Joy Harjo Analysis

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Reading Joy Harjo's poem was a very emotional experience for me. To me, it was about a woman who was trying to build a life for herself, but it was falling flat. Her dreams were not coming true, and she had come to a point where she had to decide whether to kill herself and end her misery, or pull herself up and begin again, continue living through her shattered expectations. Without getting into personal details, this poem pierced me through the heart. The ambiguous ending drives the point home that there's always a choice. There are always people who want to bring you down, but there are also always people who would support you. The choice lies in the hands of the woman who is dangling.

The interview was interesting, to a lesser degree.

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