LyzelKateGabaca
StevenCarlAbalo
NinoMichaelMariano
ENG10,TeacherJeanilleCogtas
Quarter3LiteraryAnalysisPaper
April1,2022
TheUnderestimated
There are peopleinthisworldthatbelittlesuswhichaffectshowwefeelandact.This sonnet that’s called Belittled which was written by Jeanille C. Cogtas last 2019 is a very interesting sonnet that has a deepmeaningbehindit.Thissonnettalksabouthowachildgets belittled by his/her family. The child’s parents see their child as useless and horrible trash, they look down on their child. Meanwhile the child also sees how other parents treat their children and the child feels such envy knowing about it. Because of that, the child feels disgusted and pissedathis/herparentsandjustwantstoliveabetterlifeduetohowupsetting andenraginghe/shehasfeltandexperienced.
Being belittled is also traumatizing because it willaffectthemfortherestoftheirlife and it also makes them doubt themselves about anything they do. Each person should be treated equally despite their differences but instead other people call him trashoruselessfor being badtheirimperfectself.Buthonestly,wedon’treallyhaveachoiceaboutwhichfamily thatwe’dgrowupwithandallwecandoistoloveandfightforourselves.
The exposition talks about a child who in his mother’s eyes sees him as a messeven though he did all that he can. Thattheneighbor’schildprogressesbetter,andeventhoughhe did everything he can. The metaphor talks about how a decisioncanleadtosituationswhere it is just useless and where exploring or growing is a tough choice. The twist talks about a person who wants to explore ordreamaboutlifethathaslotsoftwistsandturns.Thecouplet talks about how the child has a feeling of disgust, maybe becauseofhisactionsthatwereall useless or maybe because how he was belittled, and how he needed his family to guide him onhisactions.
The ABAB CDCD EFEF rhymeschemepatternisusedinthefirststanzatillthethird stanza, which has four lines, and the rhyme scheme of GG is used in the last stanza, which onlyhastwolines.Aniamisthesortofmetricalfootemployedinthispoem,andthemeteris pentameter.
The speaker speaksforwhatshesees.BasedonthetoneandfeelingIfelt,thespeaker with her tone was lonely and she seeks for happiness. The tone of the speaker is soft yet lonelyatthesametime.
The poet argues that we need guidance from our family so we can make the right decisions in our life because they have experience over you and they know better and know whatisusuallyright,eventhoughtheydonotthinkhighlyorbelittleyou.Thepoetconcludes that even if people like your family do not think highly of you, it does not hurt to listen to whattheyhavetosaywhentheyarehelpingorguidingyouinlife
Line 1 and 2, The person is trying to interpret that even thoughsomepeopletrytheir hardest to seek validation, in some of their mothers eyes, they are still a mess like an annoyance of uselessness. Like as what M.W Poetry said, “Nothing will knock you down quicker than offering the best of yourself tosomeoneanditstillnotbeinggoodenough.”It’s like trying your best to be better but others still look at you like a threat. Like an Agloolik, who’s actually very friendly but is seen as a threatbecauseofitsappearanceandassomeone who has a similar experience to this, it’s like how some people try their best to keep their grades good but when their parents see a grade that isn't in their validation, their parents wouldinstantlyseethemasadisappointmenteventhoughtheytriedtheirbesttogetthere.
Line 3 and 4, These lines interpret that there are other people better than you, something that we’re incapable to do best. The person is comparing his/her self with their neighbor who does things better than him/her andhowhe/shecannotcatchuptohis/herskill in doing what he/she did. Some people tend to have a mindset to compare us with other people who can do this and that and saying that we should be like them even thoughweare all different sorts of people. Like, they haven’t seen the other part about us and just tend to judgebasedonwhattheysee.
These first 4 lines hit hard to anamountofpeopleintheworld,it’sveryrelatableand this stanza is like being a puppet, like you are being controlled because they want you tobe something that they wanted to be. Needing to follow their rules to try to get their validation andsatisfaction.
The lines 5 and 6, interpret that life is just like an airplane, it comes up slowly and lands down so fast. Money and fame is slowly earned by people and fame is earned when people have achieved a big part of a community If you choose to be nothing in this
community and just be a waste then make use of yourself. Time is precious and you must moveyourself.
The lines 7 and 8, interpret that if you have any problems that may be not good for you, you must not look back on it and continue achieving more goals in life.”Don't set your sight on easy marks or aim your goals too close at hand but reach up high, and eagerly use every skill that you command” a poem made by Christopher Westra feels different but hits youlikeabullet.
