Poets - Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 and passed away on May 22, 1967. He was a prolific writer. Hughes, like many black writers and artists of his time, was drawn to the promise of Communism as an alternative to a segregated America.

Although he was hated by many whites, he continued with his poems trying to make rights for the black. This shows how determined he is to change the social status of blacks.

Many of his lesser-known political writings have been collected in two volumes published by the University of Missouri Press and reflect his attraction to Communism. An example is the poem "A New Song": In the forty-odd years between his first book in 1926 and his death in 1967, he devoted his life to writing and lecturing. He wrote sixteen books of poems, two novels, three collections of short stories, four volumes of "editorial" and "documentary" fiction, twenty plays, children's poetry, musicals and operas, three autobiographies, a dozen radio and television scripts and dozens of magazine articles. In addition, he edited seven anthologies. The long and distinguished list of Hughes' works includes: Not Without Laughter (1930); The Big Sea (1940); I Wonder As I Wander" (1956).

Poems that he wrote:

1) I, Too, Sing America
I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

2)A New Song

I speak in the name of the black millions

Awakening to action.

Let all others keep silent a moment

I have this word to bring,

This thing to say,

This song to sing:

Bitter was the day

When I bowed my back

Beneath the slaver's whip.

That day is past.

Bitter was the day

When I saw my children unschooled,

My young men without a voice in the world,

My women taken as the body-toys

Of a thieving people.

That day is past.

Bitter was the day, I say,

When the lyncher's rope

Hung about my neck,

And the fire scorched my feet,

And the oppressors had no pity,

And only in the sorrow songs

Relief was found.

That day is past.

I know full well now

Only my own hands,

Dark as the earth,

Can make my earth-dark body free.

O thieves, exploiters, killers,

No longer shall you say

With arrogant eyes and scornful lips:

"You are my servant,

Black man-

I, the free!"

That day is past-

For now,

In many mouths-

Dark mouths where red tongues burn

And white teeth gleam-

New words are formed,

Bitter

With the past

But sweet

With the dream.

Tense,

Unyielding,

Strong and sure,

They sweep the earth-

Revolt! Arise!

The Black

And White World

Shall be one!

The Worker's World!

The past is done!

A new dream flames

Against the

Sun!

3)Let America be America Again

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!

Sources: http://www.poemhunter.com/, en.wikipedia.org

Poem - A girl

How are the figurative language used in the poem?

This poem uses personification, metaphor, simile and symbolism.

1)Personification-
The tree has entered my hands,
The sap has ascended my arms,
The tree has grown in my breast-
Downwards,

2)Simile-
The branches grow out of me, like arms.

3)Metaphor-
Trees you are,
Moss you are,
You are the wind above them.

4)Symbolism-
The tree and the sap uses symbolism.

Tell us why you like this poem in less than 100 words.

This poem uses lots of figurative language and uses it in almost every sentence. This allows the reader to have the feeling what the author wants to put across to the readers. It talks about the person has not grown up yet and the author has put the message across quite well. I also like this poem as it compares between a person and a tree.

Poem - A Girl

The tree has entered my hands,
The sap has ascended my arms,
The tree has grown my breast-
Downwards,
The branches grow out of me, like arms.

Trees you are,
Moss you are,
You are violets with wind above them.
A child - so high - you are,
And all this is folly to the world.

Is progress necessarily beneficial for society?

No, I do not think that progress is necessarily beneficial for society.
Let me state why.

1)Having progress means higher standards of living. There will be better quality food and higher income and people will enjoy the luxury they have. As the society becomes more competitive, people would not be able to cope with the hardship and thus, they will not be able to keep up with the high tempo of living. With the higher tempo of living, there will be a lack of human relationship. Thus, people will become more self-centered and boastful.
2)Progress also means more factories. This would harm the environment and also the society. This would also lead to global warming.
3)In the novel Village by the Sea, building factories is a benefit for the government in Bombay. However, the villagers in Thul disagree. They are afraid that they would lose their job such as fishing and even finding a job in the factories would be difficult. Thus, they would need to move to other places as the rich move in.

Who is your favourite/least favourite character in Village by the Sea?

My favourite character would be Hari. Let me state my reasons.

