Imitation # 5 (1990)- Mary Barnett, Endless Journey

Joel Milian                                                                                                                 10/21/12

Endless Journey

By- Mary Barnet (1990)

Some journeys, I believe, are endless
for what the mother does not find
One hundred years later
the great-grandchild discovers.

Such is the nature of the animal.
Within the soul there is an endless journey also:
In search of love that lasts;
trying to find forever in one moment.

Critique:

These first 8 lines from the poem titled “Endless Journey” by Mary Barnet talks about the journey of life. Life is a journey that everyone will embark on and Mary Barnet mentions that it is an endless journey. What questions someone had 100 years ago will be answered as time progresses and the next generation comes about. I believe Mary Barnet is attempting to detail the struggle that everyone goes through in life. She also connects it to the life of an animal who although is not as complex as human beings live their life looking for a mate to continue reproducing and thus a new generation that will encounter the same obstacles. Mary’s audience in this poem is people but no particular specific group. I believe this poem is a critique about life in general from Mary’s perspective. Mary does make good points that caused me to evaluate and think about life so I believe this is a very well written poem.

Imitation # 4 1980's: Slick Rick, Children's Story

Joel Milian                                                                                                                10/15/12

Children’s Story

By- Slick Rick (1989)

Once upon a time not long ago,
When people wore pajamas and lived life slow,
When laws were stern and justice stood,
And people were behavin' like they ought ta good,

There lived a lil' boy who was misled,
By anotha lil' boy and this is what he said:
"Me & You, Ty, we gonna make sum cash,
Robbin' old folks and makin' da dash"

Critique:

This song by Slick Rick is portrayed as what should be a typical children’s bedtime story but in reality, tells the story about a crime gone wrong. These 8 lines are only the introductory lines of the song but provide the foundation to the story involving a little boy who was encouraged to commit a crime. I believe this song is not a confessional, boast, nor a critique rather just a story. Slick Rick’s audience in this song is children because he telling a bedtime story, but the actions in the song pertains to adult situations such as theft and physical violence. There are a few literary devices in this sample of the song. There is clearly some examples of end Rhyme with words like ago, and slow and stood and good. The tone appears to be relatively straightforward and with that comes a very literal meaning to the words being said. Slick Rick does a very good job at telling the story along with his rhymes and the fact that it is easy to understand the story led to the popularity of the song.

Critique # 1- Chapter 6 "Just Keeping it Real"

Joel Milian                                                                                                                               9/30/12

Critique # 1: (Chapter 6) Just keeping it real

Critique:

This chapter of The Hip Hop Wars, titled “Just keeping it real” describes how rap music has become commercialized and has instilled overly exaggerated stories, lessons and teachings which its audiences perceive to be true. Rappers such as 50 Cent, Lil Wayne and T.I. are mentioned in this chapter to have criminal experiences in the past, but exaggerated events and details in the lyrics of their songs. Hip Hop came about as a means of expression mainly by their creators, those of African American descent but as time has passed the notion of rappers “keeping it real” in their songs has changed as rap has become more commercialized. Now the problem that has risen due to this factor is that Rap is now seen as a description on the lives of all African Americans when there is only a small fraction that is being described. The common topics in rap music such as thugs, pimps, drugs, and woman are becoming so desensitized that as offensive and disrespectful as it is, becomes part of a catchy lyric to its audiences. This has led to the false stereotypes, prejudice beliefs and ideas that all African Americans live in thug communities or partake in drugs and disrespect woman. This chapter also makes a great point in that rappers such as Common, Mos Def and Talib Kweli who are known for their great artistic abilities have never had a song go platinum. In contrast an artist such as Chammilionare mostly known for his song “Riding Dirty” has gone platinum. This comparison goes to show that the audience of rap music care less about the quality and essence of what they are listening to, but rather the catchy, disrespectful lines that usually are centered around false ideas.

