"The Little Girl That Lost A Finger" by Gabriela Mistral is about a clam that takes a little girl's finger and then goes into the sand as the sea washed the sand away. Then the whalers go out and retrieve the finger from the clam out in the deep blue sea. As they come back they receive a wage for their deeds, then become known thought town.
The meaning in this poem is how the finger and the little girl is society, the clam the money and the fishermen the hunters. The clam shows how it doesn't like to be hunted by taking something from society, when this happens the hunters go out and take back what is theirs, as a result they earn big bucks because that is how society gets their way where they live. Tell me what you think?
"Thoughts of Hanoi" by Nguyen Thi Vinh is about two brothers far from each other and one thinks that they will meet but this time as enemies and he fears of what may happen when that day comes. The boy fears that his brother may not remember him and all the things that they have been through in Hanoi and how they were "plotting our lives together" (line 64). This talks about a brotherhood that when the time comes they will see if it is stronger than the war and violence. The boy also wonders if his kin is also going through these thoughts as days go by, pondering about the good and the bad about all of it. Just wanting to stay in the present and "bury the past, to burn the future" (line 8-9)
I'd like to hear your thoughts on this piece as well, let me know what you thought about it. You can also ask me questions that you may have about it.
