Julie's Essay

Julie Philippe
Mr. H. Salsich
English 9
April 14th, 2009

Love:

An Essay Based on Naomi Shihab Nye’s “The Little Brother Poem”

Aside from the hurtful insults that never seem to stop, the painful slaps on the back, the yelling and screaming back and forth, a brother is still a brother, and a sister is still a sister (Periodic Sentence). Through the deepest of pain, it hurts the most to hear the sweet voice of your sibling and never hear it again afterwards. It hurts to let go of the smiles and tears you once experienced with your brother. It hurts to feel empty.

TS In Naomi Shihab Nye’s “The Little Brother Poem”, she expresses her reminiscent feelings for her brother through the main theme of the poem: love. SD She uses metaphors to symbolize her relationship with her brother. CM His success over hers has brought out their differences as “[he] is Wall Street and [she] is the local fruit market”. CM But “that‘s fine, [she] will take differences over things that match” and her love for her little brother will never change. SD Throughout her poem, Ms. Nye uses imagery to convey the memories with her brother, as if she was turning back pages of good times spent with him. CM She speaks of “dumping out a whole drawer [of memories]”, to symbolize that she was letting go of her bad actions and remembering the good times. CM She talks about the day she pushed him in front of a bicycle, “[his] face bleeding”, but apart from her mean words and bad actions, “[she] wanted [him]”. SD She also uses bits of alliteration in her poem. CM His voice “sounded small”, but his presence was still there. CM Her reminiscing self tells her “it’s true, there are things [she] would change”. CS Naomi was the big sister, but in the end, she comes to him for comfort and love.

TS Like Ms. Nye’s fondness for her brother, Isabel and Sonny have dealt with strong emotions as well. SD After Little Grace died, Isabel’s heart felt empty and the lamenting (FAST) sound she heard at night “sounded small, [] like the little [girl] [she] didn’t have anymore“. CM The beautiful little girl that Isabel had once held in her arms was gone. CM The silence, the grumbling sound, the “mortal wound”, made her afraid (Asyndeton). SD Naomi Shihab Nye spoke of her brother changing and growing up to become “Pierre Cardin” and it seems as though Sonny changed as “his fingers filled the air with life”. CM The way he played the piano let out voices of freedom, without battle. CM His music reflected the long path of suffering he had gone through, the anguish (FAST), and the endless tears. SD The way Ms. Nye looked up to her brother was similar to the way Sonny glanced at his brother, with respect and admiration. CM Perhaps Sonny’s music was a reward to his brother, as if he was “sorry for everything [he] did that hurt”. CM Sonny was “giving it back”. CS Two siblings, following their hearts as brothers, forgiving the painful words, mourning for the loss of a loved one, and appreciating the glowing “phrase of the song” (Participle phrase as a closer).

Life is too short to miss out on the beauty of a relationship, the importance of love, or the impact of change. As Ms. Nye's brother grew up and became mature, she found herself needing him more than he needed her. Without his big brother, Sonny wouldn't have been sitting on that piano, playing the notes that meant so much to the eyes of his family. Without love, neither character would have been able to say, “I wanted you” without ever closing the door on each other.