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Post by Ms. Knarr on Mar 29, 2012 7:45:24 GMT -5
a song in the front yard by Gwendolyn Brooks I’ve stayed in the front yard all my life. I want a peek at the back Where it’s rough and untended and hungry weed grows. A girl gets sick of a rose. I want to go in the back yard now And maybe down the alley, To where the charity children play. I want a good time today. They do some wonderful things. They have some wonderful fun. My mother sneers, but I say it’s fine How they don’t have to go in at quarter to nine. My mother, she tells me that Johnnie Mae Will grow up to be a bad woman. That George’ll be taken to Jail soon or late (On account of last winter he sold our back gate). But I say it’s fine. Honest, I do. And I’d like to be a bad woman, too, And wear the brave stockings of night-black lace And strut down the streets with paint on my face. Follow this link to listen to Brooks read her poems: www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172082
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Post by elineal on Apr 10, 2012 15:32:24 GMT -5
1. I think that the meaning of the piece is that it is boring to be contempt with your life while others who do more are not. I think the poem is in the view of a white girl looking at other kids, other black kids, and wondering why she can’t do what they are doing. I think the poem also gives hope for a future where white and black people can get along seeing as the girl wants to defy her mother and join the other kids.
2. I like the poem. I like the use of the yard in the first stanza. Where the front, which everybody sees, is neat and tidy and also boring, contrary to the back which is a mess, invites those who are tired of the front. I think that represents the girl's feelings about how she wants to behave.
3. Q1: I suggested the narrator is a young girl who do you see the narrator as?
Q2.Do you think the Title's use of the word 'song' is meant sarcastically?
Q3. Why does the narrator say ''it's fine'' in the last stanza?
Q4. What do you think the author wants to convey about the lifestyle of the narrator?
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Post by jessicanoel on Apr 10, 2012 20:50:06 GMT -5
1. In my opinion the poem is about the contrast between who you want to be and who you are expected to be. She always stays in the front yard, which is tidy and dull. When she really wants to be a free spirit in the back with all the mess and adventure. Her mother expects her to stay in the front, especially after bad mouthing the children that do play in the back yard. However, that just makes the girl yearn to be on the wild side even more.
2. I enjoyed reading this poem. I agree with Eli's opinion on the front yard being tidy and presentable because it will be seen by everyone. I also like the way the back is welcoming, whereas you need to be a certain way to be accepted in the front. In a way I feel as I can relate to piece. Being a teenager, having fun is always appealing, however with college so close I need to learn to balance priorities for the sake of my future.
3. Answer to question one: I believe the narrator is a teenager, who is torn between adolescence and adulthood. She is facing difficulty with of deciding with listening to her mother or being independent.
Q1: Do you think the narrator really wants to be wild or does she just want to follow the other kids?
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Post by marysiagarcia on Apr 11, 2012 11:13:48 GMT -5
1. I agree with Jess in her interpretation of the poem. The girl's mother does not want her to leave the front yeard and go to the back, where the people there aren't good and respected people. The girl wants to buck her mothers reign and do what she wants, she wants to try what is so different to her. 2. I think this poem was interesting. It talks about hwat is good and respectable and how whats not right may seem more appealing because it's not what is expected. 3. To answer Jess' quesion, i dont htink that the author wants to be wild or follow the other kids i think she wants to try something different and not do what is expected of her and be the perfect little child. (my question) Why do you think the author says "i want a good time today"? What do you think it represents?
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Post by paulabatoon on Apr 11, 2012 14:23:47 GMT -5
1. I agree with Eli's interpretation. I think this is written from the point of view of a white girl observing the black kids that play around her neighborhood. The mother tells her that those kids will grow up to be bad people, probably because the mother is racist and believes the stereotype that all blacks are "bad people." I think the poem's telling us about the generation of kids around this time, that maybe one day, white kids and black kids can play together.
2. I liked the poem. It was fairly easy to read, and I got the message quickly. I like how Brooks uses the metaphor or the "front yard" and the "back yard." I also like the poem's message of independence. The girl should be able to choose with whom she plays with, not the mother.
