Email Notifications . . .

Hi all.

So, I thought I could have you all notified any time someone posted to the blog, but it turns out that I can only have a list of 10 people. I'm already listed, so that leaves 9 spots. I'll take 5 from the bigger class and 4 from the smaller one.

Those people can, if they so wish, take on the responsibility of relaying the information to the Facebook group so that everyone is kept up to date about what's on the blog. Of course, you can always just log on and check for yourself...but at least this way, if you forget, someone can give you the heads-up on what's going on.

I won't see you tomorrow. I'll be being held captive at Uni.

Monday!

Have a great class tomorrow and a cracking weekend.

Anon!

Simon

After the End...

Hey!

Below is the link to Zbigniew Herbert's poem, 'Elegy of Fortinbras'.

Thought you might enjoy it.

tiny.cc/8rmkk

Hope you all had a great weekend!
Simon

.
Simon McInerney
www.lacunaeandbrickwork.com

Tin Pot

Hey!

As per Florence's note to you all on FB, I'll be at the Tin Pot cafe tomorrow at 5pm if anyone wants to come along for some Danish Discussions.

Corner Scotchmer & St George's Rd, Fitzroy North.

If I don't see you there, I'll see you Monday.

Simon

Simon McInerney
www.lacunaeandbrickwork.com

Hamlet

Hi, I stumbled across this today: http://tinyurl.com/6yp6q36

There's an interesting reference to Hamlet in the interview, where Gunn says,
"all young men are unhappy, that's why they identify with Hamlet".

I was wondering what you guys think of this idea. Is Hamlet so unhappy that he has become a poster boy for tortured adolescent and early-twenties males? (and possibly females, too - covering bases here! :-) )

Also, if you haven't seen the post below this one, check it out now!

Simon

Simon McInerney
www.lacunaeandbrickwork.com

Hey!

Hi everybody!

Are the holidays magnificent? I hope so! Are you studying like mad, too? This I also hope!

So, would any or many or all of you like to meet up for a sort of roundtable Hamlet discussion this week?

We can pick a venue and get coffee and make it all very literary. Keen?

Let me know! (sandflowing@gmail.com)

All best wishes,
Simon :-)

A Passage To India

E.M. Forster uses foreshadowing regularly in A Passage To India. The very first chapter of the novel begins and ends with the "extraordinary" Marabar caves, suggesting their importance later in the story.

How significant is the use of foreshadowing in the novel?

Topics for SAC

Here are the prompts for Friday's SAC. (Yes, there are three)

SAC prompts for Outcome 2 Views and Values
Outcome 2
Analyse, interpret and evaluate the views and values of a text in terms of the ideas, social conventions and beliefs that the text appears to endorse, challenge or leave unquestioned.

Choose ONE of the three topics and write an essay of 800 words or more in response.

1.'' David's experiences of outward success but inner failure warp the view of life he gives us in 'My Brother Jack'."

Is this the way you read the novel?

2. "A distaste for roughness and mediocrity is an integral part of Davy's make-up. We witness the instinctive reactions of childhood as well as the considered prejudices of his adult perspectives."

Discuss.

3. "This is a sad, even tragic novel."

Do you agree?

Chapter 16 (hester)

Sorry gang,
i hope it's not too late to contribute something.

hereee we go!

here is something about david's isolation and stuff
( i have the newer book)

"I stayed in New Guinea, on and off, for about a year longer, evading or avoiding when i could.." p319

Here is some commenting on david's worldly success. i think it's fairly important. and worth noting that he distances himself from it by speaking of himself in 3rd person.

".. but victory did come out of it- and so did a greatly enhanced reputation for David Meredith."
there is a little more there too .. p319


"If you are given the privilege of having your name in the papers everyday, and on your own terms, deception and self-aggrandizement are easy arts to practice" p320

what a successful chap!


"through all these experiences i could feel my own growth, a development, a new sophistication , so that the casual conquests were never difficult"
p335

and

“Still, in your case brains have proved more than brawn, haven’t they?”
p341






Here is some Jack stuff.
" ' and i cant bear it, Davie! I can't bear to see him ashamed! Jack! ...'"


this is the chapter where we really see how the tables have turned. Jack now cant fight his own battles. Davie is the success.


that quote is said by sheila on p323

Here is just a little context. about the war time..

"we only give the privilege of dying to the physically fit, Mr Meredith"
p328


Here is an indication of jack's enthusiasm
" i had to turn to meet his eyes. They were shining"
p331


Jack's loyalty- highly regarded by davie

“In fact nothing would please me more than if my nipper Jack turned out as good a man, and as brainy a one, as his uncle Davie.”
p340


Hope that's of use :)
Hesterr

Marksheet for SAC 2

SAC Advice Part 1

This slightly artificial division of the criteria into marks out of 40 gives you a guide as to the proportionate weight given to different factors in the assessment. In practice, you will be fulfilling several, or all, of these criteria simultaneously in a good answer. They can serve as a guide or a checklist if you say, 'Have I demonstrated (or provided) ............... (insert criterion) in my essay?'

Literature Unit 3
SAC 2 My Brother Jack
Marksheet

Name……………………………..
Understanding of the context/s in which the text was set or created.[ 4 marks]

Analysis of the ways in which views and values are suggested by what the text endorses, challenges or leaves unquestioned. [10 marks]

Understanding of the ways in which the text provides a critique of human behaviour or aspects of society and/or of the ways in which readers in a different cultural context may arrive at different interpretations. [8 marks]

Ability to justify an interpretation through close attention to, selection and use of significant textual detail.[10 marks]

Expressive, coherent and fluent development of ideas.[8 marks]

More advice soon.

Oh, yes you will get a choice of two prompts in the real SAC. Thanks for the question, Mara.

Barry

Chapter 14

So basically, in this chapter, although there's really no war happening in Australia, Jack volunteers to join the army, and suggests Davy volunteer as well. After considering it, he goes to Mr.Brewster, who says that Davy's too important as a skilled war correspondent to go off and do something other than writing. To Davy's surprise, Gavin volunteers to the army.