Hari
1)He is the protagonist of this novel and I find him very hardworking. He is able to cope with the stress and burden being put on him as he has to take up the role of the 'father' after his father became a drunkard.
2)Having to take up the role as the 'father', he dropped out of school. He tries to make ends meet and perseveres. He even leaves his home and village just to find a job in Bombay. He always tries his best to relieve the financial crisis his family and I admire his perseverance.
3)He juggles between two jobs. One as a helper at a restaurant and one as a helper at a watch mending shop. At the watch mending shop, the owner teaches him how the mend a watch and he is willing to learn. This shows that Hari is keen to learn something and help relieve the financial crisis his family is facing.

Which part of Village by the Sea do you like best?

I like the part where Hari goes back to his home in Thul, which is after Coconut Day, as this part shows that the family is no longer dysfunctional.
Let me state my reasons.

Hari
1)He has found a stable job and has earned quite some money, relieving the financial problem his family is having. He learnt a new skill, which is watch mending, and he wants to set up a shop back in Thul. He gained lots of experienced and he has grown to be a mature person.
2) He also expressed his wish of going back to Thul and this shows that the family is re-uniting again.

Lila
1)Although having to cope alone without his brother, she still managers to earn some money by working for a birdwatcher. This shows that she is independent and does not need to rely on his brother all the time.

Mother
1)She is recovering from her illness and is not as weak as before. This shows that she can take the role as the mother again and Lila does not need to be the 'mother' of the family anymore.

Father
1)He is no longer a drunkard and has turned over a new leaf. He also had taken up the responsiblity of a father by taking care of his wife. This gives us a hint that he would find a job and relieve this family of their current financial crisis.

I rather be the city rat than the country rat

I am neutral with this statement as sometimes being a country rat might be better than a city rat. Thus, I am neutral.

Firstly, let me state why being a city rat is no better than being a country rat.
1)Will have too much luxury
People living in cities don't have to go through the same hardship as those people living in a country. Thus, they would not know the true meaning of hardship as they are living in luxury. For example, when they have some difficuties in live, they would not know how to cope and adapt to their new life.
2)Lack of human relationships
People living in cities have a hgh tempo of living. Thus, they would not have time to have a good talk with each other and this has resulted in them becoming self-centered and boastful. However, in a country, the tempo of life is low. Thus, they would have a strong relationship with one another and this has made them more selfless, kind and helpful.

Next, let me stand my point that countryside life is no better than city life.
1)Lack of technology
People living in countryside are less developed than those who live in cities. They would be without our daily essentials like the internet. Most of us would dread the thought of not having an internet. Internet had become the dominant part of lifes. For example, in a future school that uses the internet to inform students of important messages or events. Thus, technology is very useful for informing one another.
2)Lack of resources
People living in countrysides don't have an easy or no access to resources like food. They would have to hunt for food and sometimes, they would have none. Thus, this will lead to malnutrition and food poisoning as they might not cook the food thouroughly. Medical care is also inadequate and thus result in a low life expectancy.
3)Lack of communication
There are no advanced technologies like the internet and even newspapers. Thus, if there is an important meassage to be passed on to everyone in the village, it would take a long time and some of them would not be even notified.

In conclusion, I am neutral with the statement. Feel free to comment.

Tests results

My term 3 tests results are out. I got a msg of 1.67 and I am very pleased with it. I am also tied with 2 others dor third in my class. I got A2 for english, A2 for chinese, A1 for maths, A1 for science, A1 for infocomm studies and B3 for humanities.
I will thrive to get better results the next term and I hope to get a good grades especially in integrated humanities. I did not do so well because I did last minute work and did not bother to go through the notes given by my teachers carefully. I will buck up in my integrated humanities and also continue to do well in other subjects. I will do everything teachers ask me to do and I will read up a few weeks before exams so as to be prepared for exams.

Tests

Sorry for not posting and updating my blog recently. I have been busy with school work lately. Anyway, this week, I have two test and I have even more next week. I already taken my history, english and chiinese test which I had just taken this afternoon. It was quite difficult and I almost could not finish on time. Luckily, I wrote my last word just in time. As for the history and english test, it was managable but I am not confident of getting a high mark.
For the next few remaining tests, I would revise as much as I can and be prepared for the tests. I really hope to get a good grade.

