It,therefore, can be seen as an effective portrayal for readers to read between and behind characters’ actions and thoughts.Furthermore, it can be viewed as an appropriate tool for novelists who have complex plots, detailed descriptions, andmany casts.
This can be used to explain how the reader can understand that the mother is exhausted, but through the lens of another.
Commenting on third-personlimited, it allows the reader to sense and perceive a particular character’s feelings; thoughts and attitudes. Third-personlimited offers closeness to the main character being described whilst allowing readers to investigate his/her mood,mentality, thought, feeling, perception and so on.
This could also be used to describe the intimacy between the reader and the mother in "Daystar".
Whereas internal third-person narration paves the way for visualizing characters’ thoughts; feelings and attitudes,external third-person narration is limited to accessing characters from outside.
First quote in research notes: good to use for third person limited.
Mr T–
This is a free verse poem.
those eighteen glammering gold chains around the throat of pity, that fat hollow medallion like the sun on a leash
This is a common image in pop culture from that time period. I especially associate this picture with the rap culture of the time.
What were we, the skinny B-boys, to learn from you?
This sentence also gives off a disappointed tone. It's almost like he's talking to a role model who let him down.
Sometimes drugged & duffled (by white men) into a cockpit
I think this refers to the influence of white culture on America. The whole poem has a negative connotation. I think it is a slight on the culture that Mr. T fits into.
of Hollywood blood and wincing. Half Stepin’ Fetchit, half John Henry.
Here is an allusion to pop culture. This establishes the relevance of the poem to the times, especially for people of color.
A man made of scrap muscle & the steam
Hayes was known for writing poetry based on masculinity, race, and culture. This fits his style.
Later that night when Thomas rolled over and lurched into her, she would open her eyes and think of the place that was hers for an hour-where she was nothing,
Dove uses a lot of enjambment in this poem. This is where the lines break without punctuation. When I read this, I think of not having any breaks. Despite being tired, the mother must continue on through the day with no breaks. It almost gives me a feeling of being out of breath.
So she lugged a chair behind the garage to sit out the children’s naps.
The word choice here shows that the mother is exhausted and in need of a break. Particularly the word "lugged".
she was nothing,
Mothers are sometimes seen as "everything" to young children. They typically want their mothers for everything in life. Here, she is saying for an hour she would like to be nothing.
Why, building a palace.
I think this is a symbol for the space she wants in her mind. She mentions multiple times wanting space to herself, so she is referring to that as a palace.
—
He is using a caesura, which is a pause in the rhythm of the poem. I think this suggests how it actually feels when someone yells out like that. One split second to make your decision.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
He trying to explain the pains of war.
At the end he states "My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori." Essentially, he is trying to say if you experienced war as well, you would not glorify it.
Dulce et decorum est
“it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country”.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
Is this an example of PTSD? This is a wartime poem, afterall.
As under a green sea
Metaphor for men?
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.
Another example of a simile. The imagery this one creates gives me a sense of urgency.
ecstasy
This is an incredibly strong word choice. Why the word "ecstasy"? Could this be a way to word adrenaline?
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
This simile at the very beginning is to show how physically demanding this was. It sets a negative tone for the rest of the poem.
precision
Here is this word again...he understands persimmons by heart which could be why he compared them to precision at the beginning.
persimmon
Could this be a metaphor for people?
Mrs. Walker
Is there any meaning behind Mrs. Walker bringing it to class in America? She brought one for everyone to try, something he knows from his birthplace, but only he knows it isn't ripe.
Donna undresses,
This is similar to how the persimmon is "undressed"...almost like they are peeling back layers of each other in a intimate moment between the two of them.
"Poor Bobby," Mrs. Das said. "Come here a second. Let Mommy fixyour hair."
This is the closest she's been with her children throughout the story. Was the guilt holding her back?
"No, of course not. And no one knows, of course. No one at all. I’vekept it a secret for eight whole years." She looked at Mr. Kapasi, tiltingher chin as if to gain a fresh perspective. "But now I’ve told you.
She's implying that she is open to a sexual relationship with him. Mr. Kapasi is interested in an emotional relationship.
He had never admired the backs of his wife’slegs the way he now admired those of Mrs. Das, walking as if for his ben-efit alone
He has obviously developed an infatuation for Mrs. Das.
f whisk
Is this hinting at a drinking problem?
f ever she referred to his posi-tion, she used the phrase "doctor’s assistant," as if the process of inter-pretation were equal to taking someone’s temperature, or changing abedpan. She never asked him about the patients who came to the doc-tor’s office, or said that his job was a big responsibilit
I am seeing a lot of similarities between the two marriages. Both seem distant and unhappy. I wonder what the relationship between Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi will look like going forward.
But so romantic," Mrs. Das said dreamily, breaking her extendedsilence
Yet again, Mrs. Das seems oddly interested in Mr. Kapasi...
Mr. Das took a pictureof a barefoot man, his head wrapped in a dirly turban, seated on top of acart of grain sacks pulled by a pair of bullocks.