Davy is told that Jack has been in a serious accident at the army base, where he was trampled in a stampede during a practice drill. Davy and Sheila both sit by Jack's hospital bed as Jack recalls him and Davy's childhood, selling things in the hospital. Jack is fine, and as Davy drops Sheila home after their visit, Davy contrasts his own wife, Helen, to Jack's wife, Sheila. It's here that he realises he always has been, and always will be, in love with Sheila.

Here are some quotes from the old book!

"One noticed that the flags were up, brave and bright in the equinoctial winds, but nothing was happening. We were in a state of war, and there was no war. An urgent patriotism would seem to flare up and then die in embarrassment" p.272

Everyone's pretty much waiting for a war, and getting really patriotic and excited, but still nothing is happening.

"During this hectic, exhilarating, unbalanced time I saw very little of Helen, and the house in Beverly Grove was no more than a place in which to sleep. This was a great relief to me. It removed my despair, it eased the surface tensions that existed between Helen and me, it staved off any need to make, or to evade, a decision." p.274

His inability to deal with his current situation shows through in this quote, as he avoids his wife and his marital problems completely.

"Even more than this, for I saw that this was not only that he looked as Jack should look, but he looked as a proper man should look" p.276

Davy still idolises Jack, and despite their both being married adults with their own lives, Davy still is looking up to Jack.

"I envied the profound certainty there was about him, when I was so uncertain." p.280

Again, Davy's envy of Jack is not only shown, but stated. He pretty much just wants to be Jack.

And this is also nicely worded!

"With his immense skinny height, his awkward look, and this shoddy, ill-fitting uniform, he was a memorably lamentable figure of a soldier" p.282

Gavin T

"An affectionate chuckle exploded from his bulk." p.284

(That one has no significance, but I liked it!)

"...and I knew that I had been a little bit in love with her ever since I had met her, and I knew that I would be for as long as I lived." p.288

Davy discovers his love for Sheila, Jack's wife. Last line of chapter. Very intense.

Georgia F

SAC prompts for Outcome 2 Views and Values

Outcome 2
Analyse, interpret and evaluate the views and values of a text in terms of the ideas, social conventions and beliefs that the text appears to endorse, challenge or leave unquestioned.

Choose one of the topics and write an essay of 800 words or more in response.

1.'My Brother Jack' is a tragedy of painful self-revelation.'

How far do you agree?

How are attitudes and values in Australia between the Wars examined in this novel?

2. 'This is a negative novel. It attacks the ordinary values that most people hold.'

Discuss.

OK those are the topics for the prac SAC.
Criteria, mark sheet and advice will follow.

Be ready on Friday.
I look forward to your responses.

Barry Coley

My Brother Jack Chapter 4 (Old Book)

Some of the things in this chapter:

• davey gets a job
• davey discovers visual aesthetics of melbourne's cbd (he likes it compared to the boring suburbs where he lives)
• Relationship between Davey & Jack is explored and there are very different contrasts between the two - physically, emotionally and personality wise...
• Also Davey's pansy sensitive nature

QUOTES-

pg 50, "I loved to watch the council rat-catchers...of the Savage Club."

pg 52, "But until that happened...Sex..."

pg 54, "My feelings and attitudes were so totally opposed to his in every imaginable way that i would sometimes catch him looking at me and shaking his head in an utterly mystified way."

pg 55, "My physical description...Jack, untroubled by any such inhibitions, spent almost every night prowling the city like a tomcat."

pg 59, " "You've got to get rid of....chase a tart or two?" "

pg 60, "I was constantly humiliated by the teasing of my sisters. All i asked was to be left alone."

- Georgia C and Alex R :D

My Brother Jack, Chapter 7

[using the new version of the book..]

CHAPTER 7: In very brief...

• Davy goes to stay at Sam's house after he's been kicked out
• Jack finds him in a few days and enters the apartment.. has a look around
• Sam comes back with all his friends and alcohol
• Jack stays to suss things out but gets happy when they bring out the beer
• Davy gets awkward and goes and sits in a room
• Later eavesdropping on his brother and Sam's drunken conversation
• He sleeps in parks sometimes, doesn't have a great time
• Wants to go home
• Takes his brother to go look for jobs
• Suggests Jack go work in the country and Davy (himself) go back to live at home

[pg 94] 'So I told him what had happened. Not only at home, but everything that had led up to it. Exhaustion had collapsed the last of my defences; it was like the drawing of a bung from a charged barrel; the contents, so long sealed up, poured out in a flow that couldn't be checked. He listened intently. He never questioned or interrupted . I don't think his eyes ever left my face.'

For Davy this is the first time he feels like he is acknowledged without the anonymity. It shows how tired he has been from living at home and having to hide who he really is (like the writing he hid under his mattress). It also references his conversation to that of a gun.. has the connotations of violent, aggressive..

[pg 95] 'He was not really attractive at first sight....' 'The odd thing was that after you had bee nwith him a minute or two you quite forgot what he looked like and he became personable and charming'

[pg 97] 'He glanced across at the big typewriter, and my unfinished article on the Hobart Town whalers, and nodded disapprovingly'

[pg 99] 'Why don't you sit down for a minute and tell me what I should do and what Mum and Dad have been saying'

[pg 100] 'I'll go back home if you think I should'

[pg 105] 'It is a troubling and sometimes alarming thing to have to follow the course of a party through a closed door'

[pg 107] 'Tha' brother o' yours got the right idea'

[pg 107] 'what d'you care? - he's my brother, isn't he?'

[pg 116] 'Neither of us was aware of it at the time, but that was an important ratchet in Jack's destiny. It was that job in the Wimmera that closed the door upon his youth forever, that gave him the woman who was to become his wife, that eventually would move him into days of disaster'

MARA

Test Email

Just checking that the email posting is working. Good to see so many posts for My Brother Jack.

Simon

Simon McInerney
www.lacunaeandbrickwork.com

Chapter 12 by Sophia!

