Unit 2 was about learning the differences between summary and analysis and how to apply those strategies to our responses. This is where we were introduced to a strategy precis, which helped me build my analysis. This has helped me because it has allowed me to make a rather strong analysis based on the evidence that I have chosen.
First Draft:
Summary and response
How do you know what you learn is accurate? Or that it was from a creditable source? well, the simple answer is that you don’t everything that you learn now is all secondary. Passed down from someone else’s mouth. in society today we often believe what is said to us not knowing where the information came from or if the information is reliable or not. In the intro of the article “Dubs Finding Ceremony” By Alexis Pauline Gumbs, an American writer, and activist quotes Sylvia Winters how “we are not Homo sapiens but Homo narrans”. We’re not just individuals but humans who tell each other’s stories to evolve essentially. My summary and response will be based on the poem’s commitment, instructions, and whale chorus because I feel as though all of them tie into the fact that we are told how it was for our ancestors by people who have the power to make us believe what they want us to believe is true instead of what is actually true. The author’s use of rhetorical devices like metaphors connotations and imagery also helps convey how our ancestors were treated.
In the poem “Instructions”, I believe the author talks about how in the past her ancestors who were enslaved had to deal with hardships and how they were still able to continue living. I believe that this is referring back to the intro about us being homo narrans passing down information in the form of a story. According to the poem, it states “Tell them about the whales. And how they swam next to us singing”. This shows how important whales were using their voices to help humans. This poem is composed of metaphors comparing whales to slaves and how they helped develop what we use today. I believe through storytelling they were able to change people’s perspective of how the whales were “singing”.
The poem Whale Chorus also ties into the fact of how slaves had to navigate in the conditions that they were in. It also shows us how the slaves were trying to not only swim to the surface to have their voices heard But to let the world know that they were intelligent but misunderstood. In the poem, it states “Well where do you think we live while you sleep? down here. at the bottom of everything “. This shows how In the hierarchy the slaves are at the bottom of the food chain. They are seen as whales, beings that are only beneficial to their owners. Also, the poem states “just because the singing of the whales had caused bumper stickers and rallies…didn’t mean it would work for us. I mean how long had we, black women, been singing”. With the author’s use of imagery we as the readers can picture our ancestors in distress speaking out and trying to change their conditions by “singing”.
Lastly, the poem “Commitment” I feel as though in chronological order this poem would be a sequel to the previous two poems because it’s a reminder to people in the future that the enslavement of people will continue to be with us forever and I feel as though commitment is a way of telling us our ancestors will commit themselves to making sure that we don’t forget what happened in the past. According to the poem it states “We promise to think of you more often than you think of us. we promise to remember you when you forget.” I believe that this quote demonstrates how the hereof slaves has run deep, it’s a way for them to symbolize that they will remind us of what happened via history books, activists, etc. The author’s use of consonants also depicts how important the promise is with the repeated use of “we promise” meaning that as a whole they are committed to making sure that their promise will stick.
In conclusion, I believe that through generations humans gain their knowledge from something that was passed down, and not everything that was passed down was accurate some were misinterpreted as used to control society to believe what they want to believe, and in these poems, it shows how hard it was for our ancestors and how they navigated. They’re referred to as whales meaning they are beneficial to people hunting whales even though whales are intelligent creatures. Also with the use of imagery, consonance, and metaphor the author kind of rounds up this idea of how storytelling
Final:
Summary and response
How do you know if what you learn is accurate? Or that it was from a creditable source? Well, the simple answer is that you don’t. Everything that you learn now is secondary. Passed down from someone else’s mouth. In society today, we often believe what is said to us without knowing where the information came from or if the information is reliable or not. In the intro to the article “Dubs Finding Ceremony” by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, an American writer and activist, Sylvia Winters says, “We are not Homo sapiens but Homo-narrans”. We’re not just individuals but humans who tell each other’s stories to evolve essentially. The poems “Commitment,” “Instructions,” and “Whale Chorus” tie into how we are told stories about what our ancestors went through. which makes us believe that the people in power are bending the truth and making us believe what they want us to believe. The author’s use of rhetorical devices like metaphors, connotations, and imagery also helps convey how our ancestors were treated. Other stories, like the article “The American Museum of Water” by Nataile Diaz. and the film Princess Monoke, relate to the theme that people in high power get us to believe what they want.
In the poem “Instructions,” I believe the author talks about how in the past her ancestors who were enslaved had to deal with hardships and how they were still able to continue living. I believe that this is referring back to the intro about us being homo-narrans passing down information in the form of a story. According to the poem, it states, “Tell them about the whales. And how they swam next to us singing”. This shows how important whales were using their voices to help humans. This poem is composed of metaphors comparing whales to slaves and how they helped develop what we use today. I believe through storytelling they were able to change people’s perspective of how the whales were “singing”.
The poem Whale Chorus also ties into the fact of how slaves had to navigate in the conditions that they were in. It also shows us how the slaves were trying to not only swim to the surface to have their voices heard but also to let the world know that they were intelligent but misunderstood. In the poem, it states, “Well where do you think we live while you sleep? down here. at the bottom of everything “. This shows how in the hierarchy, the slaves are at the bottom of the food chain. They are seen as whales—beings that are only beneficial to their owners. Also, the poem states, “just because the singing of the whales had caused bumper stickers and rallies… didn’t mean it would work for us. I mean how long had we, black women, been singing”. With the author’s use of imagery, we as readers can picture our ancestors in distress speaking out and trying to change their conditions by “singing”.
In a different poem, “Commitment,” this poem would be a sequel to the previous two poems because it’s a reminder to people in the future that the enslavement of people will continue to be with us forever and I feel as though commitment is a way of telling us our ancestors will commit themselves to making sure that we don’t forget what happened in the past. According to the poem it states, “We promise to think of you more often than you think of us. We promise to remember you when you forget.” This quote demonstrates how the hatred of slaves has run deep; it’s a way for them to symbolize that they will remind us of what happened via history books, activists, etc. The author’s use of consonants also depicts how important the promise is with the repeated use of “we promise” meaning that as a whole they are committed to making sure that their promise will stick.
In the story “The American Museum of Water,” it does reflect how some of what is stated is redacted because the people in power do not want us to know the full truth. Its about how we deserve to know that we have been fed lies but continue to drink them because we don’t see anything wrong. Also in the film “Princess Mononoke,” it talks about how people in power have the right to treat everyone else however they want.
In conclusion, I believe that through generations, humans gain their knowledge from something that was passed down, and not everything that was passed down was accurate; some were misinterpreted as used to control society to believe what they wanted to believe, and in these stories and films, it shows how hard it was for our ancestors and how they navigated. They’re referred to as whales, meaning they are beneficial to people hunting whales, even though whales are intelligent creatures. Also, with the use of imagery, consonance, and metaphor, the author kind of rounds up this idea of how storytelling can be altered to favor who said it..
