Page 112 - Demo

2005 Redefining AmericaMy brother should still be thirteen, sneakingrum in the bathroom, sculpting naked womenfrom sand. I should still be eight years olddazzled by seashells and how many secondsI hold my breath underwater%u2014but I%u2019m not%u2014I am thirty-eight, driving up Collier Boulevard,looking for The Gulf Motel, for everythingthat should still be, but isn%u2019t. I want to blamethe condos, their shadows, for ruining the beach,and my past, I want to chase the snowbirds awaywith their tacky mansions and yachts, I wantto turn the golf courses back into mangroves.I want to find The Gulf Motel exactly as it wasand pretend for a moment, nothing lost is lost. 2012QUESTIONS Understanding and Interpreting1. We can assume the speaker in %u201cLooking for the Gulf Motel%u201d is the poet, but how wouldyou characterize his persona? What do we know about the speaker%u2019s parents? Hisbrother?2. How is the poem%u2019s present different from the past it describes?3. In lines 13 and 14 the speaker says the family brings their own food to the motel, %u201cAllbecause we can%u2019t afford to eat out, not even / on vacation?%u201d Why do you think there is aquestion mark after %u201cvacation%u201d?4. In the poem%u2019s last stanza, the speaker starts four sentences with %u201cI want.%u201d What is it that hewants, in addition to the specifics he mentions in the poem?QUESTIONS Analyzing Language, Style, and Structure5. Vocabulary in Context. In lines 49%u201355 the speaker uses language that is somewhat specificto the poem%u2019s location in Florida. Define %u201ccondos,%u201d %u201csnowbirds,%u201d and %u201cmangroves.%u201d How dothese words create both the setting and the mood of the poem?6. What do you notice about the italicized line that is repeated between each stanza of thepoem? What is the effect of this repetition?7. %u201cLooking for the Gulf Motel%u201d is filled with very specific concrete images. What ties themtogether, and how does the specificity of these images still manage to say something aboutthe universal experience of nostalgia, or a longing for the past?8. The word %u201cshould%u201d is repeated many times throughout the poem. How is the poet%u2019s use of%u201cshould%u201d different from the way we commonly use the word? How does that usage helpcreate the poem%u2019s tone and, ultimately, one of its themes?455055Copyright %u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.