Hey hey, this is Sophia with chapter 12 for any of you who are checking the blog. Chapter 12 basically consists of Davy settling into his married life with Helen. Some of the quotes I have so far are pretty long, so if anyone has better/shorter ones please comment :) Also feel free to share your opinion on any of them.

pg. 250 in the larger book: "They were impressed by my new surroundings, yes, there was no doubt about that - Helen set out, I have thought since, to impress people rather than please them"

pg. 242 in the larger book: "With Helen, there was to be no commingling of the old life and the new. There was, I believe, a certain forceful integrity about her determination never to return to the surroundings of her past in that she set herself just as obstinately against her own family and background as she did mine." - (I think this further relates to the insightful discussion Dom bought up in class today about Davy leaving his family somewhat in the gutter, and looking down upon them)

pg. 245 in the larger book: "I am also admiring it," He said. "Brand-new house, quests guzzling a feast lavish enough for Lucullus himself, a gorgeous wife, this faultless decor - even including a not all commonly appreciated Vlaminck - these prismatic pickled onions, a glittery little bawd of an MG parked out there in the drive next to that sad broken butter-box Baby Austin which is the best the poor old Turleys can ever run to. Great stuff, Golden Boy! Great Stuff!" - (I'm pretty sure this is quoted by Gavin Turley)

A few lines down from that: "The smell of success he carries with him like an aura, that indefiable air of the coming man. Golden Boy, of course. With no shadow of a doubt."

pg. 249 in the larger book: "We may respect him, admire him, even be intrigued and puzzled by some mysterious fallibility that is in him... it may be this, you know, that makes us not envy him... but I'll tell you one thing you should know and always remember, Helen. There is no guarantee in him, my dear. There is no guarantee."

At some point, also, on pg. 259 Davy was described as "flashy unreliable brilliance." Anyone have ideas about this?

pg. 261 in the larger book: "You have no guarantee, David. And I have. Simply that. After all, what is guarantee? An insurance policy, a doctor's diploma, a fixed superannuation, a certificate issued under Pur Foods Act. Security."

And on the last page of the chapter: "You have neither the desire for this, nor the credentials with which to accomplish it. In a way, David, you are like some queer, strange savage who has journeyed a long way from his own tangled wilderness, and you look down on the palisades of the little settlement, and you wonder how you will pillage it and what trophies you will find."

Ok, so I hope at least some of those quotes are of help, or at least some parts of them.
Please do comment if you have anything to add or opinions to express! :)

My Bro Jack: Chapter 3

Chapter 3! Basically a chapter that explores violence! Fighting! Anger! Frustration! Strength! Manliness! Etc.
davey n jack are still at school, jack is the tough guy rubbing peoples face in crap etc. Mother and father fight. etc etc.

“we could see huge branches tearing off trees and red tiles from the roofs of sea-side houses flying against a ragged wet sky that screamed at us” *violence of the storm setting the scene for the violence of the chapter...

-“my memories of the period all have the tint of nightmare.”
-“one must allow for time’s foreshortening, but I can hardly recall a night when I was not wakened in panic by the stormy violence of my parents quarrels.”


JACK
“Listen nipper, you got to have a go at it. Even if you know you can’t bloody win you still got to have a go. You’ll always be pissin’ into the wind but that don’t mean it isn’t worth givin’ it a burl”

“What baffled me for a long time was Jacks real attitude to all this violence. He loved conflict as much as he hated authority, and he was about as undisciplined and pugnacious as any boy I ever knew, and at the time of the police strike he had certainly seemed to be on the side of the lawless. Yet he had nothing but loathing and contempt for these big, wild gangs that roamed the street.”

-jack uses violence to fight against violence. He maybe hates the violence inside of him and needs to fight other violence to get rid of it?
-he’s untouchable (“not one of them lifted a hand”)
-there is a complexity in his character, he has conflict inside of himself
“One day I’m going to kill that bastard” (hates violence against his mum, but will kill his dad...)
“It must have been this cruelty that really launched jack into his fighting career.
Jack has power against his father “all right pop, that’s the last time you’re going to whale into me like that. You try to lay that strop across me next month, an we’re goin’ to fight it out see.” Even dad is scared of him...

FATHER
Frustrated by his failure to have made anything of his life. Hypochondriac, made him morose, intolerant, bitter and violently bad tempered. He’s a little crazy. Something not quite right about him...

"There were odd strange days when he would surprise us all by getting out his old violin and in a dusty haze of flying resin would play Irish jigs for us or the strange songs he liked to sing...”
-glint of old days. In a dusty haze. Far away. Almost forgotten.

Scene where mum and dad are fighting: evokes images of her being small wet whimpering animal. “Whimpering like an animal as she crawled into hiding beneath the dollicus.” (Ever thought how little mum looks”) And the father is portrayed as a menacing hunter perhaps “a gigantic black silhouette against the dim diffusion of light from the vestibule...in his hand the service revolver”

DAVEY:
“I would climb into (the chest) and pull the lid down and try to figure out ways of murdering my father without being found out”
“God knows what damage it did to me psychologically”
“I suppose there was a sort of masochism in my going into this depressing room simply to experience the claustrophobic privacy of the old sea chest.

“I don’t want it to be thought that dad was always brutal or that mother was always weeping. Through all these images there is a scatter of improbable brightness, like raindrops falling through sunshine.”
-rainbow. Illusion of promise of happiness.
“Enmities and prejudices were forgotten and there was always a lot of joking and laughing and singing of popular songs, they were good days”




Contrast between jack and Davey:
-jack calling Davey “nipper” portrays Dave as small young and naïve.
There was a very great disparity between us at this time. I was still small for my age, chubby, soft, pink and fearful.
Jack was fairly tall and rangy, with blue eyes, a beaky nose, and disorderly corn silk hair.
-Jack is a mean green fighting machine and Davey is a mummy’s boy, tracing Palmolive soap commercials.
Contrast
Jack tells his father to stop beating him. But Davey’s punishment only ceases because he is too weak to stand the pain and falls unconscious.