3. (In response to Eli's fourth question) I think the narrator is living under a sheltered, overprotective life under her mother. All the narrator wants to do is have fun and play, but her mother won't let her. My question: What is the meaning of, "A girl gets sick of a rose"?
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Post by elineal on Apr 11, 2012 15:43:29 GMT -5
1. To Jess: I see how a teenager instead of a younger girl could work in the poem, making it almost a 'finding yourself' poem. To Paula: I agree with you answer I think she is living under too many rules and stress and just wants to be free.
2. To answer Paula's question, I think the meaning of ''A girl gets sick of a rose'' is a statement to the perfect life her and how it gets boring after a while to be perfect.
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Post by gabbymcgovern on Apr 11, 2012 23:01:00 GMT -5
1. I think that the overall meaning of the poem is that sometimes having everything doesn't come with happiness. This poem, to me, tells the story of a white girl who is growing up and realizing that she does not have to share the same thoughts and opinions as her mother. This girl's mother is most likely racist, as Paula said, and the young girl does not want to believe what her mother thinks. I think the girl wants to prove her mother's judgements wrong by spending time with black kids her age. The girl wants to live an exciting and different life that the black children are living. I feel as if the girl's mother is stopping her daughter from talking and playing with the black kids.
2. This poem was a very interesting read for me. I had never read anything before where a white, young girl was yearning for a less strict life of a black child. It is heart warming that she did not have a snobby attitude towards the black kids her age. Rather, the girl wanted to play with the kids. She wanted a different life, for her front yard took away freedom and fun. It was really cool how she wanted to know what the back yard was like because not all kids are so open minded. This girl was bored with perfection.
3. Eli's second question- Yes, I do think that the title's use of the word "song" is meant sarcastically. The front yard is anything but a song. It is anything but happiness, for the front yard has only brought the girl missery. The back yard could be considered a song. This song would contain laughter and a new found freedom. The word song is definitely meant to be sarcastic. My question- Can you infer that this girl wants to be independent from her mother and that she wants to experience something thrilling for a change?
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Post by allisoncorchado on Apr 15, 2012 11:23:05 GMT -5
1. I believe that this poem is taken from the perspective of a girl who has everything that she wants in the material world. She seems to be a daughter of someone of importance who thinks they are better than everyone else. It would also make sense that the children that she wants to play with are black. Evidence of this comes from where George will be taken to jail because he was playing with Johnnie, Johnnie being white and George being black. Agreeing with what was said earlier, I believe that she is bored being who she is expected to be and that she wants to live her life happily being someone else. She thinks that its okay to play with the black children unlike her parents she says "But i say its fine. Honest, I do." She doesn't see why she can't just play with them, which is why at the end she says "And wear the brave stockings of night-black lace And strut down the streets with paint on my face." She wants to disguise herself as an African American so that she can play and be who she really wants to be.
2. I really liked this poem because I feel that if i lived in a time period where there was slavery I would want to do the same exact thing. Its so amazing that set aside from what she has been taught she able to see that we are all equals. I also liked that it drew to the fact that we are often expected to be someone we are not which is a problem that still persists today. This poem teaches us that we should stand up for ourselves and be who we truly are which I can greatly admire and respect.
3. Answer to Gabbys question- You can most certainly infer that she wants a change. She doesn't see anything wrong with playing with black kids. She wants something more than her boring life. She says she is tired of staying in the front. She wants to play in the back. She would go through extreme lengths to disguise herself to play with them. I think that the fact that she wants change is the whole purpose of this poem. My question- What would you do if you were in the girl's situation?
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Post by karlpreisner on Apr 15, 2012 22:05:58 GMT -5
1. To me this poem is about how African Literature wanted to catch up with other literature of the time. Black literature was constantly behind other literature and was almost secluded from being in touch with the rest of literature. It ties into the black arts movement because the black arts were trying to move forward and catch up. 2. This poem was easy for me to see a connection to the Black Arts Movement. I liked how it was written. It was very easy to understand and it drew in my attention. 3. To answer Allison's question. If I were in that girl's situation, I would do everything I could to be able to play with the others. Q:Why is the title of the poem all lower case letters?
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