He is clearly very unfamiliar with the culture of the town.
Mrs. Das reached into herstraw bag and pulled out a bottle of colorless nail polish, which she pro-ceeded to stroke on the tip of her index finger
The mood I am getting from Mrs. Das is one of extreme disinterest. She would rather be anywhere but there.
At this Mrs. Das gave an impatient sigh, as if she had been travelingher whole life without pause
The tone of this sentence makes me think that this kind of impatience is viewed as an American trait.
Mr. Das squeezed hands like an American so that Mr. Kapasi felt it inhis elbow.
I think this is an important bit of characterization. Despite being Indian, the couple display American cultural practices.
She wasn'tinvolved.
Living in your head can be too much of a burden--theme?
I'm sorry but I'm gone!
Could this relate to death? They want to be unburdened, but it is impossible when alive and awake. Sleep and death are the only means of escape.
It was the burden of being alive
Earlier, someone said that Lavender didn't have any problems anymore because he was dead. Could a possible theme here be that as long as you are alive, you are carrying a burden in some form or another?
He had difficulty keeping his attention on thewar.
He is so focused on Martha that his head isn't where he currently is. This could mean that he needs to drop the weight of her later on. Or it could kill him.
the responsibility for the lives of his men
This could be why the death of Ted Lavender is continuously brought up. Jimmy is now carrying the weight of his death.
carried
Here is another word repeated throughout the story. It is also in the title. This seems to be a recurring theme.
Necessity dictated
Necessity is a motif that keeps reappearing throughout the story. Not all the things named as necessary are essential to life itself, but maybe it is essential to keep the men at war alive in a figurative sense. These items keep them going.
virgin
The is repetitive in the story--why is it so important to him?
hey were signed Love,Martha, but Lieutenant Cross understood that Love was only away of signing
Jimmy knows the truth about Martha's feelings. Is his fantasy a way of escaping the reality of war? It said above that he spent the "last hours of light pretending".
folded in plastic
These letters are obviously very important to him. He is wrapping them in plastic to keep them safe. Has he read them yet?
"It's time I was getting out of here.
He hinted at being involved in harder drugs. Is his desire to leave Harlem a need to escape that life?
Till the day he died he weren't sure but that every white man he saw was the man that killed his brother.
Here is a good reference to the racial divide of the time period.
killing streets
The word choice here is interesting. Does this refer to physically dangerous streets where people literally die, or does it refer to the environment of the neighborhood that leads many down a bad path? Or is it both?
like an animal waiting to b
This simile is very important. The narrator is, once again, acknowledging that he removed himself from Sonny's life. Now, however, the brothers are finding their way back to each other. This is the beginning of the narrator's attempt to understand his brother better.
he ever took in this world
After so many years spent apart, the narrator is reflecting back on the important milestones he was there for in Sonny's life. He was an integral part of his life since birth.
Sonny's
I am having trouble coming up with a theme for this passage. To be fair, I typically struggle with this. One message I am seeing in this is familial love. Although the two brothers had their separate lives and disagreements, they still came back together in the end. I also think that racial discrimination is also implied in this text.
One of the biggest messages I see has to do with understanding one another. The narrator never tried to understand Sonny, but in the end, he did. I don't know how to word this, though. Any thoughts?
Will you please do that? For me?
The narrator wanted to help his brother. This could be in part because of the last conversation he had with his mother.
Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did. Yet, there was no battle in his face now, I heard what he had gone through, and would continue to g
This sentence is significant because it shows that he is finally understanding his brother. The story goes through their lives, pain, and all the obstacles. He finally lets his brother back in after his daughter dies, but until this part, he never truly seemed to understand his brother and his life.
It kept melting, sending trickles of ice water all up and down my veins, but it never got less
I particularly like this use of imagery. Most people have felt what this kind of dread and anxiety feels like, and his description nails that feeling. The reader can absolutely feel just how much the news article is weighing on the character. I feel like this sentence is extremely important leading into the rising action of the plot.
He became real to me again.
Is Sonny someone important in his life that he has blocked out or separated himself from, or is this something else entirely?
darkness
The word "darkness" seems to be a bit of imagery that the author is using to lead into the story. It begins to set the mood for the rest of the plot.
. Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did.
This sentence is significant because it shows that he is finally understanding his brother. The story goes through their lives, pain, and all the obstacles. He finally lets his brother back in after his daughter dies, but until this part, he never truly seemed to understand his brother and his life.
It kept melting, sending trickles of ice water all up and down my veins, but it never got less
I particularly like this use of imagery. Most people have felt what this kind of dread and anxiety feels like, and his description nails that feeling. The reader can absolutely feel just how much the news article is weighing on the character. I feel like this sentence is extremely important leading into the rising action of the plot.
He became real to me again
Is Sonny someone important in his life that he has blocked out or separated himself from, or is this something else entirely?
darkness
The word "darkness" seems to be a bit of imagery that the author is using to lead into the story. It begins to set the mood for the rest of the plot.