The poem How to Watch Your Brother Die seemed more like a poem of coming to terms with his brother's sexuality more than his death. His brother dying was hard, but he was finally able to understand how his brother felt.
At first it seemed almost as if the narrator was unaware of his brothers sexuality. But when the narrator talked about his wife it seemed to me as if the wife didn't approve of the brother being gay or wanting their children around him. The brother was not only afraid of how his wife would react to him being with his homosexual brother and was not sure how he felt about the situation.
The first time he was able to accept his brother was when he walked into the hospital and saw the brother's lover sitting there with him. He knew that no matter what, he was there for him even if it meant being criticized by others. Once he was able to accept this, he let his prejudices go and reached out to his brother's lover. He knew that if he was lying in the hospital bed, most likely not going to make it, that someone would be there for his wife.
Even though his brother ends up dying, he accepts his brother for who he is and is able to see that his brother isn't a bad guy and was only making the decision that was right for his life.
The clip that I can relate to this poem is Glee. The show is about a bunch of outcasts in a high school coming together. Especially with the character Kurt, he wants people to know he's a normal guy and just wants to be accepted and have friends.
Danielle~
ReplyDeleteI agree that the poem was more about trying to understand the narrators sexuality rather than death. Although, I don't think that the narrator was unaware of his brothers homosexuality, I just think that he neglected to bother once his brother came out. The narrator was obviously was not comfortable that his brother was gay and he pretty much stated that he didn't want anything to do with him until he was sick and dying in the hospital, which is what you stated perfectly in your second paragraph. At the end of the poem, I personally am not completely convinced that he accepts his brother for who he his and that he made the best decision for his life. I don't think that the narrator agrees that the decision of being gay is a good decision for anyone, but that is just opinion and intake on the poem.
I also related the poem to glee and to Kurt's situation. :)