Final Analysis

After reading dozens of poems using the search engine shown to us by Ms. Garrish without any luck of finding one I would enjoy researching, I began to think of how I could narrow down my search better. I thought about finding a Peruvian poet, being that I am originally Peruvian, but I decided against it as I normally choose that lovely country to do projects on. I considered the countries we were not allowed to do and weighed out the options of the places I had visited. Then, it hit me. I had visited and loved Turkey, so why not find a Turkish poet, and perhaps have some background knowledge over what might be going on in the poem? So, using the same search engine, I began another hunt to track down a Turkish poet who I would understand and be able to see beneath their words. I soon found  Nâzim Hikmet Ran's "Our Eyes", which explains that we are who we are because of each other. I love the ideas that surround human existence because there is an abundance of them and everybody can create and analyze their own perspective.

Nâzım Hikmet Ran was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist, and memoirist. He was described as a "romantic communist" and "romantic revolutionary". He was born in Thessaloniki in January 1902. He came from a cosmopolitan and distinguished family. After studying at a Naval Academy, he traveled to Anatolia to join the anti-imperialist resistance movement. He was arrested repeatedly for his political beliefs and spent the majority of his adult life in either prison or exile. Hikmet Ran never returned to his birthplace; he didn't like to turn back. He was one of the most sophisticated poets of Turkish language. Whatever happened on earth interested him and translated into his poems; like a journalist he was quick to write about things. His poetry has been translated into about 50 languages. Hikmet Ran isn't a poet of love and passionate heartbreak, rather hardships and grief. He's lived like a human and from that sole life experience he created a poetic analysis of one of the many theories for human existence. 

Researching this poem was rather simple; there wasn't much room for my thoughts to be fed off from others before me. Our Eyes is a very unpopular poem. This was much to my surprise, as the concept of the piece is intricately thought out and beautifully worded. Every part of us makes us who we are. "In each drop exists/ a tiny sign/ of our genius" (Hikmet Ran 4-6). All the humans on Earth are pieces of one great big puzzle in the way that we need each other for the bigger picture to be visible. Each and every one of us is so magnificently crafted in our own unique ways that we do shine on our own, but together we can create enough light to brighten the whole world. "Our eyes/ are limpid/ drops of water/ merged absolutely in the ocean" (Hikmet Ran 8-11). Like drops of water, when combined we can form an ocean. Alone, we are simply drops of water; there are uses for individual drops, but not nearly as many uses as there can be with an ocean. I loved this project because it gave me a chance to have a rare deep conversation with my mom, and she helped me modify and better my understanding of the poem. 

This school year, Advanced World Literature and Composition has made me grow as a person. I feel very proud of the amount I have learned about the works of Swift, Dante, Hesse, and of course reading The Lord of the Flies. I never would have imagined I could take a book or essay and be able to analyze it so deeply, thoroughly, metaphorically, and literally.I enjoyed reading and studying Siddhartha; the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism interest me greatly and having some background knowledge on the subject made me appreciate it further. I feel as if I have a much deeper understanding of literature in general as of today, and that I understand how literature can and does change the world.

This year in general has taught me so much about world literature, and I can honestly say I am the grateful about this class the most out of any of my other classes. I feel prepared for AP World Lang next year after having studied and written essay after essay analyzing the literature we read this year. I feel like my horizons have widened in the field of english and I feel confident when asked to write an essay under a deadline. I will always remember this class and how much I took out of it. This was the class I enjoyed going to the most; I knew I was being well-prepared for college but at the same time the relaxed atmosphere made me enjoy going to class every day. Language Arts has always been my favorite subject since I started school, and this year only strengthened my liking for LA.