tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post7323736544972220507..comments2024-03-19T01:19:55.789-05:00Comments on Cultural Front: Reflections on the first section of The Big SmokeH. Rambsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16862209871277442972noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-30034343556561971672014-11-30T22:57:52.261-06:002014-11-30T22:57:52.261-06:00It's hard to pick beyond these poems as "...It's hard to pick beyond these poems as "Hurt Business". Most people in that situation would stick with what they know and not understand the difference between prizefighting and fighting for one's life. This poem caught my attention because it shows that difference. There's no point, in my opinion, in sticking to certain rules in situations where it's life or death. Sometimes all the stops have to be pulled.<br /><br />-Nicholas RawlsNicholas Rawlsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-71141183257817620162014-11-01T23:17:40.018-05:002014-11-01T23:17:40.018-05:00The poem that stood out most to me was "The S...The poem that stood out most to me was "The Shadow Knows". Johnson talks about his drive to not only advance him self in society but to change the image of the "negro". He feels that becoming heavyweight champion will change the image of the black male from low slave to the top of chain. Also in the end he states that when he gets to the top the term "negro" will no longer exist because they will be known as equals.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06926647560294551516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-62601921488535518242014-11-01T12:31:18.265-05:002014-11-01T12:31:18.265-05:00The one that stood out the most to me was "Ca...The one that stood out the most to me was "Cannibalism." It showed what actually went on during his time. Colored people were being killed for no reason. and no one could do anything about it. They were considered a threat to those who were dead the sheriffs would say, although everyone knew that they just didn't want any black people around.<br /><br />_Jordan H. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00962167727774663720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-8317779195680934492014-10-31T20:27:11.512-05:002014-10-31T20:27:11.512-05:00The poem Prize Fighter I found quite compelling. T...The poem Prize Fighter I found quite compelling. The lyrical description of Jack's fighting skills crafted a very intricate image of him. It portrayed him as grandiose with much poetic justice.Tyler Johnsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-83038131311500760042014-10-30T22:47:33.612-05:002014-10-30T22:47:33.612-05:00Whereas hurt business was not my favorite, it caug...Whereas hurt business was not my favorite, it caught my attention because for the first time it showed how Arthur would have rather stayed in school than do useless fights. He was still a boy when the men gave him beatings, but he always put up a fight while regretting fighting in the first place Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02137532798008919088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-85101115617577273232014-09-22T19:49:33.265-05:002014-09-22T19:49:33.265-05:00The poem "Hurt Business" gives imagery t...The poem "Hurt Business" gives imagery throughout the entire poem. Starting with the dialect between his grandmother and him. The fight scene gives definition to the entire poem and its a mere mockery to how Johnson became who he was.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08091423749310476610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-85103949884915054662014-09-22T17:42:31.494-05:002014-09-22T17:42:31.494-05:00Fistcuffs really caught my attention because of ho...Fistcuffs really caught my attention because of how he related boxing to black woman. Due to his experiences with black woman he was able to release his emotion through boxing. However the fact that he's never had a good experience with black woman also catches my eye because usually I hear that from black women. <br />ChristianAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11275380904014377412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-80815499441567805382014-09-22T13:29:24.247-05:002014-09-22T13:29:24.247-05:00The poem "Alias" really intrigued me bec...The poem "Alias" really intrigued me because it exemplifies the sociological term of naming or the name game. I find it humorous how we play the name game with celebrities, other peoples as well as ourselves. A good few examples are "King James", the nickname of Lebron, as well as the common nick names such as lil man, pookie, biggie, champ, princess, and baby girl. Although, these names aren't offensive as the names given to Jack Johnson, but they still give meaning to who we are as people or who we would like to be.