Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Mother
I think while reading this I let my personally opinions get in the way. I reread it a couple of times trying to see where i could connect with her but I never did. I felt that she thought this was the only option she had but I just dont think its acceptable especially more than once. I kept feeling reading this over and over that she was making an excuse for what she did, in being selfish and trying to make HERself feel better. Yea, it does take two to tango and I don't know all the ends and outs but I feel that something could have been done than keep getting pregnant and keep aborting the baby. At least throughout the poem she does show remorse for all the good and bad things she wont be able to experience with the babies life but I always feel that life is better than death. I couldnt help but be judgemental all throughout reading this. I did not feel sorry for her when she was descrbing everything she would miss out on during the childs life. Overall I wish I didnt let my opinion get in the way to better understand the writers reasoning but for now I couldnt help it.
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I really enjoyed “The Mother.” It has been the most meaningful poem by far. I also enjoyed how Brooks showed all of her emotions throughout the poem. I felt like I could console her of her feelings because I understood the poem so well. I feel sympathy for Brooks, because I assume she is writing this because she is aching and upset about her abortion(s).
ReplyDeleteI wish we (as today’s society) could put “The Mother” up in abortion clinics around the world. I am against abortion but that is just my opinion. I did not realize how far back through the years that abortion was apparent. I realized it in my chapter as well as Ericka’s. No, abortion was not the “it” thing during the Great Depression, but I understand why women did it then, I do not now.
After I read Erick’s comment, I started thinking why would the women continue to do have sex and keep having abortions. I am sure the women thought about that but I am sure they knew better. Having sex with their wives during the Great Depression was probably the only thing that kept the men happy at home.
Her tone throughout the poem was regretting what she has been doing to the babies. I do not think she will ever be happy with what she did, she never finds anything to make it okay, even though throughout the poem is trying. The poem has been my favorite by far. The way Brooks wrote this it makes me feel sympathy for her.
Reading Rachel and Eric's comments helped me look at this poem in a different way. As Eric said, I am guilty of allowing my personal opinion get in the way with completely identyfying or connecting with this poem on a deeper level. Brooks obviously thought she had no other choice but to have an abortion, but if she knew (after doing it over and over again)that having abortions were going to make her feel the way this poem illustrates her to feel then why would she keep doing it?.... ON THE OTHER HAND, like Rachel said, during the Great Depression, women truly didn't have any control over what men did to them, therefore if the women in that day in time could not afford, or even bring up a child then the only option was killing that baby so the baby wouldn''t have to endure the pain of struggling their whole life. I am against abortion also, but I can reason with it a little more during the Great Depression than I can in modern times, as Rachel also said.
ReplyDeleteMy own personal interpretation of this poem was that it was the narrator's reasoning with herself while trying to seek out the pros and cons, as we all do in almost every situation. This was obviously her way of dealing with the pain she was sure to have as a mother. The first stanza was her bringing everything to the table, second stanza was her "In between stage"... in other words, the grey moment when you don't really know what just happened, when the world all the sudden stops and you figure out that you just made a mistake. The third stanza is her dealing with the abortions that she has had, trying to cope and move on with life. I did see a lot of contradictions in this poem, such as "deliberate, and deliberatness".. talking about how she didn't mean to but she had to kill her baby. Also the word choice Brooks used was strange, but interesting. I feel like she could have used stronger language in some parts of this poem, seeing how she obviously felt very passionate about this particular theme of abortion.
I also let my personal feelings get in the way, and I think that being pregnant might have skewed my vision of the poem. The first time that I read the poem I was upset and thinking that I could never do that to my child.
ReplyDeleteThen I reread and tried to interpret the poem without my outside influence. I then felt that the speaker felt indifferent about the whole situation. Maybe not indifferent, but at least torn. She was sad on what the kids missed out on, but glad that she would never have to worry about feeding them and beating them etc...
Overall once I got passed my own reservations I enjoyed the poem.
Jenni, today, when we were dicussing this poem in class, I could not help but wonder what you felt while reading this poem. I think it is so interesting that at first you were absolutely appalled by the speaker’s seemingly ambivalent feelings towards her past abortion(s), and then were able to look past your own situation (although I know situation is not the right word to describe the beauty of pregnancy) and enjoy the poem for what it was. That is awesome to me because although I could look past my own views on abortion to read and understand the point that it seems Brooks’ was making, I could not allow myself to see past them enough to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteMultiple times, lines 18 and 21, Brooks’ says, “If I”; “If I stole your births and your names,” and “If I poisoned the beginnings of your breaths.” This, to me, indicates little remorse for her actions. I am astonished at a woman who turns from the responsibility of her actions. Not only do I feel strongly about the wrongness of abortion in itself, I am appalled by cowardice outlook that the speaker has concerning her actions. She DID steal their births and she not only poisoned their first breaths but also robbed them of the air altogether.
I have to continually remind myself that this poem was not only written in a time much different then today but this woman and other women are in situations that I will never experience. I know I feel strongly about abortion, but how can I feel any less passionate about life? This poem, to me, seems to excuse the heaviness of such a decision, a decision to end life before it has a chance to begin.
I have to say that this poem is less controversial to me than everyone else. Since I am pro choice I was hesitant to respond at first. Being a woman, I suppose its looked down upon to utilize your right to choose if you want to bring a life into this world or not. This is quite ironic because women are the ones who pushed for legal abortion rights, but they are the ones who seem to be the most critical. I believe that Brooks did an exceptional job of describing the reality of what it must be like to make such a difficult decision. The mother is so torn between regret and acceptance that its probably internally tearing her apart. I’m sure that there are a lot of women who have this same struggle and what is worse is that it probably never goes away. The “Mother” even tries to convince herself (or maybe others) that the baby was never “made”. That’s interesting because that’s the whole argument behind legal abortion rights today; whether or not we’re killing a human being. Of course in the 1930’s this could not be proven scientifically, so it’s interesting to me that Brooks put that sort of thought concept in the poem. Overall I really liked reading “The Mother” because, although it’s a controversial topic, a lot of women who have abortions have immense emotional pain and regret. And since most people won’t usually talk about the shame and regret they feel, this poem speaks for them.
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