Smoke Signals

The movie Smoke Signals is based on the stories of the Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in Heaven. The characters in the movie are similar to the ones in the book. They both share the same characteristics. The movie and the book are similar the way they are put together.

The movie adapts to the book written by Alexie Sherman. The movie was made based on certain stories in the book. The story, "My Father Always Said He was the Only Indian to see Jimi Hendrix Play," was the story that the movie was related too. It focused on the relationship between Victor and his father. Victor and Thomas both had the same opinion on Victors father. Towards the end of the movie Victor began to relate to his father. Victor and Thomas both have strong opinions. When they were in the car driving, they both had opinions about their Victors father. They both agreed that he was not such a good man. They realized that they were being rude and stubborn about the situation.

The book and the movie were both very similar. The characteristics of Victor and Thomas are similar as well. The book says that being Native American in the United States is tough. It is hard for them to be accepted by other people. The movie says that the Native Americans are good people and good outlooks on life. Although the live different lives, they are still good people.

Snowbanks North of the House

This poem was very interesting. It described how a father looses his son and he seperates from his wife. The man goes through hardship and tries to find a way to get through.
One line I chose was, "And the father grieves for his son, and will not leave the room where the coffin stands." This is a very powerful line because it describes the relationship the man had with his son. He can't accept the fact that his kid has died and does not want to leave. It is a tough time the father is going through. Another line i chose was, he turns away from his wife, and she sleeps alone." I thought the line meant that the man left is wife and he tries to move on with his life.
I thought the tone of the poem was sorrow. The father has to see his kid die and he leaves his wife. The father has to deal with the sorrow that is going on in his life at the moment.

Using Imagery in Didactic Literature

The stories, "The Zen Parables," "Taoist Anecdotes," and "Confucius Analects" describe ways to show acts of kindness and teach morals to pass on to others.
In "The Zen Parables," the story "The Thief Who Became a Disciple" teaches a moral lesson of kindness. The man came into Shichiri's house to steal money and he allowed him. The thief was then caught and Shichiri dropped the charges against him. Most people would have the thief arrested but he let him go because he thanked him. This showed Shichiri was very forgiving. He let the man have the money even though he stole it from him. This shows an act of kindness and a forgiving attitude by Shichiri. The imagery used was the robber. Even though he stole the money, Shichiri allowed him to take it because he thanked him.
In the "Missing Axe" of the Taoist anecdotes, a boy is accused of stealing an axe from a man. The man assumes he stole it without even asking him if he did. The lesson learned from this anecdote is don't jump to conclusions before you get your facts straight. The man had no idea if the boy took his axe, he just assumed it. This teaches us not to judge people before we get to know them. The imagery used was the man. The man is seen as someone who judges people to soon.
The first paragraph of the "Confucius Analects" tells people how to follow morality. "He who rules by moral force is like a polestar" is a great quote. It describes how people who act as a leader are the great people in society. The people who do not lead others will remain followers. The paragraph tells us to go out and teach people the morals we are taught. The imagery used is the polestar, or North Star. The star is used to show the people who are leaders and go and practice their morals in everyday life.

New York

I enjoyed this poem. It was true about what goes on in New York and how people their act. The tone of the poem was trueful. The author wrote the poem to explain what happens in New York.

One line i thought was interesting was, "They talk of junkies, muggings, dirt, and noise." This line shows that this is what people think of when they think of New York. This is an image that pops into peoples heads. It is ironic because it is one of the most important buisness cities but at the same time has muggings, dirt, etc.
Another line i chose was "Look at the way New Yorkers walk down the street. It says,I don't care." I agree with this line becuase this is how people act in New York. After visiting New York many times, this statement is true. People walk the streets like they don't care about anyone but only for themselves. Those people are what makes New York unique. I thought this poem was very good and talks about the real things that happen in New York.

Gate C22

I did not really enjoy this poem. It was more of a man telling a story with no real meaning. The poem talks about a man who meets his wife at the airport after she came home from a trip. The poem describes how the man felt when he see's his wife coming off the plane ride home.
One line i thought was interesting was "the couple stood there, arms wrapped around each otherlike he'd just staggered off the boat at Ellis Island." I liked this line becasue it makes a connection to Ellis Island and how families felt when they met up with each other. It is a good comparision because it helps the reader know how the couple felt when they saw each other again. Another line I liked was, "snapped out of a coma, survived bone cancer." This line is good because it shows strong feelings. It shows how good the man felt when he saw his wife because it is compared to overcoming something serious like a disease.
I thought the tone of the poem was happy and joyful. The author wrote the poem to show how couples care about each other. I did not like the poem because it was more of a story with no real meaning.

Money

The poem i chose was Money. I thought it was very interesting and talks about our society today. The author of the poem wrote this to explain how people become greedy with money. The tone of the poem is people gambling money.
One line that i thought was interesting was "Watch it burn holes through pockets." This line talks about how people will do anything for money. They become so greedy that it takes over the way they live. People in our world are money driven.
Another line that i thought was interesting was "holds heads above water". I liked this line because it is true. People need money to survive and they cannot live without it. Money is what drives us in our lives because if you do not have it you will not survive.

Losing a Language

I thought the poem losing a language was very interesting. It describes how are language is changning generation from generation. This relates to our lives today because our language is changing.
There were many interesting lines in the poem. The line "many of the things the words were about no longer exist" is true. This describes how words back in the day changed over time and mean something different know. There are many words that are like that today and if you are talking to an old person they will not know what you are talking about.
Another interesting line i found was "the children will not repeat the phrases their parents speak." This line is true as well. Kids do not want to talk like their parents because when they get older they do not want to be with them as much as they use to. Teens no longer want to be associated with their parents at a certain point of their lives.
The author wrote this poem to express how time is changing. The tone of the poem is almost hopeless and lost. Our language is becoming lost because of all the new words we use.