Joy Harjo, born Joy Foster, lived in a relatively large family in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Joy lived with both her parents and three siblings until the age of eight, when her parents divorced due to the father's abusive drinking habit (Joy Harjo 1). Joy is the oldest of the four children in her family. Joy could often be found in her local church, writing passionate sermons that affected her peers(Joy Harjo 2). Harjo, a common Creek name. Early on in Joy Harjo’s career, the nature and native american culture never appeared in her works. As demonstrated in her poem, “Everybody Has a Heartache” Joy goes on to talk about how everyone feels down and out but everytime they fight back from it, they are happier than before, rarely mentioning nature or native american culture. Comparing “Everybody Has a Heartache” to “My House is the Red Earth” there is a stark difference in the way nature is used …show more content…
After graduating from the University of New Mexico with her bachelor's degree, Joy Harjo became more experienced in exploring her history and heritage, becoming more in touch with her ancestors (Joy Harjo). Joy even went to such lengths as to live in the wilderness for a period of time to live through what her ancestors encountered. She even sought out her Great Aunt, Lois Harjo Ball, an almost full blooded native american, for guidance (Joy Harjo). After all these reconnections to her heritage, Joy Harjo began to write using the native american and nature influences. In her poem, “Praise the Rain” Joy talks about both figuratively and literally praising the rain. She says this because rain provides for other parts of nature that in turn provide for the people. Showing her great connection to readers also demonstrating her ability to fore lay the groundwork for many environmental movements and convictions, Harjo writes this, and many other poems thanks to her newfound respect in her native american
She was raised by her father on a vineyard in California. After attending summer camp she goes and lives with her mother, Elizabeth James, who she has never truly met
When most people think of Texas legacies they think of Sam Houston or Davy Crockett, but they don’t usually think of people like Jane Long. Jane Long is known as ‘The Mother of Texas’. She was given that nickname because she was the first english speaking woman in Texas to give birth.
Karla Homolka born on May 4, 1970 and grew up in Port Credit, Ontario. Growing up Homolka was raised in a middle class family with two working parents in a loving environment. All throughout school she was a good student who got good grades and went on to become a vet technician
This quote describes how Louise Halfe uses all four common elements of native literature in her writings. I have chosen to discuss two of the elements she frequently uses, Spirituality and Orality in relation to three of her poems: My Ledders, She Told Me and The Heat of my Grandmothers.
During the Genpei War, a young women who name was Tomoe Gozen was a Japanese women Samurai. She was born in 1157 to 1247 and in Japanese standards. She died at the age of ninety-one years old. Tomoe Gozen was one of the few women Samurai legends. She fought alongside her husband, Minamoto no Yoshinaka, then against her cousin Taira. Tomoe Gozen was famous as a swordswomen, a skilled ride, and a superd archer. She was her husband, Minamoto, first captain. Tomoe Gozen at least took one person head off during the battle of Awazu in 1184. Late in the Genpei war was a conflict between two Samari clans, the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan. Both of the families wanted to control the Shogunate. At the end, the Minamoto clan won and then established the Kamakura Shogunate in 1192. After the war, some people say that Tomoe stayed in the fight and died. Others say she rode away and carrying a man’s head. Still others says she married Wada Yoshimori, then she became a nun.
Linda Hogan’s Solar Storms and Cheryll Glotfelty’s criticism come together to depicts two very different cultural views through an unavoidable clash that occurs when their lives literally depend on it. There is the western culture that sees the earth as nothing more than a never ending resource without realizing that by their activities, they are at risk of creating their own demise. Then there is the indigenous culture that personifies the land. They see the earth as an entity that they have made a bond with; a bond that now lay broken. The book also utilizes silence not only as a symbol for something much bigger but also as a way to craft identity through the views of culture on a forged path of oppression, pain, and inner strength.
The novel's opening poem describes the Incredible powers that language, stories, and rituals have in Native American cultures: ceremonies are the only cure for human and cultural ailments, and stories and language have the power to create worlds As the novel progresses, it demonstrates this power by showing how rituals are more effective than anything else in helping Tayo heal.
