Hufsted Ethical Decision Making as Applied to an Issue Raised by Five Days at Memorial

Topic: “Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo

Description:

Length and Format: minimum 800 words; 12-Font, Double-Spaced Your task is to generate a topic and to produce an essay on any poem we have discussed. The essay must consist of textual analysis and should not merely be a summary of the plot. You must have a coherent thesis, topic sentences for each body paragraph, and a title. A focus on literary language, devices and details is part of the assignment. Your analysis must blend citations with interpretive descriptions. Because the essay is an interpretation—and not a summary or “book report”—your thesis must make a particular point with which a reader could potentially disagree and for which you will use textual evidence as support using the MLA format for in-text citations. Your thesis should not be the statement of a fact, but an interpretive claim that it is the job of the essay to support. A sample thesis:”By keeping Iago’s underlying intention a mystery, Shakespeare’s Othello illuminates the arbitrary character nature of evil.” Another possible topic might concern a specific literary technique at is it is employed in one or two poems. Avoid “dropped” quotations! (See handout ). Use this link for helpful tips:http://l-adam-mekler.com/hints.htm

“Perhaps The World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo

            In the poem, the Harjo uses various elements of poetry to project the central theme of the poem.  The central themes that can be deduced from the pome include change, compassion, encouragement and family love which when combined can increase the resilience of an individual towards life shortcomings. Though the poem might appear to be deprived of poetic styles, Harjo categorically chooses personification, metaphor, and form to develop the plot and the theme of the poem. For instance, she uses personification to establish the idea of resilience and perseverance.  On the other hand, she uses metaphors to illustrate how life is diverse and the challenges that are linked to life. She also uses the form to show how complex and unpredictable life is and the need for people to pay attention to their daily activities.

  Notably, Harjo mostly focuses on the subject of life and family which can be noted from the first line of the poem. She insists that the kitchen table is one of the most important elements in human life.   In the first line, she uses a metaphor of the kitchen table to represent food and to indicate how important eating is to human life.  She continues to illustrate other uses of the kitchen table and its ability to unite people.  She insists that people should realize the power of the kitchen table as it is the point where family members gather and share their daily experience. It helps to lower the level of individualism within a family which has a negative impact on cohesion and cooperation within a family. It is the place where the young people are advised by their seniors and taught how to behave and carry themselves in public.

             In a review of the elements of poetry that Harjo uses in the development of the plot and themes of the poem, one of the central aspects she uses is personification.  This is a kind of comparison that is closely related to a metaphor and which gives human characteristics to an inanimate or lifeless object or idea.  She says “Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children” (line 6).  In this case, Harjo personifies dreams by giving them a character of drinking coffee with the family at the table.  Notably, dreams are abstract ideas, and she gives the characters such as hugging, drinking and laughing. She uses personification to show how powerful thoughts are in our lives as they give human beings inspiration and will to soldier on with life despite its accrued challenges. Harjo asserts that ideas have become a trusted companion of human beings and they have acted as a consoling power.  This is an example of personification that Harjo uses to extend the theme of resilience and persevering when dealing with life most significant challenges. 

             The second element of poetry that she uses to build up her themes in the poem is a metaphor. By definition, a metaphor is an imaginative comparison of two distinct objects to illuminate a particular theme.  For instance, Harjo exclaims “This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun” (line 7).  In this line, she compares the table to house and umbrella in the rain. Through the uses of this metaphor, she illustrates the power of the table and the central role it plays in the family and the lives of people.  It is the comfort zone that people retreat to when things get tough. The exotic dishes on the kitchen table can be perceived as the new things that come along in our lives.  In line 8 of the poem, the characteristics of the table are presented; it is a place to hide in times of problems and a place to celebrate in times of victory.  In this case, the table is both a celebration place and a place to comfort ourselves in times of troubles.  

            The final element that she applies in the poem to illuminate her theme is ‘form.' By definition, the form is the manner in which different elements in a poem fit together such as meter, rhyme, and the stanza patterns.  For instance, Harjo uses a different number of lines in each of the stanzas. This notion can be used to represent the aspect and the dynamic nature of life. Similarly, the poem stanzas are arranged in such a manner that they complete the circle of life. Life begins in the first stanza and ends in the last stanza.

            There are other elements and styles in poetry that Harjo utilizes in development of the themes. However, metaphor, personification, metaphor, and form are the most vivid elements in the development of the themes. She illustrates that many people’s lives are filled with uncertainty and change. Some people are not resilient enough, and they fold over and give up while others gather their strengths and soldier on with life despite the odds.     

Works Cited

Harjo, Joy, Bob Devine, and Sandy Tilcock. Perhaps The World Ends Here. [Eugene, Or.]: Lone Goose Press, 2008. Print.