Primary School Scouts' Camp

On the second day of the camp, we assembled at 7am and we had our morning exercise which was a jog aroung the neighbouhood. After the jog, we had our breakfast which was eggs, sausages and bread. After that, all of us went to strike down all the tents and cleaned the area.
After that, it was time for one last game. This was a teambuilding game whereby one group has to try to lift up a bench with a few scouts only with the help of newspapers and the group which could lift up the most scouts would win. All the groups, other than one group, could only lift up three scouts while the only group left could lift upfour scouts. Thus, they were the winners. That was the last activity and all of us went home.

Primary School Scouts' Camp

Today, I just got back from another camp, this time, it is my primary school's scouts camp. I went back to my primary school, which is Kong Hwa School, to help out in the 2 day 1 night camp. I went there right after the job week session organised by my seondary school. I will be sharing with you the happenings on the first day of this camp in this post and the second day of the camp on the next post.
When I reached my primary school, they were already having their lunch, which is instant noodles. After they had their lunch, we cleared the area of any litter and proceeded in setting up the obstacle course. The obstacle course consist of a low wall which they must climb over, a tunnel, a "spiderweb" whereby a cub scout has to pretend to be a casualty while his other group members carry him and go past rafia strings tied to two poles. It also has a station called the balancing beam and the last station is when a scout has to volunteer to be a "catcher" and he holds up a pail which his group members must try to throw water bombs into the pail. After that, all the teams shen to try te obstacle course out they had lots of fun.
Next, it was time for water war. All the groups collected their water bombs and threw it at each other. All of us, including myself, got very wet and it was time for shower. After shower, we had our dinner followed by song session. After the song session, it was time for ghost stories. After that, all of the cub scouts were told to follow a route around the school and along the way, the seniors would jump out from our hiding place and scare them. After that, it was time for bed.

Secondary 1 Camp

On the last day of camp, we had to assemble at camp Christine at 6.30pm. After that, we went to do area cleaning followed by our breakfast. After having our breakfast, we went to strikedown our tents and some of the other groups had to do other things like cleaning the restrooms. It took us around 2 hours to do all the things as it was very difficult and all of us were already very tired. After that, we went to camp Christine to have our final briefing and the prize presentation and my group was the best group. After that, we bade farewell to our trainers and went home.
After this camp, I have a deeper understanding of some of my friends and I learnt that teamwork is important. In order to do things efficiently, we have to work together and coperate. I enjoyed this camp as I had an opportunity to enjoy nature as the campsite is surrounded by natural things.

Secondary 1 Camp

On the second day of the camp, we woke up at 6.30am and assembled at the canteen at 7am. After that, my group and I went to do area cleaning where we had to wash the restrooms and we had to clear the area that was assigned to us of litter. After that, we went to have our breakfast followed by some games. We played Ultimate Frisbee and "Monkey's Tail". We even competed with other teams and we won. Next we went for rafting. We were given three tyres and wooden poles and we had to come up with a desgin of a boat that could seat 4 people. The station master said that our design was very interesting and it was the first time she saw that design. Howerver, our boat could not float as well and we did not do well in that station. After rafting, we went to have our lunch and we had a quick shower because we went into the seawater during rafting. After that, we went to do the "Sarimbum Challenge" and the trainer said that it was going to be challenging. Indeed, he was right and it was very difficult. One of the things we had to do was to built a catapult using only ropes and wooden poles. We built the frame of it but due to insufficient amount of time given, we had a change of plans and we just placed a rope to fling the object. After the activities, we went for dinner and had a shower before the campfire.
At the campfire, all of the groups had to present cheers and the group that I am with was the second last to present our cheers. After doing out cheers, our trainer praised us for our effort and after that, we went to sleep.

