The Bean Eaters

Another of Gwendolyn Brooks' poems which I also enjoyed is, "The Bean Eaters", which is about an old, simple couple who lived a good life, but did not have too much money. I actually learned something new after having read and discussed this poem. I'd never known that beans were very inexpensive, and in this poem, that is how the author shows us that this couple ate low-priced food, meaning they did not have money for other types of good food. This couple also used cheap plates and such. What I did like about the poem is that it truly shows that no matter how wealthy or impoverished people are, you could still have happiness. The author also mentions that they live in a rented house and how they keep a lot of their belongings in a room. This couple most probably just doesn't have much space for all their things in their little home, but they seem to be quite happy with each other.

Sadie and Maud

When I read this poem, I thought a lot about what happens after high school and the different paths we all take. Many of us attend college right away in order to continue our education and be over and done with it before we want to give up. This poem is based on two sisters which are in many ways different. Sadie and Maud both took opposite paths in life. Sadie decided not to attend college; she preferred to skip that and live her life. While Maud chose to continue on with her education, which in my eyes is highly important. However, I do believe that if one feels as if they will find more in learning from experiencing then perhaps they should be allowed to do so. There are many people out there who have gone far without going to college, but I do still think that it's necessary. The final message in this poem is that Maud went to college, but did not necessarily end living a happy life. Sadie, on the other hand, had a child at an early age, skipped college, but had an awful happy ending.

Kitchenette Building

I really liked this poem, 'Kitchenette Building', by Gwendolyn Brooks because the message she is sending out is very much so true. Many of us have never lived in a home the way that the ones she is discussing live. Sharing a bathroom with even more than 3 persons, now-a-days, can get pretty crazy. Imagine living with more than 5? I'm sure none of us would be able to handle that. Aside from that being the main problem in this poem, these individuals have to live with the idea of putting your hopes and dreams on the side. Basically they have to tell their dreams to just wait on the side, and they will someday reach their hopes. There is so much going on that there's no time to focus on achieving our goals.

Revenge

There are many different ways revenge can be sought. It just seems part of human nature to want revenge toward a person who you've felt betrayed by or has done you wrong in whatever way it may be. It always depends on the person because some may just not care enough to put such effort to cause revenge. It also has much to do with the value of wrong doing. Personally, I believe everyone has the right to want to cause revenge upon another; especially because they probably do deserve what may be coming their way. An important factor about revenge is that usually, most probably, ends up causing the betrayed individual to feel better about the negative situation they've been put into. For that reason, and a few others, is why I feel that there is never anything wrong with wanting revenge. Revenge is something that a person will always feel they must accomplish. Basically, they won't relax until they feel as if they have caused some vengeance toward the person who has screwed them over. People will work very hard to assure that revenge has been sought, once and for all.

Los Vendidos

The story/play by Luis Valdez, "Los Vendidos" was very funny; I really enjoyed it. This story did a good job at showing the Mexican stereotypes. I find it very amusing how the secretary is out there trying to purchase a Mexican worker. It was obvious that the gentleman who was showing her, and telling her about each worker, really wanted to say lots of good things about his 'models', as he referred to them as. He was good at trying to convince her that all the workers were good choices and worked hard. However, she just could not leave the shop with a full-out Mexican, or as they stated, made in Mexico. The ending was basically the climax of the story. It turned out to be that the Sancho was the only actual worker.

Oedipus Rex

Like Hamlet, this story by Sophocles is quite popular, but I think people know more about this one, as opposed to the play about the Prince of Denmark. In philosophy class we were again reminded about the riddle that the Sphinx had Oedipus answer. I personally enjoyed this play better than Hamlet; perhaps because I'm more familiar with it. The storyline for this play is pretty twisted while it happens to make it interesting. Oedipus truly wanted to know his past and his destiny and ended in shock, when he found everything out. He'd killed his father and married his own mother.

Hamlet

All of us have heard the name Hamlet. And we know that this play was written by the famous Shakespeare, many many years ago. Aside from that and that Hamlet is the main character in the play, I knew nothing about it. The film we watched in class was actually quite interesting. At the beginning of the movie, I could not help but yawn very often; I could not seem to stay awake. But as we moved closer to the end of the film, I began to enjoy it. I had no idea what this play was about so everything was new to me. The only thing I did not like was the setting. Everything just seemed too unreal; I don't know if that was the purpose, but it did not seem to interest me. Overall it had a storyline and I'm glad to now know what this story is actually about.