"A Song In The Front Yard" by Gwendolyn Brooks

 

I’ve stayed in the front yard all my life.

I want a peek at the back

Where it’s rough and untended and hungry weed grows.   

A girl gets sick of a rose.

I want to go in the back yard now   

And maybe down the alley,

To where the charity children play.   

I want a good time today.

They do some wonderful things.

They have some wonderful fun.

My mother sneers, but I say it’s fine

How they don’t have to go in at quarter to nine.   

My mother, she tells me that Johnnie Mae   

Will grow up to be a bad woman.

That George’ll be taken to Jail soon or late

(On account of last winter he sold our back gate).

But I say it’s fine. Honest, I do.

And I’d like to be a bad woman, too,

And wear the brave stockings of night-black lace   

And strut down the streets with paint on my face.

MY RESPONSE
            In Gwendolyn Brook’s poem, “A Song in the Front Yard,” the daring, rebellious diction delineates the yearning desire for the narrator to break out of the repetitive, boring routine of staying in her front yard. After seeing the same scenery day after day, “a girl gets sick of a rose” and wants to get “a peek at the back.” The loaded words and the sarcastic reaction the narrator has about others’ opinions in the third stanza of the poem create the feeling of being left behind in her backyard each day. The narrator wants to break through the binding fence and see the “wonderful things” people do and the “wonderful fun” they have. Finally, wanting to get out of the habitual schedule and walk down the street with “brave stockings of night-black lace” and paint on her face, the storyteller daydreams of the life she could one day have.  

ATPH PART ONE - 20 SCASI QUESTIONS

1) Whaddup with the run on sentences?
2) Why do you think John Grady & Rawlins chose Mexico to go to?
3) How do you think the character Blevins contributes to the story?
4) How would the story be different if Grady & Rawlins never met/stuck with Blevins?
5) Does McCarthy's style of writing help convey the western theme?
6) What could McCarthy add to his writing to enhance the western theme?
7) Does the way McCarthy doesn't use quotation marks confuse you?
8) Who is an obvious foil to John Grady?
9) Hod do you think Rawlins' & Blevins' relationship will develop?
10) Would the story be different if Blevins & Rawlins didn't clash?
11) What makes John Grady a real western cowboy?
12) Do you see any themes or motifs in the story yet?
13) What are some of John Grady's character flaws?
14) Does the title relate to the story yet?
15) Analyze John Grady & Blevins' relationship.
16) How does the description of setting add to the book?
17) What are the characteristics of a good cowboy?
18) Whaddup with Blevin's secracy?
19) Do you think Blevins will learn to think of the consequences of his actions soon?
20) Who is the girl introduced in the second page (she)?

All The Pretty Horses: Pages 30 - 59

Taking another look back at the book, I began to like it more than the first thirty pages. It wasn't as confusing, and I got a better understanding of all the characters. As Grady and Rawlins set out on their journey to Mexico, they come across a young boy named Blevins. Personally, I love this new character. He is a smarty pants :) but he's right whenever he is. Like about his horse, which Rawlins and Grady were both impressed with. Also, his rifle .. which he could shoot any moving target with (even Rawlins billfold). He is a witty, fresh character which I think will bring a lot more to this novel. He's just the adventure that John Grady and Rawlins need on their own adventure they are traveling on.

January 9, 2011 - All The Pretty Horses

Within the first thirty pages, I already got the feel of a western story. The physical setting is a big part in the story because of all the incredible details that the author includes. The run on sentences reveal themselves throughout the beginning of the story as well. The way that the story is written, jumping from scene to scene confused me at first, but it also makes the story more realistic. It shows that his life is just like any other humans, with different things going on in his life at one time. I'm also confused about all the people and who knew who and who is related to who, so hopefully that gets cleared up soon. It's interesting so far !