Narrative

Never thought you could possibly relate the stages of life to the changes in the seasons. If I were to relate my life to the seasons at this point in time, it would kind of fall under summer. I World say summer because I find myself independent, my educational process, and also because of my maturity level.
Independent, something many Americans my age find hard to become. I am currently working which enables me to provide several things for myself so that I am not dependent upon others. Another way I find myself independent is by traveling alone. For instance in the summer I visit the library located on 19th and vine to read books, but not to long before the bell rings 10 minutes before closing.
My educational process also defines why I am in my summer. Transforming from middle school to high school is a great change. These years happen to be the most important years in life. It’s a time where you have to make decisions that will reflect upon your future. You may want to make good decisions with whom you hang with. Try to find people who you have things in common with. Plan on going to collage? Find others who also plan on going to collage.
When reading the story Marigolds Lizabeth, the main character became mature when she heard he father crying and she said, “I did not know men ever cried.” At this point in the story Lizabeth realizes, that men actually cries, which kind of puzzles her. I find this as a step to maturity. Realizing that hopefully within the next two years I will be completing high school. It’s time to prepare for the real world. Some ways I do this is by becoming aware of the people I hang with, and the why in which they affect me.
After reading Marigolds I can relate to Lizabeth`s transformation from spring to summer. Jackie Joyner-Kensec once said, “It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret”. By becoming independent and also growing educationally which allows be to become mature this statement means a lot to me. Once you’ve done something you cant go back and change it you just have to leave it as is and make sure you don’t make the same mistake again. Have you ever heard the phrase “the first impression is always the last impression”? This is also a similar quote that awakens you to maturity.

Langston Hughes "Mother to Son"

Malissa Reid
February 11, 2009
Period 1


“Mother to Son”

First off lets start with the poem I chose. The poem I chose was “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes. As I was reading this poem I noticed the author used several metaphors, I liked the language, and I also found this poem very inspirational.
Lets start off by examining the several uses of metaphors in the poem. “Life for me ain`t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor- Bare”. The author uses metaphors to describe what her life was like. Metaphors tend to make poems more interesting, which gives the reader an imagination of what her life was really like. Maybe it wasn’t so good if it’s had splinters and boards torn up and it wasn’t like a “crystal stair”. I also find he uses a language to persuade the reader, which leads me to the next reason why I really liked this poem.

While reading this poem I noticed it didn’t contain any rhyme, but yet contained very little repetition. “Life for me ain`t been no crystal stair”. This shows that every poem doesn’t always have to rhyme if it contains some type of rhythm to keep it flowing.

Another reason why I liked this poem is because I found it inspirational. In the poem Langston Hughes uses the phrase “Don’t you fall now-”. This phase may have been used to inspire the reader not to give up. Have your teacher ever said “no, it’s ok you’re almost done it’s great”, when they see you becoming frustrated? Well it’s kind of like what Langston Hughes does in the poem when he states “Don’t you fall now-”.

I really like this poem because of the use of metaphors, languages the author uses, and also because of the inspiration the author gives the reader.