Interview

As I walked down my spiral stairs it seemed like a normal school night with my brother doing homework, my mom reading, and my dad watching TV in the basement. The night seemed stressful to me because of the constant studying and homework I have been doing this time of year. I thought about where my Mom would be in the house. At this time of night she was probably reading. As I looked at the empty seat on the single couch by a bright lamp I knew that there was only one other place she could be. I walked through the thin corridor bellow my stairs and founder in her usual position with her legs tucked to the side of her. I had learned to block out the kettle going off at night but remembered it was there when my mom told me to turn it off. The feeling of sleep washes over me as I return to my mom wishing that I could put all my homework off for one night and just lay in bed. I wondered what my mom is reading tonight and remember how I wish I could love reading as much as she does. I decided to talk to my mom because of her love for reading and writing. I ask her if she can help me with a project for world lit and she immediately asks when it due probably thinking about some of the long nights I have spent on writing because I started the night before it was due. I immediately respond not for a couple days so she knows that I am being responsible.  She says yes and I look at my sheet of questions to start the interview.

      To begin the interview in decided to just talk about the title of the book. I asked her to read the title and just tell me what she thinks of. Her reaction is much like mine because she seems intrigued but also confused. She told me that it was quite a weird name for a poem that is going and that the poem to her seems like it will be a little strange. She also says that it makes the poem seem like it is going to be gruesome because when she thinks of spleen nothing good comes to mind. I never really thought of this but when she says it I immediately agree. I ask her what she thinks the deeper meaning of the poem might be. She tells me that the deeper meaning probably will not have any really happy thoughts. Because of the title and the weird gross ideas that follow the deeper meaning will probably be about death. I thought of this to when I read the poem but also thought this because I knew he wrote in a modernist era and so it will probably be depressing.

                I then ask her to read the first three paragraphs of the poem. Surprisingly, she asks me some of the words I had to look up. I tell her the definition in an intelligent voice and right as she seems surprised I knew that I tell her I looked it up. When she first finishes the parts of the poem she tells me that is seems quite depressing and a little disturbing, which I agree with. She then is confused by what the poem is still about. She tells me that she thinks there are two possible ways the poem can go. One, it gets more disturbing and the end of the poem is a little gross. Or, in the last paragraph the whole poem comes altogether. I never thought about this when reading the poem and am glad she pointed it out.        

                After a small discussion about the first part of the poem I ask her to read the second part of the poem and tell me what she thinks. As she reads the poem I can tell by her face she is thinking hard and is getting deep into the poem. When she is done she tells me first it was a good poem and she really liked it. She then says that that the poem is still pretty gruesome and depressing. Because of this is decide to tell her a little about the author and modernism. She does not recognize the author but does know more then I expect about modernism. I then fist tell her my opinion on the poem. I say that I think the poem is all about death and what occurs during the final moments of it. I also say that that is why it is called spleen because it is a major part of the human body and in death it stops working. She agrees with me but says that it is not a very pretty death like dying in your sleep. She continues to say it seems like the author has a lot of pain built up from the past and believes death is a painful and gruesome thing. I tell her that that makes sense because of the author’s history. I then say thank you for helping me and as I am trying to escape the room that I have been in for longer then I wished my mom asks me the thing that I was expecting and hoping not to do “Can you clean the kitchen.” I try to give her the excuse that I have home work but she does not fall for it.