Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

In the short story "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, the author uses short phrases to tell a girl how she should behave. The story is one long sentence, no periods, no starts or ends. The one sentence continues on for one and a half pages. It makes the story seem as if someone is giving instructions directly. It is almost a list of how to behave and become a desirable woman. The style could be a symbol meaning that this job as a woman is never ending. There are no stops ever in the life of a woman, it is ongoing and life consuming. Kincaid starts by telling how one should wash clothes and what days different colors should be washed on, then about how to cook and clean. Every once in a while she throws in slants about becoming a slut as "and this way they won't recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming" or "prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming". She keeps mentioning on the girl doing things to not become a slut. It is apparent that this could have been told to any girl growing up during this time period. The had strict rules of what to do and what not to do and this story clearly lays it out. if they do something wrong then they are automatically sluts or girls that no one wants to be around. It is sad that women have to go through this. Jamaica Kincaid must have been subjected to these rules as she grew up. This seems like a personal experience that all women can relate too. Maybe not to this extreme but at some point. This short story that was told from a personal experience, straight and clear cut. No periods just a long run on sentence which symbolized the never ending job of being a woman.

Robert Frost

In the poem Mending Wall by Robert Frost the author compares a relationship with his neighbor to the relationship of their yards. He speaks about the separation and how it cannot be fixed and they way it is will always be the same. He says "I have come after them and made repair ,Where they have left not one stone on a stone, " while trying to make amends and repairs to the relationship but it is already to far damaged. The gap is getter wider and will never leave as he says "We keep the wall between us as we go". The authors neighbor will not let the wall down.  He is hanging on to it for dear life and will keep it there. This is a somber poem about losing hope in relationships with close ones. Anyone in life can deal with a wall in between them and someone they love and it can never be mended as in this peom.

Photograph of My Father In His Twenty Second Year

In the poem "Photograph of My Father In His Twenty Second Year" by Raymond Carver , the author displays his thoughts and feelings about his father by looking at his old photograph. He is looking at a photograph of his father from when he was 22 years old and is reminiscing and thinking about what he was like. The setting of the the poem is in a dark and somber kitchen as seen when the author says "Here in this dank, unfamiliar kitchen". The author is not in a joyful happy place or mood when studying the photo. This could be symbol for the way  he feels about his father. The memories of his father may have been dark and lonely. Carver judges his father, he thinks that his father was trying to be something he was not. By saying  "He would like to pose bluff and hearty for his posterity..All his life my father wanted to be bold" he felt that his father was a fake and tried to be big and bad and he was not. But Carver could decipher the picture. He knew what his father was really like. Carver did love his father, but he regretted him. His father did not teach him the things that a father was supposed to teach their sons when he says "yet how can I say thank you, I who can't hold my liquor either,and don't even know the places to fish? ". His father did not do his job and teach his son how to be a man and Carver is disappointed. This poem is short and to the point. When read the reader automatically can feel the mood and somberness in the poem. Carver uses simple, dated language to keep the reader interested and feeling the way he does.

CAT bus poem

Somber and lonely students at the bus stop,
going to and from campus to their temporary homes,
sometimes its full and sometimes its empty,
sometimes the weather is raining on their moods,
all with the same goal, to leave or come.