The Negro Speaks Of Rivers by Langston Hughes

I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than theflow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Life Is Fine by Langston Hughes

I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevatorSixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love--
But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!

I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

My Favourite Poet

Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was a great American writer. He was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best-known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes stressed the importance of a racial consciousness and cultural nationalism devoid of self-hate that united people of African descent and Africa across the globe and encouraged pride in their own diverse black folk culture and black aesthetic.
Hughes had a very poor relationship with his father. Hughes lived with his father in Mexico for a brief period in 1919. The relationship between the two was strained and unhappy, causing Langston to attempt suicide multiple times.
Langston Hughes was a great man that wanted to change America for the greater good. His poems emphasised how the African Americans were treated unequally. He had a goal to bring back the old America. From “Let America Be America Again”, we realise that he was passionate about America, how he wants America to revive the American Dream. His ultimate
goal was for every race to be equal, and that the Africans Americans will be treated equally with the other races.
Langston Hughes was a very straightforward man who spoke his mind when needed to. He could express himself, his life very clearly onto his poems. He did not regard other people’s views towards him. He wanted to speak blatantly.
Langston Hughes’s poems always had a meaning behind a poem; he always had a reason for writing it. His poems went beyond just plain writing; he wrote poems to show his opinion towards a particular subject.
On May 22, 1967, Langston Hughes died from complications after abdominal surgery, related to prostate cancer, at the age of 65. His ashes are interred beneath a floor medallion in the middle of the foyer leading to the auditorium named for him within the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. The design on the floor covering his cremated remains is an African cosmogram titled Rivers. The title is taken from the poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Hughes. Within the center of the cosmogram and precisely above the ashes of Hughes are the words My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Langston Hughes was a brave and great man that influenced others to follow his footsteps. His contributions to poetry would never be forgotten.

'Life Is Fine' by Langston Hughes

I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevator Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love--
But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine

1)I think that this poem used hyperbole as the poem said that "I came up once and hollered!I came up twice and cried!" and "I stood there and I hollered!I stood there and I cried". The author wants to tell us the his life was not good.

2)I like this poem because iwe t is easy to understand and the language use is not to profound. The author express his life emotionally. The author also appreciate his life a lot as he decided not to kill himself. The author also 'send' a message that tell us to appreciate our own life because for livin' we was born. The author that wrote poem is also very touching.I hope to read more poems written by this poet, Langston Hughes.

Gathering Party With My P6 Friends

Last Saturday, I went to a gathering party at my P6 friend's house. It was a potluck BBQ party. Although not all my ex-classmates could attend, but there were still a big cloud of them. I am very glad to see them. Before we started the BBQ party, all of us went for swimming at the swimming pool. We played some water games. We also took pictures in the swimming pool. After swimming, we dried ourselves and started the BBQ party. Starting the fire was a challenging part as the charcoals were quite hard to catch fire. Soon, the fire was lit and everyone were happy. We had sausages, fish balls, chicken wings, lamb slices and many more. All of us had a very good time. After everyone is bloated, all of us have to tell a joke or a story. Most of my friends told spooky ghost stories and scared everyone. Some told funny jokes and some told cold jokes. We end our party at about 10pm, we all were very happy and hope to organize another party soon.

My Fvourite Character In The Novel Village By The Sea

My favourite character in the novel Village By The Sea is Hari. This is because Hari is a boy who endure even though in the most harsh conditions. Hari is hardworking and he earn the living of his family in their small and miserable farm. He earn the most when he is in Bombay. When he is in Bombay, he worked under a very harsh condition but he endured and never complain. Hari is also a boy who is eager to learn new skills that will make some money for his starving family. My least favourite character in the novel Village By The Sea is Hari’s father. Hari’s father is a irresponsible father, he leave his family to his children and let them starve. The family is already so poor but Hari’s father continue to spend his money to buy toddy instead use his money to support his family. Hari’s father sometimes also destroy some of the household wares when he was drunk. Hari set a good example for his younger sister but his father did not.

Confession Of A Computer Game Addict

I am a computer game addict. Everyday, I spent more than 8 hours in front of the computer playing games that I bought or borrowed from my friends. I believed playing games can relieve stress therefore I can concentrate in my school. Everyday, I sleep around 1 o’clock in the morning. After school, I will rush home and start playing all sort of games like action games, sport games, racing games and more. When my parents asked about my homework, I always tell them I had finished my homeworks but actually I have not. The next day, I will copy my homeworks from my friends or just simply do it. I thought that playing games will help me improve my studies by concentrating when teacher is teaching but my grades keep going downhill and my parents and teachers were very worried. They started suspecting that I face some problems. Everyday, my parents will check my homeworks and observe me finishing my homeworks. My friends also encourage me in school. I hope in term 3, I will control my self from playing too much of computer games and focus more on my studies.

I Rather Be The City Rat Than The Country Rat

I rather be the city rat than the country rat because living condition in the city is better than the countryside. In the city, there are good and clean restaurants, not like the countryside that you have to starve sometimes. For some of us, we like the lively city, unlike the quiet and boring countryside. The city also have all sorts of entertainment like shopping complexes, arcade centers, cyber cafés, night clubs and more but the countryside only have farms, estates and a simple general store. The communication systems in the city are far better than the countryside. We can easily surf the internet and calling someone but in the countryside, accessing the internet or calling someone is quite difficult. If you are sick or hurt, in the city, there are many hospitals around you but it is difficult to find one in countryside and the medical facilities there may not be as good as in the city. There are more job opportunities in the city than in countryside and is better pay in the city. With the reasons stated above, for me, living in the city is better than the countryside.

