I googled this word and it’s a small cactus that derived from México. It is used for medicinal purposes & is deemed as an illegal and addictive substances in the United States. It’s classified as a hallucinogen.

I’m noticing there are coincidental references to other work we’ve read. The Dynamo and the Virgin, double consciousness, the yellow wallpaper, Harlem Renaissance, collage + The Wasteland.

This phrase I found really grasping. Animalistic for a lot of people meaning some type of unordinary otherness or “crazy”, but intertwining that soup perhaps signifying a constant mixture or concoction of sorts. This piece reads like like broken fragments creating one picture.

This line really stood out to me with Ginsberg’s imagery. I gave white gymnasiums double meaning with white individuals or simply white sterilized looking gymnasiums. The symbolism of skeletons to me acknowledges regardless of who we are, we are all skeletons within.

For me, I similarly thought of the Dynamo and the Virgin.

This poem to me reads as a precautionary statement for black women perhaps in how they are treated in society and also by men.

I think these lines are very beautiful in particular. They show a longing to connect and immerse oneself with others. A yearning to bound each other to become one.

This line made me think of the idea when someone is dressed or looks different how people classify them as "crazy". In this scenario, this person is dancing and enjoying themselves, therefore because they are different they are othered.

I read this line in two ways. 1, as potential love interests the speaker had and the desire to be freed from enslavement. 2, potentially recognizing working for white men during these times.

I feel like this line puts forth their faith and that they’re completing this sewing task because this is where they’re meant to be at this point in time.

This poem really reflects upon the after math and effects of slavery. The speaker dreams about achieving their goals and wanting to be able to escape those flashbacks and thoughts they have about their past. They find sewing to be a useless task as they wish to pursue other goals.

This poem not only discusses the importance of heritage, but the importance of representation. I think society for so long has shielded away from accurately representing different cultures. This poem is really a piece that for me really seems as though Bennett desires that representation of her heritage.

This poem focuses around slavery and the abusive, isolated and horrific conditions slaves faced. This cry of a soul to me represented someone yearning for liberty and to be broken free from slavery. This poem also discusses that misery and the yearning for better times and being immersed within jazz music.

Bennett really brings up the conversations of embracing oneself. She acknowledges the different types of people and what each individual can immerse themselves into. I think she really brings the topic of self identity and immersion to the surface.

This line describes segregation and the strict limitations that were set in place. So many fought for the Black community and created boycotts during this time. Not ony does it refer to this. but also describes that no matter what one might be told, they cannot control the new generation of strong black men.

This line resembles white people taking credit for the creation and construction that slaves built. Slaves suffered from horrifc mistreatment and after they finish completing their work, white people take advantage of those creations and they receive the acknowledgment.

I read this line in two ways. It describes the unfair working conditions and jobs women were placed in. The unequal salary projected between women and men. This idea of happiness is them having better paying jobs and not being subjected to "womens desginated jobs". Not only this, it can also describe African American men being forced into these jobs as well.

This I, Too, Sing America could be the representation of Jazz.

At the end of the poem we see the switch of I, Too am America could be him representing both Jazz and America.

In terms of Jazz, the imagery of this musician playing with these ivory keys. Hughes personifies the piano as a way to describe the sadness oozing from the instruments/musician.

These lines I found the speaker to be taking the power back. Instead of allowing themself and their family to allow them to feel ashamed, they take this stand against that and embrace themself. That although they're perceived by others as different, they still in fact represent America.

Hughes uses the mountain to emphasize the struggles present among Black Americans in society. The symbolism of standing on top of the mountain represents embracing oneself and acknowledging one’s freedom. They don’t let the mountain stop them from living their life, they stand on top of it which I found to be very powerful.

Hughes describes the image that Black artists must uphold in society and within their art. It shows the struggles they face in order to be heard. They must say and do all the "right things" in order to be granted respect from White people and even by doing so, they are continously misunderstood. In this idea if they overstep, then they'll have lost everything. Black artists who fought to represent themselves and be granted recognition, also fight to represent their community as a whole.

I think this line is incredibly powerful, reason being because artists should be allowed to express themselves without fear of rejection from others, especially POC.

This line of Americanizing oneself in order to fit in reminds me a lot of ancestral history. That when POC come to the United States, they must adapt to American values and leave a lot of their cultural traditions in order to be socially accepted. However, even by Americanizing oneself, people are still subjected to racism, criticism, etc. They are not granted a voice, they are forced to accept the rules of American society.

The idea that even to be understood by others would not change anything. By trying to be understood, it still allows possibilities of being criticized.

This idea that due to the mass amount of racism and injustice inflicted upon Black Americans, they are at war with themselves internally perhaps. They can be questioning their character due to the invasive and dehumanizing voices of others.

This line to me definitely reminded me of Walt Kuhn's Morning painting due to the description of golden fields. I imagine that most farmworkers due their jobs early in the morning to give animals time to graze as well as avoiding the afternoon heat. The sun in this poem is a definite reflection of this golden hour as well as them being immersed in nature.

