Poetry, Class, and Labor

Weiyi Liu

DECEMBER 14TH, 2015

BIS 208

Tumblr Response 1 (ADD-ON)

The American Dream

      People need a compelling vision that would motivate them to do whatever it takes just to achieve that dream. All of us have the vision to be successful and build a wonderful life with our families. We also envision ourselves as someone who enjoys every human right in the society. For me, the American Dream is a beacon of hope that despite the challenges that we encounter in our lives, we always have the opportunity to grow and attain success through hard work and determination. It encourages every individual to strive harder for success and wealth. This personal definition of the American Dream strongly coincides with our collective understanding of the American Dream, which is about equality, liberty, and living in a society with unlimited opportunities. A lot of Americans connected to the American Dream and were inspired to work hard to achieve their goals in life. The dream serves as an encouragement to many Americans that nothing is impossible through hard work and perseverance.

      The poem of Walt Whitman emphasizes that men are created equal, regardless of gender, social class, and educational status. He mentioned, ‘Neither a servant nor a master I, I take no sooner a large price than a small price, I will have my own whoever enjoys me, I will be even with you and you will be even with me.’ According to Whitman, jobs do not make people; instead people are the makers of jobs. The poem aimed to enlighten the people with regards to the purposes of labor and equalize and reimagine it as well. Same with the American Dream, it gives emphasis to equality. Within the framework of the American Dream, men are given equal opportunity, and they believe that their hard work is actually worthy of the good things that come their way.

DECEMBER 4TH, 2015

BIS 208

Tumblr Response 2 (ADD-ON)

            Although there were multiple lines that stood out to me, the first one that really caught my attention was “Who was to know two streams of tears would flow upon arriving here? (199)” I want to question why he wrote this the way he did. What I’m interpreting is that when he arrived to the new land or place, he was so overcome with joy to have found what he was looking for or he was overwhelmed with relief because he didn’t have to travel anymore. I think that he could have been referring to happiness when he said “Who was to know...” because of the uncertainty it leaves the reader with. I feel that if it were a sad kind of tear, then his word choice might have been “Why didn’t I know” or “I should have known”.  His word choice of “stream” interests me because he’s making a real point that it wasn’t just crying, he cried enough to make two streams. I feel like there are many ways to interpret this line but I picture it best thinking about how he is grateful to have finally arrived to the place he was looking for, for so long.

The other line that stood out to me is “Rushing about so much, smoke came out of my mouth. (199)” Looking at the time this was written, I can get the sense it was around the age of industrialization and when trains were still used often. I think he used the word ‘smoke’ as a metaphor. When trains run, they burn coal and as a result, smoke is released. I think what he was trying to say was that he was so busy exploring or doing whatever he was set out to do, that he had “turned into” a train.

I can see a connection to the sorrow songs mostly because of how depressing both are. Apart from a couple of poems, the Angel Island Poems are extremely depressing and give the idea that there is not much hope to change the situation. Both of them go into detail about their feelings as well. One interesting connection between the two is that they are both a form of revolution.. by this I mean they’re not just writing their feelings, they plan to do something about it. The Angel Island poems were written as a form of rebellion because they wanted to make that place THEIRS and the Sorrow Songs were almost written as a warning of sorts. They connect in very hidden ways, but if you look hard, you can see it.

“I never thought I’d have to look something like this up. Isn’t this stuff supposed to come naturally?”

Kathryn McLeod

BIS 208

DECEMBER 4TH, 2015

Tumblr Response 3 (ADD-ON)

BIS 208

Professor Jane

TR 4

11/09/15

Part 1

Espada’s poem, “Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper”, is a short and detailed piece. A phrase that stood out to me stated, “and gather slits thinner than the crevices of the skin”, because it pays attention to such small detail and on the hard work he did through that job. I enjoy the end when he writes, “I knew that every legal pad was glued with the sting of hidden cuts”, where he explains in a way that he realizes how hard each person who is in law school worked to get there. This poem describes how the job he had when he was younger brought him to what he was doing ten years later, which was attending law school. My two questions would be: If he could go back to being his childhood self who worked at the printing pad, would he tell himself something different? What did he learn about work after he got to law school? Since he did not go over it much in the poem.

