WEEKEND HOMEWORK 2.12-2.14

2/12/2016

Wouldn't it be great if I gave you an ooey-gooey mushy love poem to commemorate Valentine's Day? Yeah? Well, I'm not. You're getting after a modern day sonnet that closely follows the Shakespearian form, and it probably won't give you any warm fuzzies.

BUT if you're interested, or jones-ing for some love poetry, click here for AP Lit c/o '15's love poem selections. Speaking of last year's class, it might be good for you to check out this post that required them to read, respond, and reply. Just like you'll be doing...

HERE IS YOUR TASK:

Read Sherman Alexie's poem "The Facebook Sonnet."

Then, and this is partly in preparation for Wednesday's #aplitDLD (Digital Day of Learning), you will answer a question and reply to a classmate. I'd like you to be engaged in a conversation about this poem, and I expect you to thoughtfully and appropriately offer your interpretation and analysis.

Directions:

Read & analyze the poem. Apply your good, close-reading and poetry analysis strategies.

Choose and answer ONE question from the ones I've provided. (Use Q/A format)

Reply to ONE classmate's comment. Please understand that this may require you to check back in on the blog periodically. Try to extend what they've said, offer an alternative idea, find textual evidence to support their assertions, or even pose another question and your reasoning.

The Facebook Sonnet
by Sherman Alexie

Q1: What are the most important ideas in this poem? How do you know?

Q2: How do rhyme, meter, and other technical devices help the poem communicate its ideas or meaning?

Q3: Why a sonnet about Facebook? Why this form?

Q4: How does this sonnet compare to other's you've read? Find another sonnet either in our anthologies or on your own and offer up some insight about the similarities, differences, and mystique of the sonnet form.

51 Comments

Yi Ting Lin link

2/12/2016 11:08:12 pm

A3: Sherman Alexie chose to write about Facebook to cover a broad spectrum of ages. One does not simply have to be "young" to be stuck in the cycle of an "endless high-school reunion." What an individual wants another to perceive them as turns them away from the one and only undefined love: agape love. Thus, creating restrictions within oneself as well as breeding egocentrism. This feeling of being caged-in is portrayed cleverly through the use of a sonnet. Its structure not only contains strict form but also a consistent rhyme scheme, which by definition can be considered the opposite of free-verse. That being said, Alexie speaks of the faults of those pretending to be someone else, because Christ loves all his children just the way they are. No one is better than the next person, for we are all sinners. When united under God, the void known as "loneliness" will finally be filled.

Mrs. H

2/13/2016 02:47:40 pm

Yeah, that "alter of loneliness" line is great...packs a punch.
Awesome first post, Yi Ting.

Amanda Himes

2/13/2016 02:51:29 pm

A1: Alexie is addressing our obsession with technology, especially with social media. This can be inferred from the title, "The Facebook Sonnet." We've become so engrossed with it that we can't see what we're doing to ourselves. We have put ourselves in an "endless high-school/ Reunion." where nothing is ever forgotten, and everyone knows about you. You can't help but become insecure--which often leads to loneliness.

Jenifer

2/14/2016 01:18:50 pm

I agree completely. When on social media, you put your life out there for everyone to see, and it can lead to comparing your life to others which leads to insecurity.

Nick Elekes link

2/14/2016 06:26:25 pm

I agree with Amanda. People are so obsessed with social media that they can't seem to live their own lives and the author points this out by lowkey bashing on everyone he ever knew.

Brian Schleicher

2/14/2016 06:32:53 pm

I definitely agree with the "obsession" we have with social media. It's a strong and powerful word to use, but it's true.

Katelyn

2/14/2016 06:56:48 pm

Absolutely agree. Alexie thoroughly addresses how social media shapes out everyday lives and how it contributes to society.

Rafaella

2/14/2016 09:00:08 pm

I thinks Amanda is completely right. Our generation is so obsess with social media and with the idea of a "perfect" life and we truly believe that a good picture and to have a lot of friends (in social media) makes us better.

Holly Brindle

2/14/2016 10:27:51 pm

I especially agree with Amanda when she says that this Internet world is really full of insecurity and lonely people.

Sophia Bakar

2/13/2016 03:45:24 pm

A1: The main idea of "The Facebook Sonnet" is the fact that our society increasingly relies on social media to answer our questions about our existence and the lives of people around us. We no longer have to speak to someone face to face or wait weeks for a letter to be delivered. We simply type someone's name into a search bar and we can discover pretty much anything about an individual. In the poem, Alexie mocks the morals of society by saying that we have let Facebook, or any social media, become like an all-knowing God. Another important idea of the poem is that social media now defines friendships and relationships, evident in the first quatrain when Alexie says "Welcome to past friends and lovers, however kind of cruel." Both of these ideas are present throughout the entire sonnet and are especially emphasized by the syntactical structure and rhyme scheme.