I began to dread the Saturday mornings of sparring practice almost as much as I dreaded the end of the month appointments with dad in the bathroom.
-there is a bit of his father in jack that Davey is frightened of.
Jack got fathers violence, Davey got his strangeness?

But jack wants to be like his brother. He looks up to him. Trying to prove his strength to him. “I looked across for his approbation, but his face was hard set. Jack tries to be strong like his bro, but fails.
“Christ almighty nipper, you can fight your own battles can’t you?”
“But I couldn’t”

MBJ - Chapter 16 (New Edition) by Jess Jess and Am

Chapter Summary: -Davy comes back from PNG, Helen has parties with military personnel. Davy goes to lunch with Jack and Sheila and Jack is angry and hurt, pleading for Davy to get him to war. Davy goes to the AWAS and meets Cressita Morely. Davy speaks to Brindsmead about Jack, but he says that Jack is useless for overseas service. Davy discovers that he could have gotten Jack into the war if he had requested it the first time Jack asked him. Davy meets with Jack and tells him that he can do service in Darwin, Jack is overjoyed. Then Davy goes to the USA to make contacts, he travels widely to cover the war and affairs with 'other Helens'. There is significant self-development and self-awareness. Davy receives a letter from Jack, saying that he has had a son and he is proud of Davy for his achievements.

Quotes: 'I looked after myself as carefully as I could, and if there were any unavoidable little periods of direct involvement I sedulously tried to observe Mr. Brewsters instruction and I stayed alive"......."If you are given the privilege of having your name in the papers everyday, and on your own terms, deception and self-aggrandizement are easy arts to practice" (page 320) These highlight Davy's cowardice and deception, he doesn't have a strong desire to help. Shows the contrast between him and Jack, as well as how his occupation allows him to hide his cowardice.

"Now listen Davy, he said, leaning across the table at me, keeping his voice low and taut, this time you got to do something sport.....while I sit here on my ass for three flammin' years" (page 322) Jack feels desperate and useless, sitting around is not part of his character. There is a switch of places between Jack and Davy from previous situations.

"Well it's nice to see that a womans place is still with a duster in her hand"...."It was very odd to hear the clear young girl voices calling the all familiar action cries that I had heard in quite different cirumstances" (both page 325) Shows Davy's attitudes towards women, and he believes that war is no place for women.

"Anyway, you wanted me to pull strings, and I did......" Conversation between Jack and Davy, when Davy explains that he got Jack a position at Darwin (page 330-331) Jack characteristics are shown. Deception shown by Davy, and the switch of places that allows us to see their true characters. Davy returns to guilty coward when he can't tell Jack the truth.

"I found it a pleasant war there.... And even when I finally did pull myself away my luck stood by me" (page 333) Contrast to how Davy feels later when he looks in the mirror. Self-satisfaction and self-importance, he doesn't want to fight in the war or for his marridge.

"and I met eager unstable women in flirtatious and brief liaisions and quick hot affairs....momentary company she would offer". "I would go out to one of those smart shops or to a bazzar, and I would buy some special present to send to Helen"(page 335) These show Davy's view of women and that he is not exactly guilty of his affairs. He only likes the idea of marridge and Helen and how they make him appear to others.

"Gradually i began to sense that already and delibarately....that what was lacking in it was the truth those other faces had for the passionate regard for the adventure in itself, and i knew that I was not quite one of them yet, that i never had been and that I never would be" (page 337-338) Mirror scene with Davy:Shows the contrast between Davy and Jack as well as the other soldiers. Davy sees himself for the first time, he almost has a longing to be like Jack and the other soldiers.

"As you are aware, we did not have very much of a chance ourselves in this respect.....I remember how I used to poke fun at you always stuck in that room with your books and your sonky mates....but then you have always been very popular in that quarter"(page 340-341) A letter from Jack to Davy; Jack is proud of Davy, but Davy doesn't want the respect as he feels it is undeserved.

Chapter 9 Quotes and Summary

Ok so chapter 9 goes like this:

Jack Brings back Sheila, he and his father argue. Depression hits, Davy leaves the lithography studio and begins work for the newspaper. Jack travels to find work, and is forced to walk home from Sydney to Melbourne. Sheila has a baby girl.

Okeydokey, here are some kwotes (my computer won't let me type the letter after p :(

By the way these are all from the new edition.

"I used to do everything in my power to preserve this sense of isolation." page 144

"It's me who runs this house, not your mother. It's me, see! And you just put that in your pipe and smoke it, my boy!" page 146

"'You don't bloody well know what you're talking about!' Jack snapped." page 147

"You know, Davy, you've made this place look real nice... absent minded professor, don't you?" page 149

"I spoke firmly, to ride myself over a little twinge of guilt... my isolation might yet be restored."

page 149

"'I can give you money," I said... 'Keep you going until you find some work." page 151

"'Thanks Nipper,' he said, but he kept rubbing at his toes and he didn't look at me." page 152

"I did not know whether I did it out of generosity... free from invasion." page 152

"I, who had to a great degree betrayed... who had a second string to his bow." page 159

"That one terrible choking cry... force that urged him on." page 167

"I was trying to hammer out all the past... sprawled there on the faded wet carpet." page 171

Ok, hopefully that helps, have a good one!

Zak and Shelley

My Brother Jack Chapter 8

Jack has just left to work in the country and Davy has moved back in with his parents. Davy's job as a journalist is going really well and he's starting to feel more comfortable until he reads in a newspaper that Sam's girlfriend Jess has been murdered and Sam is the main suspect. He follows the case really closely and is worried he might be implicated. He receives a letter from Jack talking about Sam and Jack's new girlfriend Sheila. Sam is acquitted and Davy goes to see him, but Sam has changed a lot.

Quotes (page numbers in Harper edition):

"So it was in that curious time that stands exactly midway between two wars. The world was so sure of itself then." p. 117

- parallels Davy's experience with Jess' murder. He was starting to be sure of himself and then his world got turned upside down.

