I need help with the poem Going Home by Maurice Kenny. I found only two site on it and I need four. Also the sites doesn't help me on what I need to do. I need help on analzing the poem. Like with the meaning. Cause I am not really good at find the meaning of things. SO if possible any kind of help will help me a lot. Thanks a bunch!

Let's take a look at the poem:

Going Home
--© 1988 Maurice Kenny

The book lay unread in my lap
snow gathered at the window
from Brooklyn it was a long ride
the Greyhound followed the plow
from Syracuse to Watertown
to country cheese and maples
tired rivers and closed paper mills
home to gossipy aunts . . .
their dandelions and pregnant cats . . .
home to cedars and fields of boulders
cold graves under willows and pine
home from Brooklyn to the reservation
that was not home
to songs I could not sing
to dances I could not dance
from Brooklyn bars and ghetto rats
to steaming horses stomping frozen earth
barns and privies lost in blizzards
home to a Nation, Mohawk
to faces I did not know
and hands which did not recognize me
to names and doors
my father shut

Les

All I can really tell is that the person is probably on his way from his life in Brooklyn back to his life in the reservation??? But what would the meaning of the peom be. I also need Symbolism not sure if their is any in the peom. Imagery would that be like snow gathered at the window, cold graves under willow and pines. Also metaphors, simile, and personification don't think there is any. And allusion not sure.

Here this website should help you understand the meaning of the poem:

[oncampus.richmond.edu]


Les

Ster, imagery is anything which paints a mental picture. All the things you list plus those in the last ten lines would qualify.

The Greyhound followed the plow... is an allusion to progress following tradition, or history following tradition.

tired rivers... is an example of personification

names and doors
my father shut...another allusion to progress and LOSS of personal identity with one's ancestors


There is a lot of food for thought here. Others may have more to say about the poem.


Les

All i really know about this peom is someone returning to the native land. Can someone help explain it to me more. ASAP!!!

I really like this poem. It seems quite self-explanatory to me. returning to the familiar only to find yourself the unfamiliar.

As far as I see it, the main character returns to an indian reservate where he was born and spent his youth. His father took him (and maybe the rest of the family) to brooklyn when he was still young. As a result he doesn't fit in anymore. It is home, but it isn't. The home hasn't changed, but the character has. He feels his father is responsible for the change in him (his father shut those doors).

What emotion does the poem convey? Sadness? Anger? Resentment? Acceptation?

Is the poet trying to convince you of something, or merely explaining the situation? Why do you think so?

One thing the poet does not explicitly get into, is the problem of people that change their environment: you don't belong anywhere. You changed too much to be really part of the home of your ancestors, but you are not entirely part of the "new" environment either.

Does this help? If not, can you be more specific about what you don't understand or what you would like to discuss further?

I see "The Greyhound followed the plow" as part of the physical scene setting, rather than being symbolic. "Snow gathered at the window" Why was he making the journey at this time? If a snow plough is needed for the bus to get through surely he would have postponed his trip until the roads were clear if that was possible?

>steaming horses stomping frozen earth

Linda, the line above which refers to horses made me think that the "plow" in your quotation was not a snow plow, but one used for tilling the soil.


Les

But then, I thought the steaming horses were a contrast to ghetto rats.

I was part of a convoy following a snow plough out of South Wales once. We had gone to a wedding, not intending to stay overnight, and were trapped for three days until we heard that the snow plough had opened the Heads of the Valleys road and Wales was reconnected with the rest of the world.



Post Edited (04-26-05 12:06)

from Brooklyn bars and ghetto rats
to steaming horses stomping frozen earth
barns and privies lost in blizzards

It is a contrast. The ghetto rats are related to a city. Steaming horses stomping frozen earth are horses that work on the country side. So city environment versus a rural environment.

It's possible that the writer meant for both meanings to be seen. Or we could have discovered something new- both readings strike me as legitimate.

pam

Thanks so much for your guys help. But I have one more question how does it tie to the 20th century?

Because prior to then you were not so cut off from your roots? Even in the 19th century most people could keep in touch with their rural roots and family enough to still feel at home there, but not any more.

>But I have one more question how does it tie to the 20th century?

I think that the author was intending to show how life on the reservation was so antiquated that modern Native Americans felt alienated there. I've read this from several Native American sources. So in essence, the buses, and other references to 20th century life, are symbols of progress which has left many Native Americans behind.


Les