The Lines 9 and 10, interpret that a child is like a bird that can fly and explore different parts of an area. It is like a person who is also exploring and wants to see things from the outside. For them to journey todifferentplacesandtochasethethingstheywant.It was excellent to compare and relate the bird and the person, how they bothwanttodiscover and familiarthingstheywant,likewhatDanielleL.Sormacksaid,“Everyoneissearchingfor the missing piece in life. The key to unlock the door and steal back all lost time.”Forme,it wasclearlyspoken.
Lines 11 and 12, interpret to examine the pages of life carefully. And to whom dreams shall reach its end-goal. Like a child, who observed and worked on what he/she wanted to be, as he/she dreams to be a Doctor Andachievingit,issuchanawardforhis/her determination.Forme,thelineswerewell-written.
Line 13 and 14, The lines interpret that the belittled child has had enough and is feeling resentment and disgust towards them and wanting others to stop givinghim/hersuch harsh treatment. “So many tears shed in the dark of night, hidden away in our private thoughts. Only to be shelvedwithmorning'sfirstlight.Becauseofnocouragetospeakofthe pain, this part of our lives remains the same…” This poem as written by JQ Downing talks about how most of us just look okay but actually have hidden pain inside like a La Gegua,
who takes the form of someone else to look fine but on the inside takes the form of a skull horsethatlookscreepy
Though this situation is very harsh indeed, as Robert Tew said, “You can’t stop a person from doing what they want to do. They’ll start lying to you to continue doing it.” meaning, you can’t stop them, and even if you try, some people will end up not taking it seriously and will lie and keep continuing what they started. It’s like building something, when you try to destroy something they built, some of them may stop building but some of themwillcontinuetobuildit.
Some people in this world have the exact same experience, which is thoughtful because it spreads awareness towards other people across the world and especially gives justice to the people that have suffered through the same pain, they never deserved to be treated like thatintheirlife.Butalsothefeelingofthissonnetaboutbeingcompared,judged, controlled and most of all being harshly treated just never feels right at all and is sadly the truthtosomepeople’slifeinthisworld.
Some parents tend to have the mentality to compare their child/children with other people.Whichmakesthechildfeelthattheyarenotgoodenough.Thisisnotright,asparents theyshouldbetheonestoencourage,guideandmaketheirchild/childrenhappyforwhothey are. They should also check on their well-being and their activities, like their friends. Like what Mark Twain said, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great.” Having a family and friends that can help you grow and can help those people who feel theyarenotenough.Thissonnetisfortheparentsthattendtocomparetheirchildrenand they should not dothis.Thiscanaffectthechildinanegativeway.Itisanextremeemotional
distress for an innocent child growing up without being acknowledgedbytheirfamily,much worsefromtheverypersonwhowascarryinghim/herinherverywomb.
WorksCited
Cogtas,Jeanille.(2022,March4).“Belittled:ashakespeareansonnet”Retrievedfrom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smOJtVLDlgM
Downing,JQ.(2006,February).“ComplicatedFamilies”.Retrievedfrom https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/complicated-families
M.WPoetry (2021,October19).“Nothingwillknockyoudownquickerthanofferingthe bestofyourselftosomeoneanditstillnotbeinggoodenough.”Retrievedfrom
https://www.yourtango.com/2017305351/20-when-youre-not-good-enough-quotes-wh en-you-feel-sad-about-break-up”
Sormack,Danielle.(2019,December).“EveryoneIsSearching”.
https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/everybody-is-searching
Tew,Robert.(2015,May6).“Youcan’tstopapersonfromdoingwhattheywanttodo.
They’llstartlyingtoyoutocontinuedoingit.”Retrievedfrom
https://livelifehappy.com/life-quotes/you-cant-stop-a-person-from-doing-what-they-w ant-to-do-theyll-start-lying-to-you-to-continue-doing-it/
Twain,Mark.(2009).“MarkTwainatYourFingertips:ABookofQuotations”Retrieved fromhttps://www.azquotes.com/quote/344135?ref=belittle
---(2018).“Keepawayfrompeoplewhotrytobelittleyourambitions.Smallpeoplealways dothat,butthereallygreatmakeyoufeelthatyou,too,canbecomegreat.”
https://www.mrgreatmotivation.com/2018/02/keep-away-from-people-who-try-to.htm l
Westra,Christopher.(n.d.)”Dont’tsetyoursightoneasymarksoraimyourgoalstooclose athandbutreachuphigh,andeagerlyuseeveryskillthatyoucommand”
https://www.prosperitypoems.com/delivery54ReachingHigher.html