"It was not at this point....moral corruption began." p.125

-blames outside factors rather than himself for his failures

-only thinks how Jess' murder affects him, not particularly upset that she is dead

"Well what could I tell them.....thing like that to her." p.137

-was not so assertive with police, was very afraid

-creating his own image of himself, the person he wants to be but isn't

"Anyway I know.....sincere feelings in the matter." p.140

-contrast between brothers

-Jack assumes Davy would do what he would do

Maddy

My Brother Jack - Chapter 11

In chapter 11 Davy is reporting about ships, he goes down to the port and reports on what they are carrying ect. He is still working at the newspaper and once a ship stinks Davy is to write a report on it. soon after Mr. Condon asks him to go to all the victims families and interview them, but the families do not know about the ship sinking or the death of their loved ones so Davy refuses.

We then learn Davy and Helen are engaged and he has invited her to his mothers 60th Birthday to meet his family, but the situation turns out to be very awkward as Helen doesn't fit in. We see that Jack has two daughters and Sheila is pregnant again.

Jack and Davy leave the party to have a talk and when they return Jean's child has spilt truffle and jelly on Helen. A big fuss is made over her when Davy starts to yell at everyone, Jack then argues back at him. Helen and Davy leave the party together.

We then skip to Helen and Davy getting married and at the end of the ceremony Jack ties old sea boots to the back of their car, but once they have driven off and are out of sight Helen stops the car and unties then and leaves them in the gutter.

Quotes (Page numbers from New Harper Edition)

"'No. It's not just that those people don't know anything about this yet.'

'Is that your concern? They've got to know some time, haven't they?'" p. 206

This shows the difference in morals between Mr. Condon who just wants a good story and Davy who cares for the families who have suffered a loss.

"'oh, please don't worry about it, Mrs. Meredith, you mustn't!' and Mother looked up at her and shook her head helplessly," p. 228

Davy's mum sees Helen as better off than them.

"I realized that from the very first moment of our arrival at the house the visit had been fateful, that everything had been working towards this point we had now reached, momentous and irrevocable, where I had to choose between inflicting pain or suffering it," p. 228 - 229

It has got to a point to where he had to choose between Helen or his family.

"'But why do have to have these confounded kids swarming everywhere?'" p. 229

We see Davy has chosen Helen, he is 'inflicting pain' on his family.

"But since you're the one who seems to want to make a first-class Kilkenny out of a little thing like a blob of jelly on a skirt," p. 230

Jack is noticing that Davy also conceders himself better off than the rest of the family now that he is marrying Helen.

"'I did warn you,' I said. 'When we were going out there I told you they might be difficult. At least I tried to warn you.'" p. 233

Davy feels embarrassed about his family and tries to defend himself by saying he warned her that the evening would turn out bad.

"Helen ordered the chauffeur to stop, and made him get out out and untie them and leave them there in the gutter." p. 235

Helen is abandoning the sea boots given to them from Jack, leaving behind Davy's family.

Clean, Constructive, and with any luck, Productive

MY BROTHER JACK

Hello Everyone,

Here are some of my quotes from chapter nine; I have the Harper version...

"I used to do everything in my power to preserve this sense of isolation"- page 114

"I spoke firmly, to ride myself over a sense of guilt... might yet be restored." - pages 149-150

"They left the next morning... my own life free from invasion" - page 152

"Perhaps it was their presence that made old Kelbendorf sound more German than ever, or maybe it was only emotion that twisted his speech."- page 155

"The circumstances were against him. But circumstances were against all of us..." - page 163

"All through the afternoon I worked... emotions of a tiny suburban history." - page 172 (last page of the chapter).

Please add your own quotes...

Thanks,

Sunday.

Hello All,

I'm not sure if anyone checks this anymore but I thought it would be worth a try.

We seem to have been doing a lot of film-watching in the smaller lit class and not so much discussion...

What kind of things has the other class been talking about?

Does anyone have any ideas for the SAC discussion?

-Sunday

Happy New Year, etc.

Hi all!

Hopefully some of you will read this over the holidays. I should have posted an update sooner, but, you know, travel, extreme cold, all of that kind of thing...got in the way.

I'm in Ireland. It's very cold. Very, very cold. 1 degree celsius kind of cold. Hmmm...

Anyway, I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy (if a little hot) New Year's.

Are you reading? I hope so!

I've just finished the new Granta (113) - It's the best of the New Young Spanish Language Novelists. Definitely worth a read. I've just started a book by an Irish writer, John Banville. It's called Athena and so far it's excellent. He wrote The Sea, an exquisite novel (one of my favourites) which won the Booker Prize in 2005.

Other things I've read recently include:

Sunset Park - by Paul Auster (Anything by Paul Auster is worth reading, particularly his early works such as The Book of Illusions, Leviathan, In The Country of Last Things and Moon Palace)

Freedom - by Jonathan Franzen


I'm listening to The Gin Club - Junk - it's a great album. Check it out.

Also, get stuck into the books for next year. Believe me when I tell you, it's best to have read the stuff before you start class.

To those of you who were in NYC, welcome home. Hope you had a blast. I heard good things.

To any of you who may have tried to get in touch with me via email, I'm not sure it's working. At least, mine is, but for some reason any time I try to email a PHSC address, my emails get blocked and returned to me. It's sad :-(

So, that means that those of you to whom I owe an email regarding creative writing work you have sent me before Christmas will not have received my replies. I tried! I'm sorry. You know who you are. If you'd like to try and get in touch with me via another email address, do! I WILL reply! I promise.

Ok, keep reading and writing. Enjoy the summer! Still no news as to whether or not I'll be back at Princes Hill next year. Fingers crossed. I will be available to contact, regardless, though. Feel free to get in touch if you need any lit help.

Other good books (I promised a list and then forgot...)

What I Loved (Siri Hustvedt)
The Outsider (Camus)
The Sea, The Sea (Iris Murdoch)
The Trial (Franz Kafka)
The Sea (John Banville)
Seize the Day (Saul Bellow)
A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway)
The Ginger Man (JP Donleavy)
The Road (Cormac MacCarthy)
Any edition of Granta
American Rust (Phillip Meyer)
Document Z (Andrew Croome) (Obviously!)
All Names Have Been Changed (Claire Kilroy)


There are so many more. I'll post any I think of.