Part 2

The simplicity and monotony of his job and humble beginning plays a huge role in who one becomes later in life and how they look back at their past. For Martin Espada, one of the main things that I recognize about this poem is his ability to show just how much detail and pain went into each of those little legal pads. The way he goes through his tasks to make the legal pads it seems like an extremely monotonous and tedious job. Gloves would be too bulky and difficult to do such a job that only fingertips can do right, he says, and then the glue gets stuck in the papercuts and burns extremely bad. He later went on to law school and recognizes the amount of legal pads being used, he has the experience in his past of the little boy working in a legal pad factory. The first question I would like to pose; is his point that every small seemingly insignificant thing in our life that we take for granted was created by a person, who probably put pain into doing the job and go unnoticed? Also I was wondering if he is making a point that unless we have experienced someone else’s life through their eyes and lived it, we cannot comprehend how difficult a job is or is not?

What immediately struck me is how Espada spaces and breaks in between his lines. For the majority they’re abrupt and give the illusion of a rough texture; making it extremely uncomfortable to read and difficult to achieve a natural reader's flow. Although reading this poem was a slight struggle, I thoroughly enjoyed this conscious decision. The intentional breaks juxtapose and emphasize the story Espada is telling. His printing plant job was harsh, tough, and unforgiving. This can be seen in the lines, “then the glue would string / hands oozing / tile both palms burned / at the punclock.” The characteristics I mentioned are beautifully apparent in the aesthetic of the poem. The breaks accompanied with the brutal vocabulary, such as “oozing” and “burned,” give the poem a heavy weight and intensity that truly encompasses Espada’s experience.

The last stanza is the most comfortable to read, another conscious decision that reveals Espada’s point of view towards upward mobility. He’s commenting that the higher the social ladder we climb, the more luxuries we are given. He avoids including details that gives the reader the assumption that these luxuries are ‘earned.’ Instead, he implies that they are naturally a part of the upper class environment and that being a part of such class does not automatically suggest that the people have ‘earned’ or ‘achieved’ such gratification. Espada also argues that the higher class also has the leisure of looking at hardships through a one-way mirror. The struggles of the lower class can be acknowledged, but their labor pain does not affect classes above them.

Part 2:

Young 13 year old Jamie wanted to bleach her hair and dye random chunks with colors that were similar to highlighters: neon green, bright red, and electric blue. I couldn’t achieve this look because I couldn’t afford the products needed to make this transformation happen. I needed bleach, a lot of bleach, and even more bleach to lift my black virgin hair to a shade that would resemble blonde.  I also couldn’t afford my parents approval of conducting such treatment to my appearance. Every time I confronted them about this desire they’d frown, shake their heads, and sigh out loud a rejection. Regardless, I could afford to imagine and dream about the transformation.

I constantly yearned for this look for years. Looking back, I think it’s because I wanted the world to recognize me for being different. Or cool. Or something. A lot of the kids who had dyed wild, vibrant hair tended to be the ones that also were the more rebellious. I remember there was a group of these students and they all prided themselves on having poor relationship with their families, but coped with this by attending raves and consuming hallucinogens. Weirdly, I thought this was cool. Maybe I hoped that if I dyed my hair I could join their clan. Be a part of their comradely. Instead of joining in a “hoo ha” we’d always go, “fuck yeah!”

8 November 2015

Tumblr Post 4

I loved reading this poem because of how detailed his message was. I appreciated the line “…and gather slits thinner than the crevices of the skin, hidden (Coles and Zandy 876).” This line describes how hard they worked and the sacrifices they had to go through. Paper cuts are extremely painful, and the smaller they are, the more intense the pain is. Therefore, I can only imagine how much his slits hurt him. I appreciated how this poem highlights that he is in a way, thankful for how hard the people that make the sticky notes because he has been through the same experience. I wonder, how long does it typically take for someone to move from making sticky notes to attending law school? I also wonder if there are people that believe that moving up to making sticky notes is their dream job.