Ashley

2/13/2016 06:08:45 pm

Q1: I believe the most important ideas in this poem are that we crave attention and social media helps us feed the craving. We will "Welcome to past friends and lovers, however kind or cruel," just to be able to recieve attention (or likes.) The poem also shows how we act in person compared to being on a social media site. We wouldn't talk to our old friends or share our problems/life stories with strangers or people we just met.

Summer

2/13/2016 09:43:05 pm

I couldn't agree more. social media makes us think that the selfie we posted isn't good enough until it gets hundreds of likes, and that we need other people's approval to feel beautiful.

2/13/2016 09:49:10 pm

A3: The sonnet format is simple and straight to the point. It is broken into 14 lines that connect and rhyme with each other. the poem introduces the problem of facebook, extends it, creates a solution, and embraces the inevitable loneliness that comes with it. like every other sonnet we've studied, it offers a deeper meaning beneath the surface also.

Hannah

2/14/2016 12:21:14 pm

I agree with Summer that this particular poem is set up like a regular sonnet, with 14 lines and the stages the poem presents. The poem presents a modern poem,which explains a specific problem, continues to talk about said problem, shows a shift, and eventually reveals the resolution to that problem. With modern day, we are always solving new problems. With the problem of loneliness in our day and age, the problem is solved through posting our lives and problems on "public domain", hoping that recieving attention from others will curve our loneliness. Even doing this, Summer points out that the end result (resolution) is "inevitable loneliness".

2/14/2016 12:43:56 pm

Q2: When looking at this specific question, I automatically looked at the end of each line to look at the poems rhyming scheme. I noticed that the rhyming scheme created a message on its own, without the rest of each line of the poem. Words such as "high-school" and "cruel", "pretend" and "extend", "same" and "games", "fame" and "domain", and the ending with "confess" working off of "loneliness". I feel the rhyme scheme and word pairings tell the message of the poem, as well. "High-school" matched with "cruel" could mean that high-school was a cruel experience. People may "pretend" about what is going on in life and "extend" that for as long as they can. Inevitably, it is always the "same" "game". People try to curve their loneliness by gaining "fame" (likes, etc.) on the public "domain". Although, in the end, someone must "confess" that their still in a state of "loneliness".

Ashley Jeffords

2/14/2016 03:33:25 pm

I agree with Hannah that the message of the rhyme scheme itself is of great importance to the meaning of the sonnet. It reveals a very human aspect of the words.

Courtney

2/14/2016 08:12:43 pm

I agree with your comment. That's an interesting way of looking at it, and I think it's great that you were able to make those connections. I think most people would overlook that underlying message in the rhyme scheme of the sonnet.

2/14/2016 01:15:53 pm

A1: I think an important idea in this poem is our need to relive our past, or make people from our past believe that we are doing well in the present. People have something to prove to others and therefore gain attention through social media that they believe will make them feel good about themselves. However, it never will as posting online will “undervalue and unmend / The present”. Posting your personal life all over social media makes your life way less personal, and you’ll either gain attention from posting it (“fame”) or people will judge you for oversharing (“shame”). Nevertheless, you’ll get some kind of attention making “fame and shame intertwine”.

Lydia Harden

2/16/2016 06:17:11 pm

I love love the point you made! I love when you said that people having something to prove and others gain attention. That is exactly what I think and I also love when you said you either gain attention or be judged for what you say. Either way in the end you end up losing the battle you're fighting with yourself.

2/14/2016 03:31:39 pm

A3: I think Alexie chose to write a sonnet about facebook to show what is being lost in our modern day society, facebook being a great reflection of it. A sonnet is a classical form of poetry, filled with beautiful diction and emotion. A facebook post is usually meaningless ranting. He chose this form of poem purposely to compare it to a facebook post. He's asking the question of why we have given up something so meaningful and replaced it with something so surface.

Stephanie Johnson

2/14/2016 03:53:48 pm

I love love love this. Making the connection of his intentional use of a sonnet to discuss modern day social media. Honestly didn't think of it this way until I read your answer!

Noelle

2/14/2016 10:07:35 pm

I really like how you compared the sonnet to a facebook post. I think that is a really meaningful way to look at this piece of poetry and try to find the poets true purpose behind writing it.

