Kelly Kraft
Understanding Literature
Blog 12.3
For my last event for literature class I attended the Non-Profit and Community Service Fair at Loyola. I originally wasn’t planning on attending this event. I pretty much have a plan for my life after college, I know I want to continue my education and become a teacher. I thought my last event would entitle going to see a play or attending another sponsored talk, two things I very much enjoy doing. The reason I attended the fair was because of an email that arrived two days before the Service fair. It was from my old social justice teacher Mrs. Curran. She was one of those teachers that really made an impact on you, that make you see things in a new light. Mrs. Curran’s classes became one of those classes where you go home and don’t mind doing the homework. Mrs. Curran was a Social Justice teacher and she believed in service and that all people deserve dignity. When she stated that in our classroom I truly believed it, she never went back on her word. First and fore most that’s what she wanted in the world. Everyone should have dignity and understand that service is a wonderful thing if we do it for the right reasons. Mrs. Curran left the year my class was over to teach at a non-profit school. We kept in touch even though very little; she was very busy. In her last email two days before the community service fair, she sounded excited. She said she would be representing her organization, and if I could I should come see her. This is how my event became the service fair. I’m glad it did.
I found my way into Mcquire hall and swiped my evergreen card. I thought about the service I have done, and at that time I didn’t think of Shakespeare and his play ‘Twelfth Night or, what you will’ but now as I do I see similarity. Sometimes mistaken identity can lead us to act upon and do some really outlandish things. In my social justice class we had to form small groups (4 people in each group) and participate in service. Mrs. Curran took me and 4 other people down to Viva House. Viva House is a soup kitchen, social activities house, and home for some. When I first arrived at Viva House I wasn’t relaxed and I wasn’t myself. The people I was serving made me nervous. The one thing that helped me was the list Mrs. Curran had made us write I reflected back on that list and laughed one thing I had written was; I expected ‘their’ behavior to be criminal. I felt a little better, suddenly I was a little more myself. People were so welcoming and loving. Maybe Shakespeare is right love makes us do crazy things like care and put people in front of ourselves. In today’s society that sometimes seems so random but it’s all around us; at Viva house it was a given.
Mrs. Curran now works for Bon Secours sharing the mission of healing, liberation, compassion, and all around Justice. Mrs. Curran is a teacher in inner Baltimore city. She says it’s a lot different than teaching at a Catholic school in Towson, Maryland but she really is enjoying it. There are so many things I want to thank Mrs. Curran for. One is for helping me realize who I was and what I believe in. Mrs. Curran never pushed her ideas on anyone she was always open. Instead though she just smiles at me and asks me about life and my studies. I wish one day I would learn to see dignity in all like her. I wonder about all those people in the community service fair living their life for service. When I was in high school I was taught a valuable lessons service must be done for the right reason.

Three observations in literature

"Mindful" by Mary Oliver
The structure in the this poem helps to illustrate the theme that we must question of world, and that the most simple things can bring us delight and happiness.

"Snapping Beans" by Lisa Parke
A college student is shucking beans with her grandma, and it appears that nothing needs to be said about the love and comfort that they share with each other.

"Thank You, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes
The benevolence of society comes into light, and in this short story we learn that people share in giving to each other to brighten each others lives.

Sorry guys, for some reason my post did not go up last night

Langston Hughes "Thank You, M'am"
Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones uses the power of kindness to make a difference in a boy's life and to teach a lesson that anything is possible if you put the effort in.

Lisa Parker, “Snapping Beans”
Lisa Parker portrays how essential it is to have someone to share your feelings with in life, no matter how many problems you have.

Mary Oliver, “Mindful”
Mary Oliver teaches the lesson to not take everyday things for granted, while at the same time learning valuable lessons from the thing you experience all the time.

 In Langston Hughes's "Thank You, Ma'am," a Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones teaches that through respect and kindness of one another, we can bring change to community and its issues.

"Mindful," by Mary Oliver, embraces the idea that we should find beauty in the simple joys of life and through the natural world, rather than one of materialism.

"Snapping Beans," by Lisa Parker, teaches that hiding the truth from people we love hurts us more than just letting it out.

Langston Hughes "Thank You, M'am"
Life can surprise you even in your most darkest moment and a little kindheartedness can teach you something about the strangers who surround you.

Mary Oliver "Mindful"
The light and beauty of nature can teach a person how to appreciate their everyday world more.

Lisa Parker "Snapping Beans"
Hiding your true feelings and experiences about a new life from a loved one can hurt you both.

Hughes. Oliver. Parker.

Thank You Ma'am
Never underestimate the kindness of strangers, because humanity can be surprisingly generous.

Mindful
When it comes down to it, the simple things in life are the ones that are filled with the most beauty and joy.

Snapping Beans
Secrets are hard to keep inside, but sometimes even harder to hide from the ones we love.

Hughes, Oliver, and Parker

Lisa Parker`s poem, "Snapping Beans," illustrates the challenge that can arise within a person who is confronted with balancing a newly accepted way of life with their conflicting, traditional views.

Mary Oliver`s poem, "Mindful," describes a world that is here for our pure enjoyment and teaches that the best forms of this enjoyment comes from the most basic, ordinary things that the world has to offer.


Langston Hughes` short story, "Thank You, M`am," teaches that a positive attitude towards everything in life, particularly towards those who do you wrong, is the best way to address and change the problems of the world.