Imitation # 3 1970: Pedro Pietri, Puerto Rican Obituary

Joel Milian                                                                                                                                       9/30/12

Puerto Rican Obituary

By Pedro Pietri

(Published 1973)

These dreams

These empty dreams

from the make-believe bedrooms

their parents left them

are the after-effects

of television programs

about the ideal

white american family

Critique:

This section of the poem Puerto Rican Obituary by Pedro Pietri describes the harsh realities Puerto Ricans face living in New York. In summary, these 8 lines refer to make believe dreams which are the product of television and society at the time which showed white Americans as the ideal family for success, happiness, power and money. Pedro Pietri is speaking to Puerto Ricans in general living in New York, but the situation can apply to any minority adjusting to life in the melting pot that New York had become. This poem is definitely a critique on the life Puerto Ricans faced but also can be classified as a confessional, as Pedro Pietri himself was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New York with his family. He experienced much of what he is describing throughout the poems entirety. The tone of this section of the poem is very downhearted, although the experiences being described are truthful. In this section, the way Pietri uses diction with words such as empty, make-believe, and left all aides in his portrayal of Puerto Ricans as victims of an unjust society.

Imitation #2 Music of the 1960's: Jimmy Hendrix, Purple Haze

Joel Milian                                                                                                                                9/9/12

Purple Haze

By - Jimmy Hendrix, 1967

Purple haze all in my brain

Lately things just don't seem the same

Actin' funny, but I don't know why

'Scuse me while I kiss the sky

Purple haze all around

Don't know if I'm comin' up or down

Am I happy or in misery?

Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me

Critique:

This song by Jimmy Hendrix can easily be interpreted to fit the description of the effects Marijuana has on the individual’s body and the experience that it contains. Although Hendrix stated that the song was a product of a dream in the present day, Purple Haze is another word for the drug LSD and a type of Cannabis. I feel that the lyrics of this song are a critique. Hendrix is describing an experience and how it makes him feel. Since there are lyrics in the song in which Hendrix asks a question, I feel like he is questioning an audience but at the same time talking to himself. There are literary devices in this song. The use of diction with words such as “happy, misery, actin funny and seem” all refer to effects. The tone of the song seems to have an uplifting and almost calming tone to it. End Rhyme is also a present device throughout the song. The words at the end of every two lines rhyme. The line “Scuse me while I kiss the sky” can possibly show how enriching he feels.

The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain

Joel Milian

                                                  The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain

            Langston Hughes in this article written in 1926 describes the harsh realities that African Americans face. Hughes begins the article describing to readers what a young African American poet said to him. The poet said, “I want to be a poet – not a Negro poet.” This discouraging quotation then causes Hughes to describe the lifestyles of the African Americans dubbed with the name “Negroes” and that of the White individuals who many African Americans believed to be vastly superior to them and so wanted to be just like them. Although I am not an African American but Hispanic, I find Hughes’s words inspiring. He is embarrassed by those who wish to lose a part of their identity so that they can imitate those qualities of the common white folk. Langston Hughes as a very famous and prominent Jazz poet knew the significance of the Jazz music as a creation of the African Americans, and saw it as something that should be treasured. Ultimately Hughes makes the notion that be free to make your own decisions and having pride not shame or pity for yourself makes the individual strong and happy. The opinions and judgments of other individuals do not matter. An artist of any race, culture, religion should embrace his/her race whether or not their work primarily focuses on race. Race can still be something the artist can utilize to gain new audience members or simply to add to the uniqueness of their work.

Imitation #1: Edgar Allan Poe, A Dream Within a Dream

Joel Milian

                                                                                      A Dream Within A Dream

by Edgar Allan Poe
(published 1850)

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow --
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand --
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep -- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Critique

This poem by Edgar Allan Poe is about an individual leaving a lover and how he believes life may be a dream because he cannot hold on to the moment. The poem is centered on two main situations. The first being the narrator with his lover, and the second sees the narrator at a beach unable to maintain sand that he clutches in his hands. I believe the poem is a critique because the narrator is unable to tell between reality and dreams. The Rhyme Scheme for the first stanza of this poem is AAABBCCDDBB, and the second stanza is EEFFGGGHHIIBB. There are a few literary devices in this poem such as Assonance and Alliteration when Poe repeats “is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream.” There is also repetition in the second stanza when the narrator says, “While I weep – while I weep.” Personification is also present when Poe says “Yet if hope has flown away.” A final literary device is onomatopoeia in the first stanza with the word avow.