Final Draft

                            Poetry Essay on “Photography”                                             

The main focus of the poem, “Photography” by Nikki Giovani is to remain aware of the world around you. You need to leave your personal comfort zone sometimes and think about the world outside of what affects you.  The poem uses imagery throughout the text in various ways.  The poem uses metaphors and similes with items having to do with photography; like various parts of the camera.

“The eye we are told is a camera”, is a direct quote from the poem “Photography”.  It shows that people can be like a camera’s lens seeing only what the photographer chooses to see. In the summer it is easy to focus on the sun and not the ice. This example suggests that people like to remain oblivious to things they would rather not know about.

Another quote is “The film is the heart”.  This means that our memories define us, making us who we are today because the film is technically like the “memory” of a film camera.  It also shows that people have strong emotions about memories and things that they experience.  The way that this connects to the overall theme of “Photography” is that people may not want to see things that contrast with their personal beliefs about the world, particularly things that distress them.

Another quote from the poem is “It’s easy sitting in the sun to forget that cold exists”.  This quote I interpret to mean that it is easy when you’re happily living your carefree life (this would be the warmth of the sun) that there are people who are suffering. and that terrible things happen (this would be the cold).

In conclusion, an internal theme in the poem “Photography” is the way people act when they are happy with life and ignore the misery that constantly goes on day to day.  The poem does not just focus on peoples obliviousness.  It also emphasizes that you need to be aware of what is happening in the world. 

1st Draft

The main focus of the poem, Photography by Nikki Giovani is that to remain aware of the world around you need to leave your personal comfort zone sometimes and think about the world outside what affects you.  It shows this through imagery throughout the text in various ways. The poem uses metaphors and similes with items having to do with photography like various parts of the camera.

“The eyes we are told are the a camera” is a direct quote from the poem Photography. This shows that people can be like a camera’s lens seeing only what the photographer chooses to see. It shows how people like to remain oblivious to things they would rather not know about.

Another quote is “The film is the heart” . This means that are memories define us making us who we are today because the film is technically the “memory” of a film camera. It also shows that people have strong emotions about memories and things that they experience. The way that this connects to the overall theme of Photography is that people may not want to see things that contrast with their personal beliefs about the world and distress them.

“Its easy sitting in the sun to forget the cold” is another direct quote. This quote I interpret to mean that it is easy when your happily living your carefree life ( this would be the warmth of the sun) that their are people who suffer and terrible things happen (this would be the cold).

In conclusion an internal theme of Photography is the way people act when they are happy with life and ignore the misery that constantly goes on day to day throughout the world. The poem does not just focuses on peoples obliviousness but it also emphasizes that you need to be aware of what is happening in the world. 

Blue

Blue

All the other colors they think that I am

The tears in the eyes of the sad

The breathless lips of the dead man

The blood lost its oxygen as the man lost his last breath

I am not the title wave to tear down the town

I am the rain

after a long drought

I am the blues

of the sea

reflecting the infinite cloudless sky

I am the blue

icy stalagmites formed by water to make the teeth of the cave and

bright blue electric flames burning brighter than their orange and yellow kin

I am the silence

between words that is necessary

for comprehension and meaning

I am the contrast

I am nothing but what gives meaning

Unsouled Reading Response

Currently I am reading the book Unsouled by Neil Shusterman. Unsouled is the third and final book in the Unwind trilogy that takes place in a world where parents can choose to have their children ages thirteen to eighteen unwound. Unwinding in this world is the process of the organs removed held until a transplant is needed this includes the brain so technically the child is still alive just in a divided state. The book focuses on multiple escaped teens who face abandonment not only from their parents but also from each other.

A main character named Starkey feels the loneliness two times as much as the other children. He was “storked” as a baby which means his birth parents abandoned him on the door steps of his adoptive parents legally making him their child. Then his adoptive parents decided to unwind him. Also he was abandoned by Connor for being overly violent and aggressive. Connor was an older escaped unwind that kids including Starkey looked up too. 

Starkey is the most troubled of all the children. He hangs four people working at a Unwind Harvest Camp in the cold blood as a part of the Unwind rebellion. He also is creating an army of storks that were going to be unwound in preparation for a battle against the government. Also Starkey enjoys changing his appearance to not be recognized which makes sense because he is a run away but because he feels like he is disowning his past self when he changes his appearance.

Overall the main issue focused on in the Unwind trilogy is abandonment. The book also focuses on its affects on the children. Starkey is a specially good example but all the children deal with it in some way even those who are not unwinds themself but are helping with the effort.