Sign Inventory - Week 6

"Something Big" by Charles Sweetman
for Jonette's Poetry Workshop


1. Catalog of Dreams - Appear like a banking/auditing ledger. They are succinct like the accounting jobs described in the poem.

2. Of the five names mentioned, three are not typical "American" names: Leilany, Dorman, and Karmody. They are wholly different from Jones and Gracie. They could be a reflection of the changing population and incorporation of other cultures into the American culture.

3. Gracie promotes her own dreams through Dorma's failure.

4. The co-workers response to Dorma's failure is indicative of a funeral. They "jump into action, baking casseroles and pies" because "that was how sorry we were." Their actions are typical responses of co-workers when there is a sudden tragedy - baking food for someone you only know to a certain extent.

5. The whole poem is confined to one stanza. There are no pauses or stops. It is as if the events roll from one day to the next, one thing to the next.

6. All the lines in the poem are complete sentences with appropriate grammar and punctuation with the exception of "And waiting." This is the only fragment in the entire poem.

7. The tone of the poem is conversational as if the speaker is talking about any day at the office.

8. The inclusion of the "Mardi Gras King cake" is a strange image. The Mardi Gras King is typically someone who has "made it" who is considered important and, if they are not one already, becomes a celebrity. It is strange that Gracie would make this cake for Dorma's failure.

9. The individuals become one unit after Dorma's failure. The speaker's voice changes from the "I" to "we". Why do they feel the need to band together?

10. Transitional phrases, "then" and "One night," are used to separate the action in the poem instead of isolating each action in a stanza.