Here's to you guys. Look after yourselves.

From wintery Dublin, cheers,
Simon

This Is Just To Say

We have appreciated
The effort
You put into
Our class


And which
You were probably
Saving
For Uni

Thankyou
We all had fun
Although we spoke
Too much

Thankyou Simon, for all the time, effort and patience you poured into the year 11 Literature classes throughout semester 2. It was very much appreciated!

E~g!;s# Teaching in the 21st Century!!

Julie, Larissa, Helen,
Welcome!

So this is the blog that I set up for my wonderful Year 11 Students.

Sometimes they use it of their own accord. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they use it when I specifically ask them to.

Sometimes they don't.

They have just finished their literature exam about a half an hour ago. It was a poetry SAC. I think they'll all do well. They've worked really hard this year and I'm proud of them. Many of them groaned when we told them poetry was on the cards for the last term. By now, they're pulling ee cummings to pieces, analysing H.D., trying to cheer Larkin up and revelling in Keats' language. The same thing happened with Richard III. By the end of the term they were the most informed critics watching the MTC production.

The blog includes links to authors' biographical details on Wikipedia, Literary Quotes (although these need updating), student photography, some of my photography (to try and get the ball rolling), links to literary sites and resources, sample essays and sample paragraphs and the option of leaving comments on other students' posts. I can also post the homework to the blog and the students are welcome and encouraged to post their homework online, too. I receive an email whenever a post is made, meaning I can read student posts and homework on the go. Very handy!

The idea behind the blog was to address written literacy across the two classes. The students are by and large excellent contributors to class discussions on whatever material we're working with. Translating that oral fluency onto the page has been the challenge. What I wanted to do - and they're aware of this - was to create an online space, accessible outside of school, where all the students across both literature classes could 'meet' and discuss their ideas and opinions of the texts we're studying. You see the deal? They can't just 'chat' face to face, as per in class. They have to think about what they want to say before they say it. I believe it can help bridge the gap between their tremendous oral expression skills and their written skills which, although by no means bad, certainly warranted attention before the commencement of Year 12.

Written expression has improved. Hasn't it guys?
(Please don't respond with, 'um, yeah, i guess . . . ')

:-)

I have been impressed with the quality of the written work in practice SACs over the last few weeks (and in the months before that when we were studying the short story). Examples of student writing are littered throughout this blog.

They're a fantastic bunch.

I'm leaving the blog up. It will be available throughout Year 12 for these students. They can share ideas, help each other out with new texts and challenging contexts and perspectives at VCE level. I hope it will prove an invaluable resource. Regardless, though, it has been constructive, engaging, interesting and most of all, I hope, fun.

Thanks Year 11 Lit for a wonderful year.

Simon

Ali's Birthday Poem - by Simon

Since a Happy
this Day yours
is
Ali Always
yearly once -
remember next
your(e) this time
New
and many
once mores
still for
You

Simon

William Carlos Williams - Sample SAC Response

Hi all,

Sorry this is late. Uni is a killer at the moment.

See you tomorrow.

Simon

****

In The Red Wheelbarrow, William Carlos Williams offers the reader the deceptively familiar image of the wheelbarrow of the title, ‘glazed with rain / water / beside the white / chickens’. On the surface, it appears to be a simple poem, evoking a farmyard scene recognised by many as typical of rural life or perhaps as an image from a childhood storybook. Upon closer inspection we can see certain techniques employed by the poet which lend an uneasy air of strangeness to the poem; defamiliarising an image that the reader may well feel is all too familiar. It is in the first two lines, ‘so much depends / upon’, that Williams creates this uneasiness. The picture of innocence has had a sudden, unexpected weight attached to it; robbing it of its benign nature and giving rise to a sense of impending consequence.

We are never told, nor is it suggested, just what the nature of this ‘so much’ might be. The deliberate ambiguity of the poem leads us to examine more closely the poet’s choice of words and the structure he has imposed upon the poem. The use of the colours ‘red’ and ‘white’ creates a vivid image in the reader’s mind. The word ‘glazed’ serves to somehow frame the wheelbarrow; the centrepiece of the scene. Williams has isolated certain words, separating ‘red wheel’ from ‘barrow’, ‘rain’ from ‘water’ and ‘white’ from ‘chickens’. The intention here may be to separate the images in the poet’s mind. Perhaps it is this formatting of the image and not necessarily the image itself upon which ‘so much depends’. In light of this reading, the air of unease now takes on particularity as content becomes bound to form.

The tone of the poem, This is Just to Say, is in stark contrast to the uncertainty that seems to hang over The Red Wheelbarrow. In this poem, Williams is lighter, almost jocular and teasing in his note-on-the-fridge style letter to someone, presumably his wife, a close friend or a lover, whose plums he has eaten from the icebox. The first stand-out element of the poem is Williams’ incorporation (or insinuation, rather) of the title into the main body of the poem. The line runs so smoothly, in conversational style, into the first line of the first stanza that one could well imagine it written thus: ‘This is just to say / I have eaten / the plums / that were in / the icebox’.

