"The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window"

Paper Summary:

This paper summarizes and reviews Joy Harjo's poem, The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window", and explains that the poem is about a women who is handing on to a building, contemplating suicide. The paper discusses the sense of loss the woman feels as she goes through her memory while hanging on the building, remembering the different identities and obligations she holds for the different people in her life - a mother to her children, a wife to her husband and a daughter to her parents. The author describes Harjo's demonstration of how one is the master of his or her own destiny, while leaving the ending open for readers to make their own decision.

From the Paper:

"Are we controlled by forces that are beyond our control, or do we control our own destiny? In the poem "The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window" by Joy Harjo, she demonstrates how one holds their own destiny in their hands. The woman is clearly contemplating suicide while holding on not only to the building, but to her memories as well. The woman remembers all the people in her life that expect her to be a different person for each one of them, and is struggling while doing so."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Santrock, John. Adolescence. 12th ed. Ed. Mike Ryan. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.

More papers on "The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window":

• Poem Review # 118887 : "Controlling Our Destiny"
• Book Review # 119803 : "Feminism in "The Woman Warrior"
• Analytical Essay # 7608 : "The Woman Warrior"

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