http://www.uwo.ca/english/canadianpoetry/cpjrn/vol53/keith.htm
Apparently, his poetry is not published online.
the poem "At the Lunch Counter" is by Alden Nowlan. I am having difficulty understanding it. any help would be great.
4 answers
At the Lunch Counter
A girl, fifteen perhaps,
licking her fingertips,
smoothing splotches
of butter and salt
off her blue pants,
cheek muscles rippling.
Nathan who is blind
sidles to the stool beside her.
They talk, he pompously,
she making faces
he can't see,
telling the boys she isn't serious.
I'm Barbara, she says,
blowing her cheeks out,
wrinkling her forehead,
Fred Ward's Barbara.
I have red hair!
She giggles
since her hair is brown
with aluminum
fishes at the temples.
But he can't see
Then,
she stiffens and frowns
wanting us to go away
so she can be kind.
~by Alden Nowlan
It looks to me as though the girl is showing off in front of her friends. However, she'd really rather be nice to the blind boy.
See the Related Questions below.
A girl, fifteen perhaps,
licking her fingertips,
smoothing splotches
of butter and salt
off her blue pants,
cheek muscles rippling.
Nathan who is blind
sidles to the stool beside her.
They talk, he pompously,
she making faces
he can't see,
telling the boys she isn't serious.
I'm Barbara, she says,
blowing her cheeks out,
wrinkling her forehead,
Fred Ward's Barbara.
I have red hair!
She giggles
since her hair is brown
with aluminum
fishes at the temples.
But he can't see
Then,
she stiffens and frowns
wanting us to go away
so she can be kind.
~by Alden Nowlan
It looks to me as though the girl is showing off in front of her friends. However, she'd really rather be nice to the blind boy.
See the Related Questions below.
This poem is about a girl, fifteen perhaps and the awkward, shy Nathan whom is blind. The little girl is making fun of Nathan due to his disability to try and impress her friends which are with her, while on the other hand she wants them to leave so she can so kindness to this boy.
The moral dilemma is shown to us in poetic literature, whether to show kindness to this boy or to “climb the social ladder” (which a lot of teenagers are trying to do in modern times) and make fun of Nathan to impress her friends.
In the poem the little girls ethics and values are questioned, “she stiffens and frowns
wanting us to go away so she can be kind”. This quote is when the girl is having to make a choice, the peak of the moral dilemma, whether to show her desire to be kind or her desire to be accepted.
The composer conveys this by using sibilance and imagery to construct the poem, to provide the reader with images to imagine the moral dilemma the girl is facing in the poem. “sidles to the stool behind” show us just how nervous and clumsy the the boy is due to his blindness. The repetition of “he can’t see” is the author conveying that the girl is trying to cover he rudeness and place it all on the disability.
This moral dilemma will impact this girl the most, even though she might have impressed her friends, she will always have a looming guilt when she made fun of a blind, innocent boy whom she so very much wanted to show kindness towards.
This poem is perfect to study for our syllabus rubric, it is set in a modern time and place, and everyday teenagers are faced with this moral dilemma, to show kindness to someone or to be accepted into todays society.
The moral dilemma is shown to us in poetic literature, whether to show kindness to this boy or to “climb the social ladder” (which a lot of teenagers are trying to do in modern times) and make fun of Nathan to impress her friends.
In the poem the little girls ethics and values are questioned, “she stiffens and frowns
wanting us to go away so she can be kind”. This quote is when the girl is having to make a choice, the peak of the moral dilemma, whether to show her desire to be kind or her desire to be accepted.
The composer conveys this by using sibilance and imagery to construct the poem, to provide the reader with images to imagine the moral dilemma the girl is facing in the poem. “sidles to the stool behind” show us just how nervous and clumsy the the boy is due to his blindness. The repetition of “he can’t see” is the author conveying that the girl is trying to cover he rudeness and place it all on the disability.
This moral dilemma will impact this girl the most, even though she might have impressed her friends, she will always have a looming guilt when she made fun of a blind, innocent boy whom she so very much wanted to show kindness towards.
This poem is perfect to study for our syllabus rubric, it is set in a modern time and place, and everyday teenagers are faced with this moral dilemma, to show kindness to someone or to be accepted into todays society.
hi
1 answer