The Part I Like The most In The Novel Village By The Sea

The part I like the best in the novel Village By The Sea is when Hari is in Bombay working in Jagu’s eating house and Mr Panwallah’s watch shop. He ran away from Thul to Bombay is to earn some money for his starving family and his father who was a drunkard. During the days in Bombay, Hari worked very hard even though under a uncomfortable condition but never complain. During summer, the heat in the kitchen was intense and during the monsoon season the kitchen was wet and the floor was slippery. Hari endured all the difficulties he encountered. During the afternoon, he was quite free so he seeked permission from Jagu to work in Mr Panwallah’s watch shop and earn more money and learn watch mending skill. He was hard working and willing to learn new things. In Bombay, Hari never forgot his family. He wrote postcard to his family in Thul about his condition in Bombay. Hari’s endurance and hardworking attitude make him a good person and he also set a good example for his younger sister.

No...It's the end of term 1 holiday!

Early this morning, after I dressed up myself, my mom took my brother and I to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast.That coffee shop sells my favourite sandwich and 'teh tarik'. After eating my breakfast, mom sent me to the Puduraya bus stop in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia. Today is the last day of term 1 holiday and I will have to leave my family in Malaysia as study in Singapore. When it's time to leave, my younger brother gave me a big hug and tears rolling down his face. I boarded the bus and found my seat. The journey from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Singapore took about six hours. When I reached Singapore, I went to a nearby hawker centre for lunch. Then, I took a bus to Hwa Chong Institution Boarding School (HCIBS). That's the place where I stay when I study in Hwa Chong Institution (Singapore). After I unpack everything, It's already dinner time, so I went to eat my dinner. After I had my dinner, I went to blog (which is now). I am very sleepy so I decide to sleep after I finish this blog article. No... Term 1 Holiday is over!!!

The Term 1 Holidays.....

After coming back from the Sarimbun camp, I packed my belongings and get ready to go back to Kuala Lumpur(Malaysia) for Term 1 Holiday. I took the bus 170 to Larkin bus station and bought a bus ticket to Pudu Raya bus station (Kuala Lumpur).The journey is about 5 hours. When I reached Kuala Lumpur, my mom was waiting there to fetch me home. I was very happy to meet my family memebers as I stayed in Singapore for 10 weeks without them around me, especially my youngest brother.

A Victim Of Cerebral Palsy Which Had A Strong Determination (LA Assignment)

Miss Oh Siew May, 38, a Cerbral Palsy (A symtom caused by brain damage that will affect the victim's muscular coordination and control)victim who had climbed Mt. Kinabalu that is 4,095m above sea level and wrote a book called "Scaling Wall".The book, "Scaling Wall", was out last Saturday and 3,000 copies of that book had been sold. Her life was not easy since she is young. One of her four sibblingswas impaired when he/she caught a high fever. The her father tried to kill himself when he gets to know that he had colon cancer but he died after 8 months he gets to know about his cancer. Because of so many reasons, she need to help to support the family by earning some extra cash because her mother alone is unable to support the whole family. But in the process of finding job, many companies turned down her applications but luckily she found a job ina supermarket and after some time, she won the best workers award.After she had gone through so many difficulties, she did not gave up determine to improve herself. "If you think you are useless, you are useless" is her motto. Iagree with that because we should care whot we think but not how others talk about you. Although she had gone through many years of bitterness, she did not give up but tend to improve hersekf. Some of her friends also help her in reealising her dreams.
This character-driven story, is a good article whrere Miss Oh did not care about what others talk about her and only focuses in realising her dreams. Miss Oh's word also brings motivation as she showa that how determined she is in realising the dreams. We should also encourage ourself in realising our dreams, just like Ms Oh!

Merlion Caged

Singapore's well known Merlion had been struck by lightning! Last Saturday, it was cloudy and thunder was commonly heard around The Merlion. Suddenly, a lightning struck the head of The Merlion. This cause the water that sprout out from the Merlion's mouth to malfunction. a tourist said that he was disappointed because he cannot get a perfect picture of Merlion sprouting water. When the Singapore Tourist Board heard the news, they immediately send a team of workers to check the damage on Merlion's head. The Singapore Tourism Board also said that this is not the first time that Merlion is being struck by lightning.

I think that this is an event story because it is about an event about Merlion's head being struck by the lightning and malfunction it's water sprouting system.

I think that this should not happened because the authorities should install lighting rods around Merlion to prevent it from being struck by the lightning. this would save a lot of cost from repairing it. The Merlion is build at an semi-open area so it is quite easy to get srike by lightning.

Handcuffed Singaporean Flees From Custody In Malaysia

This news article is about a Singaporean, Jay Chia Shao Kiat, 32, charge for drug trafficking in court and faces the death sentence.

Last Friday, two policemen were escorting Chia and two other detainees back to their lock-up at about 12:30 pm,but when the police vehicle stopped, Chia managed to shoved one of the policeman out of the vehicle with his hands still cuffed behind. The other policeman could not go after him because he need to watch over the other two detainees.

I think that the article is an character-driven story because is about a particular detainee escape from a police vehicle with his hand cuffed behind. The article also explain about the detainee's background and why he is being charged in court.

I think this should not happen. The police department should seperate three detainees from sitting in the same vehicle because normally one vehicle can accomodate five people. Besideas that, the the detainees are more than the police so it may be quite easy for the detainees to escape.
(The Sraits Times , Monday 23rd of February 2009, PG A4)