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Lisa Parker's Poem 'Snapping Beans'

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Recommended: Changes during middle adulthood : physical, physiological, psychological

I. Introduction A. Lisa Parker is snapping beans with her grandmother on the porch, but she is in the process of being changed by her college experience. B. The poem is “Snapping Beans” by Lisa Parker C. Lisa is a Southern girl, who is home from college in the North; she is going through struggles that are bringing about questioning and changing. D. Lisa is letting go of her safe past so that she can move forward into her own life. II. This poem is about the comfort of the safe past and the tension created by change. A. Lisa is on her grandmother’s worn but safe front porch, the two of them are snapping beans, yet Lisa is going through so much change within herself; she does not know what she can share with her grandmother. B. Lisa uses words …show more content…

The line that speaks to me the most is the last line of the play. In Line 44, Lisa’s grandmother says, “It’s funny how things blow loose like that.” Lisa is afraid of what her grandmother will think of her college experiences, but her grandmother senses the struggle and still loves her. C. The grandmother represents times that are gone, and yet her love for Lisa does not change. Lisa needs that support as she goes forward in her life. We all need that safety net as we struggle forward; this message of the safety in the middle of the uncertain change is true and descriptive of our early college years today as well. IV. Conclusion: Reflections on Reading Poetry A. Reading poetry is often not as specific as prose, and it leaves more to the imagination; different words hold different meanings for different readers. B. In changing and moving into our own adult lives; our parents and grandparents often already know of the struggle we are going through. The world they lived in was different, but some of the decisions and challenges are the same. C. The green leaf that lands on the porch symbolizes Lisa. The tree was necessary for the green hickory leaf to grow and have life, but the wind blows the leaf to a new place; just as Lisa cares about her grandmother and the care that she received from her. But now Lisa has moved to her new place in life at

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