4th post p. 1-25

Cane by jean toomer

I definetly have enjoyed this book so far. I dont believe I have ever enjoyed poetry or been refreshed by it so much as to when it is coupled with a story. There is still much to be analyzed and broke down but the story really gives the poem more reading to the reader as i always saw poetry as a more selfish thing which was reserved for the writer and the people close to him/her. I enjoy throwing together words myself and even constructing some symetry, rhyming and such to make them have the look or feel to a poem but i always felt that someone reading it... especially someone whom i did not know would have no idea exactly what i was talking about or feeling even with the use of words to paint them pictures. How would they know exactly what shades and colors to use? Colored pencils, crayons or markers?

These stories are great as well. I feel brought into the story and the descriptives are clear to give the painter of the pictures (reader) the right colors to use. Ifeel these poems by Toomer deliver a clearer picture of what he is truly trying to convey because he is subtler and more reader friendly than J.Weldon Jojhnson or C. Mckay.

Karintha is painted a beautiful girl. There is a sense that she is a prostitute with the mention of money and such... but i dont know if this is true. Maybe there are men that are just trying to win her over still. Her innoence was lost at an early age (men do not know that her soul was ripened too soon) and she was passed from husband to husband because of this? she is perhaps a permiscous and has learned to use her looks, but because she was ripened too early she doesnt quite have the taste of what one maybe was looking for. Her beauty is intact but her personality, virtues and morale apparently have flaws.

In the poem Cotton Song i have never been brought to cotton field like i have here. The subtleness is what does it for me i think. some people are more affected by something more in your face or vulgar some people somthing subtler and less tense, i am with the latter. I always believed that you need both for a change to come. I supported both Booker T washington and his beliefs and WEB dubois who had vastly different views on the way black equality would be won, because i think both ways are needed as people have different ways of learning and accepting. Similiar to the different views of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X... Back to the poem here... The acceptance of their work just to get through the day the beliefs and hopes into religion that a judgement day will come. They are doing what they have to do to survive and are making their qualms into music so they dont feel down. There is no violence here and they are shouting out to me with no blood on their toungues. As i was reading this poem for the first time i was very affected because i was brought right into it. by the third line i was no longer reading but listening to the people in the poem shout. i heard the pain in their voice, but it was subtle. I began to wonder to myself... how did we actually hold these people in slavery and make them work for nothing more than meager rations and a house to live in? how did we explain it to them and were they all really treated as bad as they have been depicted throughout history?

3rd post last reading autobio..

Overall I felt this book was an enjoyable read. i felt i hit the hardest part of the book to read as it became quite boring towards the end (but not the end) with all the religous stuff. I know that the point of the book had much more to do with music and such but i didnt enjoy hearing about the religoous preachers, singers etc it was just boring. I feel bad about this, I dont even hardly ever go to church anymore (maybe holidays) because it is so boring. This book made me think back to days when people would get up early and go to church. Some towns, cities, states are still pretty much shutdown on sundays, and i dont think its because the people need a rest, it is because Sunday is supposed to be considered the Day of Sabbath. How many people still go to church anymore though? Apparently large numbers because I still see churches flowing with people in or out on saturday nights and sunday mornings and there are plenty of chruches... but i would bet that in America the percentage of people that attend has dwindled. I wonder what it was years ago that drew people to church... was it hope for a new day? Has that new day come?

I was very happy that the narrator finally found love in this book. I like the idea that he had settled that love was the biggest thing in a persons life. I feel that the point that love is great in life was drawn by the author to be a bigger point than most people would recognize. I also feel it was good that the narrator finally accepted himself as white. His father was white and he looked white, he should have never doubted himself. During this time period he should have embraced his looks and never doubted himself. If he was going to bring acclaim to the black race than he should have done that. Instead he setup himself for the biggest failure... turning his back against himself at a time where he should have shown his greatest strength.... The author may have been taking a poke at white people hear, it shows he was weak and succumbed to the american dream building and saving with money in mind, a more devilish trail to take than to to further a race like he could have and should have. Than again he found his wife and he was satisfied... until she passed and he began to doubt himself again. The story turned into a bit of a dissapointment for me as it concluded, as it probably did for everybody. I am dissapointed in the american dream and for this man who couldnt live up to his own dreams so stopped and took a shortcut; settling for the common.

second reading second post

I have found The autobiography of an Ex Coloured Man to be a very enjoyable read thus far. The mans life has been intriguing and thought provoking. As the story takes a turn in the latest reading here in going from Jacksonville to New York, it has become even more interesting. The descriptive words bring the city to my mind and make me realize how living so close to New York definetely allows it to go greatly unappreciated sometimes.
The first thing in the reading this time around that really came to attention was the fact that even in this time period blacks were freely using the word "nigger" to casually talk with each other. I kind of had the feeling that this was something news that came along with hip hop and rap and the word "Nigga".
Has anybody ever played the game craps? As they go about playing in the story i can relate as I grew quite fond of this game during high school parties, it is quite fun and even if not playing with dollars can even be fun with quarters. It surprised me that James would throw a 20$ bill on the table not even really knowing the game, and that was alot of money in this time period. In him experiencing beginners luck I can relate as in my trip to Las Vegas last summer i took the black jack tables and immediately went up 500 dollars, but soon lost it all and than some.
I took my new gambling onto Football games last year and did ok, but it seems the thrill of possibly winning the money cannot outweigh the bad feeling you get when you lose.
Going to the Club bringsback memories of me going to the Club back in HighSchool. the location was "the matrix" and me and my friends quickly became accustomed to the enjoyment we found in this new and exciting place. It is amazing the thrills that come with a new experience and the way it can make you feel. As i get older i wonder if this is going to happen less and less.

welcoming

hi how are you? my name is steve. nice to have with you all. i look forward to meeting your online personalities. I guess this is just like discussionboard but a little bit more personal?

steve ferrara
5'9 185
brown hair grn eyes
I enjoy football, baseball, working out/running
taking this class because its required, fit into my schedule and appeared to be the most interesting out of the few choices I had.