Giovanni and Collins

After reading “Sanctuary: For Harry Potter the Movie”, I didn’t know what to feel for the piece. I connected the part of the baby elephant, alone after the slaughter, with little Harry, but got somewhat confused as the “poem” went on. Giovanni’s piece didn’t seem very deep the first time through. I thought, “You’re reading it wrong!” There was obviously something under the surface that Giovanni was trying to convey, but I couldn’t decipher her rambling into an intelligent theme. After our discussion in class, the message was so clear. How could I have been so blind?

That takes us to this week with Billy Collins’ piece “The History Teacher.” Last year, Mrs. Parks gave us a taste of Billy Collins’ work, but he didn’t seem nearly as serious as Giovanni. When dissecting poems such as “Litany”, “Introduction To Poetry”, and “Flames”, I guess we don’t see the poet’s entire armada of argumentative strategy. The poems, which were very entertaining, were only a precursor to dissecting Collins’ mature poetry. I understand in “The History Teacher” that the teacher is purposely giving the students wrong information in order to “protect his students’ innocence.” This is where the analysis seems to take a bit of a stretch. The teacher is making the children blind to the wrongs in this world, and they respond accordingly. By being unaware of humanity’s trespasses, Collins portrays the children as ruthless bullies on the playground. Collins uses the playground abuse as a connection to the atrocities committed during the conflicts. I love the image of the teacher walking home, full of self- satisfaction with a grin on his face, and thinking that he has impacted his students for the better.  

Is there an underlying message that I am not yet reaching? Or, is this just another Collins’ piece used to entertain the reader?