Maya Angelou - The Telephone

Ok, so for any of you in my English class, you know that Maya Angelou is my girl. I love all her poetry, and I think she is so talented. So, naturally, I would give this poem a 5 out of 5. I was not as impressed with the poem in the beginning, but by the end, I absolutely loved it! Definitely I would recommend this poem and others by the author.

The Telephone by Maya Angelou tells of a woman who has been just waiting and waiting for a phone call that never seems to come. The first of several poetic devices employed by the author is enjambement Every line is not ended in a period or a thought, in fact, it usually end right in the middle. This is important because it gives the poem a a specific meter that is reminiscent of a ringing telephone. The ring is abrupt and often interrupts what you are doing. Also, it symbolizes the speaker also stopping to listen for the telephone because she is waiting/wanting a call. The change of style in the last line shows the speaker's relief in that she has finally received a call. The change emphasizes the change in tone from nervous and anticipating to relieved. One important thing to recognize is that the poem is not simply about a telephone. The telephone represents the speaker's life. Today, everyone needs and uses telephones regularly, and because the speaker has one, but does not use it, shows that she is isolated. This is important because the author is not commenting on our closeness due to our ease of contact, but rather the opposite. The speaker has a telephone and the ability to receive and send calls, but she is more isolated than ever, the telephone has essentially done the opposite of what it was intended to do. This motif of anxiety and isolation and the image of the telephone reveals Angelou's theme of man's degression with the evolution of technology, and that even when we are more together than ever, we are also more isolated than ever. This theme can be explained by the a similie" it is like feeling alone when you are standing in a crowd of poeple. This is what Angelou is trying to convey about our society.

Go read it!...Now(:

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WICKEDly good!

So, I decided to read the novel Wicked by Gregory Maguire mostly because of my love of the Broadway musical. But let me just say, I'm glad my 5-th grade mind that loved the musical didn't read this book, because I definitely would not have understood it, or found it appropriate. The book had a very interesting pot, taking something we all thought we knew everything about and flipping it on our heads. The plot was captivating and witty, and the characters all played into what would become our fabled childhood heroes from The Wizard of Oz. I would recommend the book to most anyone high-school level or above and would give it a 5 out of 5 stars. Now on to the goods....

My favorite quote from the book that really stood out to me was - "Being born with a talent or an inclination for goodness is the aberration." This quote really embodies the essence and theme of the book (as well as the title for that matter!). The quote is saying that all people are born with the inclination to do evil, but are forced to fight it, and that someone who is born good is the one who is really odd, and not the other way around. This begs the essential question Elphie asks herself in the book (to quote from the musical), "Are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" From the very beginning, Elphaba is faced with challenges because of her skin color and background. She at first sees herself as an aberration because of her skin color and thinks that she will never fit in anywhere. However, she grows to find that it is not because she is green that she is an aberration, it is because she has an inherent nature to do good. Throughout the novel, she feels the need to help others despite her own welfare, whether it be releasing a caged lion, caring for her sister, or taking on the most powerful man in Oz. In the course of events she comes into contact with some truly wicked people, including Glinda. Contrary to what we may think, Glinda was not always the perfect angel she is made out to be in the movie. She was, in fact, a stuck up aristocrat who wanted nothing to do with the affairs of the land. However, by the end of the novel, because of her rebel ways, Elphaba is no longer seen as a kind soul, but as a wicked one, and Glinda has been transformed from snobby aristocrat to beacon of goodness for the people of Oz. However, whether it was turning someone into a tin man, or capturing Dorothy, it was all out of good intentions that Elphaba acted, not out of wickedness. This points to two essential themes in the novel; don't judge a book by it's cover, and that people are born wicked, and we must fight to recognize and overcome it. Everyone in the novel judged Elfie for her skin, when in reality that judgment could not ave been more wrong. Also, the reversal of Glinda's roles in the novel reverses her own question against her, the answer, according to the novel, is that people are born wicked and they have goodness thrust upon them.

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