Summer Solstice, New York City
By the end of the longest day of the year he coul
Summer Solstice, New York City
By the end of the longest day of the year he could not stand it, he went up the iron stairs through the roof of the building and over the so, tarry surface
to the edge, put one leg over the complex green tin cornice and said if they came a step closer that was it.
Then the huge machinery of the earth began to work for his life,
the cops came in their suits blue-gray as the sky on a cloudy evening, and one put on a bullet-proof vest, a
black shell around his own life,
life of his children’s father, in case
the man was armed, and one, slung with a
rope like the sign of his bounden duty,
came up out of a hole in the top of the neighboring building
like the gold hole they say is in the top of the head,
and began to lurk toward the man who wanted to die.
The tallest cop approached him directly,
soly, slowly, talking to him, talking, talking,
while the man’s leg hung over the lip of the next world
and the crowd gathered in the street, silent, and the
hairy net with its implacable grid was
unfolded near the curb and spread out and
stretched as the sheet is prepared to receive at birth. Then they all came a little closer
where he squatted next to his death, his shirt glowing its milky glow like something
growing in a dish at night in the dark in a lab and then everything stopped
as his body jerked and he
stepped down from the parapet and went toward them and they closed on him, I thought they were going to beat him up, as a mother whose child has been
lost will scream at the child when it’s found, they took him by the arms and held him up and
leaned him against the wall of the chimney and the tall cop lit a cigarette
in his own mouth, and gave it to him, and then they all lit cigarettes, and the
red, glowing ends burned like the
tiny campfires we lit at night
back at the beginning of the world.
In her poem “Summer Solstice, New York City,” Sharon Olds uses a strange metaphor about her male “jumper,” comparing his shirt to something “glowing its milky glow like something growing in a dish at night in the dark in a lab” (lines 25-26). What is the most likely reason she chose this imagery?To foreshadow the man’s tragic suicide at the end of the poemTo show the policemen responding to the scene treat this man as no more significant than an amoeba in a petri dishTo indicate how closely and intently all eyes are watching to see what the man will do
Question 2
10 PointsIn the “Night Waitress,” what are implied reasons why the waitress might seek escape?Because the factory man are making inappropriate passes at herBecause her lifelong dream is to be a singer, not a night waitress in a 24-hour dinerBecause of a suggested run-in w/ the law
Question 3
10 PointsWhy is it important to ask questions of any literary work we read?To locate potential sources of interpretation for literary analysisTo discern the historical and/or cultural background of the authorTo determine whether or not the work has any literary value (making an evaluation)
Question 4
10 PointsIn the poem “Summer Solstice,” which kinds of religious imagery are included?The waitress’ cheap cross necklaceMemories of her mother slaving away at the foot of a black MadonnaBoth of the above
Question 5
10 PointsIn “Summer Solstice, New York City,” how would you characterize the interaction b/w the potential jumper and the NY cops?The cops were indifferent towards the man, only there to fulfill a job descriptionThe cops were uncharacteristically kind towards the man, empathizing w/ his plightThe cops are gruff w/ the man, wishing to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
Question 6
10 PointsWhich include primary themes of “Night Waitress”?The monotony of low-wage, deep night occupationsThe loneliness of going unnoticed in a crowd of humanityBoth of the above
Question 7
10 PointsA major theme of “Summer Solstice, New York City” is what?Death and rebirthMan’s inhumanity to manNeither of the above
Question 8
10 PointsThe night waitress imagines herself hearing “a song that rolls through the night like” what?A smooth MercedesA purring PorscheA big Cadillac
Question 9
10 PointsWhy does an author of a literary work (whether a poem, short story, or longer work) include disruptions in the pattern of his/her work?To confuse the readers w/ undecipherable riddlesThe disruptions are not intentional, happen beyond the author’s conscious awarenessTo indicate a dramatic shift in tone, imagery, characterization, etc
Question 10
10 PointsWhy is is it important to consider an author’s alternatives about info to include/exclude in a literary text?To determine an author’s ethos, whether he/she is trustworthy as an authorTo decipher possible meanings from a literary workTo determine if a literary work is worth close reading and study