Note #6

Smile Is A Sign Of......

A smile is a sign of love
A smile is a sign of care
A smile tells how much to others
You are important and also dear

A smile is a sign of cheer
A smile is a sign of trust
A smile shows how you can
Be happy even in hard crust

A smile is a sign of joy
A smile is a sign of hope
A smile teaches you how you can
Remove the clouds of mope

For nothing but only a smile
Takes away your pain and trial
And pick your trouble's pile
And let you smile, smile and smile.

by: Seema Chowdhury

Seema Chowdhury writes with a comforting yet extreme repetition of the phrase, "A smile is a sign of..."  which emphasizes what a smile is worth.  She forces each "smile" upon readers as though if she said it enough, each reader would smile too. She does this genuinely although in an abrupt manner. Chowdhury uses rhyming to help make the poem sound musical and it adds to the happy tune. The last line of each of the first three stanzas stand out the most because they don't start with " A smile is a sign of." This makes these lines seem more important and focuses in on the bolder meanings each has. Each show how smiles affect certain situations like removing "the clouds of mope" or being happy "even in hard crust".  The poem ends with, "And let you smile, smile, smile" showing the author's never ending optimism. 

Note #5

           1,003 Reasons to Smile by Elizabeth Dutton is one of those books that simply has what the title says: 1,003 reasons to smile. Most of the things the book lists are little things like finding some money in your pocket or holding a baby, but the best part of the book is the introduction. “When life is painful or even simply boring,” which seems to happen to everyone at some time or another, “we need to be reminded of the weird and the wonderful.” Just from the diction of the introduction, it is obvious that the rest of the book is written just a s straight forward and matter of fact as the introduction is. “The weird and the wonderful are what make us smile, and those smiles keep us going,” is as exact as her first statement. Because smiling infers happiness and happiness is what people live for. “Smiles are pretty much universal,” which implies that everyone can relate to it at sometime or another. The introduction passage is written in a relaxed and lighthearted tone that automatically draws people in. The book itself is as positive and uplifting as the title and introduction chapter says it will be. It state the simple truth, even if its somewhat embarrassing, like how it makes people smile to sing in their shower. It is lightly written as though someone was talking to you in person, and has just enough humor that it is endlessly interesting.

Note #4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP4abiHdQpc&feature=fvwp&NR=1

Baby Micah is a youtube sensation, or close to it. Micah laughs at just about anything from a book to a burp. But the best of all, is his video of when he helps rip up his fathers job rejection letter, which received more than 40 million hits. Micah laughs for at least a few minutes straight and he probably laughed even longer.  This baby is adorably innocent and hilarious. In between gasping for air, Micah finds unbelievable joy in watching his father rip the letter piece by piece. Although it is his dad's rejection letter, Micah seems to find just as much, if not more fun shredding the paper to bits. His excitement and amusement towards a simple activity is absolutely admirable.  His nonstop laughter and sheer joy is completely amusing. The sound of his airy and musical laugh is contagious and at the least, makes people smile. It's as harmonious and sweet-sounding as a soft song. The laugh of this baby is so heart warming and cheerful that it seems to light up the room.

Note # 3

Elf- I just like to smile
As a jolly Christmas song plays in the background and workers are dressed like elves, a cherry and playful mood is interrupted by a slightly annoyed manager. The energetic and enthusiastic elf, Buddy, annoys the manager obliviously and in a lighthearted manner. This clip of Elf shows a silly yet oddly uplifting section of the movie that can bring smiles to everyone's faces. The store worker is irritated by all of Buddy's jolliness. "I just like to smile! Smiling is my favorite!" shows how he is adorably cheerful, while "SANTA!!!!!!" expresses his childlike and innocent attitude. He always has a positive tone and expresses curiosity and excitement for everything. His free-spirited soul and playful attitude depict him as though he was still a kid. His friendly and eager smile expresses his passion for Christmas and for life.

Note #2

We Wear the Mask

BY PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

       We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

       We wear the mask!

"We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem that supports the idea of "Don't judge a book by it's cover".  Unlike the popular saying, the poem uses the metaphor of a mask and how we hide our true feelings and project ourselves differently to the world. "Nay let them only see us, while We wear the mask." suggests that  people put smiles on their faces to disguise their true feelings.  "With torn and bleeding hearts we smile" is saying that we all have pain and suffering inside yet we hide it all with smiles. The poem seems to except the pain in life but has hope for something more for all souls. "Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise," portrays a sense of hope despite the suffering in the world. People let themselves dream of something bigger and better although in the inside they may be tortured souls. He infers that people shield themselves with forced and fake smiles in order to hope for the best and shield themselves from society.

Note #1

     In the book from Ron Gutman's Smile: The Astonishing Powers Of A Simple Act, Gutman goes on a journey, exploring what makes different people, in different areas in the world smile. In the opening chapter of the book Gutman wrote that when  "It was time to pull out the special power," he smiled. He explains that while traveling around the world, he wasn't always able to understand the many languages, so he would smile at everyone. The cheerful and positive tone of his language is both inspiring and admiring. It suggests that smiling is a type of language that all people are born knowing. Gutman starts this passage off, "Amidst the unknown, in a unfamiliar place, confined on the bus with nowhere to go and with no apparent way to communicate..." which suggests a sort of hopeless and lonely atmosphere but goes on to say, "Whether people looked at me or not, I smiled at them. Although no one responded to my smiles, I started to feel better." which shows his unbelievable optimism.  He writes with a lighthearted and down to earth passion as he humbly proclaims his love for smiling and how it makes him feel better.

Anthology Theme Statement

I'm going to do my project on Smiles because smiling is one of my favorite things to do. And I love the idea of  if you smile, the world will smile with you. I think its uplifting and is my favorite saying.
A few poems that I found that I would like to include in my project is "The Smile" by William Blake, and "The Song of Three Smiles" by W. S. Merwin. I have a few more ideas for the poems but this is just my start so far.