Dec 5, 2024
8 Books I Read Growing Up: A Poem
#blackout poetry#poetry#poem#me#jazelock#my poetry#explanations for those who may be unfamiliar with the books and/or passages but are still interested in figuring out the subtext:#The Intrusion: A man seeks the help of the Black Widowers in finding the man who took advantage of his mentally disabled sister. Henry#suggests to the man that he tell the rapist's wife what her husband did instead of beating the guy up so as to ruin the rapist's reputation#and life. Someone says that's a cruel suggestion and Henry responds that it was a cruel deed.#The Witches: The main character asks if the grandmother's missing thumb was the result of a run-in with a witch she had as a child and#she immediately goes silent and unresponsive for the rest of the night.#Hickory Dickory Dock: The murderer's accomplice turns on him after she's caught because she wants the psychopath to hang for his crimes.#The Giving Tree: The titular tree continually gives away pieces of herself to the human she loves even letting him chop down her trunk#so that he can make a boat to sail away in. This is the first and only time in the book that the tree is described as anything but happy.#The Picture of Dorian Gray: The amoral Lord Henry explains his philosophy to Dorian Gray that completely selfish hedonism is what all men#should aspire to. This conversation is what sends Dorian Gray down the path of depravity and cruelty.#The Return of the King: The hobbits finally return home after three long books' struggle against the forces of evil. However Frodo's#traumatic experiences continue to haunt him and he eventually decides to leave Middle-earth entirely due to how badly he's been wounded.#A Scandal in Bohemia: Sherlock Holmes and his client the King of Bohemia arrive at Irene Adler's home to retrieve the photograph that the#king claims she intends to use as blackmail. Instead they find a letter from Irene that explains that the king had “cruelly wronged” her#and she intends to keep the photo not as blackmail but as security in case he tries to harm her in the future. She also points out that she#and her husband saw no other option than to flee England entirely given how much power the king has at his disposal. The king even said at#the start that he'd had her waylaid and burglarized multiple times already which is horrifying if you think about it in this essay I will#The Eyes of the Dragon: I love this one. An evil magician murders the beloved queen then the king and frames the crown prince so that he#can install the younger brother on the throne as a puppet king. The younger brother has been gaslighted and isolated his entire life by#the magician. Eventually the older brother escapes from prison and confronts the magician who claims there's no proof he murdered the king#(and also that the prince and his allies won't leave the room alive). Unbeknownst to everyone the younger brother is also in the room and#suddenly speaks up to say he saw the magician poison his father. The magician leaps at him to kill him (mistaking him for the ghost of his#father). The younger brother says softly “You told me only lies magician” and shoots him right in the eye with the 90-lb bow in his lap.