When I was younger, I was (and still am) obsessed with cats. Especially kittens. Growing up with cats and dogs, I’ve always been extremely fond of baby animals, but nothing made me more excited than kittens’ little meows. I tried to make a million different deals with my mom in order to get another kitten. I tried everything from good grades to chores around the house. Eventually, I came up with the idea of keeping my bedroom clean for “a whole 100 days”. My mom at first did not take it seriously. She didn’t think I could keep my room clean for 100 days so she played along. Once I started the challenge and was over 50 days strong, she realized I was absolutely going to keep my room clean for all of those 100 days. That’s when she started to change the bet on me. She tried telling me that “we don’t need another cat” and that “we already have too many”. But I was angry that I had already kept my room clean for so long (something that should have already been done) so I wanted to make a new deal with her. Instead of getting my beloved kitten, I was going to get my ears pierced. Something I’ve always wanted. So after keeping my room clean for those 100 days, I gathered the courage to get my ears pierced.

Albee Abigania

Professor Wong

BIS 208

7 November 2015

Tumblr Response #4

             In Martin Espada’s Poem “Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper”, I found the line “the sting of hidden cuts” to be interesting because it can be seen visually and taken literally. I say this because although the cuts may be hidden, the pain of those cuts can be seen be internal and can be expressed by the hard work and labor it took to make legal pads at the printing plant. The overall poem is a reflection of the past. It talks about at the age of sixteen, working at a printing plant to the where he is now at law school where he confirms this in the line “Ten years later, in law school.” The way this poem exemplifies upward mobility is something I think everyone can relate to. It bluntly speaks on how a job from your past can connect to a job you may have in your future. Understanding the challenges, struggles and overall hard work it takes to reach and achieve your dreams and goals.

             My two questions that I would want to ask are:

1.       Does he miss his position working at the printing plan compared to his current position?

2.       Why is his past position in the printing plant more significant that other jobs or did he have any other?

When I was younger, I always wanted a pet. Particularly a dog. My parents always told me no and that it was a lot of responsibility and expensive. Well, now that I have my own place and can afford it, I have a dog named Niiko and all I can say is that my parents were right. To sum it up, it’s like having a baby. You have feed them, take them to the vet, clean up after them, take them to go potty and the list goes on. However, I love my dog and I am happy to family have one in my life. He represents responsibility in my life and love.

I never heard of upward mobility before this assignment. I knew of the idea but I never knew it's name. I wouldn't know how to talk or write about it, but Martin Espada's poem "Who Burns for the perfection of Paper" was the perfect introduction to this idea. In a upward mobility poem there are two important parts, the establishment of where he was and the introduction of how far he's gone. "At sixteen, I worked after high school hours", the author established that he has had to work hard his whole life, but the phrasing in this line is very deliberate. He effectively is explaining that high school was work too, not just his printing job. This again is alluded to later in the poem, "Ten years later, in law school". IT seems simple enough of a phrase but in actuality it says everything. It tells the reader that even though he was working long hours at the plant that his education was his first priority and that his labor was to support that.

           On the surface this poem could have been merely about his job at the printing plant, but with some close reading the real meaning become apparent. The poem is full of longing, longing to be at school and make something more of himself and we see that when he makes it into law school. But he never forgets where he came from, "I knew that every legal pad was glued with the sting of hidden cuts". This is the other important factor of an upward mobility poem, you never forget your roots. Espada captured this journey of longing, accomplishment and reflection in a quintessential upward mobility poem

           Target is bright, white and clean. It was absolute torture to a child. I was an endless trove of goodies and gimmicks, and I wanted it all. My parents were able to convince my sister that you couldn't actually take any of the stuff home, that it was a toy museum. But that was back when they could barely afford food and I was keen, quite and had sharp eyes. I toughed glossy boxed with pained dolls their blank stares did not entrance me. It was the huge pastel boxes of vinyl bobble headed pets I had my heart set on. There were stars and hearts painted in their large cartoon eyes, the vinyl felt velvet soft when I got to play with them at Tegan's house. The large sets with so many pieces that clicked, whirled and light up held hours of entertainment.

           I begged and screamed to get them. My mother would have to drag me away red faced and silent from the stares of onlookers. She gave me a slurpie and a bad of popcorn to keep me quiet.

           My dad is the kind of garage sales. He can procure whatever you need from someone else's stuff. Our house was filled with tables, chairs and electronics all priory owned by a stranger. So when my father came home with a new haul, I was disinterested.

Upward Mobility?

