Song of the Day: Don't Write Me Off - Daniel Bedingfield

URGH I LOVE THIS SONG SO, SO MUCH.

 Lyrics:

Explication on the Poem "Racist Rot" by John Bryant

In my opinion, this poem is talking about Racism, obviously, as you may already guess from the title: Racist Rot. Even from the title alone, we could already conclude that this poem would be talking about the clashes that happen in society because of Racism.

A Brief Comparison Between Faulkner's Rose for Emily and Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums

Even from a glance, the short story titled Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner and The Chrysanthemums written by John Steinbeck have many things in common. The most noticeable one is perhaps the fact that the main character of both short stories are women, and the stories revolve around how these two women live the life they have.

Song of The Day: All that You Are by Goo Goo Dolls

Lyrics:

Study Tour to Jakarta Post & Femina Magazine Workplace in 2009

On third July 2009, half of the students from the literature class were given a chance to go to Jakarta in order to visit Femina magazine and The Jakarta Post's offices in the name of study tour. This study tour was also meant as an introduction to a field job we as literature students might end up as one day.

A Review on the Textplay "Before Breakfast” written by Eugene O’Neill

The text “Before Breakfast” is a one act play written by Eugene O’Neill. What makes this short drama special is the fact that the drama consists mainly of the female lead, Mrs. Rowland, talking to and berating her husband for over twenty minutes. And throughout it all, not once does her husband ever appears on the stage (other than a avery brief glimpse the audience get of his hand). We might as well call this drama “a one character play”. And yet despite it is mainly played by one character only, the drama manages to convey all the necessary element of the usual drama, such as the setting, the plot, and the conflicts—even if we only see it from the way Mrs. Rowland sees.

Review on the Movie "Laskar Pelangi/The Rainbow Troops (2008)"

This movie is the first movie adaptation of the bookseller the trilogy – now tetralogy – Laskar Pelangi by Andrea Hirata. Directed by Riri Riza, this movie tells us about the story of Lintang and his friends, Belitung children, in order to be able to get proper education which at the time was still difficult to get – especially in such a remote area like Belitung.

Review on the Short Story "Yu Mah Yang Tidak Naik Sepeda"

The story titled Yu Mah yang Tidak Naik Sepeda (Yu Mah Who Didn't Ride a Bicycle) is about a jamu (traditional potion/medicine) seller named Yu Mah, and is told from the point of view of one of her customer. The point of view that is used is the first person point of view, and from the second before the last paragraph, it is safe to assume the speaker is a female.

A Review on the Novel Kenanga written by Oka Rusmini

Kenanga is the nama of the main character of the novel ‘Kenanga’. She is a clever, ambitious, and stubborn Balinese girl who dares to sacrifice everything for the sake of those whom she loves. To her, life is a career—which often makes people misunderstand her, including her own family. Her close-relationship with senior lecturer in the university where she teaches, for example, makes people suspicious that she would use any way in order to get her career further.

Review on the Poem "Becoming a Poet Again" by Acep Zamzam Noor

First time reading this particular poem, I was initially amused by the line ’Sedang bau aneh dari tengkuk, leher, dan ketiakmu itu/ Telah menjelmakan kata-kata juga.' The second time I read this, I was surprised because this poem seems rather erotic in my opinion – what with some sexual connotation or implications that I found.

Song of the day: One of the Brightest Stars by James Blunt

Nobody loves you 'cause you've taken a chance, 
Out on a dance to the moon, too soon. 
And they'll say told you so.

A Feminist Approach Analysis on the Short Story "Egg-Face" by Mary Yukari Waters

The story could also be read on Zoetrope site.




Feminism plays a large part in Waters' Egg-Face. This story shows that even in modern times where women emancipation is in full-swing, a woman still have an obligation to fulfill certain roles that are set up by the society. The story seems to challenge the assumption that the feminist movement to free women from their socially constructed boundary is a good thing for women. To make this point, certain literary devices are used, such as the use of vivid imagery and subtle symbolisms, and especially the subtle development of the plot. These devices show the reader just what kind of roles the society expects a woman to fulfill and the consequence that comes when the roles are failed to be fulfilled, which is a clever way to address the issue of the socially constructed role for women that women today must face everywhere. To make the point even more prominent, the reader is also showed the difference in the value of the beauty of a woman in modern and pre-modern times, and what it means to be a woman in a modern time.

Review on the Manga "Juliet's Egg"

Title : Juliet’s Egg / ジュリエットの卵
Author : Yoshino Sakumi  
Type : Manga (1-3 complete)  

Explication on the Poem "Hello, Hello Henry" by Maxine Kumine

Hello, Hello Henry
(Maxine Kumin, 1982)

My neighbor in the country, Henry Manley,
with a washpot warming on his woodstove,
with a heifer and two goats and yearly chickens,
has outlasted Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill
but something’s stirring in him in his dotage

Last fall he dug a hole and moved his privy
and a year ago in April reamed his well out.
when the country sent a truck and poles and cable,
his daddy ran the linemen off with a gunshot
and swore he’d die by oil lamp, and did.

Now you tell me that all yesterday in Boston
you set your city phone at mine, and had it ringing
inside a dead apartment for three hours
room after empty room, to keep your busy.
I hear it in my head, that ranting summons.

That must be about the time that Henry
walked up two miles, shy as a girl come calling,
to tell me he has a phone now, 264, ring two.
It rang one time last week – wrong number.
He’d be pleased if one day I would think to call him

Hello, hello, Henry? Is that you?

