How does the speaker feel about his daughter ? What does she represent to him?
~~From my point of view,i think his daughter roles in his life is to give him a hope also his daughter represent as precious in his life.

Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note

Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones)

Lately, I’ve become accustomed to the way

The ground opens up and envelopes me

Each time I go out to walk the dog.

Or the broad edged silly music the wind

Makes when I run for a bus…

Things have come to that.

And now, each night I count the stars.

And each night I get the same number.

And when they will not come to be counted,

I count the holes they leave.

Nobody sings anymore.

And then last night I tiptoed up

To my daughter’s room and heard her

Talking to someone, and when I opened

The door, there was no one there…

Only she on her knees, peeking into

Her own clasped hands

my favourite song

Life is full of lots of up and downs,
But the distance feels further,
When it's headed for the ground,
And there's nothing more painful,
Than to let your feeling take,
You down.

It's so hard to know,
The way you feel inside,
When there's many thoughts,
And feeling that you hide,
But you might feel better,
If you let me walk with you,
By your side,

And when you need,
A shoulder to cry on,
When you need,
A friend to rely on,
And when the whole world is gone,
You won't be alone,
Cause i'll be there,
I'll be your shoulder to cry on,
I'll be there,
I'll be yur friend to rely on,
When the whole world is gone,
You won't be alone cause i'll be there,

All of the times,
When everything is wrong,
And you're feeling like,
There's no use going on,
You can't give it up,
I'll help you work it out,
And carry on,

Side by side,
With you till the end,
I'll always be the one to firmly hold your hand,
No matter what there said or done,
Our love will always continue on,

Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on,
Everyone needs a friend to rely on,
When the whole world is gone,
You won't be alone,
Cause i'll be there,
I'll be your shoulder to cry on,
I'll be there,
I'll be your friend to rely on,
When the whole world is gone 
You won't be alone,
Cause i'll be there,
You have my shoulder to cry on,
I'll be there
I'll be the one to rely on,
When the whole world is gone,
You won't be alone,
Cause i'll be there,

And when the whole world is gone,
You always have my shoulder to cry on.

p/s: Love this song...friends enjoy it....this song reminds me of my mama and abah...they are the one who always there for me and my friends tooo...^_^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSJ3sSxv0yg

Incident  (BY COUNTEE CULLEN)

Explorations of the text

 1) what is the nature of the interactions between the two boys?

~~>  The nature interactions between the two kids is about racism between black and white people during that time. The kids also being influenced about this racism in 1925. The white boy is insulting the black boy by calling him "Nigger"

2)  Why does the speaker remember nothing more than the incident,even though he lived in Baltimore from 'May until December"?

~~~> In my point of view, i think the African Americans kid  still remember what the whites kid do to him because kids tends to remember when people insult or hurt them whether mentally or physically.

The reading/ writing connection

1) In a paragraph,compare your experience of prejudice with the persona in the poem?

~~> My experience about prejudice in my life is because i has a brother who is a disable person,he cannot speak ,can just call "mama and abah" only and my short name eny. The prejudice i m trying to say here people tends to look down and dislike my brother, i do not know what is the wrong with my brother,he never disturb people but people tends to do like that. In front of my father they tend to smile because my father one of the educated person and being known but when my my turn or my other siblings they tend to speak bad. I do not know why the mentality of malaysian is so low. My brother is human to of course he never want to be like that.But i always hold this principle,people cannot help us only ALLAH s.w.t can help and the my brother is everything to my family as long all of us love him why do i care about people who is never appreciate the health that they have also their children.

Ideas for writing

1)what do its form and rhyme add to this poem?

~~~> The rhyme scheme in this poem is ABCB.  A figurative language that was used was foreshadowing. Following by 3 stanza 

2) What is the power of language? What are the effects of the use of the term nigger?

  ~~> From my point of view,the power of language is how  we use the language and the effects when the receiver is understand or not what we are trying to say. Whether the information is delivered well or not. The effects when using the term "nigger" the kids will feel sad because  just met that person.

Incident  (BY COUNTEE CULLEN)

Once riding in old Baltimore,   

 Heart-filled, head-filled with glee, 

  I saw a Baltimorean  Keep looking straight at me.

Now I was eight and very small,

   And he was no whit bigger,

And so I smiled, but he poked out

   His tongue, and called me, “Nigger.”

I saw the whole of Baltimore

   From May until December;

Of all the things that happened there

   That’s all that I remember.