Ryan Sullivan

 It felt like Espada really emphasized certain words or phrases by simply finishing the sentence on the next line.  This gives strength and weight to the words allowing the reader to feel what he went through.  In line 5 he writes, “stacked seven feet high / and leaning / as I slipped cardboard / between the pages,”.  When he writes ‘and leaning’ in one line we can almost see these precariously placed cardboard that looks like it is about to fall over.  This is all part of Espada telling us where he was and he later lets us know where he has gone.  His upward mobility is really show between lines twenty one and twenty two where he leaves a significant gap between his words.  This is also where he has transitioned from working in a warehouse to ten years later and going to law school.  He makes it clear that the things he had to do to get to where he is today all helped him to appreciate even the smallest aspects of his journey. He now uses the very paper that he was helping to make in his past as a present day law student.  This type of writing really takes us farther into the complexities of a person and allows us as the reader to become more invested as we begin to relate to the character on a deeper level.

 Wind in my face.  Rolling grind.  Sudden stop. Gravel in my knees.  Still air spinning.  Rob Roskopp.  Bones Brigade.  I could smell the wood of the skateboard in my dreams.  I could feel the grit of the grip tape on my calloused hands.  I could hear the roll of the well-oiled wheels as I spun them in my sleep.  Christmas was coming and all I could think about was a Rob Roskopp skateboard with the disgusting design of a mentally ill monster etched onto the bottom.  I was too old to ask Santa and my parents were reluctant to even talk about it.  They thought that when I had a board beneath my feet I was simply trying to kill myself. They looked at skateboards as little rolling pieces of death that would take me a million miles an hour straight into the grave.  It was no use trying to ask them for what I wanted most in the world.  

                “What do you want for Christmas Ryan?” asked my dad

                “I was thinking about maybe a Rob Roskopp skateboard with the                          green face on the back, I was thinking of just putting in my wall as a                    piece of art and not riding it.”  I replayed trying to soften the blow.

                “Uh huh, you know that’s not going to happen, what else do you want                  for Christmas Ryan?”

                “Awe dad…”  I said feeling incredibly downtrodden.

For years I wanted that board, even after it wasn’t in style anymore.  Even after I stopped skateboarding I still wanted that board.  Now that I’m older it sounds so silly.  The board wasn’t even that expensive and I probably could have bought one myself if I had saved some of my money.  They don’t make those boards anymore and Rob Roskopp is probably somewhere in a nursing home having the same dreams of skateboards that I was having when I was a child.  Sometimes the memories we have of the things we never had can be just as strong as or even stronger than the things that we did have.  

Part 1:

Reading through Martin Espada’s “Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper,” the reader can definitely read through the struggles. The author uses phrases such as “Sluggish by 9 pm,” and “suddenly sharp paper” to deepen the understanding of the reader of his struggles, and almost, I would say, torturous job. He uses distinct verbs that were happening to him, that dramatize the experience reading someone doing a job. Words such as “sting,” “oozing,” and “burned.” It made me feel. It made me feel bad for this character. Once he goes on about moving upward and going to law school, he still brought back the memories of making the legal pads, knowing what it takes to make something so small. When I look at legal pads, I don’t think about them. I dont care for the material, how it looks or who made. But this character, who has gone through the gruesome process, thinks about the pain and details, especially being is lawschool and constantly seeing something that reminds you of that particular time. Which raises the question of, when you do “move up,” or move into a different stage of life, do you ever really forget the past and struggles you had before it? Also, what reaction do you have once you see something that reminds you of a particular hard time or job? Are you grateful, or do you grow cold towards it and despise it?

Part 2:

A pink slug bug convertible. Before I turned the legal age of 16, I ran around with my permit telling everyone I wanted a pink slug bug convertible. The car was a ball of perfection. I went to a dealership and got inside to get a feel for it. Inside, I became Malibu barbie. I felt absolutely perfect and almost a little envied. It screams “I’m a princess” but not “a brat.” I wanted drive away from my troubles and into my freedom in that thing. Unfortunately for me, my parents did not want to give me that freedom. I would be on the rode and see my right of passage pass right in front of my eyes. The pink meant thatI was perfection. I wanted that. I wanted to be a pink, perfect, good smelling, beautiful smiling barbie. It was different, just like. I mean seriously, who do you know that has a pink slug bug convertible?! Top down, listening to Jason Derulo, blonde hair blowing in the wind, big designer shades.... perfection. Instead, my dad got me a blue hard top old bug. He said my dream car was stupid, and I needed something reliable for winter. I mean, I’m so grateful I got a car, so I played super ecstatic. But I did NOT feel glamorous driving. I was frumpy and sad. I was a grandma in that thing. But hey, at least I stood out!

