*********Television*********
The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set --
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink --
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.
-------------------------------------------------Roald Dahl
Television
Roald Dahl
*****

                                                                      Back then children used to go out and play, read,draw,play with toys and write but, ever since technology has come children of the 2lst century are hypnotized to many unhealthy things. Children of the 21st century are now hypnotized to electronics, T.V'S and video games which is quite unhealthy for a child's body. After reading the poem "Television" by "Roald Dahl" I had a very interesting come back and many thoughts after reading this poem. The speaker explains that ever since the invention of T.V children have become lazy, hypnotized and have lost their imagination. Even though parents like television because it makes their children stay still and quite the speaker explains as well that it has a very bad down side. This is best proven when the poet says "IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD! IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD! IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND! IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND. HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!" this best illuminates how the speaker says the down sides of T.V. It causes children to have no imagination and become lazy. Becoming lazy as well causes health problems because from sitting on the coach all day like a potato it can make a child fat because the child isn't doing any actions.I also think that the speaker is the poet because the diction such as "the,so,do and can" are words that the speaker who is the poet is saying to try to send out a message to the reader. To best prove that the parents in the poem use T.V as a tool to keep their children quite is when the speaker says"But if we take the set away, What shall we do to entertain. Our darling children? Please explain!' this is one way of how the speaker best portrays that the parents use T.V as a way to keep their children quite. I think that main idea that the poet is trying to say is ever since the invention of television children have been hypnotized and have stopped reading and become lazy. The poet as well trying to tell parents to take away television stations in their homes and is trying to convince that the children will get bored and read books again. This is best portrayed when the speaker says "Go throw your TV set away,And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall., Then fill the shelves with lots of books" . Also when the speaker says "That, in about a week or two, Of having nothing else to do,, They'll now begin to feel the need, Of having something to read." this best portrays how the poet's idea of getting books will at the end make the kids start to read again.I agree with Roald Dahl on the fact that ever since television was made children have been hypnotized for example back then I used to always play with dolls and draw but now, ever since the inventions of iPad's and electronics I see kids everywhere with them in their hands. I as well think that the speaker is an adult male/ female because he/she is speaking about her point of view of children now. I also think that the mood and tone of the poem is very convincing,calm,serious but funny at the same time. I think this because of the use of diction in the poem. The words "you,can,children, television,hypnotized and the capitalization of words make it fell like it is a convincing and serious poem. (HOMEWORK 3/24/13)