Stephanie

2/14/2016 03:50:18 pm

A1. I believe the main idea of this sonnet revolves around our personas on the internet being superficial or simply fake. In the first stanza, Alexia compares Facebook to "the endless high school reunion." Often times, high school reunions are looked at as occasions for former classmates to flaunt their successes, or to put on a show to hide their unsatisfying lives. Alexia's message behind "The Facebook Sonnet" challenges us to think about whether or not we are the people we say we are, while on social media.

Elizabeth Chaney

2/14/2016 05:48:22 pm

I like your comment on the superficiality Alexie is attempting to highlight. I think his piece is very cynical in nature when it comes to public appearance and I think you interpret that well.

2/14/2016 05:42:56 pm

A3: I think Facebook is used, because literature is a snapshot into time periods and phenomenon. The Great Gatsby captures the party atmosphere of the 20s because that's the time period it was written in. The Facebook Sonnet captures the social media scene of the late '00s and early '10s.

However, the choice of the sonnet highlights the modernity of the piece. It juxtaposes the topic by presenting it in an art form that is ancient in comparison.

Madison Casimir

2/17/2016 11:00:01 am

Do you think someday people might be reading status updates and tweets in English classes?

2/14/2016 06:23:42 pm

A3: Sherman Alexie chose to write about Facebook because it is the gateway to the Internet for teenagers. He addresses a problem with society how people live on the Internet and their lives seem to be exaggerated like one would do at a high school reunion. He the states that people can live in the past on the Internet to relieve stress but that people don't need to lie about their lives. Afterwards he continues to explain that people can find happiness through God. He resolves the stated problem by telling people to give their issues to god instead of expressing them on social media. He uses this form to tell his story because it is organized and gives structure to the explanation.

Nelson

2/14/2016 07:59:45 pm

I agree, but I viewed the reference to church as more of a "sarcastic" reaction, for lack of a better word. Maybe it was a misread, but I thought of it more as "Let's exaggerate our lives, make people think we are the perfect family, the perfect Christian, and that we have the perfect life" sort of thing.

2/14/2016 06:30:17 pm

A1. "Welcome to past friends/ And lovers, however kind of cruel." "Let's exhume, resume, and extend/ Childhood. Let's all play the games." Over the years, we've been trying to create our perfect lives on social media despite on how real each account is. Since childhood, it has taken over our lives and become a necessity; we NEED to seem perfect for our friends through these accounts. Not necessarily social media but the internet in general. By saying "Let church.com become our church" in Line 12, Sherman Alexie shows how technology has taken over the important things in our lives. This makes me believe that the main is simply about social media being a glue that, no matter how hard we try, we'll never be able to escape from.

Champagne Papi (not adrien) link

2/14/2016 07:09:54 pm

I agree with you, social media is highly addicting and a large distraction off of our lives. However, it also carries many large uses that we utilize on a regular basis.. It can be hard to find the line between using too much social media. It definitely is a glue in our lives.

Yi Ting Lin

2/14/2016 09:07:07 pm

I agree with Brian. The irony in Alexie's sonnet and this blog post itself, is that social media has taken over our lives. It has invaded and settled into our lives to the point that it has become a continuous cycle. The sonnet serves as a religious message of salvation to save those that have fallen into the abyss of our so-called "necessities." It's his personal attempt to bring others towards a path of modesty.

Fran (not adrien) Inman link

2/14/2016 07:04:52 pm

A2: The sonnet is about Facebook because that's what the author felt like writing about.
I'm kidding, I promise, thought that statement is not untrue.
Legitimately, most artists, painters, poets, and actors (not Hollywood type), are very abstract thinkers, as in they tend to think outside the box. Well, many of them seem to define this 'box' as society, and they like to consider themselves outside the confining four walls of society that others choose to surround themselves. In today's modern times, one of the DEFINING aspects of our society has become social media, and in some way or another, it seems to affects everybody inside society nowadays. So for a poet who finds themselves outside the box, using sonnets and other forms of poetry to pick at social media is very easy, as it is currently what my generation is being raised with and in many circles, social media has become a large social issue). This is more than likely way the author chose to write about Facebook.
I believe he chose to write it in a Shakespearean Sonnet format, because he wishes to write in very classical form, in a sense of writing in a format that is intentionally obsolete to my generation, in order to counter the modern society that social media has presented us with.

Adrien (not fran) Inman link

2/14/2016 07:11:32 pm

Sometimes I feel like a broken record with the amount I talk about artists and their rejection/cynicism at society. But, it's what I see, so it's what I analyze.

