Class 12 Section II English Lesson 10

Summary

‘I Was My Own Route’ is a poem written by Julia de Burgos, a writer of Carolina, Puerto Rico, who collected the experiences of a literary writer, journalist, and freedom fighter. Her poems are full of racial and gender sentiments where she provokes equality between male and female and between the black and white races. She has also been regarded as a contemporary Latino writer who depicts how women are burdened with patriarchal ideologies from the past. Therefore, de Burgos urges women to detach themselves from the past so as to redefine their own identity.

The poem ‘I Was My Own Route’ has altogether six stanzas. Each stanza expresses the powerful feelings of the poet who is always remaining in between masculinity and her own femininity. She begins her poem reflecting her past feelings when she wished to convert herself to the wishes of men. In such acts, she found a hide and seek game between her own instinct and the instinct of the patriarchal society. The same game inspired her to move forward to investigate a new path that is totally new for all. Though it was challenging, she joyfully accepted it.

In discovering a new path, she moves alone mainly to get her internal happiness and a feeling of intimate liberation. She has described her journey to a new path beautifully where she faced serious problems in balancing herself and the truth of the time. However, she expresses her joy in discovering a new route of her life that has no history; even she doubts its future. Anyways, she is happy enough living in the present and waiting for the response of time. To denote this, she has repeated a line in the poem, “a game of hide and seek with my being but I was made of nows.” This refrain has captured the main essence of the poem. The poem is written in free verse and is the perfect example of a poem of the marginalized community.

Understanding the text

a. Why did the speaker try to be the way men wanted her to be?

Ans 👉 The speaker tried to be the way men wanted her to be because she was a modern woman and actually she didn’t like to be a puppet of male ideologies. In fact, she was determined to fight against the prevailing male domination.

b. What do you understand by her feet ‘would not accept walking backwards’?

Ans 👉 The term her feet ‘would not accept walking backwards’ means that she didn’t like to live a life being inferior to men. She was digging out her own route that could lead the entire female race to a similar position as men, that is, the destination of freedom.

c. Who are the old guards? Why did they grow desperate?

Ans 👉 The old guards are the rigid members of the male-dominated society. They behave with women as inferior creatures and dominate them in each and every aspect of their lives. They grew desperate because Julia was advancing her steps toward the liberation of the women’s race.

d. How did the speaker have ‘a feeling of intimate liberation’?

Ans 👉 The speaker had a feeling of intimate liberation by advancing steps forward to a new route despite difficulties. Ultimately, she made a separate route, separating more and more in spite of pains, from the old route made by males.

e. Why did the speaker’s desire to follow men warp in her?

Ans 👉 The speaker’s desire to follow men warped in her because she sensed the rigid rules and regulations imposed by men on women. She wanted to become independent, enjoy freedom and happiness, and utilize her own potentials which were suppressed by male ideologies. That is why she twisted them.

Reference to the context

a. What does the speaker mean when she says she was playing a game of hide and seek with her being?

Ans 👉 The line “she was playing a game of hide and seek with her being” appears in the third line of the first stanza and is repeated in the last stanza too. Hide and seek is a game played by children in which one player is blindfolded and others hide in different places. The game is also used as an idiom, which means a situation in which one is constantly evading or avoiding the other. In the poem, the line means that the speaker is trying to avoid the norms and limitations set by males for females. Men wanted her to be a woman defined by them, but as a modern and rebellious being, she was evading males.

b. Why, in your view, was her back ripped by the old guards as she was advancing forward?

Ans 👉 The speaker says, “At each advancing step on my route forward, my back was ripped by the desperate flapping wings of the old guard” in the second stanza. She was walking ahead on the path of women’s liberation, challenging the chains of male ideologists. The limitations and chains of patriarchal ideologies can be found as the old guard obstructing her on the way forward to the intimate liberation of the women’s race. In her advancing steps forward, the old guard imposed several threats upon her.

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

Ans 👉 According to the speaker, she felt that being free is like getting cherished liberation. It is like she won an independent identity, being free from all kinds of social norms and limitations imposed on women by men.

d. Why does the speaker prefer the present to the past?

Ans 👉 The speaker prefers the present to the past because the situation of her past was miserable. She was one of the victims of male domination. Her family background was not so good, and even one of her siblings died of malnutrition. She was living under the shadow of a male-dominated society. But in the present, she has become an iconic person, a pathfinder, and a savior of the female race. She has set a route for all women who can walk freely pursuing their own identity. She feels proud of herself and deserves homage.

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?

Ans 👉 John Donne (1572–1631) is an English poet and is considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. The quotation, “No man is an island entire to itself,” means that no one is truly self-sufficient. Everyone must rely on the company and comfort of others to thrive. Donne believes in co-existence. All humans are an integral part of humanity, and we must value and respect all lives. It is said that “a man and a woman are two wheels of a cart.” The cart cannot move ahead if one wheel is broken. Burgos wanted to avoid male existence in terms of women’s liberation. Males and females are equal, and their co-existence shapes balance in society. Her concept is impractical in reality; it is just a way to express her race against males.

Reference beyond the text

My Idea of Freedom

A freedom, what a wonderful word! How much energy there is in it! How much opportunity, dream, even believe that only we ourselves determine our capacity to do something, to achieve new horizons, to acquire new skills.

I am sure that each and every one of us has his or her own definition for this word. Someone believes it to be somewhat ephemeral, unachievable. But somebody has it like a deliberate way of life and for others it is a goal they crave it with all their heart.

So, what is the enigma of this seems to be a simple word? What is freedom? And what is importance of freedom in our life.

To me, freedom means to be able to learn from my mistakes. If I didn’t have freedom, I would have to do what the top authorities always tell me to do. I don’t have any room for mistakes so it would be harder to learn about life.

Freedom also means having the time to do things right. No freedom, in this case, would mean that I wouldn’t have any time for fantastic, clever thoughts. I would have to do things extremely precise and quick. When I don’t have freedom, I am under pressure constantly. While I am under so much pressure, it makes it a more stressful world to live in.

One last example of my idea of freedom is being able to do many things without being forced into doing anything. No freedom means that I might have to enlist in the army reluctantly. I might even be forced to quarter troops and watch them take over my home! If I didn’t have freedom, I might have to get married at a young age and start a family which I have no intention of doing at my age. My life minus freedom would equal being controlled with everything. When I don’t have freedom I can’t do anything except for what the strict laws tell me to do.

In summary, we are lucky to be in a society of freedom. Just remember, we are the land of the free and the home of the brave!