Reading Skills--"The Road not Taken" By Robert Frost

Independant Reading Post
Dimension: Reading Skills
Text: "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
      From the title of this poem, I predicted that this poem would be about nonconformity and being yourself, regardless of if anyone else is the same. I predicted this because a road not taen could be used to symbolize a way of life that no one else follows. I also know that Robert Frost's poems are rarely what they seem on the surface, so this poem being about nonconformity is the most likely scenario.
      After reading this poem I know that my prediction was correct; this poem is about how you live your life when others do so differently. It is about how your decisions, even the ones seeningly most trivial, affect your life and you should not do something because everyone else does it.
      One question I have about the poem is this: If you are going to make a decision and everyone else went one way, is that justification to go the other? Should you go the other way even if that doesn't seem right? Or should you not care what others did and make your own decision? Personally, I prefer the latter option.

Analysis--"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

Independent Reading Post
Dimension: Analysis
Text: "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
      On the surface, this poem is about how the narrator is on a journey in the middle of winter, specifically on the solstice, and sees a field where snow is falling. He stops and admires the snow and takes in the silence for a minute or two, then realizes that he has many miles to travel before he can go to sleep.
      The theme of this poem is that distractions, when keeping one from proceeding, should not be given attention. This theme is supported in the text by the snowy woods symbolizing the distraction. The narrator is distracted, and therefore momentarily does not continue. The horse in the poem is used to symbolize wisdom and the correct choice, as he all along tells the narrator to continue. When the author states, "And miles to go before I sleep," The distance he still must travel symbolizes the rest of his life and the time when he can sleep represents death. He realizes that life is not over and he cannot give up and refuse to perform the tedious labors of life, so he decides to keep going.
      Another symbol in this poem is the woods and its foil, the village. The village represents civilization and the responsibilities that come with it. The main conflict in this poem is an internal conflict; the narrator must fight with the opposing forces of the responsibility to move onward and the temptation to stay at the woods.
      There is also the less emphasized conflict that the owner of the house might find the narrator on his land, which the author quickly resolves by stating "He will no see me stopping here." If the author elaborated more on this, it would clarify why he is able to stop there. However, this would take away from the main conflict. It would also lessen the mystery of the poem.

Analysis--"Hidden" By Naomi Shihab Nye

Independent Reading Post
Dimension: Analysis
Text: "Hidden" by Naomi Shihab Nye
      This poem is used to convey the theme that destruction of everything, when given enough time, is inevitable. This is the one, primary theme in this poem. One example of how this theme is used to determine the decisions the author makes about plot is how after the narrator has placed a fern under a rock and come back the next day to find that it has decomposed. The reason the author chose to make this happen is the fact that the rock is used to symbolize time. The fern is used as an example of how everything is destroyed in time, which supports the theme.
      Another example of the plot supporting the theme is how when the poet describes the name of a loved one disappearing under your tongue when unspoken. This is another example that supports the theme because the memory of that person is destroyed after all who knew them are gone, another example of the great destroying powers of time.
      The author uses these decisions about plot to support the theme by showing the audience the theme and letting the reader infer it.

Theme & Summary- "Still Here" By Langston Hughes

Independent Reading Post
Dimension: Theme and Summary
Text: "Still Here" By Langston Hughes
      This poem is about how the author went through tough times. He has been "scarred and battered." However, he doesn't care. He keeps persisting and fighting.
      This poem implies that there is a theme of this poem is that you should persist, even in the most adverse of times. This is supported by the fact that the poet states that he is still here, meaning that all problems will be solved if you keep fighting. He doesn't let himself be put down by his misfortunes. Instead, he focuses on positive ideas, such as the simple fact that he's alive.

Reading Skills--"A Dream Within a Dream" by Edgar Allen Poe

Independent Reading Post
Dimension: Reading Skills
Text: "A Dream Within a Dream" by Edgar Allen Poe
      When I read the title of the poem, I couldn't help but predict that the poem was about the ways dreams are similar to reality and can be confused for reality. I also predicted that it would be about the feeling of peacefulness when dreaming, the terror of nightmares, and how these can be perceived as real.
      One question I have is this: What inspired the poet to write this poem? Was it an actual dream or was not being able to control the state of his dream a metaphor for other helplessness in his life? I support the latter theory. I think dreams are an excellent metaphor for helplessness because I am never able to control my dreams.
      I also wonder if Edgar Allen Poe used the "grains of golden sand" slipping through his fingers were a metaphor for waking from a dream. They could mean that he dislikes losing the golden feeling of dreaming. On a deeper level, they could represent things that you have started, but not finished.
      I also made several connections to this poem. One was to the movie "Inception" which was about the confusion of being in a dream and the loss of reality that comes with it, similar to this poem. Dreams are used in many pieces of literature because they are excellent symbols. They can allow the author to indirectly characterize a character, using their underlying thoughts and intentions and thoughts toward a subject.

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Theme--"A Brook in the City" by Robert Frost

Independent Reading Post

Dimension: Theme
Text: "A Brook in the City" by Robert Frost
      This poem is about how a man is observing a house in the city that has a address number and is built on a paved road. He remembers from his past how the house was a farmhouse next to a brook in the country. He used to play in the brook and feels nostalgic. He resents that the brook was destroyed and paved over.
      A thematic statement of this poem is this: When rural areas are developed into urban ones, the consequences may not be positive. This theme is developed throughout the poem by characterization when the author describes how simple and blissful life was in the days of the rural brook. It is also developed by the setting when the author describes the negative aspects of the new setting, like when he describes the "sewer dungeon under stone". These things make the reader infer that the narrator doesn't appreciate the city as much and doesn't advocate urbanization.
      One connection I made to this poem is from the children's book, "The Little House" by Virginia Lee Burton. In it, there is a house that is built in a rural area. Then, society begins to expand and grow until the little house is surrounded by the big city and yet feels more alone than ever. This book shares the theme of the poem, that urbanization may not be not beneficial.