JenniferStPeter

"A Story about the Body" by Robert Hass (1990) Jennifer St. Peter Way 1 My first thoughts about this poem were very different from the thoughts I experienced after I read it for a second time. At first I thought that this poem was about love and sex, and that the man was a complete jerk who has misplaced feelings. Without looking at the title I first thought that this poem was about the feelings between a man and a woman. After looking at the title and reading the end of the poem I realized that it was about so much more than simple sexual attraction between two people. This poem connects the concept of illness and sexuality. Many people who have a mastectomy have a very low self-esteem and see themselves no longer as the sexual being they once were. Hass uses his poem to illustrate the fear that most people with breast cancer imagine everyday and he relates this fear to their self-concept rather than to their illness. Many woman can find out that they have cancer and only worry about the cosmetic effects before they completely consider the life or death situation. Hass uses the misplaced perfection of the Japanese woman to illustrate that the man truly does not know what his feelings are or what the woman is like. Her old age makes her seem delicate and flawless, giving the impression that she has been through a lot and overcome giving her a sexual attraction that the man cannot find with younger woman. I believe the fact that the woman is a painter creates even more sexual desire for the man because her art work symbolizes her complexity and makes the man have a desire to uncover her true meaning. The petals symbolize how the aesthetic was better than what was inside. He found her to be beautiful and delicate just like a rose petal, however, when her learned the truth he became disappointed. His disappointment can be symbolized by either the bees at the bottom of the bowl, or the fact that petals were placed on top. At first petals are beautiful and delicate, but with time they become brown and decayed. As soon as the man found out that the woman was not the perfect image of beauty that he had expected his sexual attraction for her died, just like the bees on the bottom of the bowl. This poem was very interesting to me in the way that it compared illness and sexuality.

Way 2 A Story About the Body //Robert Hass//

The young composer, working that summer at an artist's colony, had watched her for a week. She was Japanese, a painter, almost sixty, and he thought he was in love with her. He loved her work, and her work was like the way she moved her body, used her hands,Figurative Language 1 looked at him directly when she made amused or considered answers to his questions. Flash Fiction One night, walking back from a concert, they came to her door and she turned to him and said, "I think you would like to have me. I would like that too, but I must tell you I have had a double mastectomy," and when he didn't understand, "I've lost both my breasts." the radiance that he had carried around in his belly and chest cavity--like music--withered, very quickly,Figurative Language 2 and he made himself look at her when he said, "I'm sorry. I don't think I could." He walked back to his own cabin through the pines, and in the morning he found a small blue bowl on the porch outside his door. It looked to be full of rose petals, but he found when he picked it up that the rose petals were on top; the rest of the bowl--she must have swept them from the corners of her studio Figurative Language 4--was full of dead bees.Figurative Language 3

[|Audio Recording of "A Story About the Body"]

The sounds of this poem are very enunciated. There are no contractions seen throughout the poem and every word is considered important. Having no rhyming forces the reader to read every word that is written. Having no rhyme scheme forces the reader to follow the punctuation and read line for line to focus on the true meaning of this poem. I did not find any special sounds throughout this poem when first reading it or after listening to the audio recording. Some of the statements made by the woman and the man in this poem I feel would be emphasized in the spoken word, and the sounds used to emphasize them would allow the reader to notice there importance. For example "I've lost both my breasts" (Hass), would sound soft allowing the reader to see that the woman may be somewhat embarrassed about the fact that her illness has effected her sexuality. Another example is when the man says "I'm sorry. I don't think I could" (Hass), would be said with the sound of some shame, in this audio file the reader makes it sound harsh and without feeling, but I feel the man would have some shame in rejecting the woman he had once thought so beautiful.

Way 3 This story is very short and concise. It allows the reader to jump right into the situation. There are some details portrayed to the reader to allow them to understand the reason for the man's intense interest in the woman. The way that the poem just hits you with the fact that the woman had cancer and gives you no more details than that allows the reader to be surprised and interested all at once. The man had such a strong attraction to the woman because in his mind she was perfect, much like her artwork. When he learns of this major flaw there is nothing but disappointment in his heart. The woman who he had misplaced with perfection was deeply flawed and this made the man lose all his attraction for her. The author wrote a very concise story, but it allows us to see many different elements. This poem connects many of the thoughts between illness and sexuality that so many people confront everyday. Also the rose petals and the bees allows the reader to see how hurt the woman was and also to compare the bowl to her body.

