Expressions in Art

This picture shows how the whites viewed themselves as a greater race than the blacks. They wouldn't even face them when waiting for a bus. In "Having Our Say" the Delany sisters, because of their race, also had to face many prejudices. Bessie was the only African American in her dental school class and got accused of stealing dental instruments. In school the girls work was graded harsher because of their race. A paper that should have gotten and A, received an F. Bessie really strugged with forgiving the whites for what they did to her. They faced many prejudices, but in the end it made them stronger.

Connections From Whitman

There Was a Child Went Forth

His own parents, he that had father'd him and she that had conceiv'd
him in her womb and birth'd him,
They gave this child more of themselves than that,
They gave him afterward every day, they became part of him.

I really connected to this stanza, because I feel like parents have a HUGE impact in the kind of people we are and the kind of people that we become. I don't think parents fully understand how much what they say and do affects us. Children look up to their parents and tend to follow in their footsteps. The saying, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," I think is really accurate. Kids tend to make the same decisions their parents make later on in life. Parents have a lot of influence on what their kids do and say. It's important for parents to be there for their kids and make good choices, because it affects the kind of person that they will become.

Emily Dickenson's Garden of Poetry

"I hide myself within my flower".
by Emily Dickinson

I hide myself within my flower,
That wearing on your breast,
You, unsuspecting, wear me too --
And angels know the rest.
I hide myself within my flower,
That, fading from your vase,
You, unsuspecting, feel for me
Almost a loneliness.

I think the message she is trying to convoy is that she is lonely. "I hide myself within my flower", shows that she is hiding herself from society. She spend a lot of time in her garden and disconnects herself from people around her. She then talks about how she isn't alone when she says, "You, unsuspecting, wear me too." She is pointing out that there are other people that are also lonely and hide themselves within their flower. "That, fading from your vase," I think this shows how her flower is on desplay in someone's vase, but is slowly fading. So, she was once noticed by this person, but is now slowly losing contact with them. Then she goes on to say, "You, unsuspecing, feel for me." I think this means that she is surprised that person cares that they are losing contact. And in the end she is left lonely.