Fran (not adrien) Inman

2/14/2016 07:57:05 pm

Shoot.. I meant A3***

Phil (not Gabe) Cruz

2/14/2016 09:57:35 pm

Wow Fran, it's nice to see you join us. Also, I like to agree with that final statement, that Sherman chose to write this as a sonnet in order to contrast with the everyday lifestyle of our modern life. Sonnets were very simplistic ways of communicating but still managed to connect emotion with the words, but nowadays social media seems to take away the emotion from any speech and create small talk.

2/14/2016 07:08:05 pm

"Welcome to the endless high- school reunion." Facebook is never ending friend requests of those you sat next to in your Freshman math class. Never spoke to them, but now you end up knowing how perfect or imperfect their life may be. Alexies satirical 14 lined poem expresses nothing but how society relies and perceives social media. Alexie addresses his take on the common phenomena that so many people relate to by the way they use and take advantage of modern day technology. Facebook being a mixed bag of some good, some bad, some evil.

Holly Nelson

2/14/2016 07:55:53 pm

A1: I believe that this sonnet explores the ideas behind the modern indulgence and obsession with the technology at our fingertips. We crave attention from everybody we know (and sometimes people we don't know) and often over-post and over-indulge in social media. Most people do this, and we can all think of somebody if we do not indulge in it ourselves. We allow our social media control our social lives.

2/14/2016 07:57:30 pm

A1: The most important ideas in this poem are considering society’s addiction to technology and its effect on our daily lives. People post everything on Facebook and other social media sites because it is considered normal for today’s generation; “The endless high-school reunion.” Friends and enemies from the past and present- no matter the relationship or the bridges burned- are being brought together in an extended childhood. Even virtual strangers are connecting through technology. There are so many things going on with technology in our lives, it’s like we’re living in a zoo where everyone knows what’s going on at all times, like Billy Pilgrim on Tralfamadore. The lines between good and bad are blurred, and everyone wants to argue about everything; from religion and politics, to food and medicine or even celebrities, nothing is left unsaid in the arguments in the comments section of social media posts. Everything is online and desensitized, and for some it seems like people can’t live without it. Alexie sums up the reason quite perfectly, “Let’s sign up, sign in, and confess, Here at the altar of loneliness.”

Shepherd

2/14/2016 09:06:41 pm

Q1: I feel like the main ideas of this sonnet are ones that have to do with wanting to be noticed. We all basically lay our lives bare on social media in the hopes of somebody else noticing by smashing that like button, leaving a comment, etc. What Alexie is trying to say is we're trapped in a never-ending cycle of trying to be noticed or trying to be popular, and this is supported by the very first line; "Welcome to the endless high school Reunion." Anybody from free-spirited college kids to middle aged parents of two will inevitably cause drama or attempt to brag about something incredibly minor, which, to Alexie, is inane, childish, and attention-getting in a world that older generations are calling "disconnected" due to the advent of social media itself. Loneliness has taken hold in society, and we try to find an outlet on websites like Facebook.

That said, follow me on Twitter @theironshep.

2/14/2016 11:03:40 pm

Nailed it!

Rafaella Tejada

2/14/2016 09:17:54 pm

Q1: What are the most important ideas in this poem? How do you know?
I thinks that the most important idea of this sonnet is that: we (mainly our generation) is too obsess with social media and with how we want people see us. Alexie is telling all of us that we rather live in our own worlds were the only thing that matter is how many likes we have and that we are missing from too many things in real life "let's sign in, sign up, and confess/Here at the altar of loneliness".

Haley B

2/15/2016 08:38:14 pm

Yes, I agree. I think he was adressing our generation specifically, because of howhat he said "high school reunion". I believe that Alexie was using this as a commentary on how we, as you said, obsess over social media.

GabeSoFly

2/14/2016 09:51:14 pm

A3: I think Sherman picks Facebook as the main topic of this sonnet mainly because it's the most widely used source of "social" media on this planet and along with the that the most compatible with the population of earth. Unlike MySpace, it's much more common and unlike Twitter it's much easier to understand and use, just as human interaction should be. The idea of the past (first quatrain), the present (second quatrain) and the future (third quatrain, hidden in the phrase "search for God" as in to insinuate a future) all being combined into a single source of media grants the possibility of living through life all at once, as most humans would like to.
Also, I believe Sherman uses a sonnet rather than another form of poem or prose mainly because a sonnet is the most simplistic yet innocent form of connecting with emotions and getting one's point across. A sonnet is completely made of 14 lines, and for a poet to be able to encompass all ideas into those 14 lines is a skill much undervalued.

