SUMMARY

In the poem "I Was My Own Route," the radical feminist speaker Julia de Burgos challenges the masculine notion of defining a female's life and journey along traditional paths. She connects male mindset to orientation imbalance and male biases towards ladies. The poem demonstrates that men and women share the same significance. Accordingly, her life ought not to be affected by the thoughts of others, as the law ensures females similar key privileges as men; men and women belong to the same society, need freedom, liberty, and independence, and should be allowed to follow their own paths rather than those set by patriarchal society.

The poet begins by saying that she wanted to be what the patriarchal society wanted her to be. However, she see this as doing injustice to herself but still continues doing so as in the game of hide and seek with her own desires and the desire of the society. She is finds herself drawn into conflict between her real desires and that of the men in the society.

As a result, she completely rejects the rules made for women by the patriarchal society as she confirms that she is more interested in living in the present than following the outdated principles. She also says that she does not want to go backwards but forward towards “new paths”.

Moreover, the speaker says that whenever she tries to move towards the new beginning where she can find herself the freedom; the resistance has to be encountered from the “old guard” of the old patriarchal society. She finds herself ridiculed by the contractors of the society. Despite that she does not submit to them and continues to move ahead by mocking the “ashes” of the past, useless remains of the patriarchal society.

Therefore, he speaker feels the liberation because now she has learned to balance between the old patriarchal society and its norms and the newly found road to freedom. Their facial expression also confirms that they are feeling defeated by the strong desire of the speaker to be liberated.

Also, she compares herself with the “blossoms” by which she suggests us that her identity is not limited to what the society is given to her and it is not limited to a certain place or time. She fearlessly says that it is not necessary for her to follow the rules that the society has set for her as a woman.

Finally, she asserts her own autonomy by rejecting the submission to the patriarchal society. When she is announced at the regal parade of the people who are bound by the patriarchal norms, she revolts against the expectations and leaves the homage waiting for her.

In conclusion, the poem is powerful expression of self-liberation and freedom from the bounds and chains of the society run by men and a motivation to other women who want to break-free.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

Answer the questions below.

a. For what reason did the speaker attempt to be the manner in which men maintained that her should be?

The speaker made an effort to act the way men wanted her to because she wanted to see how men would act and what they would expect of her because of their patriarchal ideas.

b. By her feet, "would not accept walking backwards," what do you understand?

She would not accept walking backwards because she wants freedom for herself as men enjoy. She thinks that all the human being, irrespective of gender, is created equal and must have equal rights and distribution of resources. If she would move backwards, it would be accepting the subjugation of men.

c. Who are the old guards? Why did they become so hopeless?

The old guards are the believers and followers of the patriarchal norms and values. They became depressed looking at the victory of women and their ruining patriarchal world where men command and rule.

d. In what manner did the speaker experience "an intimate liberation"?

The speaker experienced "a feeling of intimate liberation" as she crossed the barrier of patriarchal society and kissed a new path of liberation instead of the one that was previously defined by males.

e. Why did the speaker become warped in her desire to follow men?

She was warped (distorted) in her desire to follow men because she did not feel the freedom to be herself and had to adjust to the desires of the men and sacrifice own feeling and wants.

REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

a. When the speaker says, "I was playing hide and seek with my being," what exactly does she mean by that?

This expression confirms that although she was following the rules and regulations set by the patriarchal society, she was sometime breaking it and she was lying to herself that these rules were good for her. It also means that there was a conflict going on inside her between her own desires for freedom and the restrain of contemporary rules for women.

b. Why, in your opinion, did the old guards rip her back while she was moving forward?

Yes, they did so, not literally but figuratively. This actually means that she was ridiculed about her desire to live a new way of life. She was continuously threatened, pulled back or even blackmailed for going against the patriarchal society norms and values. However, it does not mean she was really beaten or her skin of the back was torn.

c. "What did it feel like to be free” according to the speaker?

The feeling of being free is mesmerizing because she was not bound by any rules or regulations set by others for her but she could make her own rules like not attending the homage in the regal parade of the old guards. It is defying the patriarchal rules and taking control of one’s life.

d. For what reason does the speaker favor the present to the past?

