The Last Electronic Stop

I find it extremely ironic how we could've technically done this online but we went to the EVL during lunch, took turns with the magazines choosing a piece we liked and taking a picture/ photocopying it. Here's what happened. I take The Atlantic and choose my poem, right? I take a picture, read and start analyzing it. I want to post the original poem but have trouble reading off my cellphone and typing. Google the poem..." Oh there it is! (looks at webpage) theatlantic.com... WOW... nice." So here it is, and where you can look at the original:

The Last Stop

                                  By Adam Zagajewski

The tram rumbled past red houses.

The wheels in mining towers whirled

like carousels in fairgrounds.

Roses dimmed by soot grew in the gardens,

wasps raged in pastry shops

above cakes strewn with crumbs.

I was fifteen, the tram moved

quicker between the housing projects,

in the meadows I spotted marsh marigolds.

I thought that at the last stop

the meaning of it all would stand revealed,

but nothing happened, nothing,

the driver ate a roll with cheese,

two old women talked quietly

about prices and diseases.


I'll just list my thoughts:
- funny last lines
- narrative poem
- can identify with narrator... I've thought about what it all means and been dissapointed whe nothing is  revealed.
- I thought this was a war poem because it was in the middle of an article about war...I guess it could be a soldier on his way to war pondering about life and the meaning of it all...right?

Snow White

Snow White... Cherry-Ripe

Pearls, kiss me!

The words in this poem describe her

Cherry-ripe!

Huckleberry Finn In Four Minutes

Seriously, only four minutes!

How Similar They Really Are

The argument that Professor Fishkin proposes in regards to Huck's way of speaking makes some sense to me because well, right at the beginning I thought that he was black when he suggested Mrs. Douglass was trying to "sivilize" him. I'd like to point out that I, like you, should be aware that any opinions or conclusions I draw from the text or this article as a matter of fact are simply some things I though make sense. Needless to say I'm no Twain expert or a literary critic of some sort. Having stated that, I wouldn't be surprised if the "black" influence in Huck's speech was, in fact, intentional.

I think that Twain wanted to make a parallel in the characters in a way of making a point about racism. The way that he makes the reader juxtapose them by limiting their existence to a raft to seclude them from other interruptions only allows for a parallel to be made. If the speech thing was actually on purpose, that would be an evident example of how similar both Huck and Jim are. I point this out because in my opinion Twain was making a point in that while both these characters are abused by society each in their ways and are sort of looked down upon, one (Huck) is sympathized while the other (Jim) is belittled. By allowing the reader to see these similarities, Twain conveys a feeling of injustice and promotes anti -racism.

That "N" Word

Much like my tendency, my analysis of the article began during the reading of it. The main things that rushed into my mind, were: Based on the way that he wrote the novel, what can I infer that Twain would have liked to happen? What is my personal opinion of this? And WOW, they spelled organizations wrong… wow…. Seriously?!

Ok now that we got that one out of the way, I can attempt to focus on the former questions.

When it came to analyze Twain's writing I could simply think of his anti-racism morale. So at first I thought, "if Twain wanted to ultimately gain respect for blacks, he wouldn't mind the change in words because that word is far too degrading" which made perfect sense to me at first. But as I read on, Dr. Sarah Churchwell managed to remind me that writer's write in a specific way for a reason. That the word isn't simply a detail in the content, in fact it was thoroughly thought out and placed (or so I understand is something that happens during the editing process) which means it is key… sort of. Of course, this (like the former) now made perfect sense. I was thinking that because Twain wanted to achieve the no more racism thing, he would have to take something completely degrading (because even back then it was used in derogation) and propose the exact opposite in the end as a viable solution. So of course I now think that Twain would want to keep it.

Personally, since the beginning of the article I felt that what is written is written and if it's not yours you don't get to manipulate it. So basically, it's just fine the way it is because that's how Twain's Huckleberry Finn Goes.