2/14/2016 10:04:16 pm

Q1: One of the most important ideas of this sonnet is the power of humanity dependence evolving to technology dependence. Alexie uses the last lines of the sonnet to say: "Let's sign up, sign in, and confess here at the altar of loneliness. I thought of the altar as like one in a wedding and took loneliness to mean that with technology in the way, it has become impossible to rely on another human now a days. I see another important point as the time period of the sonnet gradually making the point about technology reliability. "Let's exhume, resume, and extend childhood. Let's all play the games that occupy the young." Unlike how it used to be in the past, children are now exposed to technology everywhere. I think Alexie was trying to make a point that the youth are innocent and not yet tampered with by technology so why can't everyone stay that way?

2/14/2016 10:25:56 pm

A1: I believe the most important idea behind this poem is that people are now obsessed with knowing what they don't have and making their lives seem greater than what they actually are. It is like a constant high school reunion where everyone puts on a façade and pretends to have the better life than the next person by constantly posting edited forms of the truth. The fact that a person can play the little-kid games makes the whole idea of Facebook seem happy and light-hearted, but when the sonnet mentions "church.com" it becomes clear that this life online is not something that is real but something that is wished to be real.

alexis delong

2/14/2016 11:44:52 pm

q1: the poem is about the openness and oversharing of what used to be private and sacred, as well as the clinging to the past and nostalgia, both of which are brought on by social media. the poem invites the reader to "exhume, resume, and extend childhood" and to "undervalue and unmend the present" and extend "welcome to past friends and lovers, however kind or cruel". these lines imply an exhalted past, for which all its parts are brought together on facebook's forum. they express a desire for an "endless high-school reunion" and to relish in the good-old-days online. this behavior is normal, even healthy, but the poem implies that it extends so much into the present that it becomes unhealthy.
additionally, the sonnet addresses the departure of privacy. lines such as "let fame and shame intertwine" and "let one's search for God become public domain. / Let church.com become our church. / Let's sign up, sign in, and confess" describe the need to overshare and open up for all to see online. they imply that religion has shifted from something private and personal to something that is displayed; facebook has become the streetcorner for pharisees to pray at, if you will. it has become less about personal growth and learning and more about attention.
the poem implies that our society's view of life has shifted. no longer do we leave past lovers or friends behind us, nor do we keep our personal lives - our family pictures, our hobbies, our religion - to ourselves. it describes a culture of oversharing and too much connection to the past, and it implies that this behavior is unhealthy because it "undervalues and unmends the present", and, despite the apparent overcommunication, that it leads to ultimate loneliness.

2/14/2016 11:45:38 pm

i didnt mean to write so much rip

Haley Blunt

2/15/2016 08:33:19 pm

A1: I believe that Sherman Alexie wrote this poem as a commentary on social media in our modern world. People share everything, while simultaneously being alone. By using "high school reunion", he is adressing our generation. A lot of us are obsessed with social media. Some of us can't go a day without using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. It replaces face to face interactions. It keeps us staring down at our devices, unaware of what is going on around us. Connected to the Facebook, yet disconnected from meaningful interaction.

Deep link

2/15/2016 09:53:26 pm

The most important idea in the poem is the permeation of technology in general and social media specifically into our daily lives and interactions as stated by the title and by phrases such as "...sign up, sign in..." and " "...church.com our domain...". The meter of the poem and the the short broken sentences help to amplify and enhance the feeling of brokenness and disjointedness. This sonnet about Facebook appeals to everyone from the soccer mom to the disgruntled child of said soccer mom and therefore has a wide audience.

2/16/2016 05:54:41 pm

Q1: I think the most important idea of this poem is wanting to be seen. Everyone sits on social media talking about themselves, their problems, others problems, what they stand for, and god knows what else. The whole purpose of those people saying those things is for people to respond to them with hate or sympathy. In the first stanza when she talks about the "endless high-school reunion" she is talking about how every grown man or woman on Facebook is talking to there old friends trying to make their life sound greater than it actually is just to try and one-up the other person. They want to be noticed and make everyone think they're the best. "Let’s undervalue and unbend the present" is saying that people on Facebook are blind of what is happening in todays world, and still stuck in the past. All of these things that have become private are now open to the public. Religion used to be a private thing but as she says in the sonnet, "Let one's search for God become public domain." meaning that even something as sacred as religion is out on the line for everyone to see. Much like everyones lives on the internet.

2/17/2016 10:55:08 am

A3: Alexie writes about Facebook because it is a platform that applies to the most people regardless of generation. Now, Facebook is used primarily by the middle aged, but at the height of its popularity, every age group seemed to be utilizing it. That being said, Alexie critiques the social media craze of today in sonnet form to bind the old with the new. He values poetry above the subject he writes about because otherwise he could have presented his views in the form of a status update or text.