After the poet’s casual candour in the first two stanzas (evident both in the use of the word ‘just’ in the title and in Williams’ seemingly educated guess that the now plum-less recipient of the note was originally ‘probably / saving [the plums] / for breakfast’), the poem is punctuated suddenly by the first line of the third stanza, ‘Forgive me’. These words form either an imperative, a justification or a kind of plea (albeit half-hearted, given the succeeding lines). If we read it as an imperative, or directive, then we do so subscribing to the light-hearted tone of the poem, written perhaps in a moment of post-gluttonous guilt to a loved one whose breakfast has been stolen. As a justification, the effect is much the same; Williams asks forgiveness because the plums were ‘delicious’. Indeed, there is a kind of deliciousness to his audacity for saying so. However, if we look carefully at the last three lines of the third stanza, there is a sense of poignancy which is borne out in the repetition of the word ‘so’ and the ending of the poem with the words ‘so cold’

‘they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold’

Reading a sense of poignancy and, perhaps, regret into the end of the poem casts the rest of the poem is a very different light. As the line preceding this air of sadness, ‘Forgive me’ becomes more of a plea, as mentioned above. In light of this, the entire note may itself be read as merely a preamble to an apology for a sin far greater than the theft of plums from an icebox. It is a mark of Williams’ skill as a poet that he is able to take a sentiment like ‘This is just to say . . . Forgive me’ and cast it in terms of the playful relationship that may have been torn asunder by the act that warranted the plea for forgiveness. Much like in The Red Wheelbarrow, the longer one looks at the poem the more Williams achieves the effect of stripping away whatever initial impressions one may have and whatever constructions of meaning may be built on such impressions. Consequently we are left reading and contemplating a very different poem than that which we first encountered.

What is this?

This Is Not Art!

That's right. I'm at the TiNA festival in Newcastle. This is the 11th TiNA and it's been a pretty fantastic festival so far. The festival includes The Crack Theatre Festival, Electrofringe, Sound Summit, Critical Animals and the National Young Writers' Festival. Bucketloads of artists have descended on Newcastle for the weekend. The weather has been getting progressively worse, but the events are exciting and dynamic and the people are lovely.

I thought I'd post a few of the events here so you guys can get an idea of the kind of issues being discussed by young artists in Australia.

Writers Centres: next evolution? - a roundtable discussion on the direction in which writers centres are headed.

Critiquing Criticism: I can't believe it's not better - a panel discussion on the role of the critic - nurturer or discerner - and the state of criticism.

Writing Outside Gender - panel discussion looking at the radical potential of sex/gender diverse narratives told by sex/gender diverse folk.

Fictional Apocalypses - creating fictional apocalypses using ideas and events from history.

What's 'Published'? - a panel discussion on what constitutes 'published' in this digital world..

Melbourne Trashthetics - a panel discussion on Melbourne's trash aesthetic: where did it come from and where will it lead?

Women of Letters - special panel event with Michaela McGuire, Marieke Hardy, Anna Krien, Anna Barnes, Karen Hitchcock and Krissy Kneen - celebrating the lost art of letter-writing.

Words that Sell - a workshop on making money from your words.

The Woolworths Application Form was too Complicated: How I got into theatre - a forum on why we keep struggling on.

Token Effnik: Where are all the non-whiteys on TV? - a panel discussion on the dearth of non-White talent on Australian TV.

'i'm a writer, but nothing's ever happened to me' - a panel discussion with the voiceworks crew. Does experience count for everything? Or is there enough extraordinary in the everyday?

Vampires, Detectives and Rocket Ships: Oh My? - a panel discussion on the rise of genre fiction. Are the literati just snobs? Is it possible to be both literary and mainstream?

Breaking the Rules - a workshop that mucks around with words and smashes structure.

DIY New Media: A Survival Guide for Student Publications

The Expat Elite - a panel discussion on the pros and cons of taking your art offshore.

I should have read that by now - artists 'fess up about the books they really should have read by now...but haven't.

Vices - are they a help or a hindrance when it comes to writing?

Famous Bullshit Stories - featuring yours truly :-)

-------------------

So there you have it. A snapshot of what kind of stuff is going on in the world of emerging Australian art. I've only scratched the surface. There's a whole lot more going on. Many of the people here are disgustingly prolific. It's a swift kick watching what other people are up to. So, I'm going to get back to work on this novel of mine. And if you're working on something, keep at it. If you're not and you'd like to be, BEGIN!

Exciting times.

Hope you're all well. See you soon.

Ciao!
Simon

Ps. Pictures soon. I'm shooting in colour this weekend.

Sophia!

You can write them in your book or on the blog, whichever you like.

See you Thursday.
Simon

Do we have to write our responses to the 3 poems on the blog, or can we write them in our books to hand into you on mon..?

-sophia

From Simon . . .

Yo!

Analyses of poems applies to ANY three poems.

I'll leave some comments on your ALI poems soon.
Nice work.

I'm flying to Newcastle in the morning.
Gonna miss you all on Monday & Tuesday.

Remember to do the homework (ain't that much) and remember to be your usual lovely selves. Not much term to go.

See you soon.
Best Wishes,

Simon

Ps. If you're going to Parklife, say hi to DJ Medhi and Busy P . . . And BE GOOD!

oi simon, can the close analysis of the three poems,
be any poems of our choice.
or just the ones you have given us?????

-orlaith

out of womb
you did once come
now every word you hear is-
sung

once a year
for seventeen strong
you have seen every angle
of the sun

babies of jelly
for a bribe
presence come
from every side
happy birth-
day on this earth.

dedicated to ally, from orlaith 29.09.2010

Happy Birthday!

this day --
for you. A laughsong day:of
Joy,--

to live,grow up:
but never to Forget--
how young,how
Joy you once were,are,willbe.

--Isabelle (happy belated birthday Ali!)

A very late birthday poem for ali :)

Such a happy day for who
Begins today
Today begins a happy day for
You.

Spring birth as yours
is
puddle-wonderful
As we wish a day of
Happy
Birth to you.

Each
year the seedlings
Grow our Ali (and
bloom) on


with love - Amelia and Hester

Happy Birthday For Ali

Happy birthday

Ha-
ppy I hope you
Are thatyou-
___ :were;

willbe

for you so
jolly-gooda
jolly-gooDa.
_girl
i hope you
ha-ppy
________be

-Sunday

( _= space )

The Endarkenment

Hi Everyone
Try going to www.melbournefringe.com.au to find out all about this opera written by (former)phsc students.
Happy holidays
Barry

Simon
I tried to upload the publicity page but it kept saying it was a corrupt image.

ali's poem

today this is yours
it's yours for you

your birthday is special
try something new
so have presents many
and worries few

-i'm pretty sure i made up my own weird, twisted way of writing a poem there, but it's the thought that counts.......


sophia

Love.
It's such a striking
and wonderful thing.
It can even,
conquer,
Anonymity

Homework...bleugh!