Part 1

What particularly struck me about Espada’s poem is that is starts out as a seemingly innocent story about working at a printing plant alters into the horrors of reality. “Sluggish by 9 PM, the hands would slide along suddenly sharp paper, and gather slits thinner than the crevices of the skin, hidden.” He describes the cuts from paper he receives when working, describing them as thinner than skin crevices. I took this also on an emotional level, as his work probably wears him thin and cuts deep; almost cuts him in the crevices of the mind. Some questions I would have for Espada is concerning his ending, where he fast-forwards into the future when he is studying in law school. Did his high school job correlate with him moving on to law school, or was it mere coincidence? Also, was he in a place where he had to work to support his family? Or supporting himself? Why would he stay in such an environment?

Part 2

Haleh Kendell

Espada’s understanding of upward mobility comes from his rise from paper maker to lawyer. Specifically, a civil rights lawyer for low income, Spanish-speaking residents. It’s clear from the poem that working at a printing plant during his teen years, had a great impact on the course of his life. His focus on the paper manufacturing, because it emphasizes the suffering and hardships he went through. He opens the poem with, “[A printing plant] that manufactured legal pads: yellow paper (lines 3-4). Separating the phrase, so that yellow paper sits on its own line, singles out the yellow paper itself. Meaning, that from after school until at least 9pm (as mentioned on line 14,) Espada was handling, looking at, and gluing yellow paper. The image of yellow paper is clearly burned into his memory. On lines 11 and 12, he begins to delve into the hardships he faced, “No gloves: fingertips required for the perfection of paper.” By putting, “for the perfection of paper” on its own line, Espada demonstrates that at the printing plant, perfection of paper mattered above all. Safety and care for fingertips were an afterthought. Then, Espada goes on to say, “Sluggish my 9pm, the hands would slide along suddenly sharp paper” (lines 14-15). He’s showing how the fatigue of the day wore on him, and the painful consequences that came with. The phrase, “suddenly sharp paper” invokes such a clear image of papercuts. It’s very easy to imagine Espada, cutting his hands until they’re covered with cuts; raw and bleeding. The final stanza suddenly jumps ten years into the future, with Espada saying, “Ten years later, in law school, I knew that every legal pad was glued with the sting of hidden cuts” (lines 22-24). This juxtaposition shows the suffering Espada went through to get to law school. It also speaks the civil rights work he would do after law school; he rose out of the lower class, so he could help others do the same. The time jump occurs, because Espada’s showing how much of an impact working at that printing plant had on him. Which leads to the critical questions, can one event truly shape the outcome of your life? Or is it a series of events, with one standing out because it was the one that broke the camel’s back?  

1. Martin Espada’s “Who Burns for the Perfection Paper” is a window into the mobility of laborer to a law student. I found it interesting how he would put the description of the paper in its own line. You can go through the poem and read every other line and the poem has a new meaning. The poem offers very vivid visuals on what his work was like. At first I was a bit confused by the titled, the work “Perfection Paper” threw me off. Then adding “Who Burns” I believe he chose the word burns for its duality in the title. Burns both describes the physical feeling he had in his hands, and the fact that paper burns very easily, I took this into a metaphoric meaning of the American Dream also burning up quickly when someone realizes how this country is constructed. Reading down the poem further the phrase “I knew that every legal pad- was glued with the sting of hidden cuts” was the one that resonated the most with me.  With this phrase Espada is communicating that he never forgot his struggle. He had moved up in the world, but not only did the physical cuts from his labor stay with him but the mental “cuts” of being so young and working right after school stayed with him. The poem is also a bit ironic in the fact that out of all the jobs in the world he used to make legal pads. The first portion of the poem builds up the irony, focusing on the paper itself and adding in his perception of it. When the reader moves to the second portion, it brings the whole poem full circle and answers the basic question of “why is this poet writing about paper” but you then see what the paper represents to him.