Whites

Like I stated in class, this poem gives me a feeling a nostalgia. It puts me in a place where times were more simple and the people were naive and more pure. I say naive and pure because of the constant referral to the color white. To me, white means clean, untouched, and a fresh slate. If I had to draw a picture or put this poem in a location I would use the movie "O brother, where art thou?" which is probably located somewhere in the deep south, Alabama, Mississippi? Another movie that this poem reminds me of is "Big Fish." In "Big Fish" the main character stumbles into a make believe town that is suppose to symbolize paradise. This poem is alot like that town except for the negative statements like "grandmother's feet pared with a paring knife..." or "weevils in sacks of spoiled flour". When these lines are read they relate more to the scene in "O brother, where art thou?" when the main characters escape from jail and visit the cousin of one of them. The cousin serves the trio a horse that was butchered and had gone bad a week prior to their arrival. This is another piece of evidence in support of me believing this is a pre-1950 era because any later than that and modern technical advances would keep sacks of flour from spoiling, for the most part anyways. On the topic of time, another example leading to my conclusion of a pre-1950s scene would be the fact that the grandmother's feet are pared with a paring knife. I once heard a story of Olympic gold medalists Jesse Owens that stated when he was young he cut a lump from is body with a knife. Jesse Owens lived in this pre-1950s era where going to a doctor or hospital might not have been an option, especially in the deep south. As for truly understanding Pierre the naked sailor, I don't, but I do have possible explanations. Like stated in class, Pierre could be a poster in the bathroom. I would agree with this explanation because Pierre is a French name and I locate this in the deep south of the U.S.A. The other possible explanation could be that Pierre is a veteran of a World War coming back from Europe. The evidence for this explanation lies in the identification of Eisenhower, who was a military general and president during WWII.

Thank You

Jay Woodward