Week 5- Entry A

Vocabulary

(p 53) municipally- of or pertaining to a town or city or its local government

(p 73) meerschaum- a tobacco pipe with a bowl made of a mineral, hydrous magnesium silicate, H₄Mg₂Si₃O₁₀, occurring in white, claylike masses

Figurative Language-

1. (p 52) "This, by the way, is the only story Dad ever told us in whispers: how the tornado came cruising up out of the south, birthed from a yellow cloud [...]" The tornado is personified by being birthed from a cloud.

2. (p 52) "[...] how it touched earth at the fringe of town, a pare umbilical rope [...]" The tornado is compared to an umbilical rope in this simile.

3. (p 53) [...] and the tornado came for it in absolute maturity, no umbilical growth now but a strong slender lady hip-walking through the campus [...]" The tornado is now compared to woman in this simile.

Quote

(p 26)

The men who worked the Redtail Mine were fed up with the boss.
They swarmed around his office door like blackflies round a hoss.
"No wages these three months!" one cried. "Ley's hang the lousy rat!
He'll starve our very children, boys, while he himself get fat!"
And true enough, behind the door, a fat man shook and wept;
The wobbling bags beneath his eyes said this man hadn't slept.
A messenger had brought him word that made him feel his age:
Valdez, last night- the third straight month!- had robbed the payroll stage.

I just love the way this poem is written! It is supposed to be written by Swede who is in early elementary school. I have a hard time believing any child could write a poem like this, but I like the book anyways. This poem reminds me of some of O. Henry's short stories. He often writes about the old west, and he has similar word choice. I suppose because O. Henry is one of my favorite authors, this poem appeals to me.

Theme-

The law isn't set in concrete. There are sometimes more important matters that supersede the law. Therefore, the law can't always be followed.