Hi guys.

Yes, there's homework. It's pretty straight forward.

1. Close analysis of any 3 poems (mix and match the poets if you like). Post your analysis on the blog or write it in your book.

2. Post your Happy Birthday Ali poem on the blog.

That's it. Easy, no?

Remember to check the blog before you start back next term.

Have a brilliant holiday. Read, relax, etc.

See you all on the Thursday after you come back.

Any questions about lit - email me or post them on the blog. Comment on each other's posts. Answer each other's questions.

Be safe.

Cheers,
Simon

Seventeen- A poem for Ali

seventeen
years ago
today
you were born
to Judy
----and
------Steve

this day is
----wholly
------wholly yours
and your wish
is yours
to believe-

i hope you receive
love
----and
------gifts,
plenty of cake
in your tum-

many wishes to you
on your
birthday,
and
----many
------more
to come!


by Georgia F



p.s. HAPPYYYY BIRTTTTHHDAAYY ALIII!
i hope you had a lovely day x

Tomorrow . . .

Hi guys.

So, I just checked my Uni email and discovered I have the last of my three-per-semester Professional Practice seminars tomorrow from 2.15 - 4.15pm.

What a drag.

Obviously I won't be there to get cracking on ee cummings. Mr Coley will probably get into some of his stuff after wrapping up Larkin. I'll be in on Thursday. Apologies for tomorrow, so...You know I'd rather be there than here (Uni). Still, it has to be done.

Do some reading on cummings in advance of class. His background is very interesting. Also, a few of your fellow literature-bugs are fans of his work (see previous poetry posts...) Read their posts and see what you think of his poetry. It's going to be fun!

Thanks for your feedback in class today and sorry I couldn't stick around. Assignment was due. One down, a million more (seemingly) to go!

I won't forget to go through the blog and make some comments on what's been posted to-date. Promise.

You're all great. I love teaching you (and learning from you) !!

Take it easy!

Simon

Ode to sleep

OH great relief!
To sink into these sheets
All pastel green;
To lie unseen,
And sunken
Like a dying leaf.

By Sunday.

Winter holds a firm grip over the air on the first days of spring
blossom appears but the leaves remain dear,
spent to the months before him

Jacob. second attempt at the rhyming couplet. thought it could do some justice to the first.

She felt that their love would pulsate with strain,
Like two sun-soaked bricks left out in the rain

thought i'd try out a rhyming couplet/iambic pentametre thang....
hope twas ok

Dom

sorry, did not read the "really remember" bit. its jacob.

sitting sidewalk, falling rain
the wind blows the trees and moving train
water swells, moves away - daybreak, again

poem

its sofia
sorry its so late, ive been really sick. It might not actually be a poem but i call it one. I figure that when it talks of the future it isnt trying to predict it but it talks of the future that we work for in life. I guess i like it because it reminds me what i work for, slowly. It reminds me what peace sounds like. It also reminds me what i imagine my grandparents are trying to explain to me when they tell me stories of their childhood.

its called A Glance at The Future by Khalil Gibran.

From behind the wall of the Present I heard the hymns of humanity. I heard the sounds of the bells announcing the beginning of the prayer in the temple of Beauty.

Bells molded in the metal of emotion and poised above the holy alter--the human heart.

From behind the Future I saw multitudes worshipping on the bosom of Nature, their faces turned towards the East and awaiting the inundation of the morning light-- the morning of Truth.

I saw the city in ruins and nothing remained to tell man of the defeat of Ignorance and the triumph of Light.

I watched the elders seated under the shade of cypress and willow trees, surrounded by youths listening to their tales of former times.

I saw the youths strumming their guitars and piping on their reeds and the loose-trussed damsels dancing under the jasmine trees.

I saw the husbandmen harvesting the wheat, and the wives gathering the sheaves and singing mirthful songs. I saw woman adorning herself with a crown of lilies and a girdle of green leaves.

I saw Friendship strengthened between man and all creatures, and clans of birds and butterflies, confident and secure, winging towards the brooks.

I saw no poverty; neither did I encounter excess. I saw fraternity and equality prevailing among man. I saw not one physician, for everyone had the means
and knowledge to heal himself.

I found no priest, for conscience had become the High Priest. Neither did I see a lawyer, for Nature has taken the place of the courts, and treaties of amity and companionship were in force.

I saw that man knew that he is the cornerstones of creation, and that he has raised himself above littleness and baseness and cast off the veil of confusion
from the eyes of the soul; this soul now reads what the clouds write on the face of heaven and what the breeze drawn on the surface of the water; now understands the meaning of the flower's breath and the cadences of the
nightingale.

From behind the wall of the Present, upon the stage of coming ages, I saw Beauty as a groom and Spirit as a bride, and Life as the ceremonial Night of the Kedre.


[NOTE: Kedre = A night during the Moslem Lent when God is said to grant the wishes of the devout.]

New Feet Within My Garden Go by Emily Dickinson

New feet within my garden go,
New fingers stir the sod;
A troubadour upon the elm
Betrays the solitude.

New children play upon the green,
New weary sleep below;
And still the pensive spring returns,
And still the punctual snow!


The imagery of this poem is nice and pretty and comforting.
Earth renews itself.
I really like this poem.

-Georgia F

Sophia's favourite poem :D hoorah!

OH!THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

By Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day,
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains, and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sites!
You’ll join the high fliers!
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to says so
but, sadly, it’s true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lunch
wuth an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re dark.
A place that could sprain both elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you should go in,should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quaters? Or maybe not quite?
Or go around and back and sneak from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long and wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most usless place
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where boom bands are playing.
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not.
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, theres a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go
though the whether be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though you arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike.
And I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many stray birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with you left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent garanteed!)
KID YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Alenn O’Shea
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So… get on your way!


-definitely enjoyable - love sophia.

p.s. sincing we're meant to write something about that poem, i thought it was good.. yep.