Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. Why did the speaker try to be the way men wanted her to be?
Ans: The speaker tried to be the way men wanted her to be because she wanted to fit into the society dominated by men. It was her attempt at life which basically means that it was her effort to survive and bear the oppression under the heavy influence of patriarchy.
b. What do you understand by her feet 'would not accept walking backwards'?
Ans: Her feet would not accept walking backwards means that the speaker had decided to leave the patriarchal values to seek personal freedom and equality. Here, 'backwards' represents her bitter past when she lived in the oppression of patriarchy, so her feet 'would not accept walking backwards' to the same life.
c. Who are the old guards? Why did they grow desperate?
Ans: The old guards are the advocates of patriarchal values who regard women as objects and consistently seek to control and oppress them. They grew desperate because the speaker wanted to go out of their control for freedom and equality.
d. How did the speaker have 'a feeling of intimate liberation'?
Ans: The speaker had 'a feeling of intimate liberation' when she detached herself from the patriarchal values after layers of pain and struggles. It delighted her because of the personal liberation, a liberation that acknowledged her feelings and emotions and favored her well-being.
e. Why did the speaker's desire to follow men warp in her?
Ans: The speaker's desire to follow men warped in her because, despite her freedom and shift in ideology, she still belonged to the society that men controlled. She was passed judgements and negative remarks in the regal parade of the patriarchy, and suddenly the desire to follow men warped in her as an attempt to fit in the society she lived in.
Reference to the context
a. What does the speaker mean when she says she was playing a game of hide and seek with her being'?
Ans: When the speaker says she was playing a game of hide and seek with her being, she basically means to portray the conflict in her mind. It is a conflict between her obligations and her will. On the one hand, she was forced to hide her feelings and emotions under the oppression of the patriarchal society. On the other, she sought to pursue her happiness, freedom, and equality by going against male chauvinism.
b. Why, in your view, was her back ripped by the old guards as she was advancing forward?
Ans: In my view, her back was ripped by the old guards as she was advancing forward in an attempt to stop her. Symbolically, the old guards here represent the advocators of patriarchy who create obstacles to women who demand freedom and equality, in the name of social norms, values, cultures or traditions. The speaker was moving forward to detach herself from the male-dominated society towards an equal one for her liberty and happiness. As it would end the men's control over women, the old guards found it problematic, and they tried to stop her by ripping her back.
c. What, according to the speaker, did it feel like to be free?
Ans: According to the speaker, to be free it felt like an intimate liberation, a liberation that arose from her struggle, and an extreme delight that came from within. Intimate liberation, for the speaker, is the freedom that only favors her. The speaker also felt like a flower of all the earth's soils but of insecurity and uncertainty after she was finally free.
d. Why does the speaker prefer the present to the past?
Ans: The speaker prefers the present to the past because she was oppressed under the patriarchal rule in the past. It was unpleasant for her as she lost her freedom and identity. However, the present gives her hope of liberation and equality.
e. John Donne, in his poem "No Man is an Island", says, "No man is an island entire of itself." Would Burgos agree with Donne? Do you agree with Donne or Burgos?
Ans: John Donne's "No Man is an Island" is about the connection between all of humankind. Donne essentially argues that people need each other and are better together than they are in isolation, because every individual is one piece of the greater whole that is humanity itself. He infers that all humans, even women, are equal associates of society, and they should stay connected to form a meaningful larger whole. Burgos never would agree with Donne because her views are totally contrasting with his. As per the poem, she wants to detach herself from the patriarchal society for the sake of her freedom, thus, happiness. Donne talks about unity and reconciliation for humanity, but Burgos seeks revolution against human society in the hope of freedom and equality.
Reference beyond the text
a. Write an essay on My Idea of Freedom.
Ans: My Idea of Freedom
Freedom is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved and the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants. However, the in-depth analysis of freedom invites many intriguing complexities. Its definition may vary from person to person. In my idea of freedom, it is the liberation that humans have for the pursuit of happiness.
Various social impositions limit this freedom- the liberty to be happy or at least to seek happiness. Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said, "Man is born free but everywhere is in chains." Rousseau indicated the social, political, economic, religious, and legal restrictions imposed on ordinary people limiting their freedom. These limitations are justifiable as they oppose anarchy in society. However, they sometimes seize the freedom of commoners in the name of maintaining values and cultures.
Absolute freedom-the freedom to do anything one likes- is not practical. Even freedom itself is not free because one person's freedom may be another's curse. Each person must have some limits on his or her freedom in order to enjoy the freedom that comes from the social order. Therefore empathy should come with freedom.
Freedom is not the way of being free from all kinds of restrictions, but it is the liberty to make the right choices and wise decisions. As freedom drags happiness along with it, one should find happiness to achieve freedom. This delight must come not from others' sorrows but from empathy.
The liberty to pursue happiness without disturbing the social order is the crux of my idea of freedom. One should always be careful not to harm others' lives for the sake of one's freedom.
b. Not all people, however, seem to agree with the kind of freedom upheld by Burgos in this poem. For example, William Faulkner, in his novel Requiem for a Nun, says, '"The past is never dead. It's not even past. All of us labor in webs spun long before we were born, webs of heredity and environment, of desire and consequence, of history and eternity." Do you agree with Faulkner? Why? Why not?
Ans: William Faulkner sounds true in a sense because humans are social animals who occasionally have to go through compromises for the sake of society. Our struggle begins long before we are born, in the webs of heredity and environment, of desire and consequence, of history and eternity. I agree that it is not entirely possible to detach ourselves from the past, as Burgos advocates in her poem. Past creates our identity and frames a way of life. However, I do not agree with Faulkener completely because women's oppression, gender inequality, and patriarchal superiority, which are the imprints of the past, are never justifiable even though we are born in different kinds of webs of the past. I believe all social systems are human construction, and they should be changed according to context and necessity. Everyone must be given freedom without harming others' lives.
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