Both of these poems have the deeper meaning of a woman’s beauty behind it. Marge Piercy uses bonsai as a metaphor for what she clearly states in her other poem Barbie Doll. She is saying that women should learn to accept and love who they are and what they have and not to worry about what others say. She is also stating that women can be anything that they would like and that times have changed.
“It is your nature
to be small and cozy,
domestic and weak;”
~ A Work of Artifice
Women no longer have to be small and cozy or domestic and weak, they are now able to be leaders and powerful no matter what their size, color, or beauty. The bonsai is Marge Piercy’s symbol of women in today’s world and is telling them to allow themselves to become something wonderful and to not be stunted in their growth; to allow themselves to grow taller than nine inches.
FINAL #2:
#4. Three poems by Langston Huges – “Aunt Sue’s Stories”, “I,Too”, and “Mother to Son” – all talk about pathways or figurative journeys from the past to the present and future. What human qualities do these poems suggest are necessary to complete these journeys successfully?
To get through life when it throws you curve balls and gives you a hard time you need to have a perseverance and determination. All three of these poems show someone who is trying to make it through life, even though life has handed them some things that are hard to deal with. The three characters in these poems are teaching others through their own personal experiences that you cannot give up. Through their stories they are showing others that it is important to believe in yourself and that if you are strong-minded you can conquer anything that comes your way in life.
For example from the poem Aunt Sue’s Stories, a woman if telling her nephew about her experiences as a slave and watching other slaves. Her moral to the story for her nephew is to not give up and that along with that he should respect his elders who didn’t give up and because of them he is living a better life.
In the poem I, Too a slave is sent to the kitchen to eat every time company comes over. When he says, “Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table” he is showing that he has determination and will be at that table someday. Eventually he will be accepted and then when that time comes the people at the table will realize what they have been missing all along.
Finally in the poem Mother to Son, Langston Hughes is showing a mother telling her son about the hardships in life she has encountered and how he shouldn’t give up. Even though her path through life “ain’t been no crystal stair” she has endured all the splinters and torn up boards and taken them one step at a time. She used good imagery throughout this last piece because the crystal stair is something that is smooth and valuable where as splinters and torn up boards are things that are rough, painful, and useless. This mother worked hard to get where she is today and is showing her son that through it all she stuck it out and persevered.
All that it takes for someone to get through life is a positive attitude and a strong personality that forces them to be determined to get through the troublesome times. Eventually everything that is wrong or bad will work itself out just at the three characters in the Langston Hughes poems showed.