Way 3 Having this story narrated by an outside source and not placing the man or the woman as the speaker allows the reader to look at the situation from a neutral stand point. If the speaker was the man the story would cause the reader to be disappointed with the woman and see why the man left. We would have more insight to his true feelings and a better understanding of why he left her. If the speaker was the woman it would cause the reader to feel angry and betrayed by the man. Allowing the speaker to be an outside source allows the reader to make their own conclusions and feelings. Having the story being told by a narrator allows the reader to place themselves within the story.

Way 4 The first instance of figurative language that I found within my piece was when the narrator states “He loved her work, and her work was like the way she moved, used her hands” (Hass 2-3). This is a metaphor that allows the reader to compare the beauty of the woman’s art work to her outward beauty. The man is fascinated with the woman and he is mesmerized by her movements and the use of her hands to create her art. The man has a desire for both her art and her body, but the desire is facilitated by the comparison of perfection between her art work and her body. The man believes that the woman is perfect and beautiful just like her artwork and that is why he compares her movements to the movements and beauty within her work.

By using the word love here the author is really placing an emphasis on the importance of her work. By using the word love it is easy for the reader to see that her work was wonderful and perfect. By comparing her work which he loved to the way she moved, used her hands, and looked at him gives the reader to impression that he loves her as well. If the author would have chosen a word such as liked, appreciated, or admired the affection and desire the man felt would not seem as important. By using the word love the reader gets the feeling that the man loves this woman and wants nothing more than to be with her.

This is very important to the rest of the poem. In this one phrase the author allows the reader to see the strength of the man’s feelings and their relevance to this piece. Having used the word loved one would think that the man would want to be with the woman no matter what. If the author would have used any other word the reader would not have been so angry about the man turning the woman down due to her mastectomy. If the man’s desire for the woman came off as purely sexual and not, meaningful and loving it would not have been such a shock to the reader when he said no to the woman.

Way 4 The second instance of figurative language that I found within my piece was when the narrator states “the radiance that he had carried around in his belly and chest cavity--like music--withered, very quickly” (Hass 7-8). This is a symbol that allows the reader to understand the extreme disappointment felt by the man. By stating that the radiance, earlier referred to as love, the man has carried withers allows the reader to understand the loss of feelings felt by the man. He had misplaced the perfect of the woman’s artwork onto her and the fact that she lost her breasts caused the man to have that perfect taken away. The woman is suddenly flawed and this causes the man to lose his desire for the woman.

By using the word radiance to explain the feelings of the man the author allows the reader to understand how strong his feelings were. Like radiance from the sun or a beam of light the man had love for this woman beaming within. If the author would have chosen a word such as feelings, affection, or admiration the extreme feelings of the man would not be well portrayed. By choosing the word withered the reader can understand the extreme disappointment felt by the man. Withered means to “shrivel, fade, or decay” (dictionary.com) and this is important for the reader to understand. The man’s feelings, his love, for this woman instantly fades when he learns that she has no breasts. This allows the reader to understand how misplaced the man’s feelings were from the beginning and how flawed the man’s love was.

This is very important to the rest of the poem. In this one phrase the author allows the reader to see how strong the man’s feelings were and how quickly they faded away. The author makes a really nice connection between their date and a concert and the music withering away when the man learns of the mastectomy. Just as the concert had ended abruptly the man’s feelings like the music had disappeared. All the man was left with was disappointment and a loss of desire. This is important to the rest of the poem because it allows the reader to see how misplaced the man’s feelings were and how quickly the woman lost her “radiance.” The woman had been compared to her artwork which the man found perfect, so when he learns of the fact that she has no breasts that perfect is lost and the man is only left with a feeling of disappointment and dissatisfaction with the woman who he had previously loved.

Way 4 The third instance of figurative language that I found within my piece was when the narrator states “It looked to be full of rose petals, but he found when he picked it up that the rose petals were on top/ the rest of the bowl/ was full of dead bees” (Hass 11-12). This is a symbol that allows the reader to understand the extreme disappointment felt by the man, and the extreme hurt felt by the woman. The woman was beautiful and perfect in the mans eyes like the rose petals, however, when the man learned the truth about the woman’s body he no longer had love for her and felt disappointment which is illustrated by the bees. On the surface the woman looked to be perfect and beautiful, but when the man looked deeper and learned more he found that she was flawed and missing a main component of sexuality. This bowl symbolizes the woman as a whole. On the surface she was beautiful like a rose, but the true woman was flawed like the dead bees that were beneath.