Since she is a feminist and is speaking on behalf of all females, she feels that the past is full of male supremacy and women are treated as their property. Women do not have freedom to do anything own their own and must submit to the desires and decision of the males in the family. However, the liberation of women for these subjugations is in the present. Therefore, she favors the present than the past.

e. John Donne, in his poem “No Man is an Island”, says, “No man is an island entire of itself.” Would Burgos agree with Donne? Do you agree with Donne or Burgos?

He is talking about the entire human race and how important they are to society's development. The idea that humans can't function well on their own and must be a part of a community to survive is represented by the expression "no man is an island." I support John Donne's idea of societal equality in all aspects and agree with him. He talks about equality between men and women, but Burgos looks angry and upset about the culture that is dominated by men. She also says that she doesn't like male philosophy and ideas that make it harder for women to have freedoms and opportunities in society. She appears to be a radical feminist who challenges male norms and beliefs while also advocating for female freedom. In any case, I admire Donne because he advocates for the advancement of men and women as well as society as a whole.

REFERENCE BEYOND THE TEXT

a. Write an essay about My Idea of Freedom.

Freedom has been valued since ages. Many regimes were overthrown in order to experience freedom in life by people. In my opinion, people must have freedom to education, there should be freedom of expression, freedom to possess wealth and freedom to work anywhere one wants to.

Freedom to gain education is the most important need of the present age. Without education it is impossible to lead one’s life comfortably and successfully. Despite that, youths are forced to study and gain knowledge from an outdated course structure and syllabus in many developing countries due to which the youths of these countries find themselves incompetent when it comes to competing with the global scholars in the job market. This is why youth travel abroad for studies utilizing their freedom to education.

Moreover, people must have freedom of expression. However, along with this comes the responsibility. While carrying out this freedom, one should be careful that his/her expression does not undermine the right to privacy and security of another person or the country. This freedom should be only used when one is feeling marginalized, conned, or oppressed by government, individual, and groups of people or company.

Moving on, my third idea of freedom is about possessing wealth. In this modern era, people works hard so that they can earn something to meet their daily needs, save for the future and leisure or younger generation. However, if the wealth they accumulate is captured by the government then people stop working which not only hampers the economy of the country but also downgrade the financial condition of individuals. Therefore, people must have freedom to accumulate wealth legitimately and legally.

Finally, one must be free to work at anywhere they want irrespective of the borders of nations as long as the work is under the law. After the advancement in communication and transportation facilities, it has been easy for people to communicate through internet and travel globally by air, water and land. Since the modern generation considers the earth as a global village and many governments preach it, it is my idea that irrespective of nationality everybody should have freedom to work and live anywhere in the world as long as they do not create problem for others.

In conclusion, freedom is the most essential requirement of people after the basic needs. Without freedom people cannot live properly and will always feel like they are inside a prison. Therefore, freedom of expression, study, work and wealth must be guaranteed by the governments of the world.

b. Not all people, however, seem to agree with the kind of freedom upheld by Burgos in this poem. For example, William Faulkner, in his novel Requiem for a Nun, says, ‘“The past is never dead. It’s not even past. All of us labor in webs spun long before we were born, webs of heredity and environment, of desire and consequence, of history and eternity.” Do you agree with Faulkner? Why? Why not?

Yes, I agree with Faulkner because no society can sustain and flourish without knowing about the history. The history teaches us about the future and mistakes made in the past and not to repeat it. The present is the result of the imagination of the past and the future will be the consequence of the present action. Therefore, completely denying history is impossible and no man can separate himself from the past. Unlike the reasoning of Julia Burgos who wants to completely detach from the past in her poem “I was my own route”. She may be thinking this of her bitter experience of the past where she felt suppressed under the desires of patriarchal society.

I completely concur with Faulkner because his theory is realistic than Burgos’s because the time is cyclical and every point in time co-relates with the time in the future where both the genders work together according to their environment, desire and history to form past, present and future and no one can stay away from the past; one way or the other it affects individual.