Roethke and Salinas

In "My Papa's Waltz" we read the story of a young child growing up with an alcoholic and abusive father. The boy seems to speak of his situation in a loving manner, although at a young age the boy has come to an understanding of what his family will continue to be. He embraces the good times and stays prepared for the worst. Titling the story as “My Papa’s Waltz” is very interesting, as the waltz to most is a very boring and repetitive dance form. The waltz dance is defined by Stanford University as a “trance-like euphoric state”. This is what getting drunk must feel like for the father and it is also stated by Stanford that “the repetitive nature of the waltz can create quite a different physical sensation which you don't find in other dances”. Although traumatic for the child and the wife, when the father is drunk may be the only time the family feels as though they’re being acknowledged by their father, and husband.

 

            The poem by Salinas demonstrates a much simpler and more traditional father-son relationship interpreted by the media. This young child sees their father as their hero and a provider. These two poems show us the different types of parental and family dynamics that exist within homes, and it seems that both children still feel loved although one is in an abusive household at times.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

what I learned this semester

  Its not just what I learned this semester through this class, it's the experience, the motivation, the literature, and the content I felt coming to this class every Monday and Wednesday. I learned alot through this class, first, I learned to be motivated, through Dr. Ellis’s constant uplifting and motivating comments, I actually learned to be more confident in my work and produce better papers. Through the presentations and class discussion, I was able to attend a class that had fostered such a comfortable space for students allowing us to practice our speech and discussion qualities. Through these discussions, I was able to be prepared for the next assignment due, not only that but I was able to go back home after class with a fruitful amount of new knowledge. English, reading, and writing used to be something I was genuinely afraid of but through this class, I have learned that there is more to it. Literature holds so much meaning in a student's life as we continue to study...
Read more

What I learned this semester

 This semester I learned there are multiple ways to interpret the text. Such as The Waltz, where some people interpreted the text to be about a father and his abused son. Others interpreted it as friendly interaction between father and son. These interpretations are bought on by the person's experiences and past experiences, making every analysis unique. I once thought that there was such a thing as a right and wrong analysis, now I've learned that any analysis is right as long as it can be proven. I'd say more than learning, I found this course an experience. An extremely good one. Just as thrilling as falling in love with a new song on the radio. Its thanks to my classmates but also to Dr. Ellis for enabling and hosting such a space where we can have the amazing conversations that we do. A safe space to learn and grow. The feel of a home or a small little book club of friends.  Literature can show a person's way of thinking while also expanding upon it. Literature is ...
Read more

What I've learned

  I always hated English classes in grade school, because we were always required to read books from before our time and come up with an overanalyzed response without hearing other viewpoints. Being in this class has been very different from those other courses in turn making it feel like a breath of fresh air. Being a finance major I dread most classes although I love the subject. Whenever the clock strikes 4:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays I get excited because I know there will be inciteful and respectful conversations had between myself and peers. The structure of this course makes me as a student more excited to read these books regardless how old they are, because as a class we do an excellent job of being able to relate the topics to current worldly, and community issues. Even in the earlier days of our course we were able to touch on heavy subjects such as racism, and certain slang and derogatory words, and not once did the conversations go in a direction when it needed to be ...
Read more