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Question 1

Raining - Sadness: Reflects grief, sinking into mud like her mother’s grave.

Hollow sound: Represents hopelessness, pun on “hollowed ground.”

Sun (contrast):

Could symbolize fleeting hope or harsh reality.

Answer 1

“the suck of mud at our feet was a hollow sound”

graveyard blues (Part 1)

Question 2

Contrast with rain
- Sadness: Represents grief, sinking into the mud, feeling trapped by loss.
- Hopelessness: Hollow sound, mirroring the emptiness of mourning.

Sun:

Ironic Happiness: The sun, typically a symbol of joy, reflects her inner guilt and aggression towards herself for leaving her mother.

“Glared”: Personified sun, showing anger, highlighting her internal conflict and guilt.

Answer 2

“[the sun] glared down on me as I turned and walked away”

graveyard blues (Part 1)

Question 3

Stone Pillow:

Oxymoron: Combines opposites—stone (death, cold, gravestone) and pillow (comfort, rest).

Stone: Represents death, grief, and hardness.

Pillow for my head: Metaphor for lying near her mother’s grave, symbolizing a desperate connection.

Meaning:

Guilt: She cannot find comfort in sleep due to guilt, unable to rest peacefully.

Answer 3

“My mother’s name, stone pillow for my head”

graveyard blues (Part 1)

Question 4

SUMMARY

Answer 4

the mother has died, they’re in the graveyard, it is a funeral

Preacher (priest - american south) is asking people to speak - so she speaks about her mother

graveyard blues (Part 1)

Question 5

STRUCTURE

Answer 5

Blues: A genre tied to the American South and African American identity, historically used to express grief.

Rhyme (AAB/AAA): The repeated A’s emphasize key emotional words.

Melancholic Tone: The sadness of death and the deep grief felt, which links to the historical use of blues music by slaves to express sorrow.

graveyard blues (Part 1)

Question 6

THEMES

Answer 6

grief, identity, american south (blues)

graveyard blues (Part 1)