ASSIGNMENT FOR "HOW A WALL STANDS," by Simon J. Ortiz

Native American Literature

English 3, Mr. Platt

Questions for Simon J. Ortiz’s “A Story of How a Wall Stands”

Part I:  Questions about the poem

1. Who is the subject of the poem (about whom is the poem written?)
2. Who is the speaker in the poem?
3. What is the poem literally about?
4. What is the metaphor in the poem?

Part II:  The Metaphor

In the poem, a wall is a metaphor for something else.  The metaphor of the wall, and how it is built, is meant to help the speaker (and the reader of the poem) understand the complexities of some aspect of life.

Consider the life of a typical California teenager.  Contemplate the difficulties, pressures, advantages, etc. of a teen today.  Then, describe something—perhaps from everyday life—that serves as a metaphor for a California teen’s life.  For example, the sea has long been a metaphor for the stages of life because it is cyclical (with “high tides” and “low tides”), it contains so much life within it, and it is vast and almost incomprehensible, just like life.  Be creative in your metaphor, and be ready to talk about it in class.

You may describe your metaphor on the back of the page on the front of which is your answers to the above questions.