Perhaps the World Ends Here by Joy Harjo
You have read the poem a few times, taken notes on what resonates, confuses, raises questions, researched the author, and defined the words as they relate to the poem’s context. As you write your response to this portion of the assignment (step 5), let me stress to you how absolutely imperative it is that you always always always support your ideas, reflections, thoughts, and synthesis with embedded support: textual if from the written word; situational or dialogue if from film; aspects if from art. Otherwise you are submitting an opinion paper and that is not valid; it is not viable; and it is not academic.
Now that we have covered that…
Step 3: Research the symbolism of “table” and of “the table”; look in sacred texts including the Bible, mythology, folklore, legend (think King Arthur), psychology, anthropology, fables (as in Aesop), etc…and other places that are a bit more obscure i.e. The Mensa Society (mensa is Latin for ?).
Step 4: Consider the riddle from Sophocles’ play “Oedipus the King”: “What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?” It is easy enough to google the answer but I hope that you think about it first. Take the answer and align it to/with Harjo’s poem. Although I generally eschew telling you HOW to do something – you are, after all, the Captain of your own academic ship – I think that it would facilitate the process to make a two-column chart. But, however you decide to accomplish the task, make sure it is clear. Navigating canvas is scavenger hunt enough:/
Step 5: Harjo uses the table as a symbol for aspects/stages of human life. Consider Harjo’s tone, diction (word choice), syntax (sentence structure), and thesis (is it implicit or explicit?). Allegory is used to teach a moral, spiritual, or political lesson. In 200 – 225 words, explain what you think Harjo’s message might be in this poem.
Keep the definitions of allegory, edify, and didactic in mind as you analyze and connect.
Remember the two questions of analysis: What Does It Mean? (CM) and How Do I Know? (CN)
Sample Solutions
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Phasellus hendrerit. Pellentesque aliquet nibh nec urna. In nisi neque, aliquet vel, dapibus id, mattis vel, nisi. Sed pretium, ligula sollicitudin laoreet viverra, tortor libero sodales leo, eget blandit nunc tortor eu nibh. Nullam mollis. Ut justo. Suspendisse potenti.
Get sample solution
Sed egestas, ante et vulputate volutpat, eros pede semper est, vitae luctus metus libero eu augue. Morbi purus libero, faucibus adipiscing, commodo quis, gravida id, est. Sed lectus. Praesent elementum hendrerit tortor. Sed semper lorem at felis. Vestibulum volutpat, lacus a ultrices sagittis, mi neque euismod dui, eu pulvinar nunc sapien ornare nisl. Phasellus pede arcu, dapibus eu, fermentum et, dapibus sed, urna.
Morbi interdum mollis sapien. Sed ac risus. Phasellus lacinia, magna a ullamcorper laoreet, lectus arcu pulvinar risus, vitae facilisis libero dolor a purus. Sed vel lacus. Mauris nibh felis, adipiscing varius, adipiscing in, lacinia vel, tellus. Suspendisse ac urna. Etiam pellentesque mauris ut lectus. Nunc tellus ante, mattis eget, gravida vitae, ultricies ac, leo. Integer leo pede, ornare a, lacinia eu, vulputate vel, nisl.
Suspendisse mauris. Fusce accumsan mollis eros. Pellentesque a diam sit amet mi ullamcorper vehicula. Integer adipiscing risus a sem. Nullam quis massa sit amet nibh viverra malesuada. Nunc sem lacus, accumsan quis, faucibus non, congue vel, arcu. Ut scelerisque hendrerit tellus. Integer sagittis. Vivamus a mauris eget arcu gravida tristique. Nunc iaculis mi in ante. Vivamus imperdiet nibh feugiat est.
Ut convallis, sem sit amet interdum consectetuer, odio augue aliquam leo, nec dapibus tortor nibh sed augue. Integer eu magna sit amet metus fermentum posuere. Morbi sit amet nulla sed dolor elementum imperdiet. Quisque fermentum. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis xdis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Pellentesque adipiscing eros ut libero. Ut condimentum mi vel tellus. Suspendisse laoreet. Fusce ut est sed dolor gravida convallis. Morbi vitae ante. Vivamus ultrices luctus nunc. Suspendisse et dolor. Etiam dignissim. Proin malesuada adipiscing lacus. Donec metus. Curabitur gravida