By using dead bees to explain the feelings of the man the author allows the reader to understand how strong his feelings of disappointment were. Having something such as rose petals which are a classical sign of romance cover up dead bees is a perfect symbol of the feelings felt by both the woman and the man. By using the words “dead bees” the author really allows the reader to understand the hurt of the woman toward the man and the man’s disappointment toward the outcome of the woman. By using such extreme differences in the same bowl allows the reader to understand the complete turn around of the feelings felt by both individuals.

These lines in the poem really bring together the conclusion. To me these lines represent the woman’s misplaced perfection by the man. This is important to the poem because illness and sexuality are things that are very closely related, and many times people who have such an extreme illness as cancer feel like they have lost their sexuality. The woman has lost her breasts, the main sexual attraction that men have, and still feels beautiful. This is rare to find and the woman’s confidence in her beauty is inspirational to the many woman who feel like they have lost their sexuality due to an illness. The woman being rejected becomes even more so cruel and pitiless of the man when you consider what she most have gone through with her illness. Having the woman send the man a bowl filled with dead bees covered with rose petals connects the feelings of the woman and the man to the rest of the poems meaning.

Way 4 The final instance of figurative language that I found in the poem is when the author states “swept them from the corners of her studio” (Hass 12-13). To me this is a symbol of the woman’s feelings. I feel like she put herself out there and was turned down so abruptly so she found her emotions from the depth of her heart and placed them in a bowl for the man to see. I feel like this is a symbol of how she put the truth and her illness out there and how the man rejected her.

I believe that the word “corners” is important because it shows that the woman had to search her home for something that showed the man her feelings of hurt. Having the bees already be present in her studio where she created perfection is important to the understanding of the poem. The artwork of the woman is what caused the love of the man in the first place; however, her studio where she created this perfect was flawed just like she was. In her studio she had bees in the corners which represent the secrets she had within her body.

This connects to the rest of the poem because it shows the importance of the flaws of the woman. The flaws were always present, however, the man’s desire and perspective of perfection blinds him to her flaws. The way that he compares her perfection to the perfection of her artwork is important because there have been flaws within her studio always.

Way 5 This short story takes place at an artists colony in the summertime. The man and the woman are both artists and the man is intrigued by the woman's work. He finds both her work and her body beautiful. The night that the man and woman have a date they attend a concert and they are walking together under the stars. This sets a romantic setting for the man and woman to have their intimate moment. With the setting being an artists colony in the summertime after a concert it leads the reader to believe that this is a romantic connection between the man and woman and that romance rather than rejection is going to happen. Allowing the setting to set such a romantic tone creates an element of surprise when the reader encounters the cruel rejection by the man. The beginning of the story with the romantic setting leads the reader to believe that it will be some sort of a fairy tale story about the romance between a man and a woman. This set up allows the reader to feel the harshness of the rejection the man places upon the woman. This is what allows the reader to see the hurt and disappointment felt by the woman. The difference between the romantic setting and the man's disappointment and rejection to the woman allows the reader to understand the significance the woman's illness had on her body image and the amount of courage it took for her to tell the man about her mastectomy. Having the setting being different from the results makes the flash fiction story hit home and allow the reader to see its importance.

Way 6 This story is written in third person objective point of view. According to Brown and Yarbrough third person objective point of view is told by a narrator who does not allow the reader who "are never given an insight into the characters' subjective points of view, rather we must judge, evaluate, or analyze them" (65). Using this narrative does not allow the reader into the thoughts and feelings of the characters, and allows the reader to be surprised by the events that happen within the story. Not giving the reader insight to the feelings and thoughts of the characters allows the reader to create their own feelings about the situations in the story and the results. If the story was narrated by the man, the reader would have different feelings about the outcome of the date. Being allowed to see what is happening within the story and the characters' feelings would change the way the reader reacts to situations. Having the man be the narrator the reader would feel less pain for the woman and be able to have insight into the man's feelings. Understanding why the man rejected the woman may allow the reader to have sympathy for the man instead of the woman and not see the connection between the woman's illness and her beauty. However, if the piece was told through the woman's point of view it would allow the reader to feel the rejection more powerfully and allow the reader to understand why the woman gave the man a bowl full of bees. Without insight into these characters' feelings and having to judge everything based on action and dialogue within the story allows the reader to come to their own conclusion and their own feelings on the situation. This allows the reader to pull different meanings from the events and the bowl full of bees and allows the reader to make their own judgment on the author's intent.

