Blog 4 questions 1 and 3

Question 1: My papa’s Waltz
When first reading this poem my first thought was a drunken, abusive father towards the son. In the lines “at every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle” defined his abusive tendencies” at this case because of the waltz; also the opening line “the Whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” adds to the readers’ awareness of the abusive. That was at least my first impression that the narrator was emphasizing on the on his bitterness towards his father which is very straight forward throughout the reading of the poem. The emphasis on his mothers frowning symbolizes the sadness and possible shame of knowing how aggressive her husband is towards her son.
The contradiction I came up with after reviewing this poem over a few times was given though the narrators’ last lines “then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt.” This shows that although the narrator is very negative toward his father’s behavior, he longs for his affection whether it is in a positive or negative matter. Although from the words given gives the readers an impression that the father is a drunk and is abusive towards his son, the narrator might be sending a different meaning about looking up to his father and wanting him to be proud. Going back to the first few lines about him being so drunk that it “could make a small boy dizzy: but I hung on like death,” in this these lines the narrator is explaining how drunk his father is yet he doesn’t dare let go because he knows the disappointment his father would have towards him.

Question 3: Chinese Banquet
Having a brief understanding of the Author I expect to read about equality among same sex couples; because of her book, Sparks Fly, regarding San Francisco gay life. Also I expect to read about families due to the title, and possibility the family either accepting or not accepting same sex couples. The section where she is wanting to tell her mom that she is gay and is happy with her partner, yet she knows that her mother will ignore what she says; shows the lack of family support towards her and her partner. I personally believe in happiness, and families should always support each other and their paths in life. In this case I’m sure the narrator feels like a disappointment to her mother because of the other member’s accomplishments and to the fact that she is gay. Up to this point where the mother is clearly not supportive you can tell how desperate the narrator wants to leave the function and be with the person that provides the shelter and love that she is missing through her family. I can predict that she will be disconnected to her aunts, uncles, and cousins because they do not except who she is as a person and her personal feelings. Right now the poem is meeting up to my expectations it’s just not about equality on a large scale of same sex couples, it’s more on a personal level and the acceptance towards one’s own family. As I read on she is only at this Banquet to respect her family yet she is so disconnected that her thoughts just run about her partner; this is because her partner is the only one who does understand her and knows exactly what she is going though. The last four lines of the poem emphasis exactly the disconnection between the narrator and the family, and also shows she wants to connect to them but can’t. The reason why she shows she does want to connect is because throughout the poem she is only imaging what she wants to say honestly and just gain their approval of her life.