Final Revised Reading Response–The Starry Night

If a poem could so closely represent a painting, it would be this poem and the painting “The Starry Night”. I can't tell if Anne Sexton wrote this as herself in a state of desperation and depression or as Van Gogh during his time of anguish; either way I’m beginning to interpret what she's trying to get out, though it's somewhat hidden. As I’ve compared Anne Sexton’s poem and Van Gogh’s painting, I have noticed many deeper levels of their work and similarities between the two.

            Like anything, Anne Sexton’s poem has two sides. The poet uses harsh and aggressive words and phrases such as “orange irons” (line 8) and “The town is silent. The night boils with eleven star/… an old unseen serpent swallows up the stars” (lines 4 and 10) to describe her feelings yet what she is describing appears peaceful and quiet and beautiful. Some words stood out more than others such as “irons, boils, and swallows.” She cleverly uses these beautiful words while hiding anger within. With each stanza in this poem, the reader learns a bit more about the poet and what exactly the poet is trying to say.

           I’ve realized art can be interpreted the same way. Each time look at a painting, you can better understand the painter’s purpose and ideas. Van Gogh’s painting “The Starry Night” is also beautiful yet filled with anger and depression. When looked at from a far, a person might see swirls of colors that appeal to the eye, however when looked at more closely, a person may notice the darkness of the shadows and the wind.

These abundant similarities make me wonder how different Anne Sexton and Van Gogh really are. Both are incredibly deep and they seem to think the same way. They recognize how stunning and dazzling the world is, the sound of the wind, the glow of the stars. Yet they want to leave and throw away their sadness and weight. It seems Anne Sexton would like to leave the world based on this quote from her poem “I want to die:/ into that rushing beast of the night” (lines 12 and 13). Maybe the many black colors used in Van Gogh’s painting represent death or depression.

From this experience of comparing art and literature, I’ve learned that the two genres fit together. Anne Sexton’s “The Starry Night” and Van Gogh’s share similar themes and ideas and from this I can expect the poet and the artist are not so different from each other; their work has depth to it and this is important. It makes it possible for a reader or an observer to gain something from their interpretation; the deeper levels can change the way they look at things and help them in the long run. 

Revised Reading Response to the Starry Night By Anne Sexton

If a poem could so closely represent a painting, it would be this and The Starry Night. I can't tell if Anne wrote this as herself in a state of desperation and depression or as Van Gogh during his time of anguish, either way I seem to understand what she's trying to get out, though it's somewhat hidden. It took me a while.

            Like anything, this poem has two sides. The poet uses harsh and aggressive words to describe her feelings yet what she is describing appears peaceful and quiet and beautiful. The town is silent. The night boils with eleven stars… an old unseen serpent swallows up the stars; beautiful words just bursting with rage.

            If you think about it, the painting is beautiful yet filled with anger and depression, which makes me wonder how different Anne and Van Gogh really are. Both are incredibly deep and they seem to think the same way. They recognize how stunning and dazzling the world is, the sound of the wind, the glow of the stars. Yet they want to leave and throw away their sadness and weight. So here I am thinking I completely understand.

However, because Van Gogh and Anne are both so thoughtful, it’s not that easy. Is it ever though? Their actual messages and intentions are so hidden they may be impossible to find.

And although I’ve come to realize that everything is never as it seems in literature and art; I find it doesn’t matter. The interpretations and conclusions I’ve come to are enough to help me in life. They’re enough to change the way I look at things.

           

            I’ve never really appreciated art. I’ve looked at art through one eye; I’ve looked at it as a display. I can see through both eyes now and it’s been crazy awakening. Art means something. So thank you Van Gogh, thank you Anne Sexton. Thank you.

Reading Response to Certain Girls

I’m finally nearing the end of Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner. It’s the type of book I like to call “real”. I really don’t understand exactly how the author did it, but she captured both the perspectives of the over protective mother and the teenage daughter and I know this is incredibly different because the thoughts and ideas of a mother to a daughter are such opposites. It’s real because when I read I can feel myself there and that’s something I haven’t experienced with a book in a long while. It’s nice.

            Life is twisted; this is one thing Certain Girls makes obvious. Joy, the teenager and Cannie, the mother, have a somewhat normal relationship with each other for their ages. They argue a lot and they disagree and Joy does things without Cannie’s permission particularly because she knows it will upset her. Cannie feels helpless. Like I said; normal.

But their lives, their history is far from average. Cannie’s past is filled with confusion and worry and hate which she vents in her book Big Girls Don’t Cry. She tells about how rough her childhood had been, with a terribly unkind father and a clueless mother. She tells of how she was always put down; every idea. Then she writes of her new boyfriend Bruce and how an unexpected pregnancy at a young age would potentially ruin her life. She didn’t want Joy; she never wanted Joy. And knowing this, Joy’s hatred toward her mother grew stronger.

            I can’t say I can completely connect to Joy’s situation, no, not to that extent. I don’t have some sob story about how I was a mistake or how horribly I ruined my mother’s life. But I can relate. I feel myself agreeing when Joy describes her thoughts not just about Cannie, but about everything, her whole world.

 Though, I don’t want to. I don’t want to be that teenager with the mood swings, or that daughter that argues a lot, or that girl so desperate for attention. I don’t have a hard life. I have things pretty great at home, I live in a house close to my school with a functional family, I have everything. So why do I feel like this? Many stereotypes exist about teens and I don’t want to admit that most of them are true.

That’s why this book was so important. I get it now, okay, I’m not always right and as Joy began to realize this, so did I. I don’t think adolescences should mean disobedient and secretive and untrustworthy all though we may want it to be. Really, we need this for our futures. Young and stupid, that's what they say.  So now I’ve got to stop, it’ll be hard.