All Things Not Considered by Naomi Shihab Nye

All Things Not Considered by Naomi Shihab Nye

~~~Thesis and Mini Outline~~~

Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet which told us the truth in our life. All her  poem mostly based on the truth that happened in our life whether a sad poems,a happy poems and many more. This poem based on what happened a past few years in the war in Palestins. The poems tell us what the citizens during this time felt during the war. The themes is anger,sadness,religions.The war effect the the human mentally and physically. 

All Things Not Considered poems  by Naomi Shihab Nye also telling us about the human anger and the peacefulness that they want after the war.Other than that,the memories that they had to endure in their life,for example seeing the family members being murdered in front of their eyes and  the biggest reason why the war start also the human selfishness.The human conflict between Jewish and the Muslims.

~~~The first exploratory and notes~~~

Women in poetry ^_^

~~~ Women In Poetry~~~


In literature world there are a lot famous poet but i really love her literary art,the poet which are Emily Bronte and Amy Lowell. Both of the are famous poets and also their literary work during their times until now.......

• Emily Bronte (1818-1848)
•  Born inThornton, Yorkshire (north of England)
• In the year 0f 1824-1825 she went to school ( Cowan Bridge) 
• Other than poems she also writes novel, her first novels was Wuthering Heights.

Remembrance by Emily Bronte

Cold in the earth—and the deep snow piled above thee,
Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave!
Have I forgot, my only Love, to love thee,
Severed at last by Time's all-severing wave?

Now, when alone, do my thoughts no longer hover
Over the mountains, on that northern shore,
Resting their wings where heath and fern-leaves cover
That noble heart for ever, ever more?

Cold in the earth, and fifteen wild Decembers
From those brown hills have melted into spring:
Faithful indeed is the spirit that remembers
After such years of change and suffering!

Sweet Love of youth, forgive if I forget thee,
While the world's tide is bearing me along:
Sterner desires and other hopes beset me,
Hopes which obscure, but cannot do thee wrong!

No later light has lightened up my heaven;
No second morn has ever shone for me:
All my life's bliss from thy dear life was given,
All my life's bliss is in the grave with thee.

But when the days of golden dreams had perished,
And even Despair was powerless to destroy,
Then did I learn how existence could be cherished,
Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy;

Then did I check the tears of useless passion,
Weaned my young soul from yearning after thine;
Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten
Down to that tomb already more than mine.

And even yet I dare not let it languish,
Dare not indulge in Memory's rapturous pain;
Once drinking deep of that divinest anguish,
How could I seek the empty world again?

p/s:This is one of my favourite poems. Her poems was mostly about her life. The sadness that she felt in her life. She love to write because she did not have close friends like her sister Charlotte.I really love her literary work and the most novel that she wrote was 'Wuthering Heights"

All Things Not Considered

By Naomi Shihab Nye

You cannot stitch the breath

back into this boy.

A brother and sister were playing with toys

when their room exploded.

In what language

is this holy?

The Jewish boys killed in the cave

were skipping school, having an adventure.

Asel Asleh, Palestinian, age 17, believed in the field

beyond right and wrong where people came together

to talk. He kneeled to help someone else

stand up before he was shot.

If this is holy,

could we have some new religions please?

Mohammed al-Durra huddled against his father

in the street, terrified. The whole world saw him die.

An Arab father on crutches burying his 4 month girl weeps,

“I spit in the face of this ugly world.”

Most of us would take our children over land.

We would walk in the fields forever homeless

with our children,

huddle under cliffs, eat crumbs and berries,

to keep our children.

This is what we say from a distance

because we can say whatever we want.

No one was right.

Everyone was wrong.

What if they’d get together

and say that?

At a certain point

the flawed narrator wins.

People made mistakes for decades.

Everyone hurt in similar ways

at different times.

Some picked up guns because guns were given.

If they were holy it was okay to use guns.

Some picked up stones because they had them.

They had millions of them.

They might have picked up turnip roots

or olive pits.

Picking up things to throw and shoot:

at the same time people were studying history,

going to school.

The curl of a baby’s graceful ear.

The calm of a bucket

waiting for water.

Orchards of the old Arab men

who knew each tree.

Jewish and Arab women

standing silently together.

Generations of black.

Are people the only holy land?


p/s: This poems make me cry and the videos that i watch make me almost numb...How could they do this!!!...But i believe whatever goes around comes around.....

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