Secondary 1 Camp

Today is the last day of my secondary 1 camp and I had lots of fun there. I went to Sarimbum Scouts camp for a 3 days 2 nights stay. It was from 11 March to 13 March. In this post, I would be sharing with all of you the things that I did on the first day of the camp and in the following posts, I would be sharing the things that happened on the second and third day of the camp my reflection.
On the first day of the camp, I went there in the morning and reached there at around 1pm. After putting my bags in the tents, I went to have lunch. After lunch, my group and I went to play a game called "Traffic Jam". It was problem solving game and I had lots of fun playing that even though it was challenging. Next, we went to our next activity which was backwood man cooking. We got to cook bananas with sugar, eggs in oranges and a donut called "Jungle Donuts". All of us got a taste of everything and it was an interesting experience. After eating the food that we made, we went to a place called the "Challenge Valley" where we had to go through different kinds of obstacle courses. However, due to time constraint, we did not get to do all the obstacle courses. After that, we went to have our shower and dinner and prepared for the campfire the next day and that sums up our day.

74 dead in Shanxi mine explosion

Today, I will be sharing with you my views on an article in The Straits Times under the section of World and it is titled "74 dead in Shanxi mine explosion".
This explosion happened yesterday, in northern China. It was the worst accident to hit the nation's mines in more than a year, where 105 people died in December last year, also in Shanxi. A total of 114 miners are in hospital, including 5 whose injuries were quite serious.
This article is base on a milieu article. A milieu story is a incident that can happen in the real world or in an invented one. In this story, it is base on a true story which happened in the real world. Thus, I feel that it is a milieu story as it cannot be an event story because it is not a fantasy story.
I feel very sorry to the people who died in this explosion. I am also very glad that rescue works were quite successful and that rescuers also risked their own lives to save others. It also happen the day after senior provincial officers held a conference about mine safety, in which they pledged to try to put an end to deadly mining accidents. I think they got off to a bad start as this incident happen the very next day. I feel that provincial officers should have more safety rules and to implement them fast as to decrease the number of mining accidents. I also think that miners should also be more careful in their work and so as not to make a fatal mistake.

Last Day of Chinese New Year

On the last day of Chinese New Year, the whole family gathered at my paternal grandmother's house to have a meal together. This was a good chance for all of us to mingle around as on normal days, we would all be busy with our own work.
After having dinner together, we had 'tang yuan' which was hand made by my grandmother. Everyone loved it.
After that, we had to leave as we needed to go to school or go to work the next day. Although we did not do anything much, we still had a great tome together.

Second and Third Day of Chinese New Year

In this post, I will be briefly telling you what I did on the second and third day of Chinese New Year.
On the second day of Chinese New Year, my family and I went to my eldest uncle's house to have lunch. As he loves to cook, he whipped up a scrumptious meal for my family and other relatives. After that, we went to my second uncle's house and my eldest aunt's
After that, we went to my second aunt's house to have dinner. Her eldest son made pizza, which is his speciality, for my relatives and my family. After dinner, all of the children went to the living room and played games while the adults went to my second aunt's room to play mahjong. However, all of these fun had to stop as some of us had to go to school and the adults had to go to work.
After the third day of Chinese New Year, I had received all of my red packets. Even though I had lots of money, I think that children receiving red packets from adults is not all about the money but also about the real meaning of them giving it to us.

First Day Of Chinese New Year

Sorry for the delay. Today, I would be sharing with all of you the things that happen on the first day of Chinese New Year.
On the first day of Chinese New Year, my family and I put on our new clothes and took a family photo first. After that, my sister and I took madarin oranges and wished our parents Happy Chinese New Year. After that, we went to my paternal grandmother's house to have some red wine noodles. Before that, my sister and I went to wish my grandmother a Happy Chinese New Year.
After visiting my paternal grandmother's house, my family and I went to visit my maternal grandmother.

Chinese New Year

I apologise for not posting for a long time. Anyway, Chinese New Year is ending tomorrow. I hope all of you had fun during this time. Well I sure did. I think that all of you should have collected all your red packets by now. For my next few posts, I will be sharing the things that had happened during the first three days of Chinese New Year. I will be posting them the next few days or even weeks depending on the time I have. I sincerely apologise for the delays for these post if I post them quite late. I am quite busy now due to school commitments and other things like piano lessons. Anyway, Happy Chinese New Year.

About This Blog

I created this blog for a project. I will be writing at least one post per week, so please read them. Although my blog name is about spongebob, I will not be writing any or only a few post about spongebob. For my next few posts, I will be writing about the recent Chinese New Year happenings. I hope my posts will be interesting for all of you. Feel free to comment.