Les Poseuses by George Seurat's painting reminded me of these few lines due to a woman's vulnerability in consenting to have their portrait painted in such a raw state where they will be looked and objectified by the eyes of men.

This poem gives off the impression that love is not your entirety as society can make it seem. It doesn't fufill the same necessities that blood flow and your organs do in order for you to live. Perhaps this idea of "man making friends with death" could be having or falling in love with multiple lovers. The speaker could potentially have committment issues or not wanting to be tied down. This understanding of being "pinned down by pain and moaning for release or nagged by wanting past resolution's power" a longing to regain consciousness once again.

This line I found to be really beautiful with its imagery and symbolism of the rose's armour. This thorn is this representation of protection for the rose as it can be deemed as the "flower of love" and one of the most desirable. I had flower picking in mind in ridding a flower from its flower bed and yanking it from its natural state for one's own pleasure. So this thorn's defense mechanism to avoid this is their thorns.

The man has a large sense of pride and willingness to be strong and conceited that even after he has moved onto the afterlife, the perfection of this Heaven can't convince him to set his personal ideas of victories aside as it will taint his ego.

This reminds me of the idea of people who enjoy popularity and fame in small towns/schools especially, that once you graduate and/or leave, everyone forgets about you and you have lost that small town identity.

This connottation of spiders usually comes with eerie and fearful baggage perhaps, but I feel as though once th enarrator views the inttricacy of this spider about to devour a moth, they question the dark patterns of the spider alone and perhaps the intricacy of its web.

Also, only the narrator is taking notice of this spider as they're going about their regular day routine. We never catch sight of the spider paying any attention to the narrator watching. This could also represent a presence of consciousness

This metaphoric wall to me is a representation of this division point in society in how we associate with each other yet we can still have this wall as a separation barrier. This idea that "good fences make good neighbors!" kind of signifies this perspective of keeping to ourselves and sticking to our own personal ground. This brings me to the discussion of the Border wall and the vast amount of division that drives between immigrants striving to enter into the U.S. These bordelands signifying a potential of unity that is shut down by a division line.

These two lines made me think of The Wizard of Oz with the yellow brick road allusion and how following this designated path ended up with the ultimate result. However, similar with the poem it gives variety in not having those guides but having to make the proper choice for oneself in potentially recieving different outcomes.

In another Poe reference, this symbolism of the bird reminded me of The Raven.

This presence of the dead to me alluded to The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe to me.

I really loved this line, the symbolism that Masters uses as Homer and Walt Whitman were such prolific writers and this idea that they're roaring in the pines I found to be beautiful. Tying this back into the 4th line "But the pine tree makes a symphony thereof". Homer and Whitman's beauty resonates as a pinnacle of strength in these pines as they're being recognzied for their work.

This to me reminded me of Adams putting so much trust into his mentors with St Gauden’s & Langley but ultimately not obtaining any information or help throughout the process. They end up not having any answers.

This reminded me of Adams’ the Dynamo & the Virgin similarly with the presence of math in learning about The Great Exposition & also the idea of power repeated throughout the text. This wallpaper as an inanimate object withholds a large sense of power within this text. Perhaps the wallpaper could be in similarity to the virgin as a symbolic figure.

This text to me reads as a stream of consciousness as she is describing her surroundings. Similar in relation to Du Bois’ idea of double consciousness.

This reminded me of Adams' quote: "Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accmulates in the form of inert facts" (Adams,1900).

These doors of opportunity to me symbolize those forces mentioned in Adams work. Du Bois emphasizes a crisis present in Black Americans refraining from conforming into a more Americanized individual. They want to enact this change, but are fearful of suffering the consequences of opportunity and backlash from society.

Du Bois' first mention of the idea of double consciousness in relation to our discussion on Tuesday. This outsider looking in type of perpective/viewing oneself in the 3rd person.

Could this be the idea that sex portrayed in American society is simply used to shame, profit or portray women as accessible? Whereas in foreign countries, art, culture women are viewed as powerful beings.

This strong symbolization of power. The Virgin is described as being desirable to the eyes of man. This undeniable force is taken the form of a woman in this scenario.

This is the first of many repetitions of tthe idea of force throughout the text. It is represented in the usage of power, science, arithmetic, gender roles, society, art, religion and more.

The Lion continues to grow throughout the course of the poem in all different scenarios. As the Lion is fed and is fully grown it finally arrives, whether it could be literally or symbolically within the people throughout the poem.

Children inheriting this lion as a symbol of strength Lions represent acts of courage and leadership. This could potentially be searching their inner lion within themselves.

Perhaps this resembles a dead/cut down tree as it tries to grow from its leftover stump.I envision mother's rebirthing themselves from theses tree stumps. Similar to the quote "the rose that grew from concrete".