week one blog
Part 1: I believe this poem can be considered literature; I’m hesitant to call it great literature. The poem attempts to convey a meaningful message in a playful way starting like a childhood related rhyme, then moving to a somber adult tone. The theme stays constant. Strangely, I recently watched a TV show called Weeds where a long time seen childhood student uses the first verse of the poem to break the ice with the shows protagonist. There was no reference in the show to the real author, but the message the first verse gave, first captured your attention and then relates you to a form of “brotherhood” among people through memory of their parents. I was a little disappointed that the shows creators were not as clever as I thought. The context of the rest of the poem seems to reinforce the irony that is life; the goal is to point out a kind of a sad cyclical fact, like we are all born to die. The message of an interesting universal plight is something that can be expected of literature. I think the longevity of this poem’s use is the true test of whether it is great literature, like art work maybe it needs to be considered on how effective its words last in our minds over the years.
Part 2: The story of “simple recipes” does follow the same theme as Larkin’s poem about parents negatively influencing their children. The depth “simple recipes” provides is a specific example in a life that other people could relate to, or understand. The complicating memories in the “simple recipes” story are the mixed emotions that can arise from seeing parents being human. It seems to be a universally relating idea that parents are the closest thing to god when you are very young, but as you grow, so do your differing beliefs. It seems to point to a time in adulthood when we all look back in hindsight at our parents example to find out how we are suppose to run our future.
Part 2: The story of “simple recipes” does follow the same theme as Larkin’s poem about parents negatively influencing their children. The depth “simple recipes” provides is a specific example in a life that other people could relate to, or understand. The complicating memories in the “simple recipes” story are the mixed emotions that can arise from seeing parents being human. It seems to be a universally relating idea that parents are the closest thing to god when you are very young, but as you grow, so do your differing beliefs. It seems to point to a time in adulthood when we all look back in hindsight at our parents example to find out how we are suppose to run our future.