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16269412726781743192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-67515935804225499882014-09-22T09:24:08.793-05:002014-09-22T09:24:08.793-05:00The poem that stood out most to me was "Prize...The poem that stood out most to me was "Prize Fighter" because I really like how he started it off by talking about horses making it seem like he was prepared to compare himself to one then flipped the script and compared himself to a car engine. I feel like he should have compared himself to the horse because the horse is more natural like he is in the ring and the car is un natural and takes away from nature in a way in my opinion.<br />-Devon RossDross84https://www.blogger.com/profile/06551878147322844935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-31630531526804421552014-09-21T22:53:42.205-05:002014-09-21T22:53:42.205-05:00"The Shadow Knows" is my favorite becaus..."The Shadow Knows" is my favorite because black need to realize that money isn't every thing and we shouldn't try to buy happiness with materialistic items. That's a problem for black people now-a-days. We have still not moved passed this phase. Quentin wailsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-62877947987600024472014-09-20T15:36:22.227-05:002014-09-20T15:36:22.227-05:00A poem that really caught my eye is "The Shad...A poem that really caught my eye is "The Shadow Knows". This poem expresses how black people want to show off materialistic things. The end gets more empowering by saying, "When we rise up, the whole Negro race rises up with us". Barry Fordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-45769685229131691302014-09-20T11:16:47.817-05:002014-09-20T11:16:47.817-05:00To me "The Shadow Knows" is the most imp...To me "The Shadow Knows" is the most important, because the poem is telling you all the things you really want. The "shadow" represents the inner you and the desires that you want. Everyone has this, its the hope and happiness that you wish for. <br /><br />People work their whole lives to get the things their shadow wants, and this is what Jack Johnson wanted.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03793687006682741411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-89136184983025151602014-09-20T09:38:53.858-05:002014-09-20T09:38:53.858-05:00The poem "Cannibalism" caught my attenti...The poem "Cannibalism" caught my attention the most out of all the poems in section one for a couple reasons. Firstly, the title made me want to read it because cannibalism is such a bizarre concept in our society. Secondly, once I started reading it I was in a stat of confusion because I didn't exactly 100% understand the topic. The poem challenged me to dig deeper and that's why it caught my attention the most. Rodrick Robinsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-51453995879379172722014-09-19T17:35:03.419-05:002014-09-19T17:35:03.419-05:00The poem that stood out to me was "The Shadow...The poem that stood out to me was "The Shadow Knows" because the author discusses Jack Johnson's desire to be rich and famous. The thing that separates Johnson's desire to succeed from an average person is his self-determination to make it a reality. At the end of the poem, the author does express how Johnson felt that his success was also the success of the race, but he also expresses a feeling of solitude, "when we get to the top, it's just us. No use for Negroes then, not even ourselves." The author brings up a very valid point that all of us, as successful minority students, can relate to. The more success you have, the less likely you are to see someone that looks like you. The last line of the poem is the one that stood out to me the most because I believe Johnson now viewed himself and his social status as two different things.Isaiah Blackburnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-56990298079716530792014-09-19T17:31:40.506-05:002014-09-19T17:31:40.506-05:00The poem that stood out to me was "Shadow Box...The poem that stood out to me was "Shadow Boxing". Matejka shows the internal battle that Jack Johnson experienced at this point in his life. Johnson's work ethic is shown in the middle of the poem where he mentions the struggle of boxing and working to pay the bills. At the end, the shadow replies back as if Johnson's conscience is telling him that all his hard work will be paid off.Jeremiah Blackburnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-32714647908173185812014-09-19T17:03:10.594-05:002014-09-19T17:03:10.594-05:00The poem that I found fascinating was the 'Bat...The poem that I found fascinating was the 'Battle Royal". The torture and trials the bear suffered were very similar to the struggles faced by the black men. The fact that they had to fight their fellow men to death for food was very disheartening and eye opening. Jamal Simsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-42758760484918688062014-09-19T16:30:24.780-05:002014-09-19T16:30:24.780-05:00The poem that stood out to me the most was "F...The poem that stood out to me the most was "Fisticuffs". I find it very interesting on where the character finds inspiration to be a better fighter. He doesn't take the though of pain or becoming better as a fighter.