Lenore Keeshig-Tobias

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Recommended: American literature has many ethnic groups

Abdirahman Abbas
Ms. Curran
ENG-3U1-02
3 Oct 2014
Poem Analysis Assignment of “I Grew Up” (Historical/Biographical) Most times in life we don’t appreciate what we have, but in some rare cases people do appreciate what they have because they don’t realize that there is anything better. In the poem “I Grew Up” by Lenore Keeshig-Tobias that is exactly what she is trying to put forth to the readers. Lenore Keeshig-Tobias is describing her love towards the native reserves and all the great memories she had their as a child. Born in 1950 Wiarton, Ontario, she was the eldest of ten children and a member of the Chippewa of the Nawash First Nation on the Bruce Peninsula. Much of Keeshig-Tobias’ work draws upon the realities of native life and …show more content…

It describes the many positive and memorable events shared there. These experiences allowed the woman to cherish and appreciate the revere and all it can naturally offer. The speaker also discusses the significance of the life on the reserve in regards to nature for aboriginal in contrast to how non-aboriginal views it. Structure, format, and rhyme are all important elements in poetry. “I Grew Up” is structured into stanzas of three short lines. It also has no use of punctuation to mimic nature and its natural flow. The format is a narrative of the speaker’s life on the reserve and the poem has no evident of rhyme scheme. Audience, tone, and mood are key aspects towards the understanding of this poem. The audience in this poem includes everybody specifically those who are ignorant to the life and culture of aboriginal living on reserves. The tone is positive and establishes the true essence and pure beauty of nature. The tone could also be reflective because it reflects upon the qualities that accompany life on the reserve. The reader can simply infer that the mood is peaceful, hopeful, cheerful, and

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