Way 7 I do not believe that this piece is too difficult to understand. Having this piece written in flash fiction allows the reader to not have many details to analyze, making it an easier piece. By focusing on the fast moving story and events the reader is able to understand what is happening and why within the story. This piece is an easy read and allows the reader to focus on the importance of the woman's illness. I did not find many ambiguities, and by unpacking the figurative language in this piece it became easy to see the deeper meaning. The bowl of bees represents the beauty that the man thought the woman possessed and the secret beneath that turned him from her. This ambiguity can have many different possible meanings. One could believe that it represents the perfection and beauty the man placed upon the woman and then the disappointment and lack of desire the man felt when he learned of her mastectomy, the bees. This ambiguity brings insight into the man's feelings more than the woman's and allows the reader to understand the disappointment he felt when the woman's perfect was taken away. On the other hand the reader could find that this ambiguity represents the woman's feelings toward the man. On the outside she is beautiful like the rose petals within the bowl. However, she has an illness that has scarred her body and taken her femininity away from her. The lack of body image is portrayed by the bees whereas her desire for beauty is portrayed by the rose petals. This ambiguity allows the reader to come to different conclusions about the bowl and what it represents. Another ambiguity that the reader could find is the lack of evidence that the woman had an illness. The story portrays her as a beautiful woman who was as perfect as the art she created. However, as the reader we have no idea what her artwork looked like to compare her beauty. Finding out that the woman had an illness that destroyed her beauty allows the reader to come to two different conclusions. One the artist's artwork was not perfect and reflected her flaw that she was not afraid to share. If this was the case than the man might have found her beauty within her lack of breasts because that is what was portrayed in the artwork. On the other hand the woman and her artwork were perfect because of her illness and her survival. She may lack the main part of feminine beauty but her strength and confidence despite her illness are what creates her beauty. Ambiguities are found within many different stories, and they allow the reader to come to many different conclusions about the actions and dialogue within the piece.

Way 8 I believe that this piece of work could be part of the literary canon. This short story does a wonderful job of opening up the concerns of our time of cancer and beauty. There are many cancer organizations which fight to help women feel beautiful after the mastectomies that normally occur with breast cancer, and it is common within our culture to have woman fight for sexuality in the presence of illness. This story is very relevant to our time and is very important for people to understand the trials that accompany illnesses such as cancer. Placing this piece of literature within the canon would allow readers to understand the significance of cancer on our cultural effects. This short story hits the points of illness vs sexuality that many woman face after a mastectomy. This allows readers to understand our time and the affect of cancer on society. The aesthetic value of the piece is very interesting and it appeals to many different types of readers. The flash fiction form allows reader to not be bogged down with minute details that are not important, but allows the reader to focus on the importance of the woman's illness on the story. This piece not only gives an insight to the problem of cancer that our society is now facing, but it also gives readers an insight to the sexual culture of our time. The man and the woman go on one date and the woman states "I think you would like to have me." (Hass 5-6). Placing this piece within the canon would allow readers to understand the freedom of sexual relationships that people have within our culture. Sex is a major part of our society and illness affecting sexuality is very important to the way people live right now.

Way 9 "Critics celebrate Hass' poetry for its clarity of expression, its conciseness, and its imagery, often drawn from everyday life" (Contemporary Authors Online). This is important because it is easy to see through his work that he focuses on everyday situations within his writing. According to Contemportary Authors Online, Robert Hass is very fond of Japanese Haiku. This could lead into the fact that the woman in this story is a Japanese woman. Robert Hass addresses many of the things in life that readers fear. He enjoys bringing real life issues into his work using his poetry as a way to gain readers attention. Robert Hass' mother was an alcoholic and did not offer much encouragement in the development of his poetry skills. The fact that his mother was an alcoholic would explain why Hass enjoys bringing real life issues that others do not like to address into his poetry ("Robert Hass"). The information found about Hass with research really opened up this short story for me. Robert Hass was a poet who brought real life issues into his poetry, illness vs. sexuality is an issue that many woman face everyday. Cancer is a disease that many people fear everyday, and knowing this, it was a perfect subject for Robert Hass' poetry. Many woman have mastectomies every day and this affects their body image and their sex lives. Playing on this cultural hush hush is an important part of Hass' poetry.