The Apple's Cart's King Magnus

King Magnus is the main character of a drama play titled The Apple Cart by Darryl Shawn. He was the king of the United Kingdom, or the Great Britain as people called it at the time. He wasn’t the kind of king that would only sit and enjoy the wealth of his position while merely watching his citizens idly without doing anything. He was the kind of king that always observed and cared about his people, and would always try to help them as much as he could.

He was someone who appreciated the idea of democratize and liberalism, although he didn’t partially liked the idea of England being a republic because of some reasons. One of his new elected ministers was a democrat that actually supported the idea of Britain as a republic, but they respected each other greatly and acknowledged the other’s ideals and beliefs after their first meeting.

King Magnus was very clever. When the cabinet that led by the prime minister gave him an ultimatum to stop actively voicing out his opinions to public and stop ruling the kingdom because that only made the cabinet looked bad as if they were actually not working, and asked him to be only an icon, a symbol to the kingdom, King Magnus calmly and cleverly tricked them by saying that he would retire from the king position so he could participate in the election and make his way to the parliament, thus he could freely voicing his opinion. Knowing what would happen if a former king participated in such election, the cabinet not-so-willingly cancelled their ultimatum, and once again everything went back to normal.

I would say that King Magnus was really an admirable person. He always faced every situation calmly and answered every challenge logically, and sometimes he joked as to lighten up the situation. He was also someone who could easily break the ice and he always thought every move and every step thoroughly and carefully before doing it, and he certainly wasn’t someone you want to mess with. But he still was a man that could be tempted with women, and although he did have an affair with a woman inside his palace, he still got his priorities straight, and would never sacrifice his kingdom or his dear queen for anything.

All in all, King Magnus was definitely not someone you should underestimate.

Explication on the Poem "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Richard Cory
by  Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We People on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich –yes, richer than a king-
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.


Paraphrase:
1. Every time Richard Cory went to town, People always looked at him because he was a rich man and always looked clean and slender, different from other people in town.
2. He was never show himself off and he also always polite when he talked. But he still made our heart jump every time he greeted us and he looked attractive when he walked.
3. He was a rich and an educated person, and we always wish to be him.
4. We worked, but it was never enough to buy meat and the bread that we could afford wasn’t that great either. On the other hand, Richard Cory, who had everything, just went off and killed himself.

Review on the Poem "Seperti Puisi" by Acep Zamzam Noor

Seperti Puisi
By Acep Zamzam Noor

1
Seperti puisi dulu aku mengenalmu
Dekat danau tenang, dekat rumput ilalang
Matahari menyalakan kita
Dalam kobaran rindu. Seperti puisi aku menyentuhmu
Dengan jemari embun
Seperti puisi
Aku memandikanmu dalam pagi yang menggenang

Betapa panjang jika harus kucatat dalam kalimat
Atau kunyanyikan lewat balada
Seperti puisi gairah ini kupadatkan, rindu ini
Kukentalkan. Tahun-tahun kuringkas, abda-abad kusingkat
Negeri-negeri kulebur, kekuasaan-kekuasaan kusulap
Menjadi sekadar kesunyian
Seperti dulu aku mengenalmu lewat danau tenang
Dekat rumput ilalang
Seperti puisi yang datang dan menghilang

2
Jika kukenangkan sebuah pulau, laut dan langit
Alangkah jauhnya kita:
Aku telah menemukanmu dari dunia lain
Tapi kau tak kunjung menjumpaikau di lagu-lagu
Di ayat-ayat suci, di baris-baris puisi
Padahal aku dekat sekali denganmu
Bicara pada hatimu dan menjadi pakaian tidurmu

Padahal aku sering menuntunmu ke sebuah pulau
Bercerita tentang laut dan langit biru



If we are merely talking about meaning at the first glance, then I dare say that this poem is talking about ‘Aku’ (I), ‘Kau’ (you), and how ‘Aku’ is hoping to be close to ‘Kau’, hoping for ‘Kau’ to look his way, and how his hope doesn’t seem to be realized because for the second part of the poem, he talks about how it was all in the past and that now he can no longer reach ‘Kau’.

Report on Acep Zamzam Noor’s Visit to UPI

On February 20, 2009, our University was lucky enough to be able to invite Mr. Acep Zamzam Noor, an Indonesian Poet whose poems already got international recognition, over to some kind of seminar which was held by English Department of UPI.

An Analysis of the Poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes

Harlem

By Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up,

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Harlem is the title of a poem written by Langston Hughes, a black American, that tells the readers about what could happen if one’s dream is delayed or denied. Because Hughes is a black American, and also because this poem was written around 1951, a time where racism and discrimination towards black people still existed in America, I dare say through his poem, Hughes was trying to describe to the readers about those who were denied of their dreams just because they were black people and a minority in the society full of white people, where their protests or complains were mostly unheard, and even if they were heard, they were simply ignored or dismissed.

Review on the short story "The Lesson" written by Toni Cade Bambara

The Lesson is a short story written by Toni Cade Bambara. It tries to tell us about a little girl named Sylvia, when someone tries to show her and her friend another lifestyle other than the one they have, to change their way of thinking. In this story, the author tries to critic the society by bringing up the inequality issue towards minority she found reflected in the society around her through the eyes of a black little girl.

Review on the Novel "Siti Rayati" by Moh. Sanoesi

The novel Siti Rayati by Moh. Sanoesi was originally written in Sundanese, which then translated into English by Wendy Mukherjee. According to her, this short novel is still one of the masterpieces in Sundanese literature, as stated in her introduction part of this book.