Paired Texts > The Blue Dress

In Hayes Davis' poem "Inundated," a speaker describes a man's experience in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

In the poem "Children," a prophet shares some wisdom about the relationship between parents and children.

In "Our Deportment, or the Manners, Conduct, and Dress of Refined Society," John H. Young explains the rules of etiquette during the early 19th century. In this excerpt, Young explains the proper etiquette for wives and husbands.

"Self-Concept" introduces several psychology concepts that describe how people think about themselves.

In "When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities," the speaker reflects on their roles in different relationships. Pair “The Blue Dress” with “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities,” and ask students to compare the poets’ choices with regards to text structure and metaphor. How do the text structure and use of metaphor in “The Blue Dress” affect the poem’s meaning and tone? How do the text structure and use of metaphor in “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities” affect the poem’s meaning and tone? How do the two poems address familial relationships in different ways?

In Excerpt from Pedro's Theory: Reimagining the Promised Land, Marcos Gonsalez explores a new way of belonging in the world through the lens of his experiences as a "tourist." Pair “The Blue Dress” with Excerpt from Pedro’s Theory: Reimagining the Promised Land and ask students to discuss how each author’s identity as a LGBTQIA+ person of color has influenced their content and stylistic decisions. In “The Blue Dress,” how does the blue dress belonging to the speaker’s mother represent a range of emotions and experiences? Compare and contrast the poem’s tone with that of the narrator when they discuss their identity in paragraph 2 of Excerpt from Pedro’s Theory: Reimagining the Promised Land. In the poem, Jones uses only commas and a single period. How does this stylistic choice impact the pace and the mood of the poem? What feelings might the author intend to provoke in the reader? Similarly, Gonzalez at times uses short sentence fragments throughout the memoir, and few paragraph breaks. What are the author’s possible intentions for choosing to sentence fragments at various points, and few paragraph breaks throughout? What effect might he hope these stylistic choices will have on the reader? In both texts, how have the the authors’ identities as LGBTQIA+ people of color influenced the content and style of these works?