When I first saw the title for this book, I thought to myself, "What? This is a book of poetry about geography?" I thought it sounded strange, but still interesting. When I saw the epigraph and ensuing geography lesson, I thought the poetry was geared toward a younger audience. Then I opened my copy and saw numerous notes scribbled in throughout the pages. From the notes I concluded that the poetry was probably not specifically for elementary school students (unlike the lesson at the beginning of the book). So, why title it Geography III? It might be because location and direction are commonly mentioned in her poetry.
Of the five poems we studied, there was mention of something geographic in each of them. The first poem, “In the Waiting Room,” mentioned the writer’s experience of reading a National Geographic magazine. Volcanoes and Worchester, Massachusetts were also mentioned. In “Crusoe in England,” volcano is again mentioned and repeated throughout the poem. In “The Moose,” Bishop describes the scenery visible to bus riders as they journey west by islands, houses, marshes, et cetera. Then there is “Poem,” which describes a painting of a landscape full of houses, trees, churches, plants, and animals. Finally, in “One Art” Bishop mentions cities, rivers, and continents. So, there is the obvious inclusion of geography in each of her poems, but does something that simple really explain the title? Maybe, but what really helped me understand the title was the lesson at the beginning of the book.
The most important question provided in the front of the book is: “What is geography?” Answer: “A description of the earth’s surface.” With this information, along with the geographical reference in each poem, I glean that Bishop is saying how important her surroundings (the earth) are to her. I think each poem can be loosely connected to some significant lesson—a “first lesson”—she learned by observing her surroundings. It is obvious that she spent a great deal of time studying her surroundings, as evidenced by the descriptions in her poems.
Even though this poetry is fairly easy to read, it was not enjoyable for me at first. I have never loved poetry, but I do not hate it by any means either. I have just never found pleasure reading poetry like I have prose. It was my idea that the more I read poetry, the more likely I would be to enjoy it because of my increased awareness and understanding of it. I am happy to say now that, after delving into Elizabeth Bishop’s work, it is growing on me.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
From the Frat House to the Real Estate Office
In Glengarry Glen Ross, David Mamet exposes us to a male-dominated world of immature, manipulative, salesmen whose rapacity rivals that of wolves. The demands placed on the men drive them to do whatever is necessary to succeed. At the beginning of the play, the sales maxim “always be closing” is introduced. These three words echo constantly in the minds of the characters and they encapsulate the mindset required—at least in their heads—to be successful salesmen.
The first thing that struck me about this play was the language. With vocabularies that comprise mostly curse words, Shelley Levene, John Williamson, Dave Moss, and Richard Roma set the tone for a play with a lot of anger and contempt in it. I was initially turned off by the obscenities when I read them, but once I saw actors utter them in a movie, I was much more accepting. The other aspect of language in this play is its use as a means to an end. The agents manipulate their words in a way that is always advantageous to their goal. Although all the men in the office possess this ability to varying degrees, Roma utilizes chicanery better than any of his colleagues (this is only my opinion, and it may be biased because of Al Pacino’s omnipresent dominance on screen). The scene in which Roma talks to James Lingk regarding their real estate deal illustrates his ability to adapt to a situation and always speak when it is beneficial to him. The oral deception employed by these men is, in actuality, a sign of inner weakness though.
What makes these men weak? The reasons are different for each of them based on individual circumstances, but for all of them to work in sales where they are often forced to lie so they can ‘close the deal, ‘they surely all have inner weaknesses. The lack of intellectual development limits their career options. Some of them are in denial about their weaknesses—particularly Levene who often praises his past success to shift focus from his present-day slump. Moss cites Williamson’s distribution of bad leads for “deadbeats” as the reason for his declining sales. The only misfit salesman in the office is Aaronow who does not possess the cut-throat sales ability that the others do. Interestingly enough, Aaronow’s silence keeps him out of trouble when his fellow agents incriminate themselves because of their big mouths. Williamson ruins Roma’s deal with Lingk when he reveals that the Lingk’s check was already cashed. Levene brags about his sale to the Nybourgs, which rouses suspicion out of Williamson and eventually leads to Levene’s interrogation with the police. Could there be something else besides deceptive language that affected these men?
