BY: KJERSTA UNZEN AND KAITY O’HARA

What Kind of Fool Am I?

What Kind of Fool am I?

He sang with abandon, combing his black, black hair.Each morning in the shower,first in Arabic, rivery ripplesof song carrying him backto his first beloved land,then in English, where his repertoirewas short. NO KIND AT ALL! we’d shout,throwing ourselves into the brisk arcOf his cologne for a morning kiss.But he gave us freedom to be fools if we needed to, which we certainly would later, which we all do now and then, perhaps a father’s greatest gift ----That blessing

T-title

What Kind of Fool Am I?We think it is about how silly someone is or

what they do to be a fool.

P-paraphrase

A father is singing in the shower first in Arabic and then in English. His family listens to him sing and shout the repertoire ‘No kind at all!’. They then go over and give him a good morning kiss.

C-connotation

Rivery ripples of song carrying him back to his first beloved land- He sings with a rich voice of a song from his homeland.

He sang with abandon- Missing his homeland.

The father is recalling his homeland by singing in Arabic but also recognizing the place he’s in by singing in English too. His daughters are very close to him and are thankful he allows them to be silly or foolish.

A-attitude

In the beginning the speaker is calm up until the point where ‘rivery ripples…’ begins the attitude changes into happiness and laughter. Towards the end the poem becomes grateful and lighthearted.

The poet is thankful and lively all the way through.

S-shifts

‘He sang with abandon, combing his black, black hair.’ This quote is calming and serious.

‘Each morning in the shower, first in Arabic, rivery ripples of song carrying him back to his first beloved land, then in English, where his repertoire was short.’ The poem then starts to shift to playful and laughter.

T-title

What Kind of Fool am I? It’s translating how much freedom the father

gives them. We think the answer to the title’s question is a free, privileged fool.

T-theme

That it is okay to be silly or foolish sometimes but it’s also important to be serious when appropriate.

Another theme we picked up was to be yourself and enjoy life while you can.