<br /><br />He takes inspiration from emotional experience--in this case--from his old love. It kindle this astute analogy between broken relationships and fallen fighters. It makes the poem all that more interesting.<br /><br />DeAndre H.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11654298560935324858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-7294607001415379212014-09-19T15:50:07.921-05:002014-09-19T15:50:07.921-05:00"The Shadow Knows" was one that I partic..."The Shadow Knows" was one that I particularly liked. What was said in this poem is almost the embodiment of what I want to do in life and why. I want so much for myself that sometimes it just seems outright selfish. But I know better, I know that it isn't wrong to want to be a doctor, I would definitely be the first in my family to go so high, and not have to worry about all the things my parents did. I want to do things different and not fit into any kind of stereotype that would try to bring me down. That's why I love this poem so much.Trion T.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-44117846022965905212014-09-19T15:24:32.588-05:002014-09-19T15:24:32.588-05:00The poem that stuck out to me the most was "S...The poem that stuck out to me the most was "Shadow Boxing". It stuck out to me because he talks a little about his determination and how he could be getting caught in the allures of life like most people, but his drive for greatness is stronger than the temptations of life. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04903244173196128739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-35765325686568588372014-09-19T14:08:48.668-05:002014-09-19T14:08:48.668-05:00The poem that stood out to me was"Cannibalism...The poem that stood out to me was"Cannibalism." It has a different tone than the rest of the poems. It refers to how white people would say they black people would kill and eat each other, but it was the police man that were brutally killing black families. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15351337085353762345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-67690795828162423412014-09-19T12:15:48.179-05:002014-09-19T12:15:48.179-05:00A poem that stood out to me was "Alias."...A poem that stood out to me was "Alias." I found the short and choppy sentence structure very intriguing, and I also found the message interesting. Each stanza seemed to represent the nicknames that different people in his life had for him. His childhood brought more endearing nicknames. White people had more condescending and racist nicknames for him. And when he became the champion, everyone referred to him as some sort of champion.<br /><br />-John H.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07017077870751919059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-33958874015019466392014-09-19T11:45:47.447-05:002014-09-19T11:45:47.447-05:00The poem that stuck out to me the most was "T...The poem that stuck out to me the most was "The Shadow Knows". I think about how the African American community till this day still portray the actions that were mentioned in the poem. Having a large collection of material things allows a person to feel important or feel that they are worthy of something greater. This poem really depicted what material wealth can do to a person.Wole Anoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-4710032261609090782014-09-19T08:49:30.579-05:002014-09-19T08:49:30.579-05:00The Poem that stood out the most to me was "H...The Poem that stood out the most to me was "Hurt Business" It stood out because it portrayed a life style that is still prominent in today's world.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01546171254063205001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-51456283259159356452014-09-18T23:41:42.795-05:002014-09-18T23:41:42.795-05:00"Prize Fighter" really reminded me of mo... "Prize Fighter" really reminded me of modern day boxing. The tone of the poem seemed really cocky. In the beginning of the poem, the person being depicted always wanted something faster and willing to drop what he loved, and has possibly been riding for years, for something better. Unlike some of the other poems, which were self- motivating, the words in this one seemed to be more braggy like subtle smack talk. And at the end of the poem, the phrase "my prize fighting cohorts are decidedly dissatisfied by my presence" refers to other fighters like him.Xavier Morrison- Wallacenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-39040371833247470772014-09-18T21:06:08.092-05:002014-09-18T21:06:08.092-05:00"The Manly Art of Self-Defense," was a p..."The Manly Art of Self-Defense," was a poem that I really enjoyed. It was about a young fighter (Johnson) learning from an experienced opponent/instructor (Joe). Aside from learning how to become a better fighter, Johnson also picked up on an important life lesson in the process. He described Joe as having a mediocre appearance. Someone who didn't look like a "prize" fighter. What Johnson realized is that despite how people appear on the outside, you should not judge them. Nicholas M.noreply@blogger.com