One aspect of the backgrounds of these men that has not been mentioned is the role of women in their lives. Throughout the play, women are almost non-existent to the shallow observer. The presence or absence of women in the story is not something I ruminated much until it was discussed in class. The idea that women play a larger role in this play than meets the eye is very interesting to me. The effect Mrs. Lingk has on her husband is one that reduces him to a self-proclaimed weak man. Levene’s daughter, who lies sick in a hospital bed, may be the person who pushes him to the point of desperation when he steals the ‘good leads.’ It is safe to say that women do affect some of the happenings and the men’s attitudes in the play—even though there are no women who are main characters. Since Mamet has been called “anti-feminist at best and misogynist at worst” however, I doubt he meant for readers and audiences to interpret the role of women in this play as central.
I think one of the most interesting interpretations of this play is one that views it as a microcosm of American capitalism. Certain characteristics of the salesmen, such as greed, risk, and duplicity, are all traits that American business men and women have in our society. The intense competition of the real estate office mirrors the ferocity found in many areas of business all over the United States. On one hand, competition is good for consumers because it allows for competitive pricing and also motivates business people to work harder to satisfy their customers. On the other hand, people get greedy and act unethically or immorally attempting to stay ahead of the competition. It is a tough world out there and the idea that fraternity brothers idolize men who have a misguided moral compass, like those in Glengarry Ross, bothers me.
The first thing that struck me about this play was the language. With vocabularies that comprise mostly curse words, Shelley Levene, John Williamson, Dave Moss, and Richard Roma set the tone for a play with a lot of anger and contempt in it. I was initially turned off by the obscenities when I read them, but once I saw actors utter them in a movie, I was much more accepting. The other aspect of language in this play is its use as a means to an end. The agents manipulate their words in a way that is always advantageous to their goal. Although all the men in the office possess this ability to varying degrees, Roma utilizes chicanery better than any of his colleagues (this is only my opinion, and it may be biased because of Al Pacino’s omnipresent dominance on screen). The scene in which Roma talks to James Lingk regarding their real estate deal illustrates his ability to adapt to a situation and always speak when it is beneficial to him. The oral deception employed by these men is, in actuality, a sign of inner weakness though.
What makes these men weak? The reasons are different for each of them based on individual circumstances, but for all of them to work in sales where they are often forced to lie so they can ‘close the deal, ‘they surely all have inner weaknesses. The lack of intellectual development limits their career options. Some of them are in denial about their weaknesses—particularly Levene who often praises his past success to shift focus from his present-day slump. Moss cites Williamson’s distribution of bad leads for “deadbeats” as the reason for his declining sales. The only misfit salesman in the office is Aaronow who does not possess the cut-throat sales ability that the others do. Interestingly enough, Aaronow’s silence keeps him out of trouble when his fellow agents incriminate themselves because of their big mouths. Williamson ruins Roma’s deal with Lingk when he reveals that the Lingk’s check was already cashed. Levene brags about his sale to the Nybourgs, which rouses suspicion out of Williamson and eventually leads to Levene’s interrogation with the police. Could there be something else besides deceptive language that affected these men?
One aspect of the backgrounds of these men that has not been mentioned is the role of women in their lives. Throughout the play, women are almost non-existent to the shallow observer. The presence or absence of women in the story is not something I ruminated much until it was discussed in class. The idea that women play a larger role in this play than meets the eye is very interesting to me. The effect Mrs. Lingk has on her husband is one that reduces him to a self-proclaimed weak man. Levene’s daughter, who lies sick in a hospital bed, may be the person who pushes him to the point of desperation when he steals the ‘good leads.’ It is safe to say that women do affect some of the happenings and the men’s attitudes in the play—even though there are no women who are main characters. Since Mamet has been called “anti-feminist at best and misogynist at worst” however, I doubt he meant for readers and audiences to interpret the role of women in this play as central.
I think one of the most interesting interpretations of this play is one that views it as a microcosm of American capitalism. Certain characteristics of the salesmen, such as greed, risk, and duplicity, are all traits that American business men and women have in our society. The intense competition of the real estate office mirrors the ferocity found in many areas of business all over the United States. On one hand, competition is good for consumers because it allows for competitive pricing and also motivates business people to work harder to satisfy their customers. On the other hand, people get greedy and act unethically or immorally attempting to stay ahead of the competition. It is a tough world out there and the idea that fraternity brothers idolize men who have a misguided moral compass, like those in Glengarry Ross, bothers me.
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