Proverbs in Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali

Oral sources such as epic poems are useful tools that can be used by their audiences to study and understand the cosmology of communities. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali, as translated by G.D. Pickett, unravels important facets of Mandinka/Mande people’s culture and wisdom from their proverbs. The closeness of thinking and language makes the latter the representation of the former implying that people's thoughts are represented in linguistic forms. Proverbs are one such facet of communication that the people use to express their way of life and thought.  In Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali, the author uses many proverbs all of which reveal the Mandika people’s cultural tenets such as religion, kinship, geography and general life lessons.

Religion is an integral part of the African culture, and in Sundiata, this important aspect of the Mandika culture is illustrated by the religious proverbs the poet uses. In Pickett’s words, "Our action is not us, but it is commanded of us” (Pickett 28). This proverb echoes the existence of some power that controls people’s destinies. People do not just do things because they choose to; rather, they do so under the compulsion of some powers that control destiny so that what is destined to happen ultimately happens. The notion of destiny and deities controlling it was central to the Mandika people’s religion as it is in many other African cultures. Sundiata was destined to be his father's heir to the throne and his life in exile as perpetrated by Sassouma only prepared him better for his destiny. Sassouma thought she was hurting her co-wife and her children by exiling them, but she was working in the direction of Sundiata's destiny. Pickett writes, "…You, perhaps, will be a king. You can do nothing about it. You, on the other hand, will be unlucky but you can do nothing about that either. Each man finds his way already marked out for him and he can change nothing about it" (Pickett 15). Destiny, deities, divinities, and superstitions among others are all parts of a community’s religiosity and the proverb cited above and others used in the Sundiata epic reveal this cultural aspect of the Mande people.

Apart from religious proverbs, there are numerous proverbs used by Niane in Sundiata to address kinship and kinship ties amongst the Mande people. Pickett writes, “Each is the child of his mother” (Pickett 22). This proverb stresses the strong influence that parents, more so mothers, have on children. That of his mother Sogolon greatly shaped the character of Sundiata. It is seen that children not only inherit genetic traits from their parents but behavioral traits as well. Pickett further posits that “The son of another is always the son of another” (Pickett 20). This proverb was used by Moussa Tounkara the King of Mema Kingdom as a lamentation after Sundiata declared his intention to return to the kingdom of Mali and claim his throne as king. Despite being hospitable to Sogolon and her children and even making Sundiata his viceroy, these actions were not enough to make Sundiata pledge eternal loyalty to him (Tounkara) and Mema. Sundiata was from the Kingdom of Old Mali and an heir to the king, and there was absolutely nothing that Tounkara could do as "the son of another…" This proverb is probably an emphasis on having one's children in the Mandika and African culture and taking pride in them. Bloodlines were and still are the building blocks of communities in Africa and the proverbs cited above elucidate the position and role of kinship as a cultural aspect of the Mande people.

Other proverbs used in Sundiata revolve around the geographical positioning of the Old Mali kingdom and how the people of Old Mali generally taught important life lessons. For instance, Pickett says: “The waters of Niger can efface a stain from the body, but they cannot wipe an insult” (Pickett 20). The Niger River went through the Kingdom of Old Mali, and it influenced the Mande people's way of life more so agriculture. Even by the time he was seven, Sundiata was unable to walk, and as such, Sogolon became the subject of her co-wife, Sassouma’s, ridicule. Balla Fasséke told Sundiata:

Here is the great day, Mari Djata. I am speaking to you Maghan, son of Sogolon. The waters of the Niger can efface the stain from the body, but they cannot wipe out an insult. Arise; young lion roar, and may the bush know that from henceforth it has a master (Pickett 20).

It was after this speech that Sundiata finally walked. As seen, therefore, this proverb captures the geography of the Old Mali, and it is the importance of this natural feature that stimulates Sundiata to walk. What the proverb echoes are the importance and the influence that words and speech have on its audience. Words can have both positive and negative effects on the persons they are spoken to.

In sum, the poet Niane in Sundiata uses proverbs as a literary facet to represent the people of Old Mali's thoughts, culture, and wisdom. A proverb like "Our action is not us, but it is commanded of us" is a manifestation of the people’s religious beliefs particularly their belief in destiny and deities. The proverbs, “Each is the child of his mother” and “The son of another is always the son of another” reveals the Mandika people’s view and the value they attached to kinship and kinship ties. “The waters of Niger can efface a stain from the body, but they cannot wipe an insult” is a proverb that the poet uses to represent the Mande people’s geography and ecology and in a literary way, this proverb elucidates the value of spoken words; they can motivate or demoralize. These and other proverbs used in the epic portray how language represents people’s thoughts and culture.

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Works Cited

Pickett, G. D., translator. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. By Djibril Tamsir Niane with extra material by David Chappell, University of Hawaii and James A. Jones, West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Pearson Education Limited, 1965, pp. 1-47, http://mrcampbellrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/An-Epic-of-Old-Mali-Full-Text.pdf. Accessed 15 Oct 2018.