Blog Week 8
Question 1
In the poem “Heritage” by Linda Hogan there are several contradictory ideas throughout, but the one that is consistent is the good or bad caused by tobacco. The theme of “brown” of tobacco is linked to both good and bad things that happen, as one of her bad childhood memories was that of her grandmother spilling black saliva spilled on her “that covered my white shirt” and made a brown stain. Here it seems that her grandmother who was brown skinned, may have told her that it was good that the tobacco spilled on her and covered her white shirt, since “her whiteness a shame”, or her white skin a shame to the Native Americans. The brown that is referred to in a bad sense is that of the “brown cloud of grasshoppers that leveled her fields” which is the same color used in a bad happening to her grandmother. In another line, the brown of the tobacco is said to “purge your body of poisons” putting it in a good light. In the end, both the good and bad sides of the dark tobacco seem to come together at night when it reads “That tobacco is the dark night that covers me”, as she can go to sleep in comfort knowing that the tobacco “has more medicine than stones and knives against your enemies”.
Question 4 “My Papa’s Waltz”
In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz”, Theodore Roethke paints a picture of the dance of his father, as seen through eyes of a young man who valued this tainted relationship. The first line cuts right to the heart of what is wrong about this “Waltz”, since it is whisky that fuels the dance and is obviously a distraction for Roethke. Based on this opening line, some may suspect that this poem is about abuse of the father towards him in a whisky induced rage. I interpret it to be about his relationship with his father, and various experiences they had in spite of the influence of alcohol. My initial expectations of the outcome of this poem turn out to be far from what actually happens, because after reading the first line took me down a road that ended in a drunken unhappy event. Several lines throughout the poem indicate that this was not a joyous time for him, such as “whisky on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” or “beat time on my head“, yet he still needed that time with his father. He wanted to enjoy his father, as any other boy does, but this is the father he had so tried to make the best of it. He found little comfort at the idea of his mother acting as someone who could have calmed the situation when they “romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf”, since all she could muster is an attempt to unfrown herself. Near the end, he says “You beat time on my head” which I think is referring to his father letting him know it is time for bed. “Then waltzed me off to bed, Still clinging to your shirt” shows the affection and love that he has for his father. The author wanted this time with his father to continue late into the night, just as any normal young man would in an attempt to avoid going to bed.
It seems like both poems are very deep. Although my interpretation could be far off from what others think of the poem, I believe that the first poem does deal with the complexities of Native American and Caucasian relationships. It seems like the description of the person is Caucasian and Native American and therefore somewhat trying to figure out her own identity. Like you mention, she seems to be subjected to some levels of racism/bigotry even in her own family, and the grandmother seems to do exceedingly. She seems to be content with the idea of using a tobacco source to cover up the "blemishes" of anything that does not resemble Native Americans. Usually white is used to cleanse out any blemishes, but it seems that the grandmother is intent on "cleansing" the white color with a brown color. The second poem seems to be about the daily struggles of having an alcoholic father. I agree that the poem shows abuse from the father to the son and is therefore compared to a dance/waltz. A dance can be very physical and controlling, sometimes moreso by one individual, and so can abuse. His waltz as a father seems to be a synonym for abuse. However these are just my personal interpretations and may not be absolutely correct, yet this is what I extracted from the poems.
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