1)Character
by Taslima Nasrim
You’re a girl
and you’d better not forget
that when you step over the threshold of your house
men will look askance at you.
When you keep on walking down the lane
men will follow you and whistle.
When you cross the lane and step onto the main road
men will revile you and call you a loose woman.
If you’ve got no character
you’ll turn back,
and if not
you’ll keep going
as you’re going now.
2) This poem is about teaching a girl the proper mannerisms of how to act like a woman always. There is always a certain way that women should act and carry themselves. If a woman forgets these things she will be judged differently and men will take advantage. A woman who maintains her composure and character will succeed in life.
3) Men will disrespect women if allowed to do so. Women must not abstain themselves from these situations but if confronted with this problem women should handle it appropriately. This means women should be the bigger person.
4) The narrator of the poem is a woman. She is speaking to all females in general, but more specifically to the young girls out there entering adulthood. There doesn't appear to be a close relationship between the narrator and the speaker.
5) The overwhelming theme of the story is that a persons character defines who they are. How a person reacts to certain situations shows their character.
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3 comments:
I thought it was interesting how you thought that the narrator was telling the girl how to act, when I kind of thought the opposite when I read it. I was thinking, she was telling her to act independently and not care how she is supposed to act. But this made me think of the poem differently too.
I agree with your response to this poem. I agree with the last part of your blog in particular, about where a person's character defines who they are and how a person reacts to situations determines their character. My interpretation of this poem was that in order for the girl to keep her character she can't fall into the negative temptations or situations that are in the world.
I agree with all of your comments about the poem's meaning. Your interpretations are insightful and it looks like you thought really hard about the poem.
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