Way 10 This poem was written in 1990, so therefore it is very modern. Many of the issues and social events that took place in 1990 are still a factor in today's society. Cancer is a disease that many people fear for years in the past, present, and future. Having a grave illness like cancer that has influenced the culture and lives of so many being the focus of this poem allows the reader to understand that courage it takes the woman to tell the man about her mastectomy. Many woman in today's society suffer a lack of body image and sexuality due to an illness they have battled. Many women look at the loss of their breasts as something to shame, instead of something to be proud of because they won the fight. Having this piece connect the sexuality vs. illness feature that many woman battle with everyday addresses what our culture is like and what effect our current state will have on history. Cancer is a disease that everyone is looking to cure, however as of right now surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and experimental treatment is all that people have to have faith on for now. A deformity such as a mastectomy can severely affect a woman's self esteem and sex life. Hass addresses this issue in his piece allowing the reader to truly understand what the woman has gone through. The reader can connect the fear that they may have for this terrible disease to the courage of the woman for not only fighting it but informing the man of her mastectomy. Readers of this time can understand the sacrifice and pain the woman must have gone through to lose her sexuality to cancer, but the courage she has and the way she addresses it gives readers hope that it can be beat, and that sexuality does not need to be lost with a mastectomy.

Way 11 I believe that this short story demonstrates the feminist criticism. According to Brown and Yarbrough the feminist criticism shows the "difference between masculine and feminine interpretations" (209). This short story demonstrates that because it portrays the differences between the masculine idea of mastectomies and the feminine idea of mastectomies. The male finds a mastectomy to ruin the beauty of a woman, it takes away their sexuality and makes them undesirable. The feminine idea of a mastectomy is similar but only because of the male idea. When a female goes through a mastectomy she fears that her sexuality and beauty will be taken away because that is how males perceive the situation. Many females should feel proud that they beat their illness and that they do not have to suffer the death that is cancer. Instead their survival is beauty and they should be able to celebrate their beauty. Playing on the different opinions of a mastectomy allows the reader to truly feel the effect of the rejection on the woman, as well as the disappointment on the man, Allowing the reader to understand and see both of these emotions is important in their understanding of the piece.

Way 12 I believe that this piece also demonstrates new historicism. According to Brown and Yarbrough the new historicism shows "a variety of cultural studies" (234). This piece portrays a cultural relevance because of its focus on illness and sexuality. As stated above cancer is a huge piece of our everyday culture. Many people fear cancer and its affects on the body as well as its affects on their sexuality. This piece plays on this cultural trend and fear, it allows the reader to feel the relevance of cancer and its affects on the body personally. This piece allows the reader to truly feel and understand what both the woman and man are feeling due to the mastectomy that has gotten in the way of their relationship. The woman feels rejected and the man feels disappointment. These feelings and the events that take place in this piece bring the notice of the cultural trend of cancer.

Way 13 After reading this piece and focusing on all the different ways really opened up this piece for me. At first I thought that this piece was just about the relationship between a woman and a man that is hindered based on the feature that a woman lost. When first looking at the figurative language throughout the piece I found that the man had placed this perfection onto the woman based on her art. He was intrigued by her work and the way she moved as she composed her artwork, however he did not really find beauty within her physical features. This misplaced perfection set the man up for disappointment when their relationship became physical. The woman has this problem of an illness that has affected her sexuality. This piece touches on many different cultural issues. The issue of illness affecting sexuality is a very relevant piece of our society and having this piece place a focus on it helps the reader understand our society. In the end of the piece the rose petals on top of the bees ties the whole story together. The man sees the rose petals as the perfection he saw in the woman before he knew of her mastectomy, and the bees represent his disappointment toward his misplaced perfection. Having the woman send the bowl leads the reader to think that she feels rejected and hurt by the man's action. For the woman the rose petals represent her outer and inner beauty that she had before the mastectomy. Rose petals are delicate and can wither quickly much like the body. The bees represent the woman's body after the illness. It is different but still beautiful in its own way. The woman survived and did not die and for that she is beautiful. Her mastectomy shows her strength, the fact that she did not hide it from the man and told him right away shows that the woman is not ashamed.

Works Cited

Brown, James S., Scott D. Yarbrough. __A Practical Introduction to Literary Study.__ Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc, 2005.

“Robert Hass.” 20 Jun 2009. Wikipedia.org. 21 Jul.2009 .

“Robert Hass.” __Contemporary Authors Online. __ 26 Aug. 2006. __Galenet__. UW Colleges Online, Appleton, WI. 21 Jul. 2009 <http://galenet.galegroup.com>.