"Woman Work"

Woman Work
by Maya Angelou

I've got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The floor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
I've got shirts to press
The tots to dress
The can to be cut
I gotta clean up this hut
Then see about the sick
And the cotton to pick.

Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again.

Storm, blow me from here
With your fiercest wind
Let me float across the sky
'Til I can rest again.

Fall gently, snowflakes
Cover me with white
Cold icy kisses and
Let me rest tonight.

Sun, rain, curving sky
Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone
Star shine, moon glow
You're all that I can call my own.     

Poems are considered one of the most important means of conveying one's opinions, thoughts, and desires. Therefore, the poem "Woman Work" by Maya Angelou addresses the narrator's inner desires and thoughts. Obviously, this poem is narrated by a woman who is most likely a housewife around the 1950s or 1960s. The narrator is constantly busy since she’s “got the children to tend/ the clothes to mend/ the floor to mop/ the food to shop” (Lines 1-4). As a result of the arduous workload, she often feels trapped in a metaphorical prison she cannot escape. Therefore, she finds nature as her sanctuary because she can be true to herself and feel accepted. For instance, the narrator states “Shine on me, sunshine” which reflects her desire to be appreciated and looked at (15). Therefore, she asks the sun to shine on her so she can feel better about herself. Next, the narrator says “Rain on me, rain”. The word “rain” connotes cleansing and baptism which can be related to the narrator (16). The narrator wishes to be cleansed of the mental and physical exhaustion she had to endure. It can also be interpreted that she wishes to cleanse her identity as a slave. She states that she has “cotton to pick” which alludes to slavery in the United States (14). During the period of slavery, many African-American slaves were forced to work in cotton plantations. Nevertheless, the narrator clearly desires to be treated equally so she turns to nature for freedom and equality. Furthermore, the narrator goes on to describe nature as her sanctuary. For example, she goes on to say “Storm, blow me from here/With the fiercest wind/Let me float across the sky” (19-21). The image of the woman floating across the sky symbolizes her pursuit of freedom and peace. The sky is a place of silence and infinite height so the narrator wishes to reach the sky. By floating in the sky, she will find peace and feel that she is free to do whatever she wants. The sky is a place without limits which the narrator desperately craves for. Next, the woman states “Fall gently, snowflakes/ Cover me with white/ Cold icy kisses and/ Let me rest tonight” (23-26). Snow is usually associated with the color white which connotes purity and innocence. For that reason, the narrator wishes to be kissed by gentle snowflakes to discover her purity and innocence. Also, she can be attempting to get back her purity and innocence that she lost through marriage. Lastly, the narrator sadly declares “Sun, rain, curving sky /Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone/Star shine, moon glow/You're all that I can call my own” (27-30). Her revelation further reinforces the point that nature is her sanctuary. It is also sad that she can call nature as her own because it hints that she has no power and opinion regarding her life. I predict that the narrator is an African- American housewife who struggles with her identity and inner desires for freedom.

Is Hamlet a Parasite to Women?

Spoiler alert: Do not read this if you haven’t finished the play.                                                                                 

If you have read the play Hamlet, you will notice that the women around Hamlet become tragic figures. For instance, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, and Hamlet’s lover, Ophelia, all face tragic deaths. Therefore, I am here to analyze if Hamlet symbolizes a parasite to women. I will first focus on Gertrude who is considered to be one of the most significant people in Hamlet’s life. Gertrude is described my Hamlet as a “beast” who “post[ed] / with such dexterity to incestuous sheets” (11). Hamlet plays a moral judge who criticizes his mother with extreme words. His sharp and caustic thoughts toward women made me ponder if Hamlet served as a parasite to his mother. For instance, he verbally attacks his mother by saying “you question with a wicked tongue” which conveys his antagonistic feelings for her (72). His harsh words hurt her emotional state so much that she exclaims “O, speak to me no more./ These words like daggers enter in my ears” (75). Hamlet almost seems to be psychologically killing his mother through these painful words. Yet, one must argue that Gertrude’s death is the strongest evidence to support that Hamlet is a parasite to women. Gertrude dies after drinking the poisoned drink that was intended for Hamlet during the bloody fight. She states to Hamlet before sipping the poisoned drink, “Here’s to thy health” (118). The fact that the drink was intended for Hamlet indicates the harmful effect he has on his closed ones specifically women. Moreover, it is thought-provoking that the queen is killed by drinking poison. When she consumed the poison, the inside of her body started to degrade and destroy itself. Another individual deeply impacted by Hamlet’s parasitical nature is Ophelia. Ophelia is the lover of Hamlet who is spurned and abandoned by him. Hamlet says hateful and painful words to her during their break-up scene. For instance, he says “I loved you not” and calls her a “jig”, “amble”, and “lisp” (55). As a result of Hamlet’s cruel speech, Ophelia dejectedly declares “O, woe is me” (56). She is further tortured and wounded by Hamlet when she learns that he has killed her father, Polonius. Therefore, she goes mad. During her mad state, she sings several songs on how Hamlet betrayed her. For instance, she sings “Before you tumbled me,/ You promised me to wed” which refers to Hamlet’s lie that he would marry her (88). Also, Ophelia constantly carries flowers which are symbolic of her mental state. She carries daisies and violets which respectively represent unhappy love and faithfulness. Obviously, these particular flowers connect to Hamlet reiterating the point that he has destroyed her life. Like Gertrude, Ophelia faces a tragic end when she drowns. It is uncertain whether she kills herself or had an accident near the “glassy stream” (100). Nevertheless, Ophelia loses her life which was full of innocence, purity, and love. It can be said that Hamlet took away her precious life supporting the point that he is a parasite to women. Even though I’m basically criticizing Hamlet here, I do know that he is extremely guilty about it. His parasitical nature might just be his fate.

Who is Hamlet?

One must ask when reading the play Hamlet, who is Hamlet? Is he the villain or the good guy? Is he a tragic hero? Is he mad? Unfortunately, the play allows each reader to develop its own opinion. Therefore, I will be speaking about my opinion regarding Hamlet’s identity. I believe that Hamlet is intellectual, cunning, condescending, morally judgmental, immature, and crazy. I know my interpretation is extremely negative but I can’t help feel that Hamlet is very misguided. I admit that he will always be the smartest guy in the room but he doesn’t need to be so pompous. For instance, he boldly makes the statement, “frailty, thy name is woman” which is directed to his own mother and other women in general (11). Who is he to judge the whole woman population? He acts like a moral judge which can also be interpreted as Hamlet thinking that he is God. God is known to be the moral judge of humanity not a Denmark prince. Also, I thought it was presumptuous for Hamlet to lecture on the players regarding acting. He states that certain players “imitated humanity so abominably” which is pretty ironic (58). Hamlet is the one who is on the mission of acting crazy. In other words, he is like an actor too because he conceals his true self. Hamlet is lying to himself and eventually becomes consumed by this act. Apparently, he is pretending to be “mad” but I actually think that he is legitimately mad. For instance, he makes this sinister statement, “his soul may be as damn’d and black” which is about his decision to damn Claudius into hell (71). His plan to kill the King at a moment of vulnerability seems sinister and cruel. Moreover, he seems mad when he ominously states “O, from this time forth,/ My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth” (86). He is willing to become violent to fulfill his supposed destiny. (Killing Polonius was not part of the revenge plan he had.) Lastly, I think that Hamlet is immature and stubborn. He was so rude and callous during the play at Act III. He relentlessly insulted Ophelia by making vulgar statements that obviously hurt her deeply. (We must remember that they had just recently broken up.) Hamlet seems to take advantage of their breakup to torture Ophelia. He was probably upset with Ophelia because she was not “honest” and “fair” to him (54). Like a child, he insults Ophelia by making these statements that allude to their past relationship. I just cannot bring myself to respect Hamlet because he is inconsiderate and impolite. After he learns of his father’s murder, he becomes so bitter, emotionally driven, and crazy. What if the ghost of Hamlet’s father was actually the devil? The ghost drove him to take extreme measures which might damn him to hell. Could Hamlet have been saved if the ghost had not appeared? Regardless of my opinion of Hamlet, I do believe that he has the right to avenge his father’s death but I would recommend a revenge employing the justice system.

Dr. Blesdoe is a Hypocrite!

As I began reading Invisible Man, I quickly noticed a certain character, Dr. Blesdoe. Dr. Blesdoe is the president of the university that the narrator attends and is a greatly respected individual in this society. In the beginning, the narrator views Dr. Blesdoe as a role model he aspires to become. He even states that Dr. Blesdoe “was the example of everything I hoped to be: Influential with wealthy men all over the country, consulted in matters concerning the race; a leader of the people; the possessor of not one, but two Cadillacs, a good salary and a soft, good-looking and creamy complexioned wife” (101). In my opinion, Dr. Blesdoe seems a bit superficial probably due to his possessions and immense power. As I read more of the novel, I realized the true nature of Dr. Blesdoe. Dr. Blesdoe is a hypocrite! He is a conniving, selfish, and ambitious individual who will take extreme measures to maintain his status and power. We get a first glimpse of Dr. Blesdoe’s true nature when he learns that the narrator took Mr. Norton to the slave- quarter section. Dr. Blesdoe gets extremely angered by this fact that he passionately exclaims to the narrator, “Haven’t you the sense God gave a dog? We take these white folks where we want them to go, we show them what we want them to see.” (102). His revelation reveals his superficial and insincere character. He is basically admitting that he is acting to be someone else in order to get what he wants. He even has this ability to put on a mask to conceal his inner emotions. He acts as a wise leader of the African- American race when in reality he is not.  Therefore, he is a hypocrite. He is secretly a manipulative person which the narrator catches on. For example, the narrator states that Dr. Blesdoe “demanded that everyone attend” these chapel meetings which focused on inciting hope for the college students (115). It is later inferred that Dr. Blesdoe forces this activity on his students to appear as an individual who believes in them. In reality, Dr. Blesdoe manipulates this meeting in order to prove to the white leaders that he is a powerful and intelligent man. He doesn’t care about the students. He even says, “I’ll have every Negro in the country hanging on tree limbs by morning if it means staying where I am” (141).  What kind of person says these kinds of horrible things? Can you imagine what the narrator must feel when his role model bluntly says this to him? I greatly dislike Dr. Blesdoe because he is a liar who even lies to himself. He decides to ignore the world around him in order to advance himself in the power hierarchy. He has no intention of helping the African- American students because apparently he is “the king down here” who cannot be stopped (141). He seriously needs to get over himself. I hope Dr. Blesdoe gets what he deserves.