Blog post 1

A famous classical poet has said that the aim of literature is ‘to teach and to delight’. In the work ONE poet you have studied, examine some poems where both of these aims (instruction and something that pleases the reader) have been included, and show how that has been achieved.

 Literature has different definitions for everyone, just like people say: “There are a thousand Hamlets n a thousand people’s eyes.” Naomi Shihab Nye as a poet, her poetries have a clear definition for own her understanding of literature, which is “to teach and to delight.” Because the reason of her mom is American and her father is a Arab who really love his homeland, her poetries are always related to her religion and how other people view a Arab. The poetries Blood and My Father and the Fig Tree express distinct emotions. In Blood, Naomi teaches readers what a true Arab is like and what prejudice about Arab exists in the society. In My Father and the Fig Tree, Naomi shows the happy feelings of her father, which is a way to of delight.

When people hear the word fig, the first thing they think about is the succulent, sweet, juicy, and a little big bitter taste of this fruit. From the title of this poet, it already expresses a delightful emotion to readers. Because the title is My Father and the Fig Tree, Naomi’s father definitely has a special relationship with the fig. As in the first line, she makes it clear: “For other fruits, my father was indifferent.” Fig means more than a fruit, it is a symbol of Palestine, a symbol of her father’s homeland. He puts his feeling of nostalgia on this small fruit, which grows in Palestine but not in America. "See those? I wish they were figs." Naomi’s father hardly tell his wife and daughter how much he misses his homeland. Usually, he secretly tells his daughter by inserting his small wish of going back home to the stories that he tells to little Naomi. In those stories that has a Palestinian character, he says: “Once Joha was walking down the road/and he saw a fig tree/Or, he tied his camel to a fig tree and went to sleep/Or, later when they caught and arrested him,/his pockets were full of figs.” There are so many figs in the stories that makes readers think whether the father wishes himself could be Joha. After so many years passes, Naomi’s family moves to a new house that has yard, her father still rejects to plant a fig tree. Nothing can compare with the fig tree in her father’s heart, the fig that is “the largest, fattest, sweetest fig/in the world”; No fig in his yard could be “a fig straight from the earth –gift of Allah!” The firming, inspiring tone of Naomi’s father makes the poem more cheerful. In the last stanza, her father finally sees his dream fig. It is the time when Naomi moves out from her parents’ house, she received a call from her father in the middle of Dallas, Texas, where it has the same latitude as Palestine. There, his father’s dream come true: he sees “the largest, fattest, sweetest fig,” listens to the fig song, enjoying the fig that “was always his own.”

The other poem Blood is written for the 9.11 event and to everyone who has prejudice to Arab. Same as My Father and the Fig Tree, the main characters are also Naomi and her father who is a true Arab. After the 9.11 events, many people think Arabs are all radical and extremely religious. In these people’s eyes, if one Arab is terrorist, then all Arab is terrorist. However, that is not true. This poem teaches people the truth that Arab cherish life, even the life of a small fly. “A true Arab knows how to catch a fly in his hands,” Naomi starts her poem by quoting her father’s words in vivid language. He “cups” the buzzer instead of smashes it. In the very beginning, the poem teaches that all lives should be respected, either men’s lives or little insects’ lives. A true Arab also knows to respect nature, as they believe “watermelon could heal fifty ways.” A true Arab also knows things that are borrowed need to be returned, even their name need to be given back to god. When a girl comes to Naomi’s house says she wants to meet the Arab, Naomi says they don’t have one. What the girl looks for is a Arab who is an extremely religious terrorist, but that is what Naomi’s father is, it is not what a true Arab is. Then, a brutal lesson comes---“A little Palestinian dangles a truck on the front page.” Every Arab is a small fig. This poor Arab died cruelly. Naomi confused. She is not sure if she is an Arab, or is she should wave the flag of Pales. “Who calls anyone civilized? Where can the crying heart graze? What does a true Arab do now?” Naomi asks her self, as well as the readers. She uses this poem to appeal to people to face the reality and cherish all lives.

Reading poems is just only for understanding. People should not read for the sake of reading. Poem brings enjoyment, which people should learn new things and relax while reading it. The process of learning should never end, so does reading poem.