Monday, June 29, 2009
E learning lesson 2
by James Wright
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl's wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
Have you ever read 'tuesdays with morrie"? I came across a very interesting and wonderful quote."Have love or perish."And in this poem,it is perfectly displayed.It's about him and his friend on a trip ,when they were warmly welcomed by two indian ponies.James was very touched for their tremendous love for each other.After doing research on james wright, i found out that he witnessed poverty and human suffering.That's why he used his poetry as a mode to discuss the social and political issues of his concerns.He modeled his work after Thomas Hardy and Robert Frost whose engagement with human issues and emotions that he admired.I think that james wrote this poem to show that he wanted society to be as loving as those two ponies, like what we should really do.It's because love is extremely important,loved ones care for you,sacrifice for you, without love,'you'll perish.'To make the society a better place, it isn't really essential for money,medical advances, it all starts with love.When you have love, then you'll be happy.I chose this poet because it reveals the emotion of the author perfectly,which is loving and touched by the love and loneliness of the ponies.I also chosed this poem because it summarises my lesson. The author uses personification,like"And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear" Also there is presence of symbolism in this poem."That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom."This symbolises that he was so moved by the atmosphere of peace and love,he would have 'broken in to blossom'.I have also read another poem by James Wright, called"Northern Pike".This poem was to establish his guilt about killing a fish in order to survive.He feels that he did a bad thing which is killing a living thing for him to survive.Now how many of us actually feels guilty when eating a sashimi?Three other poems by James wright are:Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry,Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota and On the Skeleton of a Hound
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Home learning:LA poetry
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Ace blog entry 6:Favourite and least favourite in Village by the sea
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Ace blog entry 5: Favourite part of Village by the sea
Ace blog entry 4:I'd rather be a country rat than a city rat
Monday, June 1, 2009
Ace blog entry 3:Confessions of a ......
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Ace blog entry 2:A book that made an impact on my parents' life
Ace blog:Entry 1 (personal) What's happening to the CORAL REEFS?
Thursday, April 30, 2009
History blog ace
In this project, I am asked to research on a renown person, Tan Tock Seng. Surely you have heard of “Tan Tock Seng Hospital” ,well I will be elaborating on the founder of this hospital and his other contributions.
Tan Tock Seng was born in 1798 , Malacca, Malaysia.He was a Hokkien merchant , landowner, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He moved to Singapore at the age of 21 in 1819, and started selling fruits , vegetables , chickens and worked very hard.Being a hardworking and thrifty man, he saved up enough money to open a shop in 1827.He became wealthy through a joint business with J.H Whitehead of Shaw and was one of the richest merchants in Singapore.
In the middle of 18th century, the life for the Asians were miserable Many of them were poor and suffered from diseases such as malaria ,cholera small pox and tuberculosis. The living conditions where the Asians were living was poor. They lived in overcrowded shophouses with poor sanitation, attracting pests that carries diseases especially in Chinatown ,one of the most crowded area in Singapore. Those who were too sick to work, were forced to beg in the streets. Over time, the streets were too, dirty, with piles of rubbish on the roadside ,with pests like flies and mosquitoes. The sick who were forced to beg on the streets, and die due to malnutrition and diseases with no one to take care of them.This is where Tan Tock Seng comes to the rescue.He decided to build a hospital for the poor, and donated a large sum of money , with the help of his friends supporting him, he managed to construct this hospital. I would classify this contribution as a social impact. It help to improve the health of the poor , but it has a negative effect too. The hospital was usually overcrowded, and this caused a average of tow deaths in that hospital as diseases were spread among the patients , and had poor drainage system .Another contribution of Tan Tock Seng was to provide money for proper burials of the bodies of the baggers on the streets , he took it upon himself to do this job . This is another example of a social impact.
I feel that a monument that could represent him, is a piano. You see, music makes us happy and relax, like Tan Tock Seng, who brings hope to the poor and joy. Building this hospital, helps the poor from painful and lethal diseases and illness. Songs and music produced by the piano are a combination of the different keys and rhythms, just like when you tell people of his contributions, it made me happy, knowing that there are such noble people actually loving and sacrificing so much for others .For me, it is music to my ears
From this project, I realized that there are many people out there who actually care for others. From news,i always thought that the world was cruel and selfish , causing wars, riots ,poverty and other environmental issues like global dimming and warming.In my research, I came a cross many noble people like Tan Tock Seng, this made me realized that I was wrong,there are still people who still care.From this, surprisingly, I began to develop a slight interest in History , my working attitude towards history has changed.Thank you Ms Yeo and Mrs Tan, for making this possible.
DONE BY:MATTHEW QUEK(15)1O3