book portfolio QT 2

Kiana Hamilton
Book Portfolio
Quarter 2
January 22, 2008

“You know what work is - if your old enough to read this then you know what work is, although you many not do it. Forget you. This is about waiting, shifting from one foot to another. Feeling the rain fall like mist into your hair, blurring your vision.” This was written by Philip Levine in one of his poems out of the book What Work Is, and the poems called What Work Is, also. Which from the reading sounds like it was placed in the time of the great depression. The connection that the author had with the story I think was personal. I just think that he wrote this from the historical point of view from someone’s personal life.

“ The sad refusal to give in to rain, to the hours wasted waiting, to the knowledge that somewhere ahead a man is waiting who will say, “no, we’re not hiring today.” For any reason he wants” also said in the same poem. So basically what he’s trying to say in this quote Is that he’s waiting in line with a bunch of people and he doesn’t even think he has a chance to get a job, but he’s still standing there hoping for the best to happen. Which also it doesn’t say how old he is, but shows that in that time the kids were a lot more independent.

“You love your brother, now suddenly your can hardly stand the love flooding you for your brother, who’s not beside you or behind or ahead because he’s home trying to sleep off a miserable night shift at Cadillac so he can get up before noon to study his German.” also from the same poem. So what hes saying here is that hes thinking about his brother and his job when hes standing there hoping for a jobof his own during the freat depression. I think hes thinking about his brother and how his brother has a good job, and does a god job at it.

“ How long has it been since you told him you loved him, held his wide shoulders, opened your eyes wide and said those words, and maybe kissed his cheek? You’ve never done something so simple, so obvious, not because your too young or too dumb, not because you’re jealous or even mean or incapable of crying in the presence of another man, no, just because you don’t know what work is” so basically what he’s trying to show is the personal point of veiw, of what was going on and what was going through his mind, in this poem which I think he did very well.

“You know what work is - if your old enough to read this then you know what work is, although you may not do it. Forget you. This is about waiting, shifting from one foot to another. Feeling the rain fall like mist into your hair, blurring your vision.” now do you see where I’m coming from, Like when he says that “you’ve never done something so simple, so obvious” it makes you think that you should take the time to do the little things and not worry so much about the big things in life cause in the end it’s the little things that count, and the little things that people will remember.