One thing I seek in a poem is uniqueness; this poem is certainly unique. I admire the obvious use of poetic license; words are all over the place and misspelled and abbreviated. Reg E. Gains captured the character so well it was hard to believe that the poem wasn’t about him; that it wasn’t about a specific moment he’s experienced in his life. This time he wrote to the struggling kids. He showed them that he understands; the poem showed them better than any other form of communication. He wrote in their language.
I find the one character in this poem especially interesting. He seems pretty average at first. Like all the rest, he wants to fit in with his crowd. He wants to be “seen rather than heard” and that’s strange to me. I know what it’s like to be frantic and a little obsessed with being like everyone else. But, I have self-control. I positively convinced that knowing yourself and liking whom that person is, matters thousands of times more than the way others see you and know you.
Yet this character, whoever he is, thinks the opposite and I think I know why. After a while of obsessing over the clothes and possessions others have, you find yourself slowly slipping away; you find yourself wondering who you see in the mirror every night. And when you’re totally gone, no more slipping, just gone, you end up doing something sickening and wrong like shooting and killing and innocent person for what they have on their feet. But the worst part is, you won’t even feel regret or unease or doubt in the morning. His impulse decision to shoot for what he wanted explains how weak the character really is, how easily he’ll give up and give in. He lets objects define him and he knows it: his “gear”.
So I think the author so cleverly crafted this poem to get the young and desperate readers to recognize what they can’t let happen to themselves. He’s trying to get them to realize that they can’t fall so under that they’d kill for something they don’t even need. The urge should not get to a point where you know longer have control. You can’t lose yourself.
But the scary thing is, people do every second, every minute, of everyday. Each day a gun fires.
I really like your unique perspective on this.
ReplyDeleteoh my god im commenting on something your commenting on the is crazy
ReplyDeleteThat's a really great response! The last sentence/paragraph is so scary, yet it really fits in with the rest of the response. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great post it has a great intro and outro!
ReplyDeleteJulia, like zomg. That was just great, like honestly no lie. I agree with sarah on everything she said. You've really outdone yourself here!
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Charlie
Wow, I understand why Ms. Galang named this response a "noteworthy blog." Your writing is thought-provoking and digs deeper to where not many people are comfortable to delve. The way you addressed these topics was poetic and smart, and true. Amazing job! Your last sentence leaves such a mark with your readers and leaves them thinking about the scary truths about human beings you addressed.
ReplyDeleteThat was a really good response. I like how you described what you thought about the poem and what you distinctly liked about it.It was really really good.
ReplyDeleteWow, you did a great job of delving into the meaning of this poem in a way that I never really thought about. I especially enjoyed the way you tried to figure out the authors purpose. Great job, Julia.
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