Oldest child of four, at only eight years of age her parents went through a nasty divorce. Leaving Harjo out of the picture, she later moved in with her great aunt who soon became a parental figure to her. Joy Foster later took her aunt’s surname when she had enrolled in the Muscogee Nation. She later became Joy Harjo. Before, Harjo became a famous poet she was involved in many other hobbies like: screenwriting, teaching, writing, singing and even playing instruments. (Stone, Louise M. and Pegge Bochynski)
Joy did whatever it took and sometimes it meant not letting Wes leave military school to come home. She stood her ground and wanted to make him a better person, so she made him stick it out. She also valued her kids education so much that she did all she could which meant working multiple jobs just to keep them out of the public schooling system. If Wes didn’t have the support of his mother, he would of turn out like the Other Wes that was in the story and he mostly likely would have gone to jail
As this poem characterizes the view of a native woman expressing feelings of passion relating to her culture, it also criticizes society, in particular Christianity, as the speaker is experiencing feelings of discontent with the outcome of residential schools. It does not directly criticize the faith, but through the use of a heavy native dialect and implications to the Christian faith it becomes simple to read the speakers emotions.
In this poem, there is a young woman and her loving mother discussing their heritage through their matrilineal side. The poem itself begins with what she will inherit from each family member starting with her mother. After discussing what she will inherit from each of her family members, the final lines of the poem reflect back to her mother in which she gave her advice on constantly moving and never having a home to call hers. For example, the woman describes how her father will give her “his brown eyes” (Line 7) and how her mother advised her to eat raw deer (Line 40). Perhaps the reader is suggesting that she is the only survivor of a tragedy and it is her heritage that keeps her going to keep safe. In the first two lines of the poem, she explains how the young woman will be taking the lines of her mother’s (Lines 1-2). This demonstrates further that she is physically worried about her features and emotionally worried about taking on the lineage of her heritage. Later, she remembered the years of when her mother baked the most wonderful food and did not want to forget the “smell of baking bread [that warmed] fined hairs in my nostrils” (Lines 3-4). Perhaps the young woman implies that she is restrained through her heritage to effectively move forward and become who she would like to be. When reading this poem, Native American heritage is an apparent theme through the lifestyle examples, the fact lineage is passed through woman, and problems Native Americans had faced while trying to be conquested by Americans. Overall, this poem portrays a confined, young woman trying to overcome her current obstacles in life by accepting her heritage and pursuing through her
Joy Hopewell is the name given to Hulga by her mother and father when she was a baby. This name brings to mind a person who looks on the brighter side of things and doesn’t let things discourage her. In the readers mind this name may perhaps bring about the image of a teacher or someone who works with children in a well light happy place. It is also a softer more vulnerable name, which may have been O’Conner’s intent in using the name Joy. In the story Joy changes her name to Hulga Hopewell because of the fact that she feels it better suits her personality. During her childhood Hulga had an accident in which her leg was shot off of her body; therefore, she has to wear a wooden leg that is rather bulky so by having the name Hulga it helps her to deter many people from asking questions or trying to get too close to her. Due to this accident Hulga becomes a brooding person, not very fond of company and entertainment. The name Hulga brings to mind a rather large Swedish woman who could probably break a man in half. It is a brooding name and awkward on ...
By definition joy means a great feeling of pleasure and happiness. In Mary Flannery O'Connor's short story Good Country People, Joy Freeman was not at all joyful. Actually, she was the exact opposite. Joy's leg was shot off in a hunting accident when she was ten. Because of that incident, Joy was a stout girl in her thirties who had never danced a step or had any normal good times. (O'Connor 249). She had a wooden leg that only brought her teasing from others and problems in doing daily activities. Joy was very rude as well. In the story it speaks of her comments being so rude and ugly and her face so glum that her mother's boss, Mrs. Hopewell, would tell her if she could not come pleasantly than for her to not come at all. (O'Connor 249).
“I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” This quote, found in Wendell Berry’s poem, “The Peace of Wild Things,” absolutely jumped out at me as my eyes trailed across the text. I have read many, many poems throughout high-school and my first years of college but, none of which have stood out to me such as this poem did. As I read it, I fell in love with the musicality of the short, simple poem. I adored the directness of it; it was straight to the point, no beating around the bush. As I read this work of art, my mind was transported to my favorite place in the outdoors. My imagination was filled with the waving of the tall grass, the stillness of the trees, and the feeling that time is standing still and I’m the only one who notices.
Her poems tend to take great joy in nature and feature some of the most original depictions of the natural world and its inhabitants (Priddy 51).