Progressions 2/Assignment 1

                                                    The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.	20

            The poem above is an excerpt written by the poet Robert Frost in the year 1920. The moral meaning behind this poem is to follow your own path because sometimes certain decisions can be life-changing. In the poem, Frost comes to a fork in which two paths appear in front of him. Frost wishes that he could take both of them; however, he could only take one. The roads in the poem symbolize life and the decision-making symbolizes destiny. Frost chooses to take the road that is less traveled. He chooses to leave the other one for another time. Frost choosing his own destiny is what caused his life to change. Frost then says that he doubts  he will ever get a chance to take the other road. The reason why Robert Frost shares this poem is to explain to us that in the real life, there are always going to be decisions that can't be changed. You will always wonder what the other choice may have brought you.

            After reading this passage, I began to realize that there is a connection between the message of the poem and myself. Throughout my life I've deled with many decision-making; however, there is only a specific one that has changed my way of thinking and living. This decision was chosen after I graduated from high school. In my case, the end of my high school years represents the fork in which Frost found himself before choosing his own path. In this situation, the two paths that laid in front of me were, (a) to get a job or (b) to further my education.

            I saw the large crowd of people that followed path A; therefore, I chose to take the road less traveled. I wanted to be different from the others, and just like Frost, I chose my own destiny. If it wasn't for this decision, I would have never experienced the challenges of a University. I would've probably stayed in that comfort zone and never make a difference in my life.The outcome of my decision is yet to come. Unlike Robert Frost, I do not doubt that I will ever get the chance to take the other road because once I complete path B and get my recognition, I will connect with a less traveled path A.

Here is my visual interpretation of the poem:

Follow your own path.

Exercise 3: Letter/Summary

Dear Jessica,

     In my English 113A class, I read a poem that reminded me about you in several aspects. This poem is called "It's a Woman's World" by Eavan Boland. At first, I had difficulty trying to understand this poem. But as I kept reading and annotating, everything was clear to me.
     In this passage, the whole purpose is to grab the male attention and giving them an understanding of what many women go through in a daily life. This passage includes several stereotypes such as, being housewives and being in the lower positions in the work force.
     Well, I can in a way disagree with this passage. The reason being is because you are perhaps one of the strongest and bravest women that I've known. This poem mentions "Like most historic peoples we are defined by what we forget, by what we never will be: star-gazers, fire-eaters." Well sister, you've never failed to accomplish any of your goals. You graduated this school within 3 years and accomplished to finish your credentials the following year. After that, you began working as a Spanish teacher with a good salary. Now, you are half way done with your Masters degree. Now, are you still asking me if this phrase corresponds to you? Well, my answer is "hell NO!!!" You are a star-gazer and a fire-eater.
     For many years, women have struggled into getting to the highest positions in the work force. The reason for this tragedy is because many men can't handle the fact of having a female leader. Men in all occasions want to be superior to women. In one of the epigraphs of this poem, the author mentions "by night our windows moth our children to the flame of hearth not history." What is meant by this phrase is that women are the household that keeps the house and family in shape, while the men on the other hand are out there making history. Once again sister, you've proven that this phrase does not apply to you. You and I know that your are out there making history.
     This poem also mentions "...of loaf left by the cashier, the washing powder paid for and wrapped..." What the author is trying to say is that, women still live with a domestic fear. As mentioned before, you are one of the strongest and bravest women that I've know. You have overcome that fear. You've never given me or the family the sense of giving up. You always push yourself into getting the best that there is to offer. This is why you are my inspiration. You are what give me the motive to achieve the high levels of success. THANK YOU!!! Thank you for not letting yourself down by the attitudes of our modern day society. You really are a Champion.

Sincerely,
Jose Segura

Letter to Eavan Boland

Dear Eavan Boland,

     The reason for this letter is to inform you of a personal connection that I have made with your poem "It's a Woman's World." After reading this poem, I started reflecting on a time when I felt so alone; a time when I felt so unsecure about myself. It was a day like any other; however, I had a sorrow feeling inside me. I sat down and started to think and in between I asked myself, "Who am I?"

     My parents are Mexicans. My parents descend from the other side of the border; however, I was born and raised in this side of the line. I am a U.S. citizen. I am what many call a Chicano; which in other words, a Mexican-American. Growing up with diverse cultures, it's hard for me to proclaim my nationality. Sometimes I feel more of an American-Mexican. I am bilingual and bicultural. I'm seen as an American to Mexicans and a Mexican to Americans. I'm stuck in between these two ethicities, but in fact I am none of them. Here in America, I'm not accepted for having some Latino culture. Over at Mexico, Mexicans don't accept me for having light skin. My life in a way has felt indifferent.

     For a long time I've asked myself, why are there so much prejudice people? Why can't they learn that we are all the same? Who should we blame, the parents or the kids? Well, after reading this poem, everything was clear to me. This modern day society is and perhaps always will be corrupted. People are just going to have to deal with the fact that there is no such thing as a perfect world. Now that I think about it, having a perfect world would probably make life very boring. Perhaps this is why our lifes are filled with mysteries.

Sincerely,
Jose Segura

UNIV 061E Responses to Poetry Questions

1. Example of poetry:

                                          "When the minute you are is too painful
                                           Step back and look at the hour
                                           When the hour has more hurts in than minutes
                                           Take a minute to think of God's power."
                                                                                                -The Painful Minute/ by: Lynne Trawer Smith
          The reason why I think this is an example of poetry is because it's describing emotions through time. In my opinion, the definition of poetry is a strategy that one uses to exress emotions. If I was in a situation where I were to say to a friend, "I'm reading poetry in my English class," I would make him/her understand by telling explaining my definition of poetry.

    2.    I would disagree that poetry is not popular, and the reason why is because it can be created anywhere at any time. As mentioned before, poetry is a mixture of expressed emotions. They can be happy, sad, angry, jealous, etc. In many ocassion, poetry is difficult to understand. This is the reason why many people dislike poetry, however; if you come to think about it, difficult lecture is what makes poetry good.

   3.   Poetry has always been a big part of my education and because of this I can't remember the exact poem first read. One thing for sure is that poetry was and is difficult to understand. Poetry has never been my pleasure writting. Throughout my entire childhood, I never understood why people couldn't just write in "essay form" so that it'll make the reading more simpler. Now that I know the concepts of poetry, it affects the way I think. In a way it helps me improve my creativity.

   4.   In most ocassions, I've been tought poetry as a rhyme. Most of the English teachers that I've come to known have mentioned "think of poetry as if they were song lyrics." In between I've also had teachers that instuct students to recognize what kind of tone the author is using that way it'll be easier to catch the main concepts of the poem.

   5.   Outside the classroom I've been tought poetry as a way of living. This way of thinking about poetry has made it easier for me when it comes down to writting a poem. The reason why I say this is because it is easy to reflect on past memories. When doing so, I try to capture what kind of tone is related to that memory.

   6.   Back in my Junior year of high school, I remember doing a poem towards the end of the year. This poem was a biographic poem about ourselfs. When I wrote this poem, it was both easy and difficult to establish. When I presented my poem to the class, I was glad to see and hear the audience clapping after I was done reading it. Going up in front of the audience was perhaps the most difficult part. In my opinion, the reason why it's different to read a poem than to construct it is because constructing a poem takes more to think of what to write. When reading a peom, all you have to think is what is the author trying to say.