Patrick Donohue
Dr. Ellis
Understanding Literature
30 October 2013
New
Experiences
The works of Gary
Gildner, Richard Hague, and Langston Hughes all relate to the same central
ideal of experiencing a new situation for the first time. In “Directions for Resisting the SAT” by
Richard Hague, the poem illustrates what is needed in order to excel on the SAT
and the college process. In “First
Practice” by Gary Gildner, the speaker describes a scene of a group of young
men face-to-face on the first day of practice.
And Langston Hughes’s short story “Thank you, Ma’am” depicts a young man
who finds himself in an odd predicament after attempting to steal a purse. These readings again relate to the idea of
new experience, however painful or awkward or even time consuming, may lead to
a better life and better understanding of the world around you.
The
first poem “Directions for Resisting the SAT” by Richard Hague sheds light on
the struggle of today’s youth attempting to attend college. Society has placed a burden on the young that
everyone must go to college and before that may happen you must complete a
standardized test to gauge how you have done.
The speaker of the poem renounces the SAT, “Do not believe in October or
May/ or in any Saturday morning with pencils.”(Hague 270) The speaker attempts to stress the importance
of moving through this hard time in your life.
Not to worry about a test but rather the social aspect of being
young.
The
poem by Gary Gildner, “First Practice” depicts a group of young men on the
first day of practice, as the title alludes to.
The speaker depicts a scary idea of the first day of practice. A man by the name of Clifford Hill brings
them to a dark place to presumably beat each other senseless. From this act the coach believes that the men
will be toughened, “Ok, he said, he said I take/ that to mean you are hungry/men
who hate to lose as much as I do”(Gildner 275).
The coach believes that the best way to toughen and make a team stronger
is to only have those strong enough to do so.
But once they have, they can become champions and win like champions.
The
short story by Langston Hughes “Thanks, Ma’am” is a favorite of mine and I have
read it several times before as early as the fifth grade. The young boy attempt to steal a purse is
thwarted by the broken strap and the weight of it. The boy brought back to the home of his
victim, feels quite awkward for the entire ordeal. But the woman gives him a chance and fixes
him up and gives him money. The women
perception of the young boy of having potential is quite an awkward situation
but believes the boy could be destined for greater things. Mrs. Jones states “”Well you didn’t have to
snatch my pocketbook to get some suede shoes,” said Mrs. Luella Bates
Washington Jones. “You could of asked me””
(Hughes 508). Although given the
opportunities Rodger does not run and through this uncomfortable situation changes
right in front of the reader as a respectable young man instead a
delinquent.
This
past Monday I attended the Modern Masters presentation given by the Pulitzer
Prize winner, Robert Olen Butler. Butler
read several short stories all-pertaining to the central idea of death. The poem that most intrigued me was a classic
known to some but was new to me, called “Jealous Husband Returns as a
Parrot.” Just as the title implies a man
is reincarnated into a parrot where he lives in the house of his wife and
witnesses her different sexual partners.
The story shows that what may happen if you dwell on the unknown. You will end up dying searching for the
truth. The story ends with the parrot
flying into a window essentially killing him in order to avoid the truth that
his wife has taken new partners after his passing.
The
event and assigned works this week all pertain to the idea that new experiences
although rather irritating help educate and open new physical and metaphorical
doors for each individual. A second
chance in “Thank you, Ma’am” gives a boy a second choice and avoids jail
time. “Directions for Resisting the SAT”
renounces the SAT as a proper gauge and gives a guideline to the reader on how to
live your life as a youth in modern times.
And in “First Practice” young men are placed in a situation of potential
pain, but on the other side is victory and fame. New experiences present an option for us all
to make a new and create a new opportunity.
Works
Cited
Gildner,
Gary. Poetry: An Introduction. Ed. Michael Meyer.
Boston-New York: BedFord/ St. Martins.
2013. 275. Print.
Hague,
Richard. Poetry: An Introduction. Ed. Michael Meyer.
Boston-New York: BedFord/ St. Martins.
2013. 270. Print.
Hughes,
Langston. Words of Fiction. Ed. Roberta Rubenstein and Charles
Larson.
Upper